I drove the car to Colorado for the BMW Vintage & Classic Car Club of America 2005 Holiday Tour. Here it is with some of the other BMWs during the trip.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
A Description of the Car, Part Two
I purchased the car in the spring of 2005 from Peter Sliskovich, aka “the Coupe King,” a well-known Southern California BMW coupe collector/restorer/parts seller. Peter is a doctor whose hobby is BMWs and he has partnered with Carl Nelson of LaJolla Independent on projects. Peter did the interior, the engine rebuild, and installed many new suspension and steering parts. The car was in Peter’s collection for many years before he sold it to me.
When I bought the car I had it shipped to Don Dethlefsen at the Werk Shop to have a proper comprehensive body and mechanical examination. Don did a number of things to put the car in proper running order. After I drove the car home to Minnesota, I continued to sort out and fix any mechanical issues, i.e. cleaned and repaired the radiator, rebuilt wiper motor, new heater control valve, new electric fuel pump and fuel line. I’ve spent about $8,000 on the car since I bought it. The car is stored winters at Classic Auto Storage, a heated dry car storage facility in Minneapolis.
The summer before last, I drove the car to Colorado for the 2005 Holiday Tour. This car accompanied about a dozen other classic BMWs over five mountain passes, putting about 3,500 miles on the car in all types of weather and conditions. It ran perfectly. The car may be seen in some of the Colorado Holiday Tour photos on the BMW Vintage & Classic Car Club of America web site.
[See below for part one]
When I bought the car I had it shipped to Don Dethlefsen at the Werk Shop to have a proper comprehensive body and mechanical examination. Don did a number of things to put the car in proper running order. After I drove the car home to Minnesota, I continued to sort out and fix any mechanical issues, i.e. cleaned and repaired the radiator, rebuilt wiper motor, new heater control valve, new electric fuel pump and fuel line. I’ve spent about $8,000 on the car since I bought it. The car is stored winters at Classic Auto Storage, a heated dry car storage facility in Minneapolis.
The summer before last, I drove the car to Colorado for the 2005 Holiday Tour. This car accompanied about a dozen other classic BMWs over five mountain passes, putting about 3,500 miles on the car in all types of weather and conditions. It ran perfectly. The car may be seen in some of the Colorado Holiday Tour photos on the BMW Vintage & Classic Car Club of America web site.
[See below for part one]
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
A Description of the Car, Part One
This car has a completely new interior. The doors, rear sides and seats are black vinyl. The black vinyl hat shelf is the original black diamond pattern. The wood has been refinished in high-gloss instead of the original matte finish. The effect is very dramatic. A return to the matte finish would be relatively easy if you wished to. The white headliner and charcoal carpets are new.
The radio is the original Blaupunkt AM converted to an AM-FM stereo with ipod connection. The dash speaker is new along with two rear speakers located in the front bulkhead below the back seat. The speakers are protected by black metal grills.
The exterior color is wine red. It was resprayed in the early 1990s. The paint is not of the highest quality, but from a few feet away it looks wonderful. This car, with its red color and clean, elegant lines, is a real attention grabber. I hear comments from other drivers and pedestrians whenever I drive it.
There is no evidence of rust. The only evidence of an accident is a repair to the nose of the car just ahead of the roundel on the hood. The rubber moldings are half original and half new.
The brightwork is original and complete, including the aluminum rings for the wheels.
The engine has been rebuilt and now has dual Weber carbs. It has excellent compression and runs strong and smooth.
The radio is the original Blaupunkt AM converted to an AM-FM stereo with ipod connection. The dash speaker is new along with two rear speakers located in the front bulkhead below the back seat. The speakers are protected by black metal grills.
The exterior color is wine red. It was resprayed in the early 1990s. The paint is not of the highest quality, but from a few feet away it looks wonderful. This car, with its red color and clean, elegant lines, is a real attention grabber. I hear comments from other drivers and pedestrians whenever I drive it.
There is no evidence of rust. The only evidence of an accident is a repair to the nose of the car just ahead of the roundel on the hood. The rubber moldings are half original and half new.
The brightwork is original and complete, including the aluminum rings for the wheels.
The engine has been rebuilt and now has dual Weber carbs. It has excellent compression and runs strong and smooth.
