1982 BMW 323i Baur

1982 BMW 323i Baur
Memorial Day 2010 First Drive 1982 323i BMW Baur Lapisblau M20 5 speed #4154 of 4595 made. The car was imported to California by Dietel Enterprises. I have since changed the wheels, installed the clear turn signal lenses, and I am in the process of installing a new cabriolet roof. I have to do something about those bumpers, too. :) I love this car! To see one of the reasons why, check my post "Score One For the Good Guys" on 6/26/2011.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

All The BMWs

Just a quick note to mention a new link in the sidebar: All the BMWs.
That's right.... ALL of them. As in... Every model they ever made!
Or so they say.

Check it out.
Here is an E21 Baur in lapisblau, I think, just like mine! Well, like mine will look someday!

I stumbled on this site the other day.... Prototypes, limited editions, one-offs.... All sorts of great stuff. The rejected Baur design that later became the Z3, etc., etc. Peruse it, click the pics, enjoy.

Fascinating stuff if, like me, you enjoy the historical aspect of the car hobby.

Here is the link (also in the sidebar):
http://www.bmwism.com/all_bmws.htm
And here is the TC2 4 door Baur:




And the E30 Baur ix (awd) .... Like Jeroen's!!



N.B. I will make these pics smaller... As soon as I figure out how to do it!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Jackstand Safety II

In the interest of continuing the safety conversation, here is another post from the late Christian K's Dad.... reposted from bimmerforums.

Frankly, I like the pin type stands also.


"Jackstand suggestions...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

until I design my own sailor proof stand... of course, the chosen support point is equally important as well... take a look at these. Keep in mind, a single ratchet six ton stand killed my son, and he had two in place plus a tire/wheel assembly under the rotor on the side the stand dropped. Don't save money on safety!!!

Link: Amazon.com: jack stands: Automotive

See items 4, 7, 11, 50, (60, 63 - kinda like the bases on these and distribution of weight but need to see the steel specs), 67 and 103. Personally, I am liking the pin only stands now as human performance does not enter into the equation. You don't pin it, it doesn't work. The double safety ratchet/pin design requires human performance to put the pin in. Without it, what do you have? A ratchet stand.

Also, I was taught as an engineer that you do your calcs and multiply by seven for safety and certainty. Hence, my suggestion you look at high tonnage capacity stands.

It is a life afterall - maybe yours - put a price on it. To have my son back I'd liquidate all I have and move to a tent.

Frederick Klorczyk, Jr."

Friday, March 25, 2011

Jackstand Safety

This was posted by bimmerforums member "potenza" in response to the safety issue and the tragic death of Christian Klocyzk.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd205/TKDJimi/IMG_0529.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albu ms/dd205/TKDJimi/IMG_0533.jpg

I am thinking I may build a set. And you? Comments welcome.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Time out: Public Service Safety Message Followup

I was stunned to receive this post in bimmerforums today, in response to the safety message that we posted recently in bimmerforums and on this blog. The post is from the father of the young man who was crushed by his car. I present it in it's entirety.

"I am Christian Klorczyk's father
Good Day,


I feel that I must respond to this post for the sake of accuracy, the honor of my son and family name and also to attempt to save other lives.



Lynne and I are the parents of three sons, Frederick III, Christian, Parker and our "adopted sons", his twin brother Jordan, Dimitri and Dan - all "carguys".



As stated in the article....



"The 21-year-old died Friday after a BMW he was working on collapsed on him in the family garage. Fred Klorczyk said that a floor jack likely failed while his son (Christian) was under the car changing the oil."

Jeff Johnson did a great job on the article on our son, brother and friend and I thank him for that. Jeff was a true gentleman who talked to us for hours in our darkest times to get an accurate depiction of our son and family. However, and unfortunately we do not have it on tape, nor is Jeff a "gearhead" and doesn't really understand jacks, jackstands and multiple layers of safety. I never said, nor is it accurate to say "that a floor jack likely failed..."

Christian is an experienced mechanic who started working on cars and following Formula 1 when he was a small child. He and our whole family witnessed Ayrton "Magic" Senna die at Tamburello 15 years ago. Yes, Christian was only six at the time and he would wake all of us up at 6:30AM to watch the pre-race show in Italy on satellite.

