Gorgeous air-ride 1973 BMW 520 E12

It may glister like gold, but this E12 is, in fact, Amazonite green. And that’s not the only secret it’s hiding…

Words: Daniel Bevis

Photos: Samm Smith/Notomoto

AMAZON FRESH

IMMACULATE AIR-RIDE E12

Absolutely stunning classic 5 Series

“I wasn’t really looking for an E12 in particular,” ponders Beinn Goodchild (@beinndg) as he casts a doting eye over his glorious ’78 520. “I was actually looking on eBay for an E23 that a friend was thinking about buying, to show it to my partner. And while I was scrolling down the classic BMW listings, something green caught my eye…” Yes, it’s hard to miss this vivid shade of Amazonitgrün metallic, isn’t it? But before we delve into the acquisition and rebirth of this magnificent ’70s cruiser, let’s wiggle our fingers like Wayne and Garth and allow the screen to wobble in the dissolve…

I wasn’t really looking for an E12 in particular… I was actually looking on eBay for an E23 that a friend was thinking about buying, to show it to my partner. And while I was scrolling down the classic BMW listings, something green caught my eye…

Back when he was 15, Beinn had a Mk1 Golf project, which is a pretty badass way to kick off one’s motoring endeavours. And then, before he’d completed that, his head was turned a year later by a Polo Coupé, which turned into a long and protracted project over a number of years. Regular showgoers may be familiar with the superlow VW’s Hyundai Jamaica Blue paint (laid down by Beinn in a rented spray booth, having never tried such a thing before). He swapped in a 16v AFH motor from a 6N Polo, and what really characterised the build was the commitment to the lows: he knocked up some one-off coilovers comprising TA bodies with custom springs and MaxRPM rose-jointed top mounts, and the engine was raised 35mm. Various other crucial bits were re-engineered to be higher up too, including the gearbox and the anti-roll bar, and the sump and ’box mounts were shallower as well. Brake lines and fuel lines were re-routed inside the car, all in the pursuit of devastating lowness that could be enjoyed every day. So he’s got a fairly strong foundation in taking rare groove classics and reimagining them as outstandingly low cars that are still properly usable. With various other projects on the go, and a day job in historic motorsport restoration, this E12 couldn’t really escape, could it?

“A closer look at the advert revealed that it still had its original Fürngrün corduroy interior,” he says. “I mean, I had to at least go and take a look at it, right?” It was clear from the listing that some, shall we say, less than desirable repairs had been carried out to the car over the years, and there would most likely be a fair amount of work involved. Travelling over to Norwich to check the car out, all of this was confirmed – Beinn could see that at the very least, it would be needing new floors, door bottoms, all four shock towers (the fronts, rather worryingly, being more fibreglass than metal) but none of this put him off. Indeed, he relished the challenge. Because with that killer colour scheme, how could this turn out to be anything other than a super-cool ride?

“I knew I wanted to try to keep as much of the car’s original character as I could, and I always intended on installing air suspension to it with some sort of 17” split-rims, so I think the plan worked out quite well,” Beinn enthuses, and it’s hard to disagree. “After carrying out the endless amount of metalwork that was required, I then set about fully stripping the underside, sandblasted it, epoxy primed, seam-sealed and coated it in tough liner. All the running gear and parts were powder-coated, painted or re-zinc-coated.

Everything was either replaced or refurbished, including a new fuel tank, to make the underside better than new. I restored all the light units and bumpers, and the engine was cosmetically tidied up and the gearbox rebuilt. I carried out all of the body and paintwork blends as necessary, then moved on to building the suspension and getting it to sit how I wanted along with smaller modifications and upgrades along the way.” The engine is in pretty stock form, the M20B20 being more of a cruiser than a bruiser, but Beinn has raised it around 15mm, along with the gearbox, to ensure that the sump and downpipe are well out of harm’s way. A hidden electric Mishimoto fan has been subtly snuck in, along with fitting a fan switch into a new-old-stock BMW radiator, and he has eliminated the factory expansion tank – all with the aim of ensuring everyday reliability along with a clean look.

