Rare Barn Find: 1938 BMW 327
The BMW 327 was a touring car (both coupe and cabriolet) built between 1937 and 1941 – and briefly again after World War II. Production numbers were small, so these automobiles were not widely seen when new and less so today after 85 years. This original – and mostly – complete car from 1938 has recently emerged from a barn and received a bath before being listed here on eBay. The location is Homer Glen, Illinois and the current bid has reached $18,100 with an unmet reserve. Thanks for this interesting and significant find, Kyle K!
From what we can tell, the 327 was developed based in part on the existing inventory. For example, it rode on a shortened chassis from the BMW 326, and lots of the underpinnings from the 326, too. The cars were powered by a BMW M78 inline-6 engine which was not exclusive to the 327 either. Estimates are that less than 1,400 copies of the 327 were built during its original five years of production.
We don’t know how long this BMW was in captivity, but the amount of dirt and dust would suggest many years. The seller provides a few “before” photos and even more “after” photos once it received a good scrubbing. We’re told it’s a complete and unmolested car and it would be worthy of restoration if for no other reason than its rarity. The motor turns free, so there’s a reason here for mechanical optimism.
The tan paint looks decent once cleaned up, but the convertible top may be tattered. The interior will need a complete makeover and time and other inhabitants of the barn have had their way with the insides of the car. We’re told that most of the items you will need to complete a restoration can be secured from a firm in Germany that the seller can put the buyer into contact with. If you’re familiar with these vehicles, when was the last time you saw one, in any condition?
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Comments
The back story would be interesting reading too I’ll bet. It’s probably going to cost a high roller blackjack pot or two but it’d be worth it to anyone with appreciation of old European machinery.
Come to think of it, this is the first I’ve seen of one outside the coffee table classic car books!
That is a beautiful car.
It’s also for sale on Hemmings for $79,500. There is also a restored one for sale at $139,500.
The minute I saw the car and Model I know it was money.
This one is lucky that a P-51 didn’t install aftermarket air conditioning in it.
So is Homer Glen, Illinois!!
It would be more likely a P-47 would have strafed it, more firepower and it’s radial engine destroyed more ground targets than any other fighter.
I am sure a P-47 would have strafed it, especially if it was driven by a pretty lady with 2 kids. They were real heroes, those guys.
Good T-bolt point
Never have been much of a BMW fan…. however, I do like the style of this one… nice looking car
These are great cars that can hide rust surprisingly well. Beware of rotten wood in the A-posts, which hold the doors, windshield, and the cross support for the dashboard. Rot can occur in the wood around the front of the rear deck that holds the convertible top as well. All wood replacement is custom work that involves significant metal cutting. Mechanical parts are available; quality trim bits less so. I note incorrect rear bumpers on this, but they look neatly done. The one on Hemmings for ~$139k isn’t restored but it’s a decent driver – and it has a later aluminum BMW V8, which I think is neat.
The last time I saw one was this past Saturday when I opened my garage.
Upside down at half the seller’s hoped-for price
Depends on who’s buying. Nicely restored cars have gone well north of 200k and if the wood and metal on this are good, then they might not be too far out of the ballpark. It’s been a while but I’ve seen worse sell beyond $100k. Mine’s solid with good wood but still needs much and I wouldn’t let it go for $35k. This one, I’d get running, redo the interior & top, and drive for a while as long as it’s sound. The frames are beefy and metal of good quality. This one’s ~112 cars after mine.
Interested in selling yours by chance?
Beautiful car which will be rescued by someone with taste, money and vision. But expensive if the ask is $80,000.
Money would be no object. It will be restored by someone who wants one to own and maybe drive, not as an investment.
This is a historic car that deserves to be restored. Albert Speer drove one as well as the scary Heinrich Himmler. A great car to be used for wartime films. I think enough time has gone by for the Nazi stigma to have nearly worn off. Whoever buys it will know what he or she is doing, as I can’t see too many people spending a lot on one of these who is clueless,so the market place will determine its true value. Fully restored, this will be a very valuable piece.
