Well, duh! That is what we are supposed to do, right? Yes, but.... it is kind of funny how this one happened. There we are just going about our business of non-Baur-specific, car-related stuff and BAM! Out jumps a Baur! Read on.
Really, that is exactly how it happened. :)
UPDATE August 1, 2013: Jeroen J., Baur Guru from the Netherlands, has come through for us! We have the Baur plate number for this Baur.... although we still need to see the pic of the plate!
Baur Number: B41420-11 I have checked the International Baur TC2 Registry, and this Baur is NOT listed yet! This qualifies as a NEW FIND!
http://www.baur-tc2.de/
Thank you, Jeroen! We owe you another one! ;)
This all started a couple of weeks ago when I learned that a friend, Rob T., was looking for an E21 project car to wrench on. Well, I thought.... have I got a project with a capital P for him: my 1979 Euro 323i, that has been languishing on my back burner for about 5 years. (Sheesh, is it really 5 years!!)
I have recently come to my senses (somewhat) and realized that I just have too many projects for one lifetime, and since I am dubious about the prospects of qualifying for a SECOND lifetime, perhaps I need to downsize a bit. Eight old bimmers are just... too many. Some may say crazy, but that only tells me that they must have been talking to my wife.
When I finally got around to pulling the car cover off the 323i last Sunday, I immediately realized that this was no longer a project car.... it was a parts car. Rob agreed, and I decided that I either needed to strip it out for the drive train, front and rear ends, etc, or find someone looking for a whole 323i parts car.
Later that very same day, I learned that another friend, Dan in upstate NY, had just purchased an E21 320i in NC. Knowing that Dan formerly owned two 323i s, I thought he might be interested in swapping out the M10 for a 323i M20. So I sent him a message, letting him know that I have one available, should he be interested. He responded in a flash that 'yes', he WOULD have an interest!
This has all the makings of a win-win, except for the logistical aspect: Dan is in upstate NY, the car he is buying is in NC, and my parts car is in eastern CT. However, you need to know that Dan is a Past Master at solving logistical problems like this. This is right up his alley! I know for a fact that in the past two years he has been all over the Northeast, picking up engines, dropping off and picking up whole cars, delivering parts, etc.... so this is a piece of cake for him! A simple matter of arranging the itinerary. Ya gotta love that!
In the course of further discussions, Dan mentions that he is planning to fly to NC and to drive the E21 back home, but he is a little concerned about its dodgy clutch, and is considering having the clutch done in NC before the long drive home. So he asked if anyone had any shop recommendation in the Charlotte NC area where he could get it done.
(I know that this is seeming to get a little convoluted, but, bear with me, .... it all comes together eventually!)
I happen to have a friend and fellow Baur owner in that area of NC: Jeff D. Regular readers of this blog and the E30 bimmerforum may recognize his name. So I sent him a message asking for any suggestions to help Dan. Jeff runs a carburetor rebuilding business down there, and consequently I thought he may be in a good position to know a shop that could help.
Sure enough, Jeff sent me the name of Touring Car, Inc, in Matthews, NC, a Porsche specialist who also does a lot of BMWs. While innocently checking out the Touring Car Inc website--- OK, I know I am not the only guy who likes to look at car pics---- all of a sudden: BAM! .... out jumped the Baur! :) Whoa! There it was, parked in a grouping of other cars in front of the shop, minding its own business, totally oblivious to my wide-eyed astonishment at finding it like this!
It was like it was just patiently waiting for me to find it.
I immediately posted it to the "Rare Bird' thread in E30 bimmerforums. Jeff did recall the Baur, but he hadn't been there in a while, and so he had forgotten all about it. He thought it may belong to the owner's son.
And Baurspotting was now ON THE CASE! ;)
I sent an email this morning to the shop, in the hopes of learning more about it. I did notice that Touring Car's Facebook page had a couple of pics of the Baur, but they were dated 2010! I was hoping that I wasn't going to be a day late and a dollar short on this one!
BINGO!
Here is the response I received from Dan M., owner of Touring Car, Inc. a little while later:
Really, that is exactly how it happened. :)
UPDATE August 1, 2013: Jeroen J., Baur Guru from the Netherlands, has come through for us! We have the Baur plate number for this Baur.... although we still need to see the pic of the plate!
Baur Number: B41420-11 I have checked the International Baur TC2 Registry, and this Baur is NOT listed yet! This qualifies as a NEW FIND!
http://www.baur-tc2.de/
Thank you, Jeroen! We owe you another one! ;)
This all started a couple of weeks ago when I learned that a friend, Rob T., was looking for an E21 project car to wrench on. Well, I thought.... have I got a project with a capital P for him: my 1979 Euro 323i, that has been languishing on my back burner for about 5 years. (Sheesh, is it really 5 years!!)
