1975 E12 BMW 520

[Jimmy No Hands]

I sold my Corrado VR6 earlier this year, as it was never intended to be long term, and was just really on my list of "to own" cars. I'm fortunate enough to have main use of a more modern car so over the past year or so I've sort of been going through a list of more budget interesting vehicles to use occasionally, and something to work on on an evening. I do have an ongoing 1982 Mk1 Golf project, but is currently mostly in cardboard boxes, and what remains is awaiting some welding and fabrication. (Once I find the motivation that is)

Over the past year or two I've had the pleasure of an E30, a Porsche 944, a 1982 Golf GL and a Corrado VR6. Each had their own merits and I enjoyed every single one. With the Golf off the road for the summer I seized an opportunity of a gap in the fleet and kept scouring the classifieds for something remotely interesting. I came very close to picking up a 924, as I'm fairly familiar with them and at their current prices, I think they're a bargain. I also flirted with the idea of a 1984 Saab 99 GL just for the sake of having something different for a change.

I then found this 5 series, and knowing absolutely nothing about them, other than they seem fairly uncommon, stuck a bid on eBay. It was very keenly priced and looked like a brilliant car for the money. The seller emailed me the next day and informed me the car had sold, so I forgot about it up until this weekend when he informed me the seller had not turned up. Long story short I ended up phoning the seller and taking the opportunity to buy the car before it went again. Anyway, enough rambling.

It's a 1975 BMW 520 with the M10 Twin Stromberg carbs, 3 speed automatic. It's got a genuine 77,900 miles and comes with a full service history & inspections in 5,000 mile increments dating back to day 1. The last was from a main dealer at 75,000 miles. I've got the original hand book, a copy of nearly every MOT, and the seller had the carbs re-tuned, and some other minor work done only a week ago to the sum of £220. The tool kit is complete, and I have both keys. I'm led to believe it started life as a demo vehicle and was with the first owner for 23 years. The auto box is smooth as silk, and it's astonishingly composed and quiet. The seats are properly comfy, and all the electrics work as intended. It makes the E30 I owned look truly agricultural in comparison.

I know it's an auto, and it's the least desirable engine in the E12 range, but I think I'm smitten already. There's a patch of rust on the fuel filler cap, but as its a removable item I don't think it'll be more than an afternoon job. The rear arches have a very slight bit of bubbling on the inside. The sill had a repair for the last MOT, but other wise all look fairly solid. The bright work is really good too! It's got a test till December, and I've just stuck 6 months tax on. Here are a few pictures, unfortunately they're the sellers from the advert, but I'll put some better ones on in the next few days when I get chance.










Oh yeah, I paid £750.

[M159V8]

Absolutely love these Quite an eccentric colour too

[martin mrt]

Bargain!!! Fantastic buy, looks a tidy example too

[kamilb1998]

Love these, your example looks very tidy.

[Amirhussain]

Old school BMWs

[Synchromesh]

Fantastic classic BMW. I think some black/white (old style) plates would make it look better still though.

[deltashad]

Single wing mirror, all the polished hub caps, apart from the metallic paint looks very poverty spec. Stunning!

I love E12s

[Jimmy No Hands]

Thanks for the comments. Apart from some light maintenance and some preventative measures regarding corrosion, I'm going to keep it standard and just enjoy it. The gear box has a slight leak, but it is very slight. I need to pick up some ATF and just keep my eye on the level, I'm not overly concerned at this point as it apparently doesn't get any worse, but just in case, I'll be the judge of that. Also need to get into the habit of remembering to put the additive in when I fill up. I'm going to take the wiper arms off and drop them in some oxalic acid over night and then give them a lick of paint, as they have a bit of surface corrosion.

Ideally in the long term I'd like to get the whole car resprayed in the original color. While some areas are really well kept, the offside passenger door is suffering from some micro blistering, possibly a reaction from storage. The roof has been re-done, but it isn't the best job by a long shot. Luckily I have some friendly paint contacts and if I sacrifice a day on the prep myself, won't be horrendously expensive to get it done.

Might take the old girl to a few shows

[gforceg]

Was that colour called "garnet"? I think it may have been.

My dad had a polaris silver 520 from new many years ago. Very smart car in its day.

[Jimmy No Hands]

So far I've just cleaned up the wipers and re-painted them so they look a bit tidier, also done some other miscellaneous bits of trim. I took out the wire brush attachment and cleaned up the front lip. It does have a few small pin holes that will eventually be cut out, but for now it has all been rust treated and painted. Arches are next on the list for a tidy up.

It's a fantastic summer evening car, windows down and going no where fast.

[ClaphamGT3]

Very nice! My Grandmother had a thistle green 525i that was a year newer? Looking at these photos I'd forgotten how clean and simple their lines were - inside and out

[Fromaffar]

That's a great car. If you were to park it up in a trendy part of London with a for sale sign in the window you could double your money with ease.

[Codswallop]

I like that very much. So much more interesting than a modern 5 series

[Jimmy No Hands]

I've also picked up a 520 badge for the front grille. I believe this luxury was reserved for the posh folk with their fancy injection models (and some extra cylinders) so I am debating whether to attach it or not, as I kind of like the look of them.

I also accidentally managed to spin the rear wheels today, turns out the old girl does have some oomph in her.

[rallycross]

Jimmy No Hands said:

I've also picked up a 520 badge for the front grille. I believe this luxury was reserved for the posh folk with their fancy injection models (and some extra cylinders) so I am debating whether to attach it or not, as I kind of like the look of them.

I also accidentally managed to spin the rear wheels today, turns out the old girl does have some oomph in her.

That was a nice feature on the 70's BMW eg you could spot if a 3 series was a bit special if there was that tiny grille badge

323

ie move out the way!

[DougMcC]

Very very nice! Also a good price as well.

[Sparkzz]

Love this;
Is the paint supposed to look faded? It looks great like that!

[muckymotor]

I spotted this car on ebay and was tempted as it was only down the road from me. I've got two cars already though plus my wife's car so storage is becoming a bit of an issue. It looks a bargain to me though.

[Jimmy No Hands]

Well it actually sold to a buyer in Ireland, and my offer was rejected. He messaged me a few days after asking if I was still interested as he had not turned up and said he wasn't going to. I was due to go see a 924 the same day and I ended up winning this instead. Don't regret it now, it's a peach.

[Stuart Thompson]

Loving the fact it's a proper old one with the filler next to the no. plate. These models seemed non exist ant 20 years ago let alone now. Absolutely fabulous.