Terrible state but epic car BMW 3.0 CSL 1975 E9

In this video I tackle the front end alignment which is tricky with little to go by. I didn't remove the front end myself which makes it much more difficult to rebuild.

[@zorngottes1778]

You got it right. This cars front allways was death trap. Its really difficult to rebuild. The reason is the combination of the old 2000 cs body with the new e 3 front axle and the 6 cylinder motor.

[@krzysztof9129]

An E9 owner, who's restored his car told me that depite the dimension monitoring (in all axis) and strenghtening during sill and pillar repair car changed his geometry after the engine was installed as all the gaps in front were lost from ideal to really poor ones. These had crafted cars bodies are very "elastic" and it makes the restoration process very challenging. Hope you will find it useful. Keep for your patientce and motivation. Great job and take care!

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Thanks for the info, I'm used to certain cars moving about when jacked up vs on there wheels for example triumph TR's and Morris minor convertible's but I would have never expected the E9 to move just inserting the engine. I had better place the engine in at some point and check it. Cheers 👍

[@RJPeacock]

Looking forward to seeing your progress, and what a great car you're working on.

[@philipgreer9811]

I have an e9cs and i cannot get the door to sit in flush with the sill after fitting a doorskin i have the swage lines all even and door to wing all good but it wont go in at the bottom its fine near front wing but way out at the b post can anyone help PLEASE

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Hi, is it a case of twisting the door to correct the alignment ? The skin if not sealed/ welded will allow the twisting of the door. Once it's aligned then you can seal or tack weld the door to hold its position.

[@stephenlmckeown1439]

You have a hart like a lion 😂😂

[@alastairwatson3201]

What a great project, Ben! Any more videos coming up? I’d love to see how the car turns out.

[@bensclassicbodywork]

👍 I do plan to make more videos on this car as it progresses. probably be a few weeks before the next update. I like have several projects on the go at a time.

[@tomthompson7400]

Good methodical approach ,, its a slow way of working , but its the only way.

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Thank you, and agreed it's a slow process. It will be rewarding in the end I think being a bit of a challenge.

[@_markos_4147]

Ben, I think my comment didn’t post. Amazing Please go online and join the e9coupe forum. There are a number of panels sold by other vendors that W&N doesn’t carry. That includes the seat reinforcement and strut top that you fabricated. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the car, but if it is a genuine Alpina CSL it is quite a bit more valuable than a standard CSL. I’m sure your customer is aware however. - Markos

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Hi Markos. Thanks so much for the very helpful message, I will check out the forum and panel suppliers 👍. I'm not familiar with the car and haven't restored one before, I did check the chassis number to confirm it was a genuine CSL but will check again about the Alpina designation, sounds interesting.

[@krzysztof9129]

@@bensclassicbodywork e9coupe forum is the most valuable forum for E9 and E3 owners. It has CSL specific section so you can clarify all doubts and count of kind and professional help in almost any topic. Really wort to join.

[@ferdiyurdakul]

I wish you were close to me. I would have worked for free for you, day and night. Weekdays and weekends. So i can learn from you

[@bensclassicbodywork]

wow, what a compliment, you have some serious enthusiasm there. Nice to hear someone so passionate about what they want to do. Hope it works out for you. 👍👍

[@ferdiyurdakul]

@@bensclassicbodywork I've even tried my local college in Wales, they won't except me. Apparently I need to be working somewhere. Oh well. Keep up the good work.

[@keithgarland3404]

Good tips, good workmanship.

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Thank you 👍

[@brianshorey]

Love your videos. Also, I really appreciate the little tips you throw in, like squaring up the edges of the clamps with the grinder.

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Thanks very much for the encouragement. I enjoy making the videos 👍

[@krzysztof9129]

Thanks for the movie and the explanation. The number of hours is unbelievable. Is it the best body work you have had experienced? Can we expect more movies of the job including earlier steps as it is very interesting. Take care!

[@bensclassicbodywork]

You're welcome, yes I intend on doing some more videos on this car. The amount of work to restore it is substantial and quite challenging. Unfortunately I didn't take any film of work previously and only have pictures. I appreciate the feedback on the video, helps me to decide what type of videos people want to see.

[@krzysztof9129]

@@bensclassicbodywork thanks for fast feedback. Maybe a movie made as a slideshow of the previous achievements on that car would be an idea? CSL are so rare. Some can also be interested in the description of the previous history of the car and former repairs he's had which will tell more about possible damages. Just an idea. I enjoyed your material. Thanks again 👍

[@bensclassicbodywork]

I'll see what photos I've got, I could certainly do a narrated slideshow like vw bay window van. I don't know any of the history of the car unfortunately.

[@eldontyrell4361]

Can’t wait for more videos. How did you learn how to do this, how long have you been doing this? I’m young and this is what I wanna do.

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Hi and thanks for the enthusiasm. I've been doing this as a profession for around 20 years, I trained as an engineer working with lathes and milling machines but was repairing colleagues cars in my spare time (mot stuff). I built up enough experience in the end to start doing classics and left my engineering job to per-sue a self employed life restoring cars but I was mobile and was driving out to peoples houses and using their garages. I took a restoration training course which really helped a lot and bought DVD's of Ron Covell, this was before YT. I also worked for a few garages after that one or two days a week and learnt a bit from others still self employed. Finally I had enough work to sustain myself full time and built a workshop at my parents place where I am now, It's been a long process and it would have been much easier getting a job with a restoration company to learn the trade. There is an amazing amount of videos on YT now at all levels and that will be a big help to anyone wanting to do this job. It's just a case of choosing who you are going to listen to, each restorer has their own ideas of the best way to do something.

[@eldontyrell4361]

@@bensclassicbodywork Thanks for the reply

[@DirkWrightxyz]

Wow, that is a very rare and desirable car. Great work!

[@bensclassicbodywork]

Thank you. I didn't realise this car was the start of BMW M cars, never driven one but I would certainly like to.