I was lucky enough to be able to spend the afternoon today at Sports Car Restoration's Open House in Plainville, CT. I love that place! Next time, someone please remind me to bring my drool cup, because I sure could have used it today!
Matt McGinn and his guys hosted a little cookout at the shop accompanied by refreshments of the liquid variety, and a good time was had by all! The turnout was small, so a lot of you guys unfortunately missed out on a great opportunity to see what great work these guys do in the shop ... and to see it up close and personal! Atmosphere was very low-key, just a very friendly bunch of folks hangin' out, grabbin' a burger served up by Matt, and having free run of Disney's Fantasyland of BMW Restoration! It is a trip just to walk through that place, believe me!
So for those folks who were unable to get there today, I took a few pics to share with you here. OK, I got a little carried away.... I took a pic of just about every car in the place... I know I somehow missed that red Mustang.... but I think I got a pic of everything else. There are about 40 cars in there, more or less. Some are in for service, but as you can see, many, if not most, are undergoing significant frame-off restoration!
They have an English wheel, folks. That tells you something. If you don't know what that is, google it. I am kicking myself for not getting a pic of it, especially because we actually had a chat about it today. What was I thinking!!! :) Forgive me, dear reader, I am still learning.
An English wheel allows you to shrink, stretch and custom form shapes in steel.
9:59pm UPDATE: I have just been rescued by my friend, Rob T. who was paying better attention this afternoon than I apparently was. He had the presence of mind to take a pic of Matt's English Wheel, and was kind enough to send it to me just now! Thanks, Rob! Here it is:
Yeah, think about that. :) Wow, I love it.
So I have some pics of the event.... and here they are. Enjoy!
First the Baurs, of course.... this is Baurspotting after all! ;)
Rob and Abby T's newly purchased Baur #917 (l) and Baurspotting Baur #4154 (r)
My stealth 1982 323i on left: no trunk badge, but note the twin exhaust pipes. The 323i has the K-Jet fuel injection on the 2.3L M20. Rob's 1979 320/6 on the right. Note his trunk badge: 320, NOT 320i. He has the M20 2.0L carbureted six. Both of these Baurs are Euro 'grey market' cars.
That's two Baurs, so far, folks! Left to right in back ground: John O., Matt M. and Matt P. (not McGuinn!) . :)
Baur #3, a Voll Cabriolet in the shop
Baur #4: 700LS. Yep, that was done by Baur, folks!
Baur #4 again
Baur #5: 2002 Baur Cabrio Targa!
Targa!
OK, now for something completely different: an Amphicar undergoing restoration! John O. and Nate W at right.
Nate W. at extreme right.
Some friend's cars:
Matt P's 2002 "Betty"
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Matt P had an electrical problem with his rear side marker lighting, which got Matt M.'s expert attention. Matt was able to diagnose the problem in short order: a burned out bulb! Who da thought! ;)
Correction: I misunderstood the problem, and Matt cleared it up for me.
Matt P: nice story Tom - but just one correction - wasn't a burned out bulb - think it was a lazy/loose bulb holder. I had "fixed" it last year in Saratoga with a jumper wire, but we were able to get it working by adjusting the copper piece that pushes against the base of the bulb.
Thanks, Matt! Mea culpa!
Nate W's 1966 1800. Gotta love this car.
Nate's engine bay. That is a 121Ti head, btw. Nice, Nate! I will blow this up so maybe you can see that on the head.
John O's Reseda Green E21. I love it, John!
Turbos, anyone? We saw two here today. Eat your hearts out! :) You shoulda come!
The following pics are basically a tour of the shop, each pic is a different car that they are working on. Mind-boggling! Kudos to Matt, Nate, John and the boys! Enjoy!
Lotus engine
Lotus with Matt McGinn himself discussing the project.
Porsche
The cars below were parked in the lot. I believe they are customer's cars in for some kind of service.
Mark your calendars for next year, boys and girls! This is an event you will love! Kudos and thank you to Matt, Nate, John and all the folks at Sports Car Restoration for hosting us today!
Keep up the excellent work!