The word “nearly” is important here. As the son of a B-17 pilot who was shot down, spent 2-1/2 years in Stalag Luft III, and the rest of his life (as well as our family) dealing with undiagnosed/untreated PTSD, it really hasn’t been long enough for me. I am fairly certain that I am not alone in this feeling. Perhaps ten years after my generation has passed away might be a more appropriate time.
I understand where you and others are coming from. My father bought the one I have while he was serving in the US Army in Germany in 1964 and based upon some experiences he had even then, he felt some ambivalence towards the car. I have a photo of a slave laborer’s BMW ID badge and that will remain in the car while I have it.
John Eder & Old Car Guy: What is with you two? You make it seem like I said something pro-Nazi. I made a reference about enough time having gone by for the Nazi stigma to have nearly worn off. That means that 78 years have gone by and someone can actually buy and restore the car without there being too many people out there who will start invoking the Nazis when looking at the 327. Is saying that Himmler was scary also pro-Nazi?… I sometimes get a sense that there are people just waiting for anythiing to jump on, to make themselves out to be victims.
Laurence:
“…without there being too many people…”
Within the small sample that BF provides, you already found a number of folks who still make those associations. No one implied or stated that you were pro-Nazi. We just disagree with your apparent opinion that WW II is now so far in the past that we can just move on and act like we can ignore what these items represent. There is, indeed, still a stigma for many. I also think that it is a disservice to younger generations to “sanitize” things, making this just another cool old car for them. Like it or not, it possibly had a small bit part in a globally significant event. We are possibly older than you, and are certainly not looking to become victims. Our timeframe for minimizing the war hasn’t ended yet. For many of us, WW II had a bigger presence in and impact on our lives than “Saving Private Ryan”, a history book or a video game.
Many years ago I saw a 327 just like this among three or four similar cars in a dirt-floored Quonset hut in the mountains just west of Boulder, Colorado. I’d almost bet it was this car. The stash was owned by a retired engineer.
My best (and only) BMW story involves two complete but decrepit 327/328s I spotted at a store called Automobilia just outside New Hope, Pennsylvania, in 1968. The guy wanted $1,200 each, but I had neither the money nor the space, so I passed. Forty years later I was telling this to a BMW restorer on the Colorado Grand. He replied, “I bought those cars!”
I grew up in Richboro not far from New hope. Always has been some neat stuff stored away out there…just have to find then
Laurence:
Not in my book. I still remember neighbours that didn’t make it back, so no german stuff for me. Except my best friend. Sorry if I’m not PC, but old hurts die hard.
@OCG, I’m with you. No matter how nice prewar German cars appear, I can’t get by the labor that likely helped build them and the party members that drove them.
I’ll take my 1940 International D2 pickup thank you. And this is from an owner of a modern MB E400 biturbo.
When I was about 6 years old, my family was eating dinner in a restaurant when another family came in and sat in the closest booth to us. Then they started speaking German. Even though we were in the middle of our meal, my father (ex-POW) stood up, took out his wallet and threw enough money on our table to cover our meals and said, “We’re leaving- let’s get the he** out of here.”, which we promptly did. I have never forgotten that meal, even though it was over 60 years ago.
John Eder,
Believe it or not, I am not writing again to fight with you–just to bring closure to all this. I accept that you are telling me you were not implying I am pro-Nazi. I am glad to read that.
We obviously see the world somewhat differently. I am about to turn 65, so my age is close to yours. My father was in the war in North Africa. My mum was a teen-age air warden in London and her childhood home was totally destroyed. My family lost relatives to the Germans as well as the Japanese. One uncle of mine in the Pacific lost half his limbs…but not to battlefield wounds. It’s so horrific it can’t be mentioned how…but I don’t get angry every time I see a Japanese vehicle.
