1958 BMW Isetta Convertible

Email: rod@oodnil.com

1958 BMW Isetta convertible: This was my 2nd frame off restoration done in the mid 80’s. Back then parts could be hard to find. There weren’t many repro parts out there, you had to find what you could and restore old parts. One supplier in California (Marilyn Felling) and some items available from BMW, mostly engine parts. It had about 22,000 total miles on it, when I sold it (1,500 miles on the speedo). Every part on this car was sandblasted & repainted, replated, polished or replaced. I tried to keep this car as original as I could.

ENGINE: Pretty much shot, I rebuilt it in a community college auto engine class. Replaced the piston, valves, valve springs, valve guides, timing chain & tensioner, bearings, gaskets and seals. Original aluminum piston rod/crankshaft assembly was replaced with a steel/roller bearing rod. NOS carburetor body installed with new jets, float & seals.

BRAKES: All wheel cylinders, hoses, brake pads and master cylinder replaced. Filled with silicone brake fluid.

SUSPENSION: All kingpin and suspension arm bronze bushings replaced, shocks rebuilt, silen blocks replaced,

INTERIOR: Original vinyl “basket weave” seat material replaced, the rear parcel shelf is not quite original as I didn’t like the cardboard like original material and decided to cover it with matching vinyl for a better wear surface. new original style floor mat, side panels replaced with similar style and “reflective” insulation added behind panels. Even the speedometer was taken apart, numbers were cleaned out, repainted, put back together and reset to 0.

BODY: Original body scrapped, too bad to repair. Found this one in Wisconsin, needed a lot of body work. Stripped in a liquid bath of all rust, badly rusted areas replaced with new metal, which was the entire floor, lower door and sides. Repainted in Ermine White which is close to the original BMW white. All chrome replated. Convertible and sunroof tops handmade by my mom. The rubber seals around the convertible top were not available, I found a Cadillac seal that worked for one but had to repair the other and use it.

RARE OPTIONS (back then anyway) INCLUDE: Interior/exterior luggage racks, wheel trim rings, locking gas cap, mud flaps with stone guards, front door air vents, ashtray, dual windshield wipers. Note: Inside luggage rack was NOS from Marilyn Felling, brand new with the netting, front door vents original, never could find them reproduced back then

I sold the car back in 2000, didn’t use it much, couldn’t fit the whole family in it. Ended up buying a BMW 600, restored that, then found an Amphicar, sold the 600 and kept the Amphicar.

The Isetta went to someone in California, who also used it a little and sold it. 2011-12 its been listed on Ebay for close to $40,000! Seems like a lot for an older restoration. But it is a nice car, I’m surprised it only has 400 miles on it since I sold it. Unless someone fixed it, you will find a small hairline crack in the paint back by the engine cover (Isettas vibrated a lot) and the convertible top has a small tear that happened when it was installed. I patched it with one of those leather/vinyl repair kits.

This BMW Isetta convertible was always a lot of fun, never left me stranded. Looking back, I wish I had kept it.