When are Mr. Johnson's and Mrs. Mayer's cars going to meet? I think we all need to start referring to our cars by their original owners 
Mr. Johnson's 1970 2800 CS - Update 01/31/2023
- Thread starter wkohler
- Start date
Great idea.When are Mr. Johnson's and Mrs. Mayer's cars going to meet? I think we all need to start referring to our cars by their original owners
Reflecting on this I do have the names of the original owners of six of my seven cars, and I met four of them.
Forget Pre-Purchase Inspections, it is all about people and trust.
With limits, I was considering a car from a small dealer, found the PO information in the glove box. A lady in LA. I found her number on the internet and called to ask for her opinion on the car. For a minute she was really creeped out and unhappy, then she calmed down and really helped me out.
I was just thinking I’d started all of my threads with “MY BABY”
TodB
Well-Known Member
trouble maker
Very excited to see this car's next chapter with Chris. I also feel fortunate that we're going to learn from his expanding E9 knowledge!
Unfortunately, I have no information leading back the the original owners of either of my classic BMWs. I'm jelli of you folks that do. I only know the previous owner of my coupe, and I am not sure he was an owner more than a conduit to sell a more or less abandoned car. I do have info going back about 6 or 7 owners of my 1600, but that only gets be back to about 2009. That leaves roughly 40 years of unknowns. What do we refer to the cars as without an original owner name? UFO's (unknown former owner)?
Oldbmwcoupes
Well-Known Member
Chris, congrats on the new addition, your collection is impressive and all are exceptional cars!
My first e9 was Polaris with blue. I loved that combo, I think it’s the best interior with Polaris, not as racey as black and seems a bit classier. I love it on my chamonix car as well. I detest the red interior in my current Polaris car-feels like something out of a bad 70’s Detroit sled (sorry to those who have red and love it. it’s just not for me).
I hope the engine works out. I have several m90s if you need one, let me know.
mark
My first e9 was Polaris with blue. I loved that combo, I think it’s the best interior with Polaris, not as racey as black and seems a bit classier. I love it on my chamonix car as well. I detest the red interior in my current Polaris car-feels like something out of a bad 70’s Detroit sled (sorry to those who have red and love it. it’s just not for me).
I hope the engine works out. I have several m90s if you need one, let me know.
mark
Congrats Chris. I know it will look fantastic when you are finished! Save that paint!
zinnocoupe
Member
Hey congrats Chris, I 'm not on here very much as I don't own an E9 but check it out every once in a while. I'm surprised you've never taken the E9 plunge in all these years of classic BMW ownership. I look forward to seeing what you do with it. That Golf E12 520i sounds interesting as well....... Dave
Love the story and love the fact that you got to meet the original owner. I just had my second live visit with the original owner of my 71 2800CS. Its such a privilege to hear the stories and preserve the history. You may be interested also in R&T’s February 1972 "After the new wears off 2800CS review" (by the original owner of my car)
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Thanks again everyone for your comments! Yes, I know it's been a while without a follow-up. That isn't to say things haven't been happening.
When the car showed up, one thing I noticed was there appeared to be a lot of detritus and rodent evidence in the nose (oh, I almost forgot to mention the first part of this update is not particularly appetizing). Every rose has its thorn, I guess.
I was pretty concerned what I'd find under all that stuff, so I figured I better dig in. N95 mask, goggles, doubled up on the gloves, etc. I carefully removed the grilles and headlights. I found a couple of chewed wires for the headlights and parking lights but nothing that can't be easily repaired. The auxiliary fan was still installed and its wires had been eaten. I guess they were more flavorful than the light wiring. At this point, I was here (still amazed at the reflections in the original paint):
I think we mostly know what this stuff consists of, so I'll spare you all but this one close-up photo.
I decided to use my shop vac to remove the majority of this though there were some rather large pieces that I picked up with the shop vac and then transferred to the trash. Once I was done, I went to pick up the vacuum and it was a lot heavier than it should have been. After weighing, there was about 35lbs in the vacuum and a good amount in the trash can.
The vacuum can only do so much obviously and my main goal was to know what I had to contend with. After doing what I could with the vacuum, this is what I had:
Oh and I found this. Its a shame I don't have a receipt so I could return it for a refund:
I didn't particularly feel like getting under the car to remove the "trim panel" because I'd end up covered in what it held, so that's still on the car. I did remove the radiator to get more access and it was, well, pretty in the thick of it. I put more gloves on and went after cleaning up the bottom of the nose.