Monday, March 5, 2007
History of the 2000CS
The 2000CS is the first coupe of the Neu Klasse BMWs. Eleven thousand seven hundred twenty cars were built from 1965 through 1970. Production was greatest in 1966 and gradually declined to only 65 cars in 1970. The car was not simply built on the sedan platform of the 1600 or 1800. The coupe had its own platform with engine, interior and bodywork unique to it.
The 2000CS is the transition coupe between the 503 & 3200CS Bertone coupes and the 3.0CS coupe introduced in the 1970s. The 2000CS is a luxurious coupe with some significant design features. It was designed in-house by Wilhelm Hofmeister and largely hand built by Karmann.
The front end was quite controversial. The designers used a large kidney grille reminiscent of the 328 – 501/502. This was the last time that BMW would use such a long grille. Future BMWs all use the much smaller grill we are all familiar with.
The headlights are trapezoidal acrylic glass covers over the twin headlight and turn signal. BMW would not use headlight covers again until the early 1990s. Headlight covers today are standard BMW features.
The front end was finished with a three-piece bumper. The bumper supports started from the frame below the bodywork and flowed up to the three-piece bumper. The supports were sheathed in chrome and create a dramatic feature especially when viewed from the side.
The Coupe used Talbot racing mirrors set far out on the front fenders. Most cars used a single mirror on the driver’s side, but some used a second mirror on the passenger’s side.
The 2000 CS featured clean sides with a high chrome line and stainless rocker panels. Side markers that detracted from the clean look were added in 1968. The 3.0 CS coupe used the same body design from the windshield back. The back windows retract completely and the front windows retract to about 1" above the door. This provides an uninterrupted view through the cabin. The coupes were the first BMWs to feature the legendary 2.0 liter four cylinder engine made famous in the 2002s, and continued into the early 1992 in 3 series cars. The C model had one carburetor, was rated at 100 horsepower and could be ordered with an automatic. CS models had dual carbs and came with a four speed transmission and were rated at 120 horsepower.
The interiors had a great deal of hand finished walnut trim including a wood trimmed steering wheel. The 3.0 coupes copied the 2000 CS dash layout but used less wood trim.
The interiors had opulent seats with plenty of chrome trim. Interiors were typically vinyl, not leather. Clip on headrests were available but most cars do not have them. The low seat back height allows for a wide-open look when the windows are rolled down.
The 2000CS is the transition coupe between the 503 & 3200CS Bertone coupes and the 3.0CS coupe introduced in the 1970s. The 2000CS is a luxurious coupe with some significant design features. It was designed in-house by Wilhelm Hofmeister and largely hand built by Karmann.
The front end was quite controversial. The designers used a large kidney grille reminiscent of the 328 – 501/502. This was the last time that BMW would use such a long grille. Future BMWs all use the much smaller grill we are all familiar with.
The headlights are trapezoidal acrylic glass covers over the twin headlight and turn signal. BMW would not use headlight covers again until the early 1990s. Headlight covers today are standard BMW features.
The front end was finished with a three-piece bumper. The bumper supports started from the frame below the bodywork and flowed up to the three-piece bumper. The supports were sheathed in chrome and create a dramatic feature especially when viewed from the side.
The Coupe used Talbot racing mirrors set far out on the front fenders. Most cars used a single mirror on the driver’s side, but some used a second mirror on the passenger’s side.
The 2000 CS featured clean sides with a high chrome line and stainless rocker panels. Side markers that detracted from the clean look were added in 1968. The 3.0 CS coupe used the same body design from the windshield back. The back windows retract completely and the front windows retract to about 1" above the door. This provides an uninterrupted view through the cabin. The coupes were the first BMWs to feature the legendary 2.0 liter four cylinder engine made famous in the 2002s, and continued into the early 1992 in 3 series cars. The C model had one carburetor, was rated at 100 horsepower and could be ordered with an automatic. CS models had dual carbs and came with a four speed transmission and were rated at 120 horsepower.
The interiors had a great deal of hand finished walnut trim including a wood trimmed steering wheel. The 3.0 coupes copied the 2000 CS dash layout but used less wood trim.
The interiors had opulent seats with plenty of chrome trim. Interiors were typically vinyl, not leather. Clip on headrests were available but most cars do not have them. The low seat back height allows for a wide-open look when the windows are rolled down.
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