1975 BMW CSL Race Car Shakedown

1975 BMW CSL E9 Race Car Started life in France as a BMW 3.0 CS in Malaga Red. At some point it was converted to a CSL replica. Initially thought to be converted to Group 2 format body kit in silver. At some later point it went to an unusual body kit with elements of Group 4 and 5 and some imagination with BMW Motorsport colors. In 2014 a restoration was commenced with Motoporter to bring it to correct CSL spec. This included: - correct Group 4 Body Kit - full safety inspection - upgraded roll cage, fire extinguisher, belts, seat etc. - restored dash and instrumentation. New center console. - A beautiful new crafted hood, trunk and door skins in aluminum from Steve Hogue in CA. Just magnificent craftsmanship. - Exterior now replicates Alf Gebhardt's BMW CSL E9 that ran at Daytona in 1978. A sensational looking livery. Photos are here: https://imgur.com/a/KOMWP Motoporter did a superb job to get it to this stage. Definitely the right choice for any race CSL project restoration/recommissioning. Arthur Porter was the experienced person I needed to make sense of what I inherited. I would have happily had them take it further but the right answer was for me to get more involved instead of driving my desk in the office. Currently running an S38 from a 1991 BMW M5 - 3.5L straight 6 with matching Getrag 5 speed box. Engine and transmission were not touched in the restoration but were suspected to be weak. Engine feels very down on power and the gearbox is crunching in all gears unless I double clutch. Plenty of clutch slip evident in the video just by listening. They will be replaced in 2017 with period correct items. On November 3, 2016, a shakedown session at NJMP took place with the objective of seeing what else needed to be done or what was going to break - a good amount did! - Fuel pump fuse was wrong size, so it blew and then fried every gauge except for the tach. - As the video shows the suspension set up needs work. What I initially thought was toe out is actually severe bump steer in turn 1 braking zone of Thunderbolt Circuit - clearly a problem. Don't believe the wheel waggling - thats me trying to feel the wheels through the steering wheel with negative camber and bump steer present in the current settings. Despite that the quality of the BMW chassis shines through - it is a beautiful handling car. Very forgiving. - Brakes are minimal. System was bled but still not much improvement. Minimum caliper pressures but not sure why. Suspect master cylinder issue. - one side window fell out (but later recovered) - window bracket was rusted through underneath the new paint. New weld, touch up paint and good as new. Then we do the other side as a precaution. - brake ducts self destructed - need to find a better system of holding in place. - yes the steering wheel is misaligned. This is all expected - no disappointment from me. Its all the normal effort expected when recommissioning a race car to be fighting fit. The car was not slow despite the above, running easy 1.36s on a cold track day. With the items fixed it would drop into the mid 1.20s on the right day. So plenty to do over winter to have it tip top fighting form ahead of its new engine and transmission.

Added 11 May 2026