This is one of Alvin Tan’s web-finds from ebay in Atlanta.  As strange
it may seem, the seller was asking less than $10K for this rare (one
of approx. 1500 units produced) example never imported to the USA.
This one in the rarer, Polaris silver color was originally sold in
Italy and came equipped with factory supplied sport seats and dogleg
five-speed transmission.

Even though  Alvin had another 2002Turbo restoration in process, he
“pulled the trigger” and purchased the car without a visual
inspection.

After dismantling and stripping to bare metal, the car was found to be
surprisingly rust-free and straight.  The interior and original
one-piece carpet were removed and cleaned.  The engine was rebuilt and
the final assembly completed by Sean Casey of Casey Motorsports in
Petaluma, CA.

The results are stunning.  Great care was taken to preserve the subtle
sheet metal creases and panel fit — good enough to win first place in
the Original 02s category of the 2009 BMW CCA West Coast Summer
Concourse in Monterey, CA.

“Jabberjaw” is the nickname of this 1973 BMW — named after the
Hanna-Barbera cartoon character for its shark-like contours and
color..

It’s another project from Alvin Tan’s stable of BMWs.  It came to us
with a majority of the mechanical work completed.  A 3.5 liter M90
engine with L-Jetronic fuel injection and dog-leg five speed
conversion with Euro- 3:07 rear gear gave the car some performance
numbers fit for the Autobahn.  So we set out to tackle this project to
increase its “curb-appeal.”

BMW’s timeless, understated design coupe bodies are notorious for
rust, and this car, like so many Karmann-built bodies, was no
exception.  All original panels were stripped to bare metal and in
some cases cut away to expose areas prone to rust.  Where rust was
found, it was removed and patched and the the new metal treated to
prevent further ravages by the “tin worm.”  More than 400 hours of
labor were devoted to body prep and paint.  The critical edge creases
and door gaps are matched perfectly.  The flawless two-stage Polaris
silver paint has amazing depth and brilliance.

It’s the details, however, that make this CS coupe outstanding.  The
color-matched CSL airdam, rear spoiler and “3.5 CSL” waistline stripes
along with the staggered-width Alpina wheels (7″ and 8″) provide a
1970s retro-Motorsport-look.

Inside, there is all new zebra-wood veneers on the dash with
restored/recalibrated factory gauges.  A rear sun-shade from a 1980s
E24 coupe was adapted to the rear parcel shelf . Porsche wine red
leather covers the surfaces of the rare, Scheel-Mann recliners and
leather-wrapped Alpina steering wheel tops off the look and feel of
the earlier days of BMW performance automobiles.

Many thanks, to Shaun Pocar at eshaun.com for the magnificent photography Job!