Christian is a true car guy as are his brothers and friends. My business is in the most safety conscious market in the world - nuclear boats, nuclear ships and nuclear power plants. That mentality is my life - has been since I was a kid engineer out of school. Ask any of my employees how I feel about safety. They have the right to stop any job and call me at anytime as no one is to ever get injured on our jobsites. This naturally carried over to my homelife. By the way, my father was a large machine mechanic by trade and a "gearhead" by avocation. No one would use the wrong tools - we have them all and all are of quality. No one in my garage or driveway would ever go under a car with only a jack of any kind holding it up. The jack elevates the car, jackstands support at proper points while working underneath and the jack is removed to improve accessibility. Period. Block the wheels if necessary. Emergency brake on. Car in gear. A lift would be better but we just were not at that point in our lives yet.

Christian had the right front tire off so that he could shine his double halogen lights on the work area and see clearly. He also had that tire/wheel under the right front rotor as an extra measure of safety as is a habit of ours when possible. He had four ton Craftsman jackstands in use. Two were just bought at Christmas when I sent him to buy a new jack since ours is getting to be five years old. Hydraulic cylinders and seals degrade over time. He didn't buy the jack since he felt what Sears, etc., had were junk so he bought more four ton stands but without safety pins. I did not realize there were redundant safety stands until... it was too late.


Christian was using my father's creeper for the first time. He found the creeper when cleaning the garage over Christmas. When he applied torque to the ratchet handle to break the plug loose, he experienced the law of physics of "equal and opposite reaction". As the plug broke loose, the creeper did also in a direction opposite to the torque vector Christian applied. Some part of Christian's body, some part of the creeper, the mallet beside him, something - we have no video, just supposition and theory... tripped the right front jackstand lever inadvertantly from the underside and a ton of the BMW E46 3 series xi crushed his chest and his right cheekbone. He never took, or could even attempt to take a second breath. Death was immediate and painless. If I were beside him at the time this occurred I could have done nothing to save him. This has been verified by five friends of mine who are doctors. I used the floorjack Christian used to elevate the car to get the car off of him. It was parallel to the car just as he would place it when he removed it from the jackpoint. I had to engage the cylinder with clockwise rotation which tells me Christian removed it per proper procedure. I had the jack underneath and car off him in seconds. Jackstands were under before I crawled from under the valance while Lynne called 911. Lynne came under with me from the wheelwell and had a pulse on his neck. She said he it was strong. I was doing chest compressions and trying to get a verbal response until the EMTs got there. When I heard LIFESTAR waved off over the EMT radios I had a sick, sick feeling.


A critical factor, in my professional engineering opinion, is that the creeper raised his body 3.5" higher than it would have been if he would have been working on the concrete as he was used to. It also raised his head 4.5" higher as there is a foam pillow headrest. Both creeper caster wheels at the head position were sheared from the creeper. I can only wonder that if Christian did not use the creeper would he have had the jackstands that high, would the energy at 9.8 m/sec squared have been decreased to a minimum so that if the freak accident happened he would have been injured less, would the extra measure of the tire under the rotor have saved his life without the extra creeper height, would he be alive today? Only God knows.


Christian is a fine, fine man who was known for his smile, intelligence, passion and willingness to help anyone at anytime... just like all of his brothers and "adopted brothers". The five of them and myself were his pall bearers. He would have it no other way. We were that close.


Also, to my fellow "carguys" and "gearheads", please learn from this tragedy. Scrap your cheapo jackstands... do your research, find the best jackstands there are, use the secondary and tertiary safety factors, do not fall to the temptation of human nature and operator error - use the extra safety factors! It may save your life, or maybe the life of you son. Had I would have known such Christian would be with us today.


Lastly, if you want to drive fast please do not do it on the road. Racetracks are readily available for that adrenaline rush we all crave. Track days with instructors are cheap and you are protected far more than


Godspeed Christian! May you be driving God's Veyron for him.


Please feel free to cut and past this article anywhere you think it may prove valuable to fellow "carguys". I pray that none of you ever suffer such a tragedy. May God Bless you all.




Frederick J. Klorczyk, Jr.
Waterford, CT
fjk143@aol.com
Last edited by FJKII; Today at 05:17 PM.. Reason: typo"




This was my response:

Amen.
As the father of two grown sons, I can only imagine the sorrow and pain you and your family have experienced the past two weeks. Words fail to capture the depth of sadness we feel at your loss. Please accept my sincere and heartfelt condolences. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us in your beautiful letter.
I posted my original post in several other forums, and, based on some of the responses received, I know Christian's story has been read around the world. Many people now know what a great kid he was, and he may have even saved a life. I know that can in no way make up for his loss, but I hope it is some small consolation to you.
God be with you.