It cleaned up better than I thought it would for a basic clean. The tight corners and crevices still need some work. I need to pull the front bumper off but I was at least able to relax a bit.
When the car showed up, one thing I noticed was there appeared to be a lot of detritus and rodent evidence in the nose (oh, I almost forgot to mention the first part of this update is not particularly appetizing). Every rose has its thorn, I guess.
I was pretty concerned what I'd find under all that stuff, so I figured I better dig in. N95 mask, goggles, doubled up on the gloves, etc. I carefully removed the grilles and headlights. I found a couple of chewed wires for the headlights and parking lights but nothing that can't be easily repaired. The auxiliary fan was still installed and its wires had been eaten. I guess they were more flavorful than the light wiring. At this point, I was here (still amazed at the reflections in the original paint):
I think we mostly know what this stuff consists of, so I'll spare you all but this one close-up photo.
I decided to use my shop vac to remove the majority of this though there were some rather large pieces that I picked up with the shop vac and then transferred to the trash. Once I was done, I went to pick up the vacuum and it was a lot heavier than it should have been. After weighing, there was about 35lbs in the vacuum and a good amount in the trash can.
The vacuum can only do so much obviously and my main goal was to know what I had to contend with. After doing what I could with the vacuum, this is what I had:
Oh and I found this. Its a shame I don't have a receipt so I could return it for a refund:
I didn't particularly feel like getting under the car to remove the "trim panel" because I'd end up covered in what it held, so that's still on the car. I did remove the radiator to get more access and it was, well, pretty in the thick of it. I put more gloves on and went after cleaning up the bottom of the nose.
It cleaned up better than I thought it would for a basic clean. The tight corners and crevices still need some work. I need to pull the front bumper off but I was at least able to relax a bit.
Moving on, I looked more closely at the engine and the pad on the #4 exhaust rocker had separated from the rocker arm. The cam doesn't look damaged, but given that the fact it sat all this time with the valve cover off and all of the oil return ports in the head were packed with the same crap that was in the nose, I really wasn't too thrilled with the idea of trying to get this motor running. It's a 3.0 from a '74 automatic Bavaria, so it's not like it's the original.
The decision became a lot easier when a 2.8 and ZF 4-speed from a '71 2800 CS was posted here at the end of September, not too far away in Orange, CA. I had to make a trip up to where the car lived to pick up the collection of parts that came with the car (including another engine from another automatic '74 Bavaria). I rented a Dodge Caravan and made the trip, very concerned about how I was going to fit all of this in a minivan. I left Phoenix at 3am the following Sunday with the goal of arriving in Orange at 8am. I was pretty much right on time and after some discussion and learning about the project at hand and a tremendous breakfast croissant sandwich, we set about loading up the engine and other bits
It was amazing how well this worked. Our original plan was to try to go into the side door to have the engine further forward, but the drawbridge itself was too wide. It worked perfectly in the back. I am still impressed with how this worked. Everything loaded and I was on my way to Monterey to see OcCoupe.
I was able to leave everything but the engine and the containers in storage and headed up to Portola Valley, Monday morning. I got to meet the original owner myself and it was really amazing to see how active he still is after all these years, still plays with circuits and uses vintage testing equipment. He designed and built his own house in the mid 1950s and nothing has changed since then. I got to see his lab and learn more about what he did as a microwave engineer. He was on the team responsible for the first advance warning system for combat aircraft which is pretty amazing. He seemed happy that the car went to a good home and was impressed I had found a "correct" engine for it.
After collecting what parts were at the house, I followed his daughter-in-law to a shop in Redwood City to collect what was there and it was clear that I was at the very least going to have a very full load in what was now a one-passenger van. There was some consternation as the guy whose space it was said he thought I had a truck and I was, of course, immediately thrown under the bus with the "well that's what I thought, too." Good thing I know how to pack stuff and make the best use of space. It took a while, but we were able to get everything in and I even had a few containers I didn't use. It wasn't the best packing job, so there was a re-pack a bit later at an In-N-Out in San Jose (which I only stopped at because it was the first stop I made after I bought my E39 M5 in San Carlos). I have to say the van drove a little differently with two M30s and a ton of parts in the back.
Of course, there was still more stuff to put in the van (remember all the stuff I took out before I headed up Monday morning?). I spent Monday night back at OcCoupe's house and headed back for Phoenix first thing Tuesday morning. Naturally, given the state of the van, I didn't attempt to break any speed records, but things went pretty well. Well, until I stopped in Indio for some tacos (Taco Tuesday) and this was the line so I left:
My final fuel stop in Quartzsite:
Of course, I had my share of traffic, but I made it back safely with all of the parts and got everything unloaded myself. Of course, now I was excited to get the old engine out and put the "new" one in.
