Test drive BMW 635 CSi: Sometimes miracles happen
How Failed to Bust the Myth - Meeting a Young Automotive Veteran
Classic car owners and collectors are a special breed. Most of them have a lot of experience and solid abilities, requiring a sober look and good judgment in many life situations. And yet they are ready with beaming faces to listen to the story told in thousands of versions - how out of nowhere, as if by a miracle, a car that has been perfectly preserved for many years and several kilometers appears, kept in good conditions by caring old people who did not like to drive it much ...
Knowing this weakness among lovers of priceless scrap iron, it is natural to treat such a story with sharp skepticism. And really, how do you like the story of a 35-year-old man? BMW 635 CSi, recently discovered in full condition, not driven for 14 years, but ready to go? There is no rust on the body even with worn out brake pads from the factory kit, which is not surprising, because - attention! - This automotive miracle is 23 kilometers away!
Suppose we would like to classify such a fairy tale as an urban legend with an automobile plot, if the information did not come from an extremely serious source - Mr. Iskren Milanov, a well-known lover of automobile classics and chairman of the Auto Club. jaguar-bg. For the older readers of auto motor und sport magazine, he was a longtime acquaintance from the club's trip reports in 2007 and 2008, as well as the presentation of his perfectly restored Jaguar XJ 40. So instead of letting doubts prevail, we negotiate with Mr. Milanov a date for a photo session in the hope that this time a miracle really happened.
Parked in an underground garage not far from our familiar dark red Jaguar is a light beige BMW with the confident signature of Paul Braque. Chrome and other shiny details sparkle in the light of the lamps and create the feeling of an upcoming car holiday. When we get to the leather seats, when we go upstairs, we subconsciously expect the smell of new upholstery, familiar to us from test cars. This is certainly not happening, but deep down we still don’t believe that the car we’re driving left the Dingolfing factory over 35 years ago.
This is one of the first drives of the refurbished "six", so Mr. Milanov avoids fitting the powerful inline-six with 218 hp. However, his thick voice creates a rather sporty attitude, and at the time he respected much stronger and more expensive competitors. In the Auto Motor und Sport test (20/1978), the 635 CSi boldly takes on the eight-cylinder engine. Porsche 928 and Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 with 240 hp and in the sprint up to 100 km / h it is equal to Porsche and ahead of Mercedes, and up to 200 km / h it is about two seconds faster than its Stuttgart rivals.
Midnight luck
As we continue our encounter with this hero, who has suddenly risen with all his charm intact, we cannot wait to learn more about his almost magical survival. From the owner's comments, we understand that the car was not part of the collection, and its impeccable condition is due to a happy coincidence of many circumstances. And, of course, the will, enthusiasm and stubborn dedication of the person whose story we are about to hear.
“The theme of the car has never left me,” Mr. Milanov begins, “and in addition to my interest in the Jaguar brand, I always wanted to get another classic in which to invest not only money, but also time, effort and desire. bring her into a state of joy and pleasure. I created a database of about 350 dealers from all over the world, and one night at about 11 o'clock, while browsing their pages on the Internet, I came across this BMW. I literally lost sleep! It was offered by the Dutch company The Gallery Brummen, which at any given moment has about 350 classic cars in its assortment and is widely represented at all major classic car exhibitions.
The dealers uploaded a lot of photos and - to be fair - some of them showed the car below. Such photos are not always available in companies, but they won me over. I asked them to send me additional photos and when I saw them I just asked them to send me the contract.
After I bought the car and it arrived in Bulgaria, I had to abandon my prejudices and replace all wearing parts - brake pads, discs, etc. It was just that the car was, if not in excellent, then in very good technical condition.
The car was 23 kilometers away! She is 538 years old, has three owners living a mile or two apart, and all their addresses are near Lake Como, but in Switzerland, in one of the best areas. It is characteristic of this region that cars are less endangered there because the climate is more Italian. The last owner who said the BMW 35 CSi was struck off the register in December 635 was born in 2002.
After deregistration, the car did not move, was not serviced. I bought it in January 2016, that is, the car was in the garage for 14 years. Last year a Dutch trader bought it in Switzerland, and I already bought it in the Netherlands as a European one, that is, I did not owe VAT. "
Luckily avoided problems
Our interlocutor gradually expands the topic with the data of his own research of the history of the 635 CSi model, which became his destiny.
“It is fortunate that the car was built for the ambitious Swiss market and lived its life in the warmest part of the country, where there is not much salt and lye on the roads. This is one of the reasons the car survives, although it is one of the first examples of the BMW Six Series known for its vulnerability to rust. The most sensitive are those 9800 units that were produced entirely from December 1975 to August 1977 at the Karmann plant in the Rhine. After discovering that there was a rust problem, they decided to move the final assembly to the Dingolfing plant. Specifically, this vehicle came with a six-year rustproofing warranty and was protected by Valvoline Tectyl. The documents indicate the points of service in Switzerland where this protection should be supported.
In 1981, when it was registered, this 635 CSi had a base price of 55 marks, which was almost three triples and little more than a new week. So, like today's "six", this model used to be quite expensive.
The choice of color is strange - similar to the color of a taxi in Germany; this probably also contributed to the preservation of the car over time. Today, 35 years later, this color looks unique in retro style, and for me it was interesting in that it is far from the then blue and metallic red fashion.
