Welcome Aboard To A New 1984 318i TC2 Baur!

I am pleased to welcome a new Baur owner to our midst:  Ross D. of Texas.

He has just bought this TC2 Baur.  Ross introduced himself a few days ago in the E30 bimmerforum:

"Howdy y'all - just bought a 1984 318i Baur. I cannot find the plate on the driver's side. I have the owner's manual that came with with Baur top. I'm confused as to why the plate is not there. Any help would be appreciated."

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=25163600#post25163600

Looks pretty clean from here!

There is a bit of a mystery with this Baur:  The Baur plate is missing, and there is this curious burnt/rusty spot where the plate should be.  It vaguely reminds me of the pics of those burnt spots on the ground where UFOs supposedly have landed.  Hmmm.  Now.... don't get me wrong,  I am NOT necessarily saying that this Baur plate was abducted by aliens. But, in the absence of any other viable explanation, I AM saying that .... we can't rule it out!

:)   

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." 

 ----Sherlock Holmes.

Baurspotting has a couple of our BEST GUYS working on the case right now, scouring for clues, tracking down leads, etc.  

Even noted Baur Guru, Jeroen J. in The Netherlands, has run into a dead end on this one:  "Hmm, for some reason this topic doesn't pop up when I search for Baur.  About the 8717253, I can't find it in the production lists."

So stay tuned!

Here is what Ross himself  has told us about his new acquisition:  "I'll try to get some pics early this evening. I bought it from a retired Air Force NCO who bought it from an Air Force colonel. Supposedly the colonel had it built to US specs so he could bring it back to the US. It has the big bumpers. The top has the TC/BAUR markings so I'm confused about the missing plate."

Nice!  The First Aid Kit!

Looks like a Baur manual.  Not sure how helpful that Chilton's will be, though... pretty generic stuff.  The Bentley's Manual is the one you want.   Haynes has one too, of course. 

Here is the build sheet on the car, courtesy of THE POOLEMAN in E30 bimmerforums!  Thanks, Ed!

Here it is:

"Vehicle information

VIN long WBAAK7408E8717253

Type code AK74

Type 318I (USA)

Dev. series E30 ()

Line 3

Body type LIM

Steering LL

Door count 2

Engine M10

Cubical capacity 1.80

Power 0

Transmision HECK

Gearbox MECH

Colour POLARIS/IMOLASILBER METALLIC (060)

Upholstery PACIFIC KUNSTLEDER (0167)

Prod. date 1984-01-02


Order options
No. Description
285 LT/ALY WHEELS BMW STYLING

400 SLIDING SUNROOF MANUAL

530 AIR CONDITIONING

835 TOURISTEN-AUSFUEHRUNG

985 US-RADIOERGAENZUNGSSATZ


According to the VIN your car was produced for the US market and in the option list it is is missing option code #829 which is preparation for convertible conversion."

That appears to be consistent with what Ross reported above:  "Supposedly the colonel had it built to US specs so he could bring it back to the US. It has the big bumpers."  

We know that some Baurs were converted during production, i.e., they sent to Baur for conversion to the Top Cabriolet by the factory.  When the conversion was completed, they were returned to the factory for shipment to dealers.   

We also know that customers could buy a car from the dealer, and then have the dealer send it over to Baur for conversion to the Top Cabriolet.  Those cars would likely NOT have the code #829 in the build sheet, since the conversion was arranged AFTER they left the factory.  

Regardless which way the conversion was done, ALL Baurs came with a full factory warranty which included the conversion work. 

So, welcome to the Baur world, Ross!  Nice find!  We look forward to solving the Baur plate mystery.... and you are gonna love that Baur!