1977 BMW 730 E23
Discussion
I bought this back in 2012 as a bit of a retro stop gap. I originally intended to buy it, use up the rest of it's MOT and then break it for parts for another E23 I had (728i manual).
What I hadn't realised that under all the muck it was actually a REALLY solid example albeit with shocking paint work. I hadn't twigged until a few weeks after driving it how low miles it was... I bought it with under 16K on the clock. Any notion if breaking it went out of the window, infact I sold the 728i manual instead.
I actually had some MOTs dating back to 1988, in it's first 10 years it had done circa 1K miles.
MOT Date - Mileage
May '88 - 1,194
May '90 - 1,676
May '92 - 2,726
May '94 - 4,676
Sep '99 - 15,751
Jun '07 - 15,780
Aug '08 - 15,838
Sep '11 - 15,872
There is a risk that the speedo has been swapped before 1988, however these cars rust big time and are generally unloved and many got weighed in. I believe this was a cherished example that did minimal miles and as such has been preserved in such a state. The condition of the interior, engine bay and underside make me believe the mileage is genuine. As I write this it has just ticked over 19K.
I got the car cleaned up, lowered it slightly and fitted some 17" BBS style 5s
Then it got some 17" BBS reps, 10J out back
Alongside my E30 3.5 track car
Last summer I tried 16" RH Toplines 8.5J and 9.5J, I wasn't really sold on them so I went back to the 17" BBS reps
What I hadn't realised that under all the muck it was actually a REALLY solid example albeit with shocking paint work. I hadn't twigged until a few weeks after driving it how low miles it was... I bought it with under 16K on the clock. Any notion if breaking it went out of the window, infact I sold the 728i manual instead.
I actually had some MOTs dating back to 1988, in it's first 10 years it had done circa 1K miles.
MOT Date - Mileage
May '88 - 1,194
May '90 - 1,676
May '92 - 2,726
May '94 - 4,676
Sep '99 - 15,751
Jun '07 - 15,780
Aug '08 - 15,838
Sep '11 - 15,872
There is a risk that the speedo has been swapped before 1988, however these cars rust big time and are generally unloved and many got weighed in. I believe this was a cherished example that did minimal miles and as such has been preserved in such a state. The condition of the interior, engine bay and underside make me believe the mileage is genuine. As I write this it has just ticked over 19K.
I got the car cleaned up, lowered it slightly and fitted some 17" BBS style 5s
Then it got some 17" BBS reps, 10J out back
Alongside my E30 3.5 track car
Last summer I tried 16" RH Toplines 8.5J and 9.5J, I wasn't really sold on them so I went back to the 17" BBS reps
It is a nice car. I also think the mileage is probably genuine - or if the speedo was replaced, that it was replaced on a low mileage car.
These were terrible for rust and most of them were in poor condition by 1990. The depreciation suffered on this model of 7 Series was horrendous, so a lot of cars fell into uncaring hands fairly quickly.
I also think the interior is just too good for the car to have done many miles.
I am glad you have saved it, though I personally think the wheels are too big and the car sits too low!
These things are very much a personal taste though!
These were terrible for rust and most of them were in poor condition by 1990. The depreciation suffered on this model of 7 Series was horrendous, so a lot of cars fell into uncaring hands fairly quickly.
I also think the interior is just too good for the car to have done many miles.
I am glad you have saved it, though I personally think the wheels are too big and the car sits too low!
These things are very much a personal taste though!
Over the summer the engine had started using coolant at an alarming rate and the bodywork/paintwork was getting to a tipping point. I weighed up selling it but decided to sort it out.
Before
TIME FOR DRASTIC ACTION!!
Cylinder 6 head gasket blown, the head was sent for skimming, everything consumable on the engine was replaced
At the bodyshop...
And done!
The respray and engine work were finished about a month ago after numerous setbacks. The engine was reassembled to find there was no oil pressure, and once that was resolved it was still showing signs of overheating. It turns out the brand new thermostat was faulty!
I had promised the car for a friend's wedding at it went right down to the wire to fix the engine, the car was finally fixed on the Thursday with the wedding on the Saturday, phew!
Before
TIME FOR DRASTIC ACTION!!
Cylinder 6 head gasket blown, the head was sent for skimming, everything consumable on the engine was replaced
At the bodyshop...
And done!
The respray and engine work were finished about a month ago after numerous setbacks. The engine was reassembled to find there was no oil pressure, and once that was resolved it was still showing signs of overheating. It turns out the brand new thermostat was faulty!
