I think I’m just about ready to begin this BMW restoration. I’ve got the service manual, loads of new parts, a bunch of metal shaping tools, sheets of steel and a lot of backup via the excellent web forum at e9coupe.com. I can’t say enough about the quality and depth of the postings there.

Spring is here and I’m finishing up the transmission project in the garage that’s keeping the E9 parked in the driveway. Many parts have arrived over the two years. Wow, it’s been that long… An order from Eastwood.com with a plasma cutter and orbital sander along with primers and paints are in transit to me as I write this.

Space is still an issue in the garage. It’s a single bay with a row of shelves along one side. There are overhead racks storing boxes. There’s enough room to work, but once I start taking the car apart, the seats, dash, engine and transmission will have to go somewhere to let me work on the body. I’ll have to build another storage closet under the front steps to keep things under control. The 75 square foot shed I built in the back yard has helped a lot, and a few more things will fit, but it’s pretty full.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update. Lots of things to do in the new house. Painting, installing new kitchen cabinets, etc. It’s winter now, so can’t say it’s too hot in the garage, a real problem in the summer.

The E9 hasn’t been forgotten. Though it’s been under a tarp in the driveway most of the time, I did get to drive it to a small nearby town for some beer and bratwurst with some neighbors who also own old BMWs. I’ve been ordering parts that I know I’ll need when I get the car put back together. The latest find is a bearing puller for the input bearing in the transmission. I had almost given up finding one when my search on ebay came thorough with the exact model puller spec’d by the factory service manual. As long as the noisy bearing is one of the two 6306 bearings, I’ll be set. The smaller needle bearings are no longer available. My engineering friend tells me that the needle bearings spread the load and so should be more durable than the ball bearing roller bearings, so let’s hope that proves to be true.

I have also bought a later cylinder head in case the original head is cracked. The early ones have larger openings and are prone to cracking from the exhaust valve seat to the water passage. I got one of the later heads, an ’82 according to its stamp, from a 6 series car. I hope I don’t need it, but I can practice setting the valves, which does need to be done to my engine.

There are many other parts waiting to go in after the car get painted, new brake lines, rotors, motor and transmission mounts & seals, wheel and strut bearings. I don’t want to have lingering maintenance items, so I’ll take care of everything I can while I have the car apart. I bought a MaxJax car lift to assist in the restoration. It’s going to be a tight fit in the garage, but it will be worth it. I have yet to wire the garage for it. That’s next.

The car has continued to rust while sitting outside, Under the windows is the most worrisome part. I knew I had to pull the windows to fix the rusting correctly, I just don’t want any more water getting in for now. I’ve had to buy another car cover as the cheap one I had has been beaten by the wind and is wearing through at the corners.

I plan to post quite a bit more regularly when I get this restoration started.