Turns out to be a 1968 "BMW-Glas 3000 GT" with a 3.0l M30. Total production was 389 cars, making it nearly as rare as the 507 which I think is near the million dollar range these days. Doubt this one would ever sell for as much - and unfortunately, not much could be done to make it half as good looking as the 507. By any chance, does anyone know anything about this thing, or know someone who owns one?? This one apparently actually runs...which is a great start. Seems like one hell of a project. Rust is the obvious concern, but body parts can be made. Everything else is mostly there....though even that broken tail light could prove to be a huge problem to replace. Neat car though! One of the only BMW's without a Kidney grille. If I can't buy it, I don't want it to die a slow death in Texas heat. The guy wants $2000 for it, but he didn't seem too firm on the price. If anyone knows anyone who would seriously consider buying it, please let me know!! I don't want this rare piece of BMW history to rot in a used car lot in Texas!! here's what it looks like new:
These are supposedly super rare. Only 71 made according to my book. Based on the 501/502 chassis (like the 503, though it is probably more like the 503 than anything else.) Same engine, same 160HP. <------ Wrong as hell Did more searching. This was made by Glas and badged as a BMW right before BMW bought out and dismantled the company for the Dingolfing plant. This Glas has a Glas engine as far as I can tell. Someone needs to buy it.
Good eyes man, I don't know how you even would have spotted that rarity. I forwarded a message to the Werk Shop, I've seen them have unusual BMW's in the past.
I know it seems like a "barn find" but that car is going to need a ground up resto and these cars do not go for what the 507 goes for. Maybe $50-60K, which is around what it will cost to fully restore it. I would say cut it up for parts but how many guys need parts for a Glas? And finding parts (like that rusted out hood) will be near impossible. You hill have to fabricate a lot of stuff.
And did he say it had a 3.0L M30 in it? It should have a Glas V8. That right there would cut down on restored worth. However, it is very very rare (even more so than the 507.)
Good catch. Without the original V8 it is worth significantly less. It's actually worth quite a bit more as a parts car. Most of these parts are simply not available anywhere.
In case anyone might be interested, I drove by the place today and it's still there. Here it is on street view (mainly for location purposes): http://tinyurl.com/bmwglas
OK, that's a little embarrassing...this place is probably less than a mile from my house and I drive by it all the time! I always scan the guy's lot when I go by because he had a 2002 out there once but I never even gave this one a second look!? Like Chicane said...good catch...because I sure missed it!
Really? I live at 10 and 6 and work at 290 and the beltway - I usually head down Brittmore to Tanner and then over to Eldridge to avoid traffic. I'm going by this place at 11:30 or so to check out the car - feel free to come by if you want. When I went by there last year, I don't know how that thing caught my eye - I had just seen a euro 745i (the turbo) sitting with 4 flats infront of a body shop too. I went in there and they actually have a lot of neat old cars - Citroens, Merc's, BMW's, Porsche's...all in bad shape, but they're still neat. I also do some work for Top Gear, and I think they're going to make a post about it as well, which might give it some attention. To be honest, I don't care if I buy it or if someone else does - I just don't want it to suffer anymore!
I live in Lakes on Eldridge and work at 290 and Hollister!! I'll try to swing over there around 11:30 and maybe catch up with you. So what kind of stuff do you do for Top Gear? (No matter what it is...it sounds cool!!)
Tell you what, PM me and I'll give you my phone number. We'd need to show up at the same time and act pretty nonchalant about it - the owner seems like the kind of guy who would jack the price up if there was interest. If he's kept it this long, I'm sure he knows what it is - I just dont know what he thinks it's worth. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can bring him down on it...It's obviously not going anywhere unless someone with a lot of metalworking skill and love for the strange and rare comes by. I mainly do web-based stuff for TG, but it's still pretty fun.
I went by with Dan today to look at it. Boy that thing is sweet. If I could get the price way down, I'd buy it and just store it until I had the money to fix it. My favorite part is the inboard brakes! And since it doesn't have the V8, you don't have to worry about keeping it period correct, and you could have some real fun with it. Pics up when I get home from work.
When I went by there last year, he wanted $2000, but that's with no negotiation. If you give him the old "it doesn't run, look at the rust..." blah blah, he will come down. He's got a ton of old cars sitting in there, He probably needs the space. With work, you could get it on the street. I mean, it's all there - there are no huge rust holes, the floor pans aren't rusted through...but the fuel/brakes/clutch systems would need to be cleaned, and you'd probably have to swap in another M30. But engine swaps are easy.
I'd drop in a modern BMW V8 and brake system (maybe suspension system as well.) Hell, if all the glass is there, I might consider it (if you don't buy it.)
I'd love to buy it. But it would be hard for me to justify spending money on that, when I need to spend it on school books and stuff. But an accounting book doesn't have inboard brakes. Where do you live? I'd be happy to help out with the restoration or give you the owner's info. By the way, the VIN is: *602001547* - no idea where to look it up, but there you go.
