Bauer Help

[Steve H]

Hi all, I am usually found lurking on the TVR forum but need a bit of help from you guys. My Father in Law is looking at a 3 series "Bauer" on a Y reg at the weekend and I know absolutley nothing about these.

Can anyone give me any tips or hints....the person selling wants £2k and apparantly it is in good condition, my FIL saw it at a classic car show and the guy seemed quite an enthusiast.

Cheers

[wrighty78]

Any idea what engine it is?

Check for rust. Everywhere. I'd be looking particularly at wings (inner and outer, front and rear), jacking points, bottom of the windscreen, boot floor, shock absorber towers, etc.

And listen out for knocks and thumps from the suspension. Bushes and shock-absorber mounts and so on tend to wear out.

And then obvious stuff like making sure the cab roof seals are in good nick, all the electrics work, that the auto box (if it is auto) changes smoothly without knocks or thumps etc.

The four-pot engines can be a bit "tappety" - might just need valves adjusting.

The four pots of this era were chain driven and the six-pots belt drive, so check belt done recently if the latter.

The cabriolet looks aren't to everyone's liking - the later convertible model is probably a cleaner design - but prices for the cabs are lower as a result.

Mechanical parts should all be readily available. But I've no idea how easy it is to get replacement targa roof and soft-tops.

That's just a starter for ten. No doubt others will be along with other points to check.

And there's loads more info here: http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html

[Steve H]

Thanks for the reply, on this year what would the model be? E30, E39 etc etc?

Edited by Steve H on Monday 9th August 11:38

[wrighty78]

At Y reg (1982-83) you're on the cusp of E21 and E30. My guess is it will be the earlier E21.