Intro
This is a 1979 BMW Euro-market 323i TC1 Baur with the 6-cylinder engine and 4 speed manual transmission. The cabriolet conversion was offered by Karosserie Baur who would take brand new BMW E21s and convert them to Targa’s. However, the term Targa was already in use by Porsche, so Baur referred to the cars as TC, or “Top Cabrio”. It featured a Targa roof and an independent rear soft-top. The Targa roof section was designed to fit in the trunk, while the boot cover doubled as a cover for the plastic rear windshield, protecting it from scratches and frost in winter. This is one of very few TC1 323i in the United States. The TC1 was not offered to the U.S. market and this car was imported from Germany where it was previously owned by a doctor.
Exterior
The exterior of the E21 Baur was restored in 2011 with new front fenders, body stripped to bare metal and repainted with “show quality” Topaz Brown paint. New taillights, headlight restored w/ original Euro bulbs, new parking lights, new windshield, gasket, and chrome insert, and new GAHN convertible top and gaskets. The side windows are all original factory glass. It has dual chrome sport mirrors, 323i badging, dual exhaust outlets in the rear and 14” BMW bottlecap wheels wrapped in Falken 195/R60 R14 tires with 8/2010 date codes. The removable sunroof is good, rear top folds as it should with no leaks and the boot is in great shape. The original hidden antennae normally located inside the left front fender by the driver’s door is missing.
Interior
The interior was originally beige and was redone with black vinyl during the restoration. The gauges all work and are in kilometers and there are no cracks in the dash. It has a wooden BMW gear shift knob, cigarette lighter and a dash clock. The original Blaupunkt CD stereo works, interior antenna strip located under the left corner of the windshield. The seller notes FM signal is strong, and AM signal is not. The heating works, no AC.
Mechanicals
The transmission was rebuilt at 83,000 miles and engine was rebuilt at 120,000 miles and is a number matching, fuel injected, inline six-cylinder (M20B23) factory rated 141 hp. The BAUR has been driven 25k miles since engine was rebuilt has been driven about 8K miles since the restoration was done. The car is current on all maintenance and the seller recently replaced the clutch assembly.
Imperfections
Hidden external fender antenna for radio is missing. New LF fender was not cut out for the hidden antenna.
Summary
This is a very rare BMW 323i Baur with the inline 6-cylinder engine that was a significant improvement over the anemic four-cylinder engine normally offered in the E21. It includes services records of all work done on the car since imported in 1984. Baur’s reputation for quality workmanship was so strong that they were contracted to build the BMW M1 and Porsche 959.
