To this day, my ears still perk up if I hear of a European-market car come up for sale. As a clearly hopeless automotive enthusiast, I like to make my life more painful by not only buying cars with demanding maintenance schedules but also those that come loaded with parts that were never sold stateside (and are often in limited supply overseas.) That’s why this gray market 1984 BMW 635 CSI checks so many boxes for me – it’s a desirable BMW model in any form, but the fact it’s a European-spec car makes it even more tempting. Find it here on craigslist for $19,500.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find. Side note: Mitchell seems to know exactly what kind of vehicles I like, since I write up about a half-dozen of his finds a week! Anyhow, this is what’s known as an E24-chassis 6-Series BMW, also known affectionately by the BMW faithful as the “Shark.” While BMW has always had a large two-door grand tourer in its lineup over the years, the E24 is really the only one that has remained desirable to pick up even in project form. Later cars got too complicated with too many electronic features and other nonsense that made restoring one cost prohibitive. Fortunately, this appears to be a clean example that doesn’t need a major overhaul. And, as a Euro-market example, it has the desirable chrome bumpers, front air dam, and likely H4 lighting.
The 6-Series has some of the comfiest seats known to man, along with this nifty two-bucket rear seat setup. There’s no bench here; the center armrest and cushion clearly discourages conveyance of more that three passengers besides the driver. The U.S. cars came with a rather bulbous center console in the rear that housed separate HVAC controls and storage; clearly, the Europeans didn’t see the need for such luxuries. The pictures of the front seats are slightly wonky, but if you check out the listing, you’ll see a set of desirable factory Recaros with excellent upholstery.
The 3.5L M30 – also known as the Senior Six – is one of the best engines ever put into a car, period. Extremely robust and known for racking up big miles, it enjoys a similar reputation to Mercedes’ W123 drivetrains in the BMW community but with one key difference: this is a terrific highway motor, and it provides loads of torque that makes it happy to cruise in slow traffic or be wound up and out on the interstate. Parts are still available but you shouldn’t need to replace much besides cooling system and ignition components. The seller notes the tires are old and the A/C compressor doesn’t work, but otherwise, it mostly just needs to be driven. I couldn’t agree more!
Good choice. One of their best and the bonus is the stick in the middle. One of the much better Craigslist ads we’ve seen-seller really has his wheels aligned judging by the ad layout.
This model 635 is nicer yet if for no other reason the euro spec bumpers make it easy on the eyes; that it’s a better performer than the U.S. versions (I’m told) doesn’t hurt either.
Got to be hard parting with this sweetie.
You’re not seeing many of these any more, and too bad, because it’s cars like these that made a BMW a BMW, not like the post 2000 over-engineered, over-complicated and over-plasticized cars that wear the roundel. I’ve always liked the mid 80s Six series. There’s no wonder the first Acura Legends borrowed its styling.
Oh, I’ve been seeing lot of it lately! Ben Whishaw tools around London in one with Keira Knightly in “Black Doves” on AppleTV.
https://motorheadmama.com/what-would-a-killer-drive-the-cars-of-black-doves/
That second picture from the rear real briefly looked like a Turbo Coupe. I had to blink. I always liked these though.
My dad shipped a BEAUTIFUL gold colored automatic trans. example after buying it, destroyed on the Autobahn. Sent back to the factory.
They rebuilt flawlessly in about 10 weeks time and shipped to U.S.
Sold years later with with 116,000+ miles.
The twilight of the American malaise era made Euro-spec cars very attractive. The power gap between them was the greatest it ever was. Not sure with this car, but the 1983 Porsche Euro 928S had 300 hp to the US spec 235. I bet BMW had similar hp differences between them.
That made grey market cars worth the hassle to many enthusiasts.
Didn’t Jean Lindamood (RIP) restore a racing version with many aluminum parts about twenty years back? From the 2002 to the 323 these seemed to be the ideal car to modify to your tastes. What happened to the engineers that were at the cutting edge of the day? They couldn’t have all be grassed at the same time, or were they? That the German makes are poor facsimiles of their older cousins is not in question, where they are and what are they doing makes me wonder. I always thought a first rate staff with a small assembly line plant and reasonable sales goals and earned mark-up would be able to beat the line, no matter who hits the gong. 20k sales of a basic driving two door with rear drive and bullet-proof build would be a hit no matter where it was assembled. My preference would be Canada as the dollar is 68 cents today. That a great many closed but fairly new plants and an educated workforce needing another chance are in place to show those fool Yanks letting that illegal South African run amok. Win-win, right? Or has the omnipresent wind from off the east side of the Rockies turned my brain to mush? One if by land……….
Yes, this one. This is the car that I want!
I have always wanted one of these! If I was in a position to buy it, I think I would look at it very closely and it could be the one. There aren’t going to be any more of them and the price isn’t going down.
With this sales price, the seller would basically recoup $18,951 USD in repair receipts. After that, he gets $549 USD for the car. BMWs are extremely expensive to own, maintain and repair. And the next $3,500 USD of investment are already waiting in the wings (tires are old and the A/C compressor doesn’t work). Enthusiasm and excitement for the E24 series aside, think long and hard before buying: If you’re not a master mechanic with special tools and equipment, you need deeeep pockets.
I have an ’83 5 speed that is not quite as nice as this one that I am driving and gradually working on, a U.S. spec 633csi that has always been a West Coast no rust car. I wish the seller all of the luck in the world with his pricing – bodes well for mine. I have thought about doing a bumper conversion, but they really don’t bother me as they are, and I am all about originality.
Gorgeous. Love the Euro spec bumpers. I need some for my 533i
Stunning car from the days when I would sketch them longingly. This will be a lot of fun once the minor(ish) issues are sorted. GLWTS!