1938 BMW 327 Cabriolet

The BMW 327 Sports-Tourer was introduced in 1938 and rested atop a shortened, boxed, ladder-type chassis of the 326 Saloon and was suspended by semi-elliptic rear springing in place of torsion bars. The four-speed Hurth manual gearbox had freewheeling between 1st and 2nd gears, allowing clutch-less gear changes at low speeds. Hydraulic brakes at all four corners providing the stopping power and there was centralized chassis lubrication. The pushrod six-cylinder engine displaced 1,971cc and produced 55 horsepower in Type 55 form, as installed in the 327 - it could also be ordered with the 328 sport car's 80 horsepower 'Hemi-head' engine for an additional cost.

By the time production ceased in 1941, a total of 1,124 examples of the BMW 327 convertible had been built. The post-War EMW (Eisenacher Motoren Werke) 327 was a continuation of the pre-war BMW 327 coupe and cabriolet and was nearly identical to its pre-war counterpart apart from having front-hinged doors. BMW's factory at Eisenach ended up behind the Iron Curtain after WWII, and the occupying Russians chose to restart production of pre-war designs rather than stripping it bare. Production lasted until 1950 when legal action allowed the Munich firm to reassert its rights to the trademark.

This BMW 327 is finished in yellow paint with a tan interior. During the 1990s, the car was owned by Ralph Day of Concord, CA, who had found the car abandoned under a collapsing wooden carport in an Atlanta, GA backyard. At the time, it wore its original green paint but was in poor condition due to the elements and time. Mr. Day undertook a long and thorough restoration through Stewart Laidlaw's restoration shop in Angel's Camp, CA, which took three years to complete. Upon completion of the nut-and-bolt restoration, it wore non-original Yellow. It was invited to be displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1993.

The car was later acquired by a Japanese collector and shown at local events in the Ibaraki region, around Tsukuba.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022