This 1972 BMW Bavaria project has been stored indoors and off the road for at least the last six years. The seller states that there is very little body rust and has listed it for sale as a Barn Finds Auction. The seller has posted an incredible number of detailed pictures in the gallery below. At some point, the vehicle was in an accident and the front end was removed and replaced with the front end of a 1974 Bavaria. The car is in Pasadena, California and you can bid below.
I’ve seen a lot of Bavarias over the years and almost all of them (unless they have been restored) are a lot rustier than this one. That being said, there are some issues that will have to be addressed by the future owner, like this right rear corner area. Trivia time: did you know that the Bavaria is the only BMW model ever to have a non-numeric name? That was thanks to Max Hoffman, the person in charge of BMW imports to the USA at the time. He decided that it was a good idea to package the 3.0 liter, six-cylinder car as slightly different, and it worked. Even at a list price of just under $5,000 sales were good!
You can also see some issues on the left side, but there’s also a lot of good sheet metal here. The seller has been stripping the car to bare metal in order to repair the damage and estimates that it is 70% bare metal or primer at this point. While it hasn’t been on the road since the work was started, the seller has kept it registered in California and the original custom legacy black plates come with the car, which read “72BMWE3”.
The interior of the car looks pretty nice as well. Not only the upholstery but the carpets and headliner are original as well. I do see an issue with the driver’s seat, but hopefully, that can be a localized repair.
It appears that much and possibly all of the trim and smaller removed items are included. The automatic transmission is said to be in good working order and is with the car as well.
This is a picture of the engine as it sits today and the seller states that it was running and driving when the engine was removed in 2017. The seller is including a new driveshaft that was purchased for the car. Be sure and check out the detailed pictures and let us know what you think about this cool German find!
- Location: Pasadena, California
- Mileage: 89,000
- Engine: Inline Six
- Transmission: Automatic
- VIN: 3131806
- Title Status: Clean
Bid On This Auction
kalare bid $500.00 2022-08-12 12:40:31
dosperros bid $300.00 2022-08-05 21:49:09
Looked like in 2017 this was a pretty nice driver. What a shame. The amount of pictures are great. The legacy plates are a cool touch also. The seller would be better off putting the motor back in and parts back on to avoid further damage.
I can’t justify shipping to the East Coast in a paint stripped body flashing rust along the way. Then the engine out and everything off the car getting jumbled around in shipping. Especially that seemingly nice interior. I wince at the thought at seeing things out of place and general helter skelter. Not to mention broken and damaged bits. The thought of something missing or what is that and where does it go becomes I have been there done that already due to a low priced prolect
The shipping aspect isn’t much better. Only 20% of transporters have a winch. They prefer to have a vehicle to run and stop. Because this doesn’t means you pay what someone feels it’s worth to them to go to the location and work this on their trailer and hopefully not move it on the way back before reaching the destination.
Hopfully a buyer can be found local.
Why was the engine removed to begin with?
The engine was removed to prep for bodywork and paint. The transmission and driveshaft are both out as well. All parts were in working order when removed.