Honestly, I felt very odd taking all of these photos of a Caravan.
The decision became a lot easier when a 2.8 and ZF 4-speed from a '71 2800 CS was posted here at the end of September, not too far away in Orange, CA. I had to make a trip up to where the car lived to pick up the collection of parts that came with the car (including another engine from another automatic '74 Bavaria). I rented a Dodge Caravan and made the trip, very concerned about how I was going to fit all of this in a minivan. I left Phoenix at 3am the following Sunday with the goal of arriving in Orange at 8am. I was pretty much right on time and after some discussion and learning about the project at hand and a tremendous breakfast croissant sandwich, we set about loading up the engine and other bits
It was amazing how well this worked. Our original plan was to try to go into the side door to have the engine further forward, but the drawbridge itself was too wide. It worked perfectly in the back. I am still impressed with how this worked. Everything loaded and I was on my way to Monterey to see OcCoupe.
I was able to leave everything but the engine and the containers in storage and headed up to Portola Valley, Monday morning. I got to meet the original owner myself and it was really amazing to see how active he still is after all these years, still plays with circuits and uses vintage testing equipment. He designed and built his own house in the mid 1950s and nothing has changed since then. I got to see his lab and learn more about what he did as a microwave engineer. He was on the team responsible for the first advance warning system for combat aircraft which is pretty amazing. He seemed happy that the car went to a good home and was impressed I had found a "correct" engine for it.
After collecting what parts were at the house, I followed his daughter-in-law to a shop in Redwood City to collect what was there and it was clear that I was at the very least going to have a very full load in what was now a one-passenger van. There was some consternation as the guy whose space it was said he thought I had a truck and I was, of course, immediately thrown under the bus with the "well that's what I thought, too." Good thing I know how to pack stuff and make the best use of space. It took a while, but we were able to get everything in and I even had a few containers I didn't use. It wasn't the best packing job, so there was a re-pack a bit later at an In-N-Out in San Jose (which I only stopped at because it was the first stop I made after I bought my E39 M5 in San Carlos). I have to say the van drove a little differently with two M30s and a ton of parts in the back.
Of course, there was still more stuff to put in the van (remember all the stuff I took out before I headed up Monday morning?). I spent Monday night back at OcCoupe's house and headed back for Phoenix first thing Tuesday morning. Naturally, given the state of the van, I didn't attempt to break any speed records, but things went pretty well. Well, until I stopped in Indio for some tacos (Taco Tuesday) and this was the line so I left:
My final fuel stop in Quartzsite:
Of course, I had my share of traffic, but I made it back safely with all of the parts and got everything unloaded myself. Of course, now I was excited to get the old engine out and put the "new" one in.
Honestly, I felt very odd taking all of these photos of a Caravan.
From that first week of October to today, virtually nothing to report other than wanting to do something on the car. I ended up with considerable scope creep on the E28 projects I have been doing in my shop and as much as I wanted to just tow the car over there and get stuck into it, I've resisted. Also, there's still lots of cleaning to do up front.
After giving it more thought, these projects always start with the fuel tank, so I wanted to get an idea of what that was like. Talking with Mike the other day, he said I should just pull the sender and see how it looks. Might get lucky since it's been sitting since '08. I was less-optimistic, but I figured that I better dig in. That's worked so well so far.
I pulled back the trunk carpet, unscrewed the trunk caddy, removed all of the screws and the floor panel is just tremendously nice. I photographed the wiring for the sender.
Then I removed the sender. It didn't want to cooperate. I was less-excited, but not surprised.
Well, I'm sure the screen is in there somewhere. I bet the 5.5mm nut won't come off. Let's see what it looks like inside. I assume we can all smell what this looks like (other than out-of-focus - not sure there's a smell for that).
At least the bottom of the tank looks really nice.
I was actually able to remove the 5.5mm nut on the sender and I'm not sure why I thought it could be usable but here it is for fun. Looks like I need one of these. RealOEM doesn't seem to suggest this car has the 55L tank but I'm going to measure the length anyway (forgot).
I decided to drain the tank and work on getting it out of the car. I was really surprised at how nice everything looked around the tank. The bolts are really nice. Oh, I found the screen for the sender.
I think the tank will clean up. I'm going to take it to a radiator shop I use for this in the coming week, so let's see how it goes.
