New car, new problems - what's wrong with my 1974 BMW E12 520

Well, this is mine… again! It's been 18 years since I last owned it.
This is a South African assembled 1974 BMW 520 E12 that I lost trace in 2008 and been trying to track ever since. Found again by a good friend which I'm immensely grateful.
In this video, I'll be going over the general condition of the car and the plans I have for it.
Will this BMW E12 be subject to a full restoration, or just getting started and be a rolling restoration instead? I think it will be a titanic restoration
#bmw #bmw5series #carrestoration #restoration #carrestoration
Help this channel with a donation on the following link:
www.buymeacoff...
I am also on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Twitter and email where you can also contact me:
Instagram:
/ gentilsgarage
Threads:
www.threads.ne...
Facebook:
/ gentilsgarage
Twitter:
/ gentilsgarage
Email:
[e-mail]
BMW 520 e12
BMW e12
BMW e12 South Africa
BMW e12 uk

[@E12m535i]

Great colour and very interesting with its uniqueness. Don’t see many early models.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much

[@fredsshed266]

Looks solid. Good luck with the restoration. It's nice to see another e12 being saved in the UK

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much. Looking forward to it

[@markonmotoring]

Great video. It looks like you have a nice example and other than the radio it looks to be fairly original and complete. Some new tyres, a service and a good clean and this could be back on the road. Everything else can be done over the but it's much better seeing a slightly worn survivor than not seeing the car at all. 👍

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you. Absolutely, it’s all complete and there’s plenty of work that will keep me entertained for some time.

[@automotivetales]

Gosh I love this car so much! Where was it stored all these years? I swear there was a similar colour one in Elland in West Yorkshire for many years in a small garage

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you. The full story is on another video, but due to privacy reasons, I could not tell in public the reasons why the car was stored. I can tell that between 2008 and 2022 the car was in a warehouse (hence the mice) and outside (which explains the damaged seals and cracked dash). It’s a shame as when I last had the car in 2004, the interior was almost immaculate.

[@Involvod]

What a beautiful beemer! I've always been a huge fan of the model that came after (E28) that looks very similar, my dad had one when I was a kid and I owned one in Malta, my favourite car for a long time (before Volvos took over) I'm so excited for you mate and even more excited for you to get it running!

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you! I had a couple of E28’s as well and liked them very much. Looking forward to this project as it more of a long term thing.

[@liketolook1]

Glad it's arrived. Nice little project ahead. I'm sure it will look alot better after a decent clean 👌

[@GentilsGarage]

Indeed. Looking forward to it

[@francoisswanepoel9722]

Looking forward for the next video, i wonder if bmw sa didn't do customizing custom orders as to mine car is also unique.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you. I thought about the possibility of a custom order

[@ClaudiuHEG]

Nice. I subscribed to your channel

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much

[@richlee509]

535i replica? With M54 3.0 engine and 6 speed box ?

[@GentilsGarage]

I would have loved to do that, but it’s hardly plug n play. Also costly and very time consuming fitting everything and having to adapt the car to a new setup, mounts, suspensions, prop shaft, suspension, diff, clocks… Cheaper to buy an E46 again and get a 330ci. The alternative would be to get a period M30 engine as it would easier to fit and adapt. Less messing around with electronics too. Simpler to put dual Webber carbs and fit a period manual gearbox and stiffer suspension. However, the priority now is to have the car roadworthy and get the engine to run properly.

[@luedriver]

running around the car checking if the doors are locked reminds me of my childhood

[@GentilsGarage]

It was mine too when my dad had a 1974 Audi 100ls.

[@vikingsystem]

Portuguese? ACP logo in the rear (automóvel clube de Portugal) and the portuguese flag, also de IPO (portuguese MOT) label

[@GentilsGarage]

That’s correct. It was bought is South Africa, but It has spent most of its life in Portugal. A video with the full story will be up in a few weeks

[@vikingsystem]

@@GentilsGarage Nice vídeo mate, e não sabia que eras tuga 😁

[@GentilsGarage]

@@vikingsystem muito obrigado!

[@legendsznsing1865]

very cool bro ready too see plans for it!

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you!

[@fhwolthuis]

Beautiful car! Looking forward to following this project 👍🏻😀

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much!

[@fhwolthuis]

@@GentilsGarage has this been built in South Africa?

[@GentilsGarage]

@@fhwolthuis yes, at Rosslyn from CKD’s built in Munich

[@mattsbeamer]

What a wonderful car you have. I wish I could buy back some of my old BMWs from the past. I look forward to the next part.

[@Involvod]

Me too!

[@MissSharkDigital]

Looking great 😊

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much!

[@mikulanbatako7127]

I’m restoring my 520a also very similar car would love to swap notes as yours has the bonnet I wanted to find very small differences but all so similar

[@GentilsGarage]

Nice one. I’ll happily do that with you. There are a couple of BMW E12 groups on FB so please feel free to share photos too.

[@SB_170]

You say it’s all original but then say it had a full re spray? I would think it was sprayed in a non BMW colour then if it’s not a BMW colour.

[@GentilsGarage]

It is the original colour all over, but was resprayed in exact the same colour after I sold it. The colour never changed. The respray was done around 2005 on the outside only. It still has the original colour AND factory paint under the carpets, boot and engine bay. Just as I remember when I had the car nearly 20 years ago. The South African BMW’s had a different colour pallet compared to the ones made in Munich. Less than a handful of colours were the same between the Rosslyn and Munich cars. Also, there are many other things that are different between the South African and the German made cars.

[@3vom918]

Was it repainted in the UK and someone got the colour wrong?

[@GentilsGarage]

No, the car has only just arrived from Portugal. I looked every single bit of bodywork and the only respray was on the exterior. Hasn’t changed since I owned it 29 years ago. It’s all the same colour and could well be the one called “Castan”, only available to South African cars and it is a shade of light brown light brown with a hint or orange. Unfortunately, most production records from South Africa regarding pre facelift cars have disappeared and therefore impossible to trace anymore details. Only found one picture of a car in this colour, which is on the video.

[@steven72764]

Interesting story

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you