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Tag: e24

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1987 BMW M6

Black wheels. Do you know what they look good on? Porsche 917s, and a smattering of the 911 and 944 models that came with black and polished Fuchs. And, perhaps the “Bluesmobile”. That, as far as I can figure, is it. Don’t get me wrong, I understand one aspect of the appeal of the black wheel. The last 20 years of my life have been a constant struggle of cleaning brake dust off of brilliant silver wheels. Would it be easier to just paint them matte black and never worry about it again? Sure, it would end my Sisyphusian struggle against pad deposits on my wheels. But then, I’d stand back and look – and I’m quite sure, every time I would shake my head. No, it just doesn’t look right to me – even when they’re very expensive wheels on an otherwise stunning car:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 BMW M6 on eBay

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Rare Shark Sighting – A Trio of low-mileage 633CSIs

I still remember when my father purchased his first German car. It was a 1982 BMW 633CSi in metallic grey with tan leather and a 5-speed manual, with the original BBS Mahle wheels. It was otherworldly to me; long, lean and low compared to the Toyotas I was used to being carried around in, the BMW had a feel of quality that the other cars I had been in couldn’t match. It snarled with a wonderfully raspy exhaust note and I felt invincible inside. The 633 was also the first car I displayed at a show myself; in that case, I proudly spent hours cleaning it and getting it ready for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in 1993. At that point, the 6 was still a pretty new car – but even then, it was rare to see 6 series and since then it’s even more rare to find them. The best of the bunch are arguably the ones that came after my father’s car was made and got the post 1983 E28 chassis updates. Although considered the lesser model due to the lower displacement motor, in fact the 633CSi was only 1 horsepower short of the 3.4 that made its way into the 635CSi replacement for the United States in 1985. Today, there are three lower mile examples of these clean coupes up for sale – which would you choose?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 BMW 633CSi on eBay

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1979 BMW 635CSi Euro-Spec

As iconic designs go, the E24 has to rank pretty high on most German car enthusiasts’ lists. The lines are pure and classic – a long hood line with chiseled front end, delicate and subtle wheel arches, a sweeping greenhouse and a flowing trunk line. It just looks right – the front of the E9 that it succeeded was equally as classic, but I have always felt that the back of the 6 series was prettier than the car it replaced. It took elements of some classic BMW designs that preceded it and incorporated them flawlessly with updates for a new time. By 1970s standards, it was a very clean design – consider what was coming out of Detroit during this time period, and you’ll understand why the 6 still looked reasonably fresh a decade on in the 1980s. But for my money, the prettiest of the 6s are the early Euro cars, unencumbered by the DOT bumpers. Early on, though, the 6s suffered from not much performance – the engine lineup was effectively carried over from the previous E9 platform. That was solved in 1978 with the launch of the 218 horsepower 635CSi; a 5-speed transmission, deeper airdam and black rubber rear spoiler with model designation indicated the higher performance of this model. The 635 officially wouldn’t come to U.S. shores until much later in 1984 with the E28 updates in place, but for a time this was the highest performance BMW coupe you could get. Finding early examples that are still in prime shape is quite tough these days, but there’s a lovely example on Ebay today in Connecticut:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 BMW 635CSi on eBay

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1988 BMW M6

$_57

My unbridled love for the S38 makes me want to put it in every BMW. While my dreams for an S38-powered E30 may have to wait, if I really felt like looking like an 80s drug dealer, the M6 is an amazing big coupe. They look both dapper and menacing in black, while the interiors always look extremely plush. The back seats look like they should be children’s beds. This example comes passed down from an old man’s estate to his Alzheimer’s home, and it looks exceptional inside and out. 106k miles seems to be the time many owners of classics like this pass on stewardship. With no reserve, this could be a great buy for some serious 80s M Power.

Click for details: 1988 BMW M6 on eBay

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Shark Attack: BMW 635CSi Roundup

In my recent write up of two pretty overpriced 318ti M-Sports, I suggested that a vintage 635CSi would probably be a better option if you were looking for a collectable BMW for around the same ask of those two models. To put my theoretical money where my unfortunately quite real mouth is, here’s a lineup of the venerable E24 grand tourers. For a modest price you get a tremendous amount of style, sport, near bulletproof engine and drive train and a potential investment. I have five examples to look at; interestingly, four of them are the last of the run, rare to see mid-88 and up refresh models. Also interesting though less surprising is that none of them sits on their original wheels. That, and their birthplace may be the only thing that links them though, as they’re all quite different. Which would be the one you’d choose? Let’s take a look at the oldest:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 BMW 635CSi on eBay

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