At least the car itself looks super nice. Will be fun cleaning this up because it will really clean up nicely.
Slightly unrelated, while I was on the ground, I decided to look around a bit more and sure, enough, there's a G265.
So, this is where we are at now and I hope to have more updates soon! Happy New Year!
After giving it more thought, these projects always start with the fuel tank, so I wanted to get an idea of what that was like. Talking with Mike the other day, he said I should just pull the sender and see how it looks. Might get lucky since it's been sitting since '08. I was less-optimistic, but I figured that I better dig in. That's worked so well so far.
I pulled back the trunk carpet, unscrewed the trunk caddy, removed all of the screws and the floor panel is just tremendously nice. I photographed the wiring for the sender.
Then I removed the sender. It didn't want to cooperate. I was less-excited, but not surprised.
Well, I'm sure the screen is in there somewhere. I bet the 5.5mm nut won't come off. Let's see what it looks like inside. I assume we can all smell what this looks like (other than out-of-focus - not sure there's a smell for that).
At least the bottom of the tank looks really nice.
I was actually able to remove the 5.5mm nut on the sender and I'm not sure why I thought it could be usable but here it is for fun. Looks like I need one of these. RealOEM doesn't seem to suggest this car has the 55L tank but I'm going to measure the length anyway (forgot).
I decided to drain the tank and work on getting it out of the car. I was really surprised at how nice everything looked around the tank. The bolts are really nice. Oh, I found the screen for the sender.
I think the tank will clean up. I'm going to take it to a radiator shop I use for this in the coming week, so let's see how it goes.
At least the car itself looks super nice. Will be fun cleaning this up because it will really clean up nicely.
Slightly unrelated, while I was on the ground, I decided to look around a bit more and sure, enough, there's a G265.
So, this is where we are at now and I hope to have more updates soon! Happy New Year!
Oldbmwcoupes
Well-Known Member
nice updates, thanks for posting. Always good to add another 265 to the stock pile!
Fun update and good progress Chris! Looks like you got your money's worth out of that van rental!
5280JB
Member
Just found this thread, Chris, and am so happy you have found this great coupe! The condition of the paint and interior looks just outstanding, and I love the fact you got to meet Mr. Johnson and connect directly with this car's history.
This car is lucky to have you as its next custodian, and this forum/community is fortunate to have you as a new E9 owner and member. I look forward to following your updates on this journey!
P.S. Was good to see you back in August at Werks Reunion in Monterey - That must have been very near the time this great find came together for you.
Jim
This car is lucky to have you as its next custodian, and this forum/community is fortunate to have you as a new E9 owner and member. I look forward to following your updates on this journey!
P.S. Was good to see you back in August at Werks Reunion in Monterey - That must have been very near the time this great find came together for you.
Jim
Chris, No US coupes ever had the 55l tank.
That’s a relief. I know I’m behind the curve a bit using RealOEM for some research but they only had the one part number for the sender but gave two numbers for the tank for 55 and 70 and then overlapping dates. Three times I said “I need to measure at least the tube” and it’s still not done.
I was happy to see it was a 265 since you never know what could be there but it was obviously swapped in when they were commensurate in price to other 5-speeds. My shelf has no overdrives, just doglegs so nice to finally get an overdrive. Whew. That said I’m kinda tempted to put the ZF 4-speed in the car with the 2.8 for the whole experience.
I sure did. I looked at other options but this was realistically the largest vehicle I could get with unlimited mileage so that worked out. It probably wouldn’t have worked out so well when not everything fit, but it did!
Thanks, Jim! It was great to see you there as well. At the time I had no idea this was going to happen. With the knowledge it was going to the airplane mechanic, it wasn’t even on my radar (ha!) anymore. It came together by the end of the following week so the timing was quite unusual. I’m looking forward to getting deeper into the car and sharing the progress!
I would not treat cars without previous owners as worse.
It might have several good things.
Well preserved cars are rather to be kept original and VIN-correct and the "name" is a pain in some specific cases.
Having No-Name/Orphaned E9 you are free to bring her back and became no1 owner, so it can gain the name from You.
Despite my car was owned by single owner (formally) I'm not considering to name it with his/her name. I just don't care ... or maybe the name is not very nice ... or the car is not very nice ... or both? Does not really matter.
On the other hand I'm happy some cars might become a legend with possible full originality and preservation. They are All very important for us taking into account poor technical support from the Maker - BMW. It is good they are existing and - thanks for digital communication - we can take a look on the time stamp on the mirror they are externalizing.