Tom
Niantic

Saturday, March 19, 2011

East Coast Represent!!


From Mark Spizzirri's blog in 2009.

Any Baurspotters on Long Island?
1981 BMW 3 series Baur
Posted by mark in Cars on September 13, 2009

"http://markspizz.net/?p=424
This was a rare sighting – a 1981 BMW TC1, converted by Baur. I don’t know much about these 3 series convertibles, but it seems that they are pretty rare. I think this is an E21 model, but that bizarre grill is really throwing me off. Sighted in Merrick, NY. Feel free to update this with any information you may know."


Ok, the West Coast Baurhunters just found the proverbial needle in the haystack, by locating the "Baur in the Bush". An Amazing feat, for sure!

Can we mobilize Team Baur (East Coast Division) to accomplish a similar feat? Who knows??

Here is the challenge:

The quote above was posted in Mark Spizzirri's blog back in 2009.

This car was photographed in Merrick, Long Island in 2009. If it is the car we think it may be, it may have belonged to Christiane Baur at some point, according to Jeroen. Yes, that is Baur as in BMW Baur. Yes, THE Baur family. A Celebrity vehicle, of sorts.

This was Jeroen's comment on the original Bimmerforums post (Baur TC1 in the US thread, Page 6):
"I'm sure it isn't a US-car, because this colour (Zypressengrün-metallic 152) wasn't used on a 320i US. I also would like to know why this couldn't be a M20 320/6. Because these have also the single exhaust like the M10's.

From what I can make of it:
-Zypressengrün
-Brown roof
-Light interior (stoff pergament)
But then my problem: what colour are the (rear) windows? From what I can see, they are "not coloured" or brown. He also tells us that the car is from 1981. If the windows are not green-tinted, that would leave a single car. The 320/6 A72594. A car once owned by Christiane Baur."


Can we find it?

Square headlights. Zypressgrun (green metallic) color, tan interior seat covers, --- are those BBS wheels?---- single tailpipe, NY plates DHA 8816 (at the time), and rear spoiler. License plate surround says " Movin' on".

It was almost 60 degrees here today.... The convertibles are coming out of hibernation up north. This may be the ONLY Baur on Long Island, if it still exists. So, if anyone sees a Baur on Long Island, ...... CALL ME!!

:)

Ok, well, email me or post it here somewhere.

Merrick is roughly between Hempstead (where American Sunroof Company [former Baur licensee] was located, btw) and the Jones Beach area on Long Island, NY. Hmmm... A beach resort area, warm weather coming.... If it still exists, it is gonna be out there sooner or later.

Is this car the 320/6 A72594?

Only one way to find out for sure: let's find it! Keep your eyes peeled! :)
Good luck!

There is a pic of the car in the right column of this blog... 'Have you seen this Baur?". More pics on mark Spizzirri's website referenced above, and on the bimmerforums thread: Baur TC1s in the US, page 6.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Followup on the Wide Body Baur in VA

We have received some additional information from bimmerforums member 'vev' regarding his wide body Baur. This info has been posted in the bimmerforums thread "Baur TC1 in the US" already, but I wanted to update it here for the benefit of the blog readers.

The following is vev's post:

"I spoke to Lothar Schuettler. His recollection is that the car came to the U.S. with modifications already done, including the widebody. He believes that the body kit is from Hartge. He reviewed the existing records and forwarded the following:

"The car came in to port of Baltimore #1303 on 12/11/85 entry #86164588 2
via transport ship Kaijin Maru
by the Herman Ludwig Inc agency on behalf of Adrea L Brier. later Brier-Coleman
We took possession of it from Adrea Brier-Coleman in 7/18/88 and sold it to
Jean-Louis Evenou on 9/1/88
per his request we installed:
2 BBS 15x7 and 2x15x9 wheels - RS Design
Momo sport steering wheel
Flofit sport seats
New front grills
Four speed manual transmission (not sure why it was replaced and don't know if it was new or reman)
and we repainted the car or parts of the car (again no details on this.)"

The car still has the parts identified in the correspondence except I think it now has a five speed transmission. I am going to ask for copies of the paperwork. Looks like additional answers might reside across the Atlantic."