According to the German classification, the condition of the car was approximately 2 - 2+. But I was determined, having acquired it in such good condition, to do my best to make it in condition 1 - Concours, or American Classification Show. Such a machine can easily appear at exhibitions, participate in competitions for elegance and cause admiration and applause. I dare say that it really was done.
The most difficult thing is with furniture in the interior.
The notion of "recovery" seems to go beyond what has been done; rather it is a partial repair, including adjustments after a poorly repaired light rear impact. The main work performed in the Daru Car service is that the entire chassis was removed, disassembled, and sandblasted. The parts were then primed, painted and assembled with new rubber bushings for the front and rear axle, new cadmium bolts, nuts and washers (two specialist companies in Germany sell repair kits for the front and rear axle). Thus, a completely renewed running gear was obtained, on which nothing essential was replaced - brackets, spring tips, etc.
The rubber lines hardened and were replaced at the advice of Daru Car mechanics. I was also advised not to change the brake discs and pads, even the brake hoses are dated January 1981 and look good. Hinges, sills and other sensitive areas of the body such as the underbody are free of rust, which indicates that the vehicle is in extremely good condition. Absolutely nothing was done about the engine, except for replacing filters and oils, there is no possibility of direct diagnostics, you need to adjust it with a stroboscope.
Restoration with own parts
In Daru Car, I had no problems with consumables, since they are official partners of BMW. I met with utmost understanding from the whole team, I would say that people were inspired by their work on this machine. I was offered a new E12 rear kit with which the E24 shares the equipment and wheelbase. I agreed, but when the car was assembled, it turned out that the rear wheels were sloping like a Tatra truck, so we went back to the original set of shock absorbers and springs. We can say that the car has been restored with its own parts. Basically, these are new belts, filters and quite a few new spare parts, of course, original. But I will repeat once again, already at the entrance the "six" was in very good condition, and it really turned out well.
The truth is that the great pleasure of buying a classic model is the opportunity to do something for this car. Of course, from the previous restoration of the Jaguar, I realized that for every lev invested in buying it, I invested another two lev to restore it. Now the bill is a bit different, and I would say that out of the three leva invested in the purchase, I spent one lev on the restoration. I highly recommend anyone undertaking such an effort to take this approach, i.e. take the car in the best possible condition, which will limit the amount of restoration. For each make and model, the workshop and parts situation is unique, and you may find yourself in an awkward position not finding any part with which you can restore the car to the desired original condition.
Due to the fact that the E24 is based on the E12, I didn't have any problems with the suspension and engine parts - belts, filters, etc. The only difficulties, and this is noted in all materials dedicated to the E24, arise with things such as moldings, upholstery, etc. There are two specialized companies in Germany, the BMW classic department can also help, but for many details in the interior, after 35 years, everything is over.
Some of the upholstery, such as a bit of bark behind the backs of the rear seats, I could not find in the original color, so I put them in a different one. However, in Gorublyan I found several fakirs who painted these barks in the desired color according to the sample. This is due to the traditions of Gorublians as a market for old cars, where interior renovation is part of the "rejuvenation". These craftsmen also painted the plastic covers over the seat adjustment mechanisms, which came black instead of brown. I am very pleased with the work of the guys in Gorublyan.
In general, there are good masters, but they rarely work in one place, so they need to be found through stories, through friends, through club events and, of course, through the Internet. So, the sock has opened up - link by link - because there is no specialized source of information to identify all the people who will be involved in such a project. An appointment must be made with everyone, followed by inspection, price negotiation, etc.
It was especially difficult to find the bark under the rear window behind the seats, which changed color over time. I wrote to 20 different companies in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria about this, educating them in detail about the problem. It was not possible to find it in BMW warehouses in both specialized companies. The Bulgarian car upholstery refused to do this because the pad was hot stamped along with the carpet, resulting in two shells - behind the left and behind the right seat. Finally, almost at the last moment before picking up the car from Daru Car, I shared this problem of mine with paint repairman Ilya Khristov, and he offered to paint the old part. Within two days, after several hands of brown spray, the carpet, which had become electric from the sun, returned to its original color - so, to my great joy, it was recycled without replacing anything, and the details remained the same. machine is made.
The rear spoiler, installed in July 1978 when production of the 635 CSi began, is made of foam. For 35 years, it has evolved into a sponge that absorbs and releases water. Realizing that it is impossible to find it from scratch, I came across craftsmen who make parts from fiberglass. They came, made a print, played for a few days, but in the end they made a fiberglass spoiler, which is durable, does not absorb water and looks better than the original after painting. "
The history of twists and turns around a fairy tale that has become reality can go on for a long time. Many are probably already wondering if miracles like this almost new, gorgeous 35-year-old veteran are the result of sheer coincidence, or just a reward. Probably, everyone will give his answer, and we will end with a few more words from Mr. Milanov:
“Today I believe that the purchase is worth, as they say, every penny, because the car is really genuine. Previous minor repairs were made by non-skilled professionals, as in Daru Kar, but this was fixed and subsequently corrected. After all, part of the fun is giving something of yourself, putting in your own effort to achieve a result that makes the product so much better. Because if you just buy a car, say a brand new one, and put it in the window, what is your involvement in this project? This is not satisfactory - at least for those who deal with classic cars and will probably understand me well.
Text: Vladimir Abazov
Photo: Miroslav Nikolov
