BMW Bavaria 3.0S Factory "Golf" Yellow, Original 4-sp., Sunroof

1973 BMW Bavaria Additional Info:

1973 BMW Bavaria 3.0S 4-Speed

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This rare factory Golf (Yellow) E3 BMW has spent most of its life in Southern California after it first hit American soil in NY at Hoffman Motors Corp in April of 1973 (note: it's early years unverified from 1973-1977, best guess sold new in CA from all other accounts). This is 1 of 2 factory Golf paint BMW E3's "known" to be driving around in N. America. ?Known? meaning BMW vintage events across the country, Canada, and Mexico included. The other one was sold on BaT 09/14/2018 (that is the other "known" factory Golf E3 which is now residing in Illinois; previously in Pacific North West and Bay Area, famous for being saved from a Copart in Seattle). There are a few E3 race cars painted Golf, but not originally painted Golf from the factory from the research I've done over the last 4 years. This E3 is still sporting its original CA Blue plates (front plate included in sale not pictured). All the paperwork for this special BMW that goes all the way back to 1978 will come with the car. This car originally came optioned with the rare sunroof, a Getrag 4-speed, and AC (although out of the car, all the original AC parts will be included in sale). I am a long time BMW CCA member and has been a vintage BMW owner since the mid-80's and I'm very involved in the vintage BMW community. This car has been on the lawn at Legends at the 100th BMW anniversary (plaque on dash).

This is a Numbers Matching car (no pic of engine VIN because it was too difficult to reach; welcome to view in person or have a PPI to verify). Motor has a 79' replacement head; I have the original receipt (original 73' head not available). There were at least two previous owners shown on the paperwork dating all the way back to 06/02/78 (Crevier receipt ? see pics). This car was stored in a dairy barn in Norco from 91'-2015 according to previous owner's nephew who sold the car for his ailing Uncle who was in bad health. This BMW comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from BMW Classic (No.5736). Date of manufacture is 16.04. 1973 and date of delivery is 25.04. 1973. The very rare Golf paint code is verified on this certificate however it is very easy to tell since I kept a lot of the original paint on the car after an all rubber, front/rear-glass, taillight out re-spray in early 2015 immediately after purchasing the car. Original paint is still in the engine bay, trunk, and some of the door sills. Here is a link to e9coupe.com showing the build thread:

https://www.e9coupe.com/forum/threads/73-golf-bavaria-build-thread.18583/

I have spent an average of about $10K a year on this car since I started restoring it, and that does not even include a rebuild of the motor (last major motor overhaul at (118,438 miles (I assume because 5-digit odometer says 18,438 and verified by previous maintenance receipts) in 83' w/ receipt, long list of work performed on receipt). I have all the receipts available for viewing totaling over $37K (not including cash work, my work of course, small receipts for parts/labor or original purchase price of car). The car comes with original owners manual and some other notable older receipts from Schneider Motors 79' (R&R Cylinder Head, new Camshaft, Rocker Arms etc.) and Hal Greene BMW 06/12/79. A picture of full stack of receipts almost 2-1/2? tall is included. Lots of various BMW dealership service receipts in the 70's & 80's including Janaco BMW are in the stack of receipts (hence vintage Janaco vanity plate).

I have spent the last 4 years slowly restoring this car and I drive it almost every week. Some of the best BMW people in the business have helped him restore this car. People such as Carl Nelson and the rest of Carl's crew at the famous La Jolla Independent BMW Service were a big part of the build. Lots of invaluable help from the owners/friends at REYN Speed Shop which I owe a big debt of gratitude.

I have tried to keep this car as original as possible. Only tasteful, visually period correct mods/upgrades have been performed. The original paint was kept in the engine bay and trunk on purpose. The spare tire well in the trunk, which is usually one of the most problematic rust prone spots, was one of the nicest areas of the car, so I kept it intact. I wanted to preserve this to show how well California treated this car over the years. Along with some areas in the door jams, I preserved what I could with the original Golf paint.

Some of the few modifications include the front Alpina-style front air dam, upgraded beefy 28.5mm front and 22mm rear ST Sway Bars, Hella H4 Low Headlights/H1 high, new factory exhaust, new linkage/tie rods/bushing, and Carl Nelson Suspension (ST springs) with Bilstein Sport shocks giving it a slightly lower stance than factory.