Wow, very interesting stuff, and we are indebted to vev for sharing that with us. Thank you, vev!

There are still some big gaps in this 'unofficial provenance', but this is certainly great information for the owner of any special car to have. At the very least, it is a great starting point for vev to pursue further--- and we hope he does!--- and we are happy to have been able to assist in some small way.

The first gap is in the car's early life prior to it's arrival stateside (1979-12/11/1985). This is apparently when the bodywork was done, possibly by Hartge. This is a relatively early car, so I am not sure what info Jeroen (Our Man Over There) can get on it. :)

(This week I came across a local BMW 7 Series for sale that has a "euro " wide body kit from Koenig, reportedly. It may be interesting to compare it with vev's wide body kit... Which I can't say I have seen in a good pic yet. I am working with a new iPad2 here, so I don't know if I can figure out how to post a pic of that 7 Series in here. It is a very strange looking car.) :)


Here is vev's wide body Baur.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1473937&page=2

This should be the thread for the wide body 7 Series.. It is called: "WWCD.... What would Charbel Do". Check it out. Do you know who Charbel is? If you do not know... Suffice it to say that Charbel is legendary in bimmerforums.... He is the BMW Fanatic's Fanatic! At this moment, he probably has 30 or 40 bmws, including some really great examples! He is such a great enthusiast that I even overlook the fact that he hasn't learned to appreciate the Baurs. Yet. I love the guy. Come to bimmerforums and check it out.

The second gap to fill is from Jean-Louis Evenou's ownership (1988) until vev took possession of it. That may be fairly easy to trace since it appears that the car may have remained in the MD/DC/VA area during that time.

We wish vev every success in this endeavor, and hope he will continue to keep us informed on his progress. This is not only a great little "how-to" story for any car owner seeking to find his car's provenance, but it is also an inspiration to those seekers that.... it can be done!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Baur in the Bush at the Beach

We have an update on the Baur in the Bush:

Josh Cook, a Bimmerforums mainstay, is developing a book, with Jimbo (full swing) R. on the BMW E21. Josh expressed an interest in using the pic of the Baur in the Bush for the book. I forwarded that info to Rick C, the photographer, and today he has given Josh the OK to use the pic!

Congratulations, Baurhunters! With the help of Rick C, Josh, and Jimbo, we may yet make the Baur in the Bush famous!

Today ... A book!

Tomorrow: I can hardly wait for the movie!

;)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1233/623995866_2c59a8abe9_o.jpg

Monday, March 14, 2011

Time Out: Public Service Safety Message

This is a great, fun hobby.  But we should never lose sight of the fact that it can be dangerous, and actually lethal.  Please take a moment to read the very sad local story that happened this weekend nearby.

Safety first:  always, always use redundant safety systems when working under a car.  Please. 

NEVER trust a jack.  Chock the wheels.  Use several sturdy jack stands under safe, strong jack points. Watch for weak, rusted areas.  I like to throw a spare tire/rim under an upraised wheel... just to give me that little extra margin of safety, should all else fail.  It happens.

The article below was on the front page of the local paper today.  He was changing the oil on his BMW.  21 years old.  I don't care how strong you are, very few of us can bench press a car off of your chest.  I know I can't.  And I don't ever want that opportunity to prove I can't. 

Waterford man died doing what he loved most

Stay safe.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Baur in the Bush: The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer. Motto of The US Army Corps of Engineers

Also, now the adopted Motto of Baurspotting. :)

Here's why:

Well, in my last post I commented that it would be pretty amazing if we were to find the forlorn Baur in the Brush. Within about 36 hours of that post, Tom D, bimmerforums member from Monterey, CA, (and fellow Connecticut Yankee from way back) posted that he had gone to a satellite site, and had not only found the location, but he could see the car still in the brush.... Stating that it was pointed in a southeasterly direction. And.... It was not far from the road and the beach.

Most amazingly of all, he stated that last summer, he passed within 150 feet of that spot on a motorcycle trip! The satellite pic actually dates from May 2009. The original flickr pic was taken in 2007, and our Intrepid Baurhunter (Tom D) checked the California stickers on the plate: the plate appears to date from 2004. So it appears that the car was parked between 2004 and 2007 (date of flickr pic). Satellite pic in 2009 shows it was still there. There is a good chance that the car is still there now! Tom D has indicated that he may be able to take a trip up there in the next few months to check it out.

