engine and drivetrain E3/E9 Question

[jackrabbit]

Little bit off topic from the forum but it all ties in eventually.

I'm in a bit of a lust affair with the E3/E9s. I keep looking at pictures of them and every photo that goes by makes me want them even more. I probably wouldn't even consider diving into it unless I knew it was solid mechanically (and the price would have to be right) but I figure it couldn't hurt to do a little bit of background research on them in the mean time.

Lead up to the question: the 2002s have this incredible community with insane amounts of knowledge available and all kinds of you brilliant bastards willing to help solve problems with my mechanical noobishness. That, combined with the fact that the 02 has become somewhat of a cult classic has made it so that parts are generally pretty easily accessible (I've never had a problem getting any part I've needed).

So my question is then, can the same be said about the E3/E9s? Are there parts made for it (people like Ireland Engineering, etc). I realize that they will be more expensive just because everything is a bit bigger on an E3 than our little bread baskets on wheels but availability is also pretty important. That and is there an equivalent community for them anywhere on the net?

[fast2002]

email me off line i owned several of both the e10 and e9

[jackrabbit]

what's your email address?

[fast2002]

bbsports@msn.com

[Gordon]

You'll need deep pockets for an E9. The are sexy and seductive, but they rust easily and body work isn't cheap (body by Karmann). It's a car you'll never want to drive in the rain.

http://www.e9coupe.com/buyers_guide/index.htm

If you are interested in an E9, do your homework on the E9coupe.com page. Prices on nice E9's are getting way up there in value. Nice ones are easily going for 25-30K or more.

On the other hand, you can have a nice E3 for a fraction of the cost of an E9 ownership and without the rust prone issues that an E9 has. It has the same mechanicals as an E9 with four door versatility, it's just not as sexy looking but it will keep you out of the poor house. Stay away from the big bumper E3's. Find one 73 or earlier, they look so much better without diving board bumpers (sound familiar).

http://www.seniorsix.org/e3info/rt_usedcars/road_track_1.html

Give me a shout if you have any questions, I have owned two 73 automatic Bavaria's (both were converted to manual gearboxs) and now I own a 70 E3 2800 Euro spec with only 134K KM on the car.

http://www.coupeking.com/2800-bavaria-e3-1284

G-Man

[jackrabbit]

Gordon, shoot me an email if you can. I'd love to pick your brain. I've been pretty seriously considering an E3. I kind of clumped the two together for the post but I've been leaning much more toward an E3 Bavaria.