Can you imagine driving home your dream project car only to park it and never turn a wrench on it for a decade or more? That seems to be the case with this 1974 BMW 3.0CS, one of the more desirable BMW models offered in the modern era. Known for its gorgeous styling and grand touring qualities, the E9 coupe has long been a cherished item for collectors and its value has held fairly steady even in the tumultuous post-pandemic marketplace. This one looks like a sound project and doesn’t suffer from the rust most of them do. Find this 1974 3.0CS here on Facebook Marketplace for $24,950.

To some extent, you can see why this E9 ended up this way. There were so many cars, from Porsche 911s to Toyota Celicas, that came home as a project car for use at a later date, because they were available for throwaway money. The E9 was a grand tourer you could definitely buy for short money in the 1980s and well in the 90s, as the marketplace hadn’t realized just how many of them would be retired solely due to the extensive rust most of the project-grade examples suffered from. Factor into it that many of these vintage BMWs ended up in places where road salt was liberally used and it’s easy to imagine many of them being donated to the local scrapyard without a second thought.

This 3,0CS is located Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, not exactly a haven of salt-free roadways. However, if it was indeed brought home as the seller indicated before it spent more time in winter conditions, it’s easy to see why the undersides still look this good. I do see some rust on the quarter panel and fender in the photo above this one, as well as some small spots on the trunk lid. However, it really doesn’t look all that bad and the critical areas under the car appear quite sound. The real “money shots” are the ones that peer up into the fenders  which show little in the way of corrosion of any kind.

The fender and doors on the passenger side appear to be in better shape than the ones on the left, and of course, those gold BBS wheels look absolutely amazing against the red exterior. The 3.0L inline-six punched out a respectable 170 horsepower when new and is equipped with twin Zenith carbs from the factory. Throwing on some side drafts would make this E9 an absolute hoot while still maintaining its stately gran tourer dynamics. The asking price seems reasonable for a structurally sound project; we just need to see the vulnerable shock towers to call it a win.