Tom D: Baurhunter of the Week!

Who would have thought that we could take a 4 year old pic pulled out of nowhere, and nail it down like this in such a short time! Ok, so we don't have it in hand yet.... But, day um. We are getting pretty close. What are the chances that one of our members would have been within 150 feet of this car within the last year? Amazing.

Thanks again to all, and thanks to you, Tom D! We may be able to salvage this one yet. Conkitchen is resurrecting one (check out his project in bimmerforums thread "Baur TC1 in the US".) Maybe someone can do the same with this one.

For the play-by-play, please check out the bimmerforums thread: "wanted: crushed or alive" ....which is where this unfolded.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Forlorn Baur Located!!

I just got an email from the photographer of that forlorn Baur in the Brush pictured in the sidebar.  He doesn't know if the car is still there, but he has sent the location:

39 degrees 33'57.19"N
123 degrees 46' 03.33"W


Now we just need an intrepid Baurhunter volunteer to find that spot, take a few pics, and make a few inquiries.

Any volunteers?

It will be pretty amazing if we can find it, won't it?

Monday, March 7, 2011

Establishing Some Unofficial Provenance: Skip Tracing a Baur



The primary purpose of this blog is to locate and identify all the Baur TC1s in the US.  In the process of doing that, we have come across several cases in which the same car keeps popping up in different places, effectively tracing it through several owners... giving it a little history, and a sort of unofficial provenance.  Part of the reason this is happening, of course, is because we are talking about a finite number of cars that have an unusual appearance, thus increasing their chance of being noticed.  There aren't that many Baurs in the US to begin with, so the more we look, and the more people we have acting as our eyes and ears, it is perhaps not all that surprising that we should have multiple sightings of some of the same few cars. 

One of the techniques we have used in our searches is similar to the technique known as 'skip-tracing'.  Wikipedia gives the following:  "Skiptracing is done by collecting as much information as possible about the subject which is then analyzed, reduced, and verified. Sometimes the subject's current whereabouts are in the data, but are obfuscated by the sheer amount of information or disinformation. More often the data will be used to identify third parties that might be able to assist the process."  Think Dog the Bounty Hunter.  ;)

Of course, in our 21st Century version of skip-tracing..... we just Google everything!  MUCH easier!  :) 

That is exactly how we were able to uncover some great info on Baur #471, the widebody owned by 'vev', a Bimmerforum member.  It was originally thought to be a Dietel-modified car, but when that info did not pan out, the question arose as to who did the modification work?

70471 323i  Northern Virginia

He had a clue:  the letters:  "ASU", which he tracked down to being a reference to a former business called Auto Styling Unlimited, in Rockville, MD.  We were able, thanks to Google, to parlay that clue into the name of the former sales manager at ASU, now in another career, and living 200 miles away. We were able to contact him and .... Bingo!  This gentleman not only remembered the car and some of the modifications done nearly 30 years ago, but he gave the name and website of the first owner for whom the modifications were performed.  He also provided the name of another important BMW player in those days whose company did a lot of importing of BMW Euro vehicles, as well as custom suspension, performance and styling modifications. It was like stumbling onto the Motherlode!

So, thanks to some googling and 'skip-tracing', we have gone from having one inscrutable clue  to now having the names of three persons who were present at the birth, so to speak, and perhaps the beginnings of establishing some unofficial provenance for the wide body Baur!  Not too shabby for about a weekend's work for Team Baurhunter!  Great work, boys and girls!  There is still a lot of info to be discovered, but this is certainly a great start along the way!

Friday, March 4, 2011

One Less US Baur

Baur #70868

I did some tracking on this car... I found an old post from 2005, from Euro Trash MAX, referencing two Baurs that he owned. I was able to contact him and he responded that he sold the 70868 to mtthompson of this forum. I contacted mtthompson, and he has since moved and sold the car to Jan Bellan in Belgium. He thinks Jan may have parted it or scrapped it. The bottom line is.... 70868 is no longer a US Baur.

Ok, one down....
 
Here is a link to a thread about the car a couple of years ago, with pics.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1030658

The google map has been adjusted accordingly.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en...0262f15966&z=3


Euro Trash MAX does still own another Baur ('with a 3.5L stuffed in it"), and I am awaiting some info on that one.