For those of you who haven’t checked out the Cohort lately (sadly, I’m one of them), there are lots of great new photos posted. One of our regular contributors, kurtzos, found this very cool green BMW Bavaria (a Bavarian Motor Works Bavaria!) sharing space with a Citroen 2CV Charleston and Porsche 928. I’ve always liked the looks of these, and would take one over a 2002 or 3.0 CS, believe it or not. Great find, kurtzos, keep them coming!
Another car I have been unable to find in Eugene, surprisingly. Actually, this would be a BMW 3.0Si, as the Bavaria name was only used in the USA. I think BMW importer Max Hoffman came up with that idea and name; a lower-trimmed 2500 but with the bigger 2.8 engine (later 3.0). It was sold alongside the better-trimmed 3.0S sedan.
In Europe, the 3.0Si was a true legend; its non-smogged motor made a solid 200hp, and had unparalleled throttle response and all-round goodness. It really established BMW as the premier engine builder; MBZs sixes couldn’t touch it back then. The US motors were nice considering the dismal times and competition, but lacked the bite and brilliant top-end zing the euro-spec 3.0Si engine had. It was heads and shoulders the best sports sedan available then.
The M30 inline six that powered the Bavaria lasted until 1993 in the E34 535i.
It’s a hell of an engine. Will go 300-400k miles on the original top end with proper servicing and regular oil changes. It isn’t as efficient as a modern BMW six and drinks a lot of fuel, but the exhaust note is to die for.
Here’s an acceleration clip from an EU-spec M30.
That’s if you didn’t overheat it. Cooling was a problem with Bavarias. It might not necessarily “over” heat, but it would run warmer than ideal and fluctuate, and that would take its toll. And if you had an automatic transmission, it got slow-cooked in the process. Ask me how I know.
BMW still has problematic cooling system components. The 3-series cooling system is good for 80k miles tops. After that, you’re rolling the nice on sudden overheating and a potentially trashed engine.
I had mine replaced at 70k miles (hoses/tstat/water pump) and the car runs great and deals with heat well; of course it never gets very hot in Seattle except for maybe a week or two in the summer.
So *that’s* the reason BMWs seem to bite the dust here with astonishing regularity! There are three seasons here: hot, hotter, and hottest. Also add full use of aircon at max setting and slowly crawling traffic, if not a blazing highway. Old BMWs have a rather poor reputation here compared to Japanese iron, and even newer cars are prone to failure. Add high parts prices and you’ve got a financial disaster on your hands. No wonder the only people who buy Beemers here are the super rich, who replace the car every five years or even earlier, without much driving at all.
I used to think that BMW engines are poor quality, but this seems to explain that. Thanks for the new insight. Surprisingly, MB cars seem to last really long!
Benzes have really good cooling systems, at least they did in the days of the W126 S-class that my parents owned. Unlike their Saabs and Volvos, the big Mercedes never had engine temperatures climb to scary levels when going over mountain passes in the summer.
All too true; my MIL’s 2002 was always running too warm, and overheated fairly regularly.
2002s had a marginal cooling system on the best of days. They did tend to eat water pumps, also.
I remember the Bavaria as pretty wonderful. I did notice, however,that they disappeared a lot faster than the corresponding MBs & Volvos.
The cooling system on my 2000 323ti wagon blew late one night on I-78 in NJ, at around 70K. Had to replace everything. Drive a Jetta wagon now.
According to a rumor I have heard several times from different people, it seems Daimler Benz seriously considered purchasing the BMW M30 engines to equip their cars in the early 70s. I haven’t been able to verify that story. Does anyone know more?
Never heard that before. It would seem like that would have been a real loss of face for MB to actually do that; a bit hard to imagine back at the time when they were still king of the hill. If I had to guess, I’d say no. But what do I know?
Story I’ve read in several German articles states that Mercedes’ prototype shop guys quietly transplanted an M30 into one of their sedans, then invited top brass for a test drive. The execs were duly impressed with the performance, and asked “What did you do to the engine?” They were not amused by the answer…
Now that strikes a chord!
My dad drove a ’71(?) maroon one of these while I was growing up. My memories are peppered with that car. So many youthful rides; so many hours of playing in the “green car” parts car that was perpetually parked in the side yard. I remember proudly riding along with him amidst the Salem rain, watching in awe as he’d steer with his knees, mug of black coffee in hand, and just knowing he was Dad.
Good memories. I miss that car, but I know he doesn’t miss those replacing U-joints!
Havent seen a good one of these for a while nice find.
This has been my favorite old BMW (narrowly edging out a nice round-light 2002) since forever. A guy in my high school class drove an absolutely cherry Bavaria, silver-blue with the nice wheels that most CSes came with. I still think about that car!
During a summer in college, my dad hitched a ride in a new Bav in 1972 from Nebraska to Ames, IA. After American boats with flaccid suspension and underpowered air-cooled VWs, it was an eye opening experience for him. The driver hit triple digits for much of the trip.
More info about the Bavaria at link below:
http://i-vol.com/bmwbavaria/specs.htm
And here are some great print ads:
http://www.productioncars.com/vintage-ads.php/BMW/Bavaria
I’d have a hard time choosing between a Bavaria and a CS. I really like that green.
I do love a BMW 6, if I didn’t have a bunch of Volvo parts kicking around from my turbo Ford days I’d consider one for some weird kit type roadster build with one.
Love the color and the (timeless) Newe Klasse styling (some would say both opionions are debatable).
