[BMWCSRegistry] General input sought

[Art Wegweiser]

Couperini,
Slowly catching up. My opinion only.

(1)  In general, an automatic reduces the value and desirability of a 
Coupe. Usually!.
It is slower and repair can be an even worse difficulty than clutch 
and gearbox.
People who use their Coupes as daily drivers (not my recommendation - 
find a Subaru for that) in city traffic might find an automatic good 
to have.  Having not lived in a large city since 1968 (NYC, 
Cincinnati  and St. Louis) I have not  owned nor wanted one for 
decades.
But it also is what people with certain medical problems would need 
so that they too can drive a Coupe to overcome disabilities.
Thus the advantage is in the Eye of the Beholder (remember Rod 
Serling's brilliant piece.)

(2)  A sunroof can be fun and I have owned several - but not on 
Coupes.  On that feature I would pass given an option.  Coupes have 
enough problems without keeping the mechanism functioning - even if 
manual - and we have here another avenue for rot and rust to enter. 
The drain arrangement is another expression of Karmann genius.
Even had birds express their resentment for disturbing their air 
space. (See black car opinion below.)

Not that much advantage to view a slice of the sky anyway.
Drop all four windows and you get an even better open effect, 
especially with our nice low door sills, although a tad more windy. 
Be sure your toll ticket is not going to blow out the window. Buffalo 
to NYC can be very pricey.  Also lack of a B pillar is more 
impressive in appearance to other drivers locked into their AC 
cacoons.

I  always carry a warm jacket for cooler days.

(3) Changing color - if done really well is not likely a problem. But 
what of the engine bay? Want to pull all that stuff?
It  is sure easier to not change unless it is one of the awful colors 
BMW sometimes chose to use.
I'll reserve comment on those since it is a matter of taste except 
for black which looks great but is one swift pain in the ass to keep 
looking clean.

(4) Front end damage can be a real problem. Much depends on the 
extent - if we are dealing with hood and fenders, therein lies 
madness. What do you mean by "slight"?

(5)  I tend to my wood as if it were a Strad or at least a Guiniari. 
I've yet to see a modern car with wood that didn't look like it was 
made of polished plastic. Some years ago I passed on a good deal on 
an E36 M3 for that reason because it looked as foolish as the absurd 
wings almost every car must now have tacked on its ass end.  And in 
does recall for me the fins everybody had to have in the 50's/60's.

   And don't let it get too hot in the sun - say if you live in AZ or 
CA (and in your case Kevin - ABQ).
Replacing wood? Real Coupe wood replacing is work and expense beyond 
belief although some have done it. Ask on the list..

(6) The car is somewhat dissembled? What do you mean? Do you have 
everything - I wouldn't count on it?

(7) New Michelin no air tires? Not likely for the remainder of the 
decade for me. These look like the tires on the trucks of the 1920's. 
And how might they handle? And most of our Coupes run OEM 195/70-14, 
anyway.
Try to find good ones in that size.
The state of the art run flats are turning out to be a bit of a 
disaster too.  Might be cheaper to carry a good spare and, if all 
dressed up for the Prom, called roadside assistance to change it. AAA 
might even may for it.

Art
oo=00=oo  oo=00=oo  oo=00=oo  oo=00=oo  oo=00=oo  oo=00=oo
Art Wegweiser, BMWCCA Member #12163
Registrar, BMW CS Registry,USA
art at bmwcsregistry.org
http://www.bmwcsregistry.org
Erik Wegweiser, Webmeister
   
Ilse         72 3.0 CSi   2 262 736   Fjord & Polaris Neu
Gretel       95 E36 M3   ..EH06546    Arktissilber metallic

Plus a couple of Subaru to abuse in the Winter.


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