Back on November 24th I decided to send Happy Face out for restoration.  I had spent the last 4 years bringing this car back to life myself.  I made good progress but it was clear to me that at the pace I was moving, it would take years to restore.  On the other hand I could settle for a rattling, fun to drive, old BMW that would ultimately never get a lot of seat time, always with the risk of a breakdown.  Since what I really wanted was a concours or near-concours example of an 'O2, I made the decision to put the car in the hands of a proper restoration shop.  I chose Coupe King out of Los Angeles, owned and run by Peter Sliskovich.  They have a good track record of restoring old BMW's and they seem reasonable.  Coupe King keeps a nice web page update page on their projeects.  My car's page is located here:  http://www.coupeking.com/product_main.php?product_id=387

When Happy arrived at Coupe King Peter Sliskgovich gave it a thorough inspection.  There was bad news.  Turns out that the car had suffered an accident some years in the past which resulted in frame rail damage.  This explained a lot of things, like why I could never really get the drive train aligned properly, among other things

In order to make the car right, the frame would have to be straightened.  That would cost.

So, luck would have it that Coupe King had a '72 near perfect 'shell' sitting in the back of their warehouse.  That car had been destined to be a racer, but the project never got off the ground.  Peter suggested we do a body swap.  Take the guts of Happy Face out, and swap her over to this other shell.  The plan would be to 'restore' the car, using this 'other' body.  Since it was my intention to do a frame off restoration anyway, would difference would it ultimately make if it was a whole new body? 

the other shell

In the last two weeks the car has had some minor body repair work done, and taken its first coat of primer.  Here are some shots of the progress:

Small area on the lower front where water collection had led to rust. The panel was removed, rustproofed, and replaced.

Beginning the body work. Trunk and hood off, cleaning the corners.

Here the exterior is in prime. A bit of detail sanding and then a deep prime coat to dry before painting.

So now the exterior body is all in primer. Still need to do the lids--hood and deck--and the engine bay and trunk areas,  For the next few weeks the exterior prime coat will cure before getting to paint. The car should be in color by middle March.

Hood is nearly perfectly straight. Original paint and in near perfect shape.