I saw one in a junk yard for sale a a running car. I passed on it.
when i was in high school i daydreamed in class of owning a bavaria or 450sel. in fact i’m still daydreaming about the same cars…
I know these cars could be theoretically reliable, but they were as durable and fit for purpose as a lace barf bag. In hot and dry climates, they blew their engines through overheating. Where it was cold, they rusted in a way that could put a Vega to shame. When buying my first car in 1993, I looked at one of these. It was a rust belt nightmare- you could see the window mechanism through the door, and they had jerry rigged the cooling system overflow to a big jug of prestone or something. It was described as a ‘reliable town car’ meaning it was reliable to use for short journeys unless it got up to operating temperature (which was also the case when new probably). The really astonishing fact, is that this was the ONLY Bavaria I had ever seen up to that point- the others had died long ago. I left the seller’s home immediately and purchased a ’65 Corvair which was a better car in every single way.
These were replaced by the slightly smaller 5 series, which in BMW’s infinite hubris, was designed in a way to shorten the length of time between oil changes/ cylinder head replacement by way of a thermonuclear device in the engine bay to raise engine temperatures to an acceptable level in which the BMW could finally have the cachet of those temperamental Jaguars and EYE-talian cars. After all, you were a REALLY important person if you could afford a car that broke down to the tune of $3000 every couple of months. This also showed all of the drivers passing you on the shoulder that you Know Something About Cars, as your car could provide a Driving Experience.
The Bavaria was also the BMW that started their ’70s trend towards oversized turn signals, which demonstrated clearly that Germans did indeed understand irony.
This reads as really grumpy, and perhaps it is. It has just been my experience that the type of people who drove this marque of car in my childhood and adolescence often had very highly developed senses of self worth and entitlement that represented everything I hated about the ’80s.
I have little use for veblen goods, or things which are assigned value just because they are expensive, rather than because of any intrinsic superiority. The fact that they are rare even in Oregon, where Vegas don’t rust and Vanagons don’t overheat speaks volumes.
We had friends, and she drove a beautiful silver 3.0S sedan. She was on very familiar terms with her expensive German mechanic Rudi or whatever his name was. It was fragile indeed, at least to someone who didn’t have a clue about cars.
I think many European cars of this vintage really suffered because the extra heat and demands from smog controls, automatics, air conditioning, operating conditions and the climate in the US really was different than for what they were designed for. Until they started designing cars for US conditions and expectations, they were constantly fighting reliability issues.
It may explain the popularity and durability of the diesel Mercedes; they didn’t suffer many of the same maladies.
This sounds like a very good explanation. On this side of the pond, E3s are known to be mechanically fairly robust albeit prone to cracking cylinder heads unless driven gently until the engine warms up. My personal experience with early M30 engines (4 different cars over tens of thousands of miles) is that they are thermally very stable (needle stays smack in the middle of the gauge all the time).
As regards rustproofing, E3s are probably above average when compared to contemporary cars. At least, this is what the number of unrestored examples in good condition would suggest. Contrary to E9 coupes, all you have to do to find a good one over here is to check the classifieds.
Maybe that explains it, as my ’74 Bavaria came with both the slushbox and A/C. I bought mine in around 1990 after searching endlessly for a 2002 that hadn’t succumbed to rust or been beat to hell (remember, this was the pre-eBay era when we were largely limited to locally available cars, and I lived in the rust belt then). Suddenly this smart looking machine is dangling in front of me for a mere $1500, and it seems to have all the qualities I had been expecting in the 2002 in a slightly bigger package and two more cylinders to boot. What could possibly go wrong . . . .
I am told by many current Bavaria owners that there are fairly easy mods which help them keep their cool. Wish someone had clued me in back then!
Having an internet for information about car issues is great. Without various forums like Bimmerfest, I wouldn’t have known to pre-emptively replace the cooling system components on my E46 before 80k miles to avoid potential overheating and a trashed engine.
Actually, those thermal reactors that lead to lots of cracked BMW M30 heads were an emissions control device (and badly thought out at that). In states without an annual inspection or emissions testing, it was possible to toss those things.
BMW rustproofing sucked until the early 1980s – ie: nearly Japanese level. Mercedes-Benz and Volvos of the 70’s held up far better in states that salt their roads.
You’re right- I think it was the fact that alot of the US spec emissions junk ruined the cars, not that domestic manufacturers got it right either. BMW and Audi as well also only sent their ‘halo’ engines over- the highly strung top of the range 5’s and 6’s, whereas in Europe more durable if slower options were available.
I also agree that the rust issue and ability to tolerate abuse is why both Merc and Volvo found the hearts of the Americans. I’ve owned both (granted old and used) and both made much more durable cars than Audi, BMW or any other European import for that matter. Although rust wise, Mercedii were pretty rot prone before 1977 when they used the same crappy Russian steel as the rest of Europe. But Paul, it wasn’t only the diesel Mercedes engines that were unburstable, their petrol engines were reliable too. I had a 300SE with 165K on it that still ran like new, had perfect oil pressure and with a temperature gauge that would not budge from the middle regardless of heat or traffic. Everything about that car oozed quality, and it was the automotive equivalent of a Miele washing machine- you pay three times the purchase (and servicing) price of an average car, but can expect it to last four times as long.
Probably 15 years ago I looked at buying a very nice metallic blue 3.0Si 4sp ($3000 if I remember correctly), but in the end decided to keep driving the car I had. Another alternative at the time was an immaculate orange 2002 square-light ($6000). I think in both cases BMW-strength maintenance/repair costs were a factor!
See the “UBERVARIA”. We may be an endangered species but we are not extinct yet!
My parents’ real estate broker drove a Bavaria when I was a little kid, and I thought it was the coolest sedan I’d seen! He was David Ogilvy, son of the famous advertising man, and greenwich connecticut real estate broker to the rich & famous and a man with good taste. His Bavaria was not too big or flashy, like an S class Mercedes may have been, but definitely made a statement of being both sporty and luxurious!