I have recently come to my senses (somewhat) and realized that I just have too many projects for one lifetime, and since I am dubious about the prospects of qualifying for a SECOND lifetime, perhaps I need to downsize a bit. Eight old bimmers are just... too many. Some may say crazy, but that only tells me that they must have been talking to my wife.
When I finally got around to pulling the car cover off the 323i last Sunday, I immediately realized that this was no longer a project car.... it was a parts car. Rob agreed, and I decided that I either needed to strip it out for the drive train, front and rear ends, etc, or find someone looking for a whole 323i parts car.
Later that very same day, I learned that another friend, Dan in upstate NY, had just purchased an E21 320i in NC. Knowing that Dan formerly owned two 323i s, I thought he might be interested in swapping out the M10 for a 323i M20. So I sent him a message, letting him know that I have one available, should he be interested. He responded in a flash that 'yes', he WOULD have an interest!
This has all the makings of a win-win, except for the logistical aspect: Dan is in upstate NY, the car he is buying is in NC, and my parts car is in eastern CT. However, you need to know that Dan is a Past Master at solving logistical problems like this. This is right up his alley! I know for a fact that in the past two years he has been all over the Northeast, picking up engines, dropping off and picking up whole cars, delivering parts, etc.... so this is a piece of cake for him! A simple matter of arranging the itinerary. Ya gotta love that!
In the course of further discussions, Dan mentions that he is planning to fly to NC and to drive the E21 back home, but he is a little concerned about its dodgy clutch, and is considering having the clutch done in NC before the long drive home. So he asked if anyone had any shop recommendation in the Charlotte NC area where he could get it done.
(I know that this is seeming to get a little convoluted, but, bear with me, .... it all comes together eventually!)
I happen to have a friend and fellow Baur owner in that area of NC: Jeff D. Regular readers of this blog and the E30 bimmerforum may recognize his name. So I sent him a message asking for any suggestions to help Dan. Jeff runs a carburetor rebuilding business down there, and consequently I thought he may be in a good position to know a shop that could help.
Sure enough, Jeff sent me the name of Touring Car, Inc, in Matthews, NC, a Porsche specialist who also does a lot of BMWs. While innocently checking out the Touring Car Inc website--- OK, I know I am not the only guy who likes to look at car pics---- all of a sudden: BAM! .... out jumped the Baur! :) Whoa! There it was, parked in a grouping of other cars in front of the shop, minding its own business, totally oblivious to my wide-eyed astonishment at finding it like this!
It was like it was just patiently waiting for me to find it.
I immediately posted it to the "Rare Bird' thread in E30 bimmerforums. Jeff did recall the Baur, but he hadn't been there in a while, and so he had forgotten all about it. He thought it may belong to the owner's son.
And Baurspotting was now ON THE CASE! ;)
I sent an email this morning to the shop, in the hopes of learning more about it. I did notice that Touring Car's Facebook page had a couple of pics of the Baur, but they were dated 2010! I was hoping that I wasn't going to be a day late and a dollar short on this one!
BINGO!
Here is the response I received from Dan M., owner of Touring Car, Inc. a little while later:
Tom,
I have been on your website before- very nice! The '84 Baur TC is mine (Dan Middleton, shop owner). I have owned it since August 2006. I purchased it from an MD in Danville VA, who had brought it back from Germany. Her VIN is WBAAA310609292120. She was originally a 320i, but the engine was tired, and I had a wrecked Euro 1984 E30 323i. We transplanted the engine and rear suspension for better power and rear disc brakes. She is now a lot more fun in the twisties.
She is in storage right now, but I will get the Karosserie Baur number next time I am over there.
BTW, I need the two plastic clips which secure the back of the hard top- Any source on these?
Thanks for your interest,
Dan and Co.
Here are the pics we have gleaned so far, and we are hoping for more!
Here is the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Touring-Car-Inc/149179048443183
And their website:
http://www.touringcarinc.com/index.php
Lots of great stuff there.... please check it out!
We have decoded the VIN:
Here are the pics we have gleaned so far, and we are hoping for more!
This is the pic that I spotted the Baur in!
So, as you can see, we really ARE Baurspotters here at Baurspotting! Welcome to our Baur World to Dan M. and the gang at Touring Car Inc! We look forward to learning more about your Baur!
:)
Here is the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Touring-Car-Inc/149179048443183
And their website:
http://www.touringcarinc.com/index.php
Lots of great stuff there.... please check it out!
We have decoded the VIN:
No comments:
Post a Comment