The engine bay has an Exide battery from April 2016 kept on trickle charge under cover in garage, upgraded 60 amp alternator, dual core original radiator (redone), new starter, clutch master cylinder, belts, hoses, Pertronix upgrade in lieu of points, new ignition, new coil, fuel filters, lines, hoses etc. The car retains its original rebuilt Zenith carburetors tuned by Ben Thongsai (runs extremely smooth). Also has powder coated air box, manifold heat shields & Speedway refurbished valve cover w/ new insulation foam under hood. Complete with the original Getrag 4-speed and newly installed bushings around the shifter.

The interior has all been taken out and the old ?horsehair? in the seats was replaced with new custom cut foam. I wanted to retain the original black vinyl which overall is in excellent condition. There is some cracking around the front headrests that is shown in the pictures. New Coco mats front and rear. The carpet is original. Original ?Bus? steering wheel is in great shape and original walnut shift knob. There are a couple of cracks in dash shown in pics (w/ typical center crack, but overall in great shape). The headliner was all replaced with factory headliner as well as all new components in the sunroof which works perfectly with a NOS crank. LED lighting was installed in the dash which shows the original mileage at 145K+( verified with receipts). There was about $1K miles tops put on the car while the original speedometer was out for repair at N. Hollywood Speedo (tripe from Laguna Beach to Monterrey and some local driving until it was ready ). I also had a Porsche 996 quartz back installed on the original clock which now keeps perfect time. All the gauges, horns, wipers and instruments work. The period correct Frankfurt radio works with a Hirschmann electronic antenna however there is a hidden Kenwood Amp w/ Bluetooth and modern speakers (Audison 4?) up front with vintage speaker covers that came with the car. This bypasses the original radio but easy to uninstall and use working Frankfurt radio. Radio on-off controls the antenna up/down. Radio does not need to be on or antenna up for Kenwood Bluetooth Amp to work.

The trunk was redone with the rare, hard to find ?elephant skin? fabric along with matching black/grey interior carpet. Most of the tools came with the car in the original under trunk lid tool box (cracked/chipped but still closes and holds tools, available new from BMW). I had to source a few tools to make the tool kit complete. Many E3/E9 owners know this can be a tedious task but they are all there and included in sale. The original inside trunk tool box with the wheel chocks are also all there, including the date matching original spare tire 04/73 and all the original car jack tools (see pics). The gas tank has a new sender unit and the gas gauge works great. All the chrome was redone on the bumpers. The 73' is unique with one year only front over riders. They are NOT upside down, that is 73' only. One of the most important pieces that was the hardest to source was the OEM NOS belt trim. This made the car in my opinion. The steelies were sourced for the car and are period correct, I have a set of (4) on the car but also a 5th with no tire that will come with the car all date matched 04/72, along with the original spare makes (6) wheels in total. The wheels were recently repainted and (7) ?dog dish? hubcaps will come with the car that will need restoring. The ?wheel rings? are not available. The car was built and finished with a ?Collector? in mind that likes to drive the car due to its rarity but get that ?fun to drive? vintage BMW experience. The car is practically ?rust free.? The little bit of rust was exposed after an underside steam clean detail by Dr. Detail in Costa Mesa which is a 2"x1" or so hole beneath the driver floor board (Looks bigger in picture close ups than it actually is and has been address with rust proofing, will be easy fix to weld). There are some detailed pics but keep in mind, all are the same hole. The rest of what you see underneath is as honest as it gets, any exposed bare metal after the steam clean was hit with Rust Proofing (notice the grey in underside pics). I didn't want to paint over with new Golf paint on purpose to show how well this car is preserved and how little rust there is, it's actually amazing. There are many other extra bits that were sourced to make this as original as possible using either refurbished or OEM NOS parts. Interested parties are welcome to inspect the car pre-purchase and go through all the receipts along with a test drive.

For more pictures click:

https://burroughsbavpics.shutterfly.com

https://kylebavpics.shutterfly.com/

https://golfe3bat.shutterfly.com/

Price:$25,900 obo