With the way paved for the dramatic lows, Beinn had some work to do to ensure that he could achieve the savage drop he desired. Because, as you might expect, you can’t just wander into your local Halfords and grab an air-ride kit for an E12 off the shelf. “I chose Air Lift Performance 3P management and the universal ‘Builder Series’ Air Lift struts,” he explains. “I also made some modifications to the front subframe to get the nose to sit as low as I wanted it to.” And with those arches now significantly closer to the tarmac, they needed filling with something special. “It had to be a 17” period-correct wheel,” he grins, “but I never thought I’d ever actually own a set of BBS motorsport wheels, let alone two sets and one as a spare wheel! I actually got hold of the lips for the E50s before I’d even found any centres to use because I knew precisely how I wanted it to be. I think the way it sits over those E50s is my favourite thing about the car – oh, along with the wireless phone charger in the centre console, just because you’d ever know it was there!” The interior is, indeed, a special place, resplendent in 1970s corduroy opulence, in such a superbly vivid colour. The matching loop pile carpets are a proper retro treat, and Beinn’s tastefully augmented the cabin to retain that louche playboy style while also adding his inimitable personal touch. The two-spoke Nardi steering wheel is actually an Abarth item, the wood gear knob was sourced from a 2002, and he tracked down an original BMW Bavaria AM radio and cunningly adapted it to run Bluetooth, with an aux input and hidden USBs. It all looks tidy and period, but he can play his tunes and charge his phone, just like in a modern BMW. Clever stuff. The rate of progress has been impressive, given the surprising amount of work involved. Naturally, it took Beinn a while to get around to really diving into the project, as he’s a busy man with a lot of other stuff on the go, but once he was elbows-deep he got all of this done and dusted within about two years. “Other than some minor mechanical work, I carried out everything on the build myself,” he explains. “I tried to keep as much of its character and patina, so I was keen to keep all repairs as small as I could while also making the car solid throughout. But the lower half was pretty crusty – pretty much everything below the waistline trim is new metal now! I have a Zender valance that I was thinking of putting on to complete the look, but I think the Alpina valance I’ve put on there was the better choice, along with earlier-style front bumper trims.”

He’s a man with an eye for detail, that’s for sure. A perfectionist, you might say, and someone who would never consider a project to be ‘finished’ as there’s always something else to do. The super-clean boot has been a bit of a talking point at shows, displaying the spare E50, but since our shoot, he’s had a fresh grey loop pile carpet made up to fill the space. And, despite being fully in love with his motorsport rims, he’s pondering swapping on a fresh set for the summer, as you can never have too many wheels.

There’s always the possibility of an entirely separate project too, to go with all the other ones: “My taste isn’t very brand-specific,” he says. “I like a cool spec and a bit of an oddball car. Talking of which, I am currently building an AMC Pacer with my girlfriend…” It’s this nomadic approach that really enables Beinn to create fresh and exciting things. Sure, he wasn’t particularly looking for an E12 – but he’s created one of the coolest and most desirable ones in existence. This build makes all other E12s green with envy.

A lot of work has gone into getting this E12 sitting as low as possible Retro Nardi steering wheel Original corduroy interior is so very cool Stunning BBS E50 17s.Air-ride also makes for a handy air compressor Super-clean boot build M20 straight-six has been raised to allow this E12 to get as low as it can.

DATA FILE E12 520

• ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION 2.0-litre straight-six M20B20, engine mounts raised, electric Mishimoto radiator fan. Four-speed manual gearbox, gearbox mounts raised
• CHASSIS 9x17” (front) and 9.5x17” (rear) 5x112 BBS E50 wheels, Air Lift Performance suspension
• EXTERIOR Amazonite green metallic paint, Alpina front valance, early-style front bumper trims
• INTERIOR Original Fürngrün corduroy interior, Nardi Abarth steering wheel, 2002 wooden gear knob, Bluetooth-converted Bavaria AM radio
• THANKS Thanks to my girlfriend Tegan, Keith Murrell for always helping me out, and my workplace, JLN, for all the blasting and powder-coating