I began searching for a modern classic car in early 2021 and started researching cars I liked as a teenager but could never afford. It had to be European, with racing heritage, collectable, and something that still had style with timeless design.

I’ve always loved BMWs and have owned countless new iterations, but never anything of the E9 era. The oldest I had was an E46M3, so this was undoubtedly heading into unknown waters for me. I looked for a good 12 months and ended up seeing a beautifully restored Polaris Silver CSi, which was located in Perth. Being based in Brisbane and Covid restrictions still in place, a 5-hour flight was out of the question. However, I still persisted in enquiring about this car as the seller was so knowledgeable and helpful during the process that, after numerous phone calls, I made up my mind that I was going to buy it.

At the same time, I thought I would need to find someone in Brisbane who knew older BMWs, especially E9s, well enough for me to have the confidence to buy it from Perth and have it looked after close to where I live. A bit of quick googling brought me to Scott Robinson of Modern Classic Motorsport, who is a BMW Master Mechanic, a specialist in Modern Classic BMW and had also worked on the McLaren F1 during his time in the UK. I contacted him about the car I wanted to buy; he did his own research and determined that particular car ticked all the boxes I was looking for.

Long story short, I was beaten to the silver CSi by mere minutes as someone else was also interested had paid the deposit before I had the chance. I was so disappointed, not in the seller, but in the fact that I wasn’t quick enough to secure it! The seller, Simon, was amazing, and he said to me, ‘One thing I’ve learned is that there is always another car around the corner,’ and he was right.

Scott called me only minutes later to set up a time for me to go to his workshop and talk about getting the silver car from Perth to Brisbane, but I told him not to worry about it as I missed out on it. He said to come out anyway, as he had two out there and asked what to look for when I found another one. So I went out the next day and saw his two cars, one a complete project Polaris Silver CS and a Ceylon Gold CSL in reasonably good shape, and he ran me through things to look out for. I asked if the cars were for sale, to which the reply was ‘kind of’ as he was selling the CSL for the current owner. As I left, I called Simon, the seller of the car I missed out on, since he offered his help should I ever need it.

Relaying the details of the two cars to him, he was surprised about the Ceylon Gold CSL as he didn’t know of one in Brisbane. He asked for more photos, including the VINs, and called me straight back and said – ‘ that car is a unicorn; whatever he wants for the car, do not negotiate, just buy the car!’ I had zero idea of the rarity of the CSLs at the time, and it was by pure luck that I was in the position to be able to buy it, so on Simon’s advice, buy it I did!

Once in my possession, I went through the box of documents that the previous owner had with the car, and after a bit of research, I discovered that we had a mutual friend. Once again, I picked up the phone and called him to see if he could run me through the car’s history, which he was more than happy to do!

Bob bought the car in June 1991 when he was living in Florida. He found the car owned by a Brit who had imported it to the US. He was the original owner. Bob restored the car in 1997 while living in Charlotte, North Carolina. The engine and mechanical work were done by Korman Autoworks – one of the premier BMW aftermarket shops in the US at the time. Bob moved back home to Australia in early 1998 and brought the car and a lot of spares back with him.

I was delighted to hear Bob’s stories and to know it was only a 2-owner car before I bought it. To top it off, all significant restoration was completed by a reputable company.

I only drove it a handful of times before I thought I’d like to redo the interior as it was beginning to look a little tired. The bodywork was in excellent condition with no signs of rust on the body itself, so I thought I’d do a refresh of the interior and drive it…

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at things, I’m not really wired like that. Once the interior was out, I told Scott that I might want to look at changing the bumpers to spoilers, delete the US-style fog lights, and look at some early signs of rust behind the fuse box.

Well, anyone who knows E9s knows where this story goes from here.

When the car was apart, a few more signs of rust were noticed, and I decided to take a few more steps down the rabbit hole. This quickly turned into a no-expense-spared, guards off, rotisserie, complete nut and bolt restoration with bodywork undertaken by Styling Automotive, who are leaders in their field, and I topped it off with a ‘probably not needed’ full engine rebuild!!

Being in Australia, all parts were sourced in either Europe or the UK. A lot of advice was taken from members of the E9 Forum, but most of what I needed came either from Scott directly or Simon in Perth, and later his friend who has restored many, many E9s and is a self-taught specialist.

About two years into the project, Scott became very ill and was hospitalised for months (thankfully, he is on his way to a full recovery now!), which meant a halt to the project. While I have been hands-on throughout the whole process, my skills are well below what’s required for a vehicle such as this. So, I called upon my E9 friend Simon, who has been an amazing resource throughout my journey, to see if he had any idea who could finish it for me. He quickly said his counterpart (I say this without saying this individual’s name as he has always said he doesn’t want to be famous, so I’ll call him the Magician) might be interested in flying over to finish it.

With the car approximately 90% put together, he did just that. I flew him over on two occasions and got the car basically finished. Having Simon and the Magician in my corner guiding me through the final stages while Scott was being treated was a godsend, and making two new friends during the process was a huge bonus!

By now, Scott was well enough again to work on the car and by the end of April 2024, the car was out on the road again being test-driven to iron out any bugs.

Now that the car is complete, I’m looking to sell it. Not because I don’t love the car, but because I have caught the Restomod bug and am looking to use my newly gained knowledge to build an E9 version of one. So, if anyone knows someone looking for a golden opportunity, you now know who to contact!