I had promised the car for a friend's wedding at it went right down to the wire to fix the engine, the car was finally fixed on the Thursday with the wedding on the Saturday, phew!
Thanks all for the comments. It's now destined for sunny days and car shows! Having spent so much getting the body right this will help it remain low mileage :P
. I'm currently in the phase of my life where I lower everything and fit rimz :P But I've done everything so it's reversible.
dbdb said:
It is a nice car. I also think the mileage is probably genuine - or if the speedo was replaced, that it was replaced on a low mileage car.
These were terrible for rust and most of them were in poor condition by 1990. The depreciation suffered on this model of 7 Series was horrendous, so a lot of cars fell into uncaring hands fairly quickly.
I also think the interior is just too good for the car to have done many miles.
I am glad you have saved it, though I personally think the wheels are too big and the car sits too low!
These things are very much a personal taste though!
All it would take for the car to go back to standard is to re-fit the original springs and bolt the original steels back on These were terrible for rust and most of them were in poor condition by 1990. The depreciation suffered on this model of 7 Series was horrendous, so a lot of cars fell into uncaring hands fairly quickly.
I also think the interior is just too good for the car to have done many miles.
I am glad you have saved it, though I personally think the wheels are too big and the car sits too low!
These things are very much a personal taste though!
. I'm currently in the phase of my life where I lower everything and fit rimz :P But I've done everything so it's reversible.
Thanks all for the comments, it makes all the effort, stress and money seem worth while! 
The engine, well frankly, was a bloody nightmare. A head gasket set with all gaskets was £100, all brand new coolant hoses was approx £170, thermostat/waterpump/oil filter/consumables/belts/fluids another £100 at least, head skim and pressure test £120. £240 mates rates for a mechanic friend to help me out in an hour of need over a course of a week and a garage bill of approx £300+ when I was really up against it before the wedding. Let's chuck another £150 on top for stuff I've forgot!! In the end I was chucking money at it to get it working before the wedding. I also have numerous 80s BMWs that I nicked bits off, IE the oil pump...
JatHanspal said:
Awesome looking car mate, great job.
I often think about such a project, but have no idea on what the costs involved would be. What does such a respray/repair and engine rebuild cost? Am I right if thinking around £4-5k mark for all this?
Thanks. I got mates rates on the welding, bodywork, prep and painting which I'm not allowed to disclose! The guy who did is a friend who I help out with storage. I think for a similar job you'd be looking at £3K+. I often think about such a project, but have no idea on what the costs involved would be. What does such a respray/repair and engine rebuild cost? Am I right if thinking around £4-5k mark for all this?
The engine, well frankly, was a bloody nightmare. A head gasket set with all gaskets was £100, all brand new coolant hoses was approx £170, thermostat/waterpump/oil filter/consumables/belts/fluids another £100 at least, head skim and pressure test £120. £240 mates rates for a mechanic friend to help me out in an hour of need over a course of a week and a garage bill of approx £300+ when I was really up against it before the wedding. Let's chuck another £150 on top for stuff I've forgot!! In the end I was chucking money at it to get it working before the wedding. I also have numerous 80s BMWs that I nicked bits off, IE the oil pump...
0a said:
I really like it on those wheels!
How do you find it drives? I briefly owned one and it was good fun - but definitely had that old school BMW bite at the back in the wet - care was required (though I suspect the tyres were reasonably old!).
It goes at it's own pace How do you find it drives? I briefly owned one and it was good fun - but definitely had that old school BMW bite at the back in the wet - care was required (though I suspect the tyres were reasonably old!).
It's a carb 3 speed auto so it's not the liveliest thing about, that said I think it's more to do with the antiquated auto box than anything. The engines are supposed to be approx 184bhp I think so it's not slow but the box does hold back the responsiveness of the car, and with an open diff it's quite hard to provoke a slide. Obviously it's lower than it should be so it doesn't ride as well as it could. exgtt said:
What is the colour of this lovely motor? My Dad had a e21 323i in the same colour and I still don't know what it is? Thank you
Erm I'm not actually sure! I love the colour though and never would have changed it. Having a quick google it looks like it's reseda green!absolutely love it mate. BBS and how it sits suits it down to a tee - nice to see you went through the head ache to get it driving and looking spot on rather than throw the towel in and having another E23 potentially getting binned. nice one!
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 4th June 09:37
exgtt said:
What is the colour of this lovely motor? My Dad had a e21 323i in the same colour and I still don't know what it is? Thank you
I owned an E21 315 in the same colour but never found out what it was called.Think mine was a Y reg.
Had exactly the same interior trim as well.
Love the look of the 70s/80s Beemers
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