Back on the road again!

[rbtrader]

After being off the road for 10+ years, this 2800CS was towed in to a repair garage in 2013 to get it going again and some refurbishment. Many dollars and a bad automatic transmission later the owner decided to put it on the market before it was completed. It was the coupe of my dreams, a one owner purchased at the same dealership in Detroit where I purchased my 2002tii in 1973.

I bought the car last year and immediately decided it made more sense to do a 5-speed conversion rather than spend money on repair for the automatic. After locating the Getrag and all the required bits and pieces, the new trans was installed and the day finally came to take off the lift and around the block.

I can't be happier that after a little tuning and some freon it will soon be in my garage in Tennessee. The shop that did the work shared this video with me, and I thought I would share it with you guys waiting to get your cars going again.

 

[CSteve]

After being off the road for 10+ years, this 2800CS was towed in to a repair garage in 2013 to get it going again and some refurbishment. Many dollars and a bad automatic transmission later the owner decided to put it on the market before it was completed. It was the coupe of my dreams, a one owner purchased at the same dealership in Detroit where I purchased my 2002tii in 1973.

I bought the car last year and immediately decided it made more sense to do a 5-speed conversion rather than spend money on repair for the automatic. After locating the Getrag and all the required bits and pieces, the new trans was installed and the day finally came to take off the lift and around the block.

I can't be happier that after a little tuning and some freon it will soon be in my garage in Tennessee. The shop that did the work shared this video with me, and I thought I would share it with you guys waiting to get your cars going again.

A sweet story with a happy ending. Same dealer! Five speed is the way to go. Seeing the VW Squareback as he pulls out suggests this is the right kind of shop for our coupes.

Looking for more of the story and details and photos of your new baby.
Steve

 

[autokunst]

Great story, and cool video. Congrats on the dream car - it looks great! Can't wait to see more as this car's journey is continued.

 

[teahead]

Drive it like you stole it!

Cool stuff. WHat rear end/ratio you got back there? You may want to consider now that you have an OD (assuming not dogleg), you can move up to a 3.25, 3.45, 3.64 rear end to give you more oomph off the line.

 

[inovermyhead]

I probably have the same auto diff ratio as my now 5 speed was also converted from auto to manual, is it possible to buy just the internal gear sets, and given Australia’s draconian speed limits would be happy to trade acceleration for top speed, what would be a good balanced ratio.

Cheers. John

 

[teahead]

See what you got now. It's stamped on the side of the diff.

 

[HB Chris]

Your 2800CS came with a 3.45, perfect for your 5 speed.

 

[inovermyhead]

Thanks Rob, I’ll have a look next time I’m under it, I assume the higher the number the quicker the diff?
I know I have seen posts that relate to changing the gearing, just wondering if anybody has a link to a supplier?

 

[teahead]

yes, numerically higher==lower gear ratio==quicker acceleration. 2 numbers should show up. Divide the lower number into the higher number to get the ratio. Also, look for an S if you got lucky and got an LSD.

If it truly is 3.45, then no need to do anything as Chris has said. Ideal ratio for 5-speed.

 

[inovermyhead]

Thanks Rob, my car is a March 73 and started life as a 3.0 auto, now has m30b35 from 89 7 series, not sure what original diff ratio would have been but fairly sure it’s still the one in the car.

Cheers. John

 

[rbtrader]

Well, we have sorted out most of the issues associated with 10+ years sitting in storage! I am road testing daily, and ready to venture over to Hot Springs, NC for the Vintage. I hope to see some of you there, as I will be looking for input on little things that I can address.

View attachment 45634 View attachment 45634

 

[dang]

Awesome! I love posts like this. Because of all the cable TV car shows I expected the mechanic to do some donuts in the parking lot!

 

[autokunst]

Sorry if discussed earlier - but what color is your car painted? It seems like a little warmer than delphin gray metallic. Not an original color, I assume. It looks very nice!

 

[rbtrader]

The photo might be a little off, but I think it is supposed to be the delphin gray metallic. I bought the car from the original owner. He said that the car began to have peeling paint within the first six months he owned it. BMW paint for an entire new paint job to correct the problem they might have gotten the color a little wrong when they did that, because the paint on the car is still from that paint job in 1972.

 

[JayWltrs]

The photo might be a little off, but I think it is supposed to be the delphin gray metallic. I bought the car from the original owner. He said that the car began to have peeling paint within the first six months he owned it. BMW paint for an entire new paint job to correct the problem they might have gotten the color a little wrong when they did that, because the paint on the car is still from that paint job in 1972.

Wow! Don’t know whether the color match is perfect, but that’s jaw dropping beautiful for nearly original paint & body. Must feel great to get it back on the road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HB Chris]

Send an e-mail to [email protected] and get the build date and original color. Delphin is not an e9 color and Anthracite which is similar was not introduced until 1974. Gorgeous color though!