You believe that a car such as a BMW 327 is something to be despised because it was made in Hitler’s Germany. You believe it should still be despised and for years yet to come. I feel strongly about the evilness of the regimes that governed Germany and Japan, but where I differ from you is that–while never forgetting what happened–one has to start to let go eventually…and an inanimate object is not a living being. Even the German-speaking people who made your father and yourself leave the restaurant…how did your father and yourself know that they were Nazis? There were some Germans–not many–who were in the resistance…such as Willy Brandt. Also, how did you and your father know that those German speakers were not Swiss-Germans, who would have been totally neutral during the war? I believe in letting go and not being overly black and white about everything. You obviously think differently. I assume then, getting back to things automotive that you must cringe with anger every time you see a VW Bug? After all, Hitler designed the front end.
In closing, we obviously don’t see the world through the same lens, but that is what diversity of opinion is about. Have a nice day.
No longer available, i will guess sold off of FeeBay.
No matter what, this is a very cool car. I hear the theme from Hogan’s Heros playing in the background. Not knowing it’s history, to me it surprising any of these survived but it is good it did.
IF it were built in Dor-Dora (for example) by slave labor the quality must be abysmal … I’d wager not a lot pride in workmanship, there
The workmanship & materials on these cars is excellent & I don’t believe that the Germans were using such labor before the outbreak of WW2. Roughly 200 of the ~1400 built have survived, which speaks well of their quality, especially considering the pummeling Germany (rightfully) took in WW2. Mine will wear the US military plates that were on it when it was last registered.
I suspect the ad was ended when after a couple of days, with a starting bid of only $1,000, there were no bids. It’s still on his website for sale.
In 1976-1978 I worked for a large BMW dealership and my boss was eagerly seeking older BMW cars to buy for his private collection. He was especially eager to buy 326, 327 and 328 cars. I found him a beautiful gray and blue 326 cabriolet that “we” bought out of West Virginia, and eventually I found a pair of 327 cars in New England, one was missing it’s drive train, but both were added to the collection. The car with no engine had been butchered, so my boss ended up installing a modern BMW 2002Tii engine & 5-speed gearbox. That car was a pleasure to drive!
I mention all this because I think I had contact with the former owner of this car, It’s been 45 years and my memory ain’t the best, but the older guy I was dealing with had an ivory colored 327 2-door cabriolet that was a nice original car, running and driving. He sent me photos [which I no longer own] and I’m pretty damn sure it’s the same car. The photos showed the car outside a single car garage, and it sure looked really nice.
Problem was, he wanted far too much money, about $25,000 if I am correct. Boss said it was too expensive, so we never went to look at it.
Forgot to mention . . .
A longtime friend in Virginia passed away in 2020. He had a rare post-war version of the 327 convertible coupe, known as an EMW [Eisenacher Motoren Werke]. After the war, the factory in Eisenach came under east German rule, and they continued to produce the pre-war BMW cars until about 1952, under the EMW brand.
His EMW was semi-restored but with a more modern drive train, but it sold very fast, the new owner brought the car to Poland, where it underwent an intense and high quality restoration back to the exact EMW specs. That car recently sold for [I’m told] about 500,000 Euros.
I still have some original 327 BMW emblems from this car as well as some original Frazer-Nash-BMW emblems, should anyone need some. I’ve even got the original EMW radiator emblem in red/white instead of the BMW blue/white colors, but that’s not for sale.
I’m sort of familiar with the EMW Werks building BMW motorcycles after the war but I didn’t know they also built cars. I’ve resto-modded a few EMW R35 motorcycles with more modern BMW airhead motors.
Jimbosidecar,
BMW car & bike manufacturing was in Eisenach, Munich was Aero engines.
Great story Bill! I bet that red/white roundel kicks tail! Thanks, Mike!
leiniedude,
I have a long time German friend I met over there in 1974, and he collects automotive emblems. One he has always wanted is the EMW badge. He’s going to be here in about 10 days for a visit, & he’s going to be surprised when he goes back home with that emblem.
Fantastic car! Seldom seen anywhere.
To the best of my knowledge this car did not commit any war crimes.