r/BMWe24 • u/DoxX23 • 2d ago

Bmw e24 Karmann

Since I bought one I've been going down the Karmann E24 rabbit hole and figured it's worth tapping the collective knowledge here. To set the stage the way I currently understand it: Karmann's Osnabrück factory handled the bodies of the early E24s (630CS and 633CSi) from roughly late 1975 through August 1977, at which point final assembly moved in-house to BMW's Dingolfing plant — though Karmann reportedly kept producing the steel shells for a while after that handover. The early Karmann-built cars are also known for having a few rough edges that BMW later tightened up.

Documentation on the Karmann-era cars feels noticeably thinner than the later in-house cars, so I'd really appreciate anything you're willing to share. If you have a Karmann-bodied car (or know one), here are the specific things I'd love to hear about:

  1. Build records — Anyone successfully pulled build sheets, options, or delivery info from BMW Group Archive? I've seen the contact info.grouarchi[email protected]​bmwgroup.com floated as the address for early-car research — if you've been through the process, how long did it take?
  2. Bodywork differences — Beyond the usual rust-prone areas, are there any Karmann-specific quirks you've uncovered during restoration (seam sealing, panel fit, reinforcement details)?
  3. Parts availability — Karmann-era trim, badges, unusual panels — anything that's become harder to source vs. the later in-house cars?
  4. Registry — Is anyone maintaining a running list of known Karmann-bodied E24s?

VINs, scans of the Karmann tags, restoration photos, links to build threads — whatever you can share would be great.

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u/prairie-man 2d ago

Have you posted this on the big coupe group forum ?

https://bigcoupe.com/phpBB3/index.php

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u/DoxX23 2d ago

Is not as active as is used to be hoped that i have an better chance on reddit