Riddle Me This: 1959 Rambler American With A Window 'Air Conditioner'!

May 30 UPDATE: UPDATE: Thank you Micah Oh Two from Victoria for the new pic of an ‘02 with one of these ‘swamp coolers’! Check out the additional pic below!  ;)  

Ocean Beach, New London, CT, kicked off the Monday Cruise Night season last week.  I couldn't make it last week, but I did attend this week's show.  Attendance at this point in the season is often sparse, but I did spot this little unique gem!  A Rambler American Super built in Kenosha, Wisconsin!  But check out this little window item!!!  The 'Sea Breeze Car Cooler'!  This is the first time I have seen anything like this1  Does anyone have the info on this?  I should have stopped and chatted up the owner, but I didn't see him with the car.  Mea culpa.  If I see this car again, I will be sure to talk to the owner!   

UPDATE from My friend Corey Dalba in Mississippi:    Corey Dalba:   "During cruising the coast. An 8 day 24hr car show that take place here annually. Roughly 30k cars show up. I see these all over the place during that time. I asked a guy with one mounted to a studebaker pickup truck how it works. Evidently theres a space for ice... And of course as air is trapped by the mouth it pressurizes the "ice chamber" and blows a nice stream of cold air." 

Frickin' brilliant!  

Thank you, Corey!   I love it!  ;)  

Note the 'air conditioner" unit in the passenger side window!

Learn Something New Every Day Department!  ;)

Update from Micah Oh Two in Victoria:

Leave it to the Aussies!  ;)  It is known as a 'swamp cooler', or in Australia-speak:  a 'swampee', or so I am told!  I love it! 

Stay tuned to learn more about this!  

Yesterday's Project: Tearing Down a BMW M10 Engine!

Yesterday's project: tearing apart the BMW M10 engine from my old parts car! Crankshaft is out; cylinder head is off. The pistons are rusted in, however, and will require some ‘persuasion’ to come out: generous amounts of Kroil, followed by the therapeutic application of the BFH! As you can see, I have already put the BF Socket Wrench to work! Mr. Natural says: Get the Right Tool for the Job!  

The crankshaft is out.

 I don’t use it often, but this monster 3/4 inch drive sure comes in handy sometimes! 

 I love to pull cars to pieces to see how they work! What’s YOUR Superpower? 

Sage advice! 

 Pistons are all out now, btw, I am pleased to say! The first two came out easily, but the last two did NOT want to come out!  But they did come out, since I followed Mr. Natural’s advice!  

So .... now what?  Should I rebuild the engine?  Or perhaps re-purpose it into some sort of a steel sculpture?  Like.... say... a chess table?  Hmmm.  ;)  Stay tuned, folks!  :)

😉

Auction! 1973 Cabrio Targa by Baur at Coys, UK!

Thanks to our friend Bob Kauffman for spotting this little beauty:  1973 Cabrio Targa by Baur! It is to be auctioned at Coys, details below.  

DESCRIPTION

The BMW 2002 series is important in the history of BMW for several reasons; not the least of which being that it brought the company out of near bankruptcy in the 1960’s and put BMW on the map in the United States. It was the ancestral grandfather to the BMW 3 Series and was produced from 1968 to 1976. German BMW importer Max Hoffman is credited with the car’s creation. He had suggested to BMW’s engineering director that a 2.0 litre engine should be installed into the small two-door 1602 to improve performance and emissions. The engineering director argued that the larger motor would not fit, but Hoffman countered that it certainly would fit; if he refused to put the motor in, Hoffman would personally take a car with the new engine to George Meier, a famous motorcycle racer, for installation. Almost immediately this brought action – and the resulting 2002 (named after the new motor’s displacement) was popular in its first year on sale.

Only 354 examples were manufactured to Right-Hand drive specification and only 260 of these were early ‘round rear tail-light’ examples. Baur in Stuttgart were a respectable coachbuilder and put a lot of time and effort into the design of their conversions. The aim was to build more than just a cabriolet; their roof design would also offer targa- and landau-style open tops as well.

This wonderful manual Right-Hand drive Baur convertible was extensively restored by the previous owner in 2011 before being purchased by the current vendor. From 2014-2017 the car went into storage and in December of 2017, was renovated once again to bring it back to an overall very good condition. There are supporting documents of work carried out to be found in the history file and the car comes with a UK V5C and current MOT. An increasingly rare example of this delightful Baur convertible and not to be missed.

ESTIMATE £17,000- £20,000 

Auction	Coys at Chiswick House

LOT DETAILS

Lot Number	130A
Reg. Number	UK Registered
Chassis Number	2791025
Year	1973
Make	BMW
Model	2002 Baur Cabriolet

+44 208 614 7888

Call Coys Auction Dept for more info 

http://www.coys.co.uk/cars/1973-bmw-2002-baur-cabriolet

Thank you, Bob!  ;) 

GENUINE OEM BMW E21 and E30 Sedan Door Moulding BAUR Emblem Badge New

I am posting this as  Public Service message, in case anyone is in need of the the Baur emblem badge that attaches at the "B" pillar for both the E21 (TC1) and the E30 (TC2).    I found them today on eBay.  I have no interest or affiliation in the sale, btw.  They are different, so please check to make sure you get the appropriate one for your Baur.  ;)

Here is the E21 TC1 Badge:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-OEM-BMW-E21-Sedan-Door-Moulding-BAUR-Emblem-Badge-51140006000-New-/263561482114?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

Here is the badge for the E30 TC2 B pillar:

https://www.ebay.com/p/Genuine-BMW-E30-Coupe-Hardtop-Lock-Pin-OEM-54210006360/1428619044?iid=191821280907&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50544%26meid%3D1b2c072700634b20852b52dcf700b3a7%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D8%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D263561482114%26itm%3D191821280907&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

UPDATE May 17, 2018: Price Reduced to $5000! RARE! 1986 BMW 325e BAUR TC2 - $6000 (La Mirada) California!

UPDATE May 17, 2018:  Price Reduced to $5000! 

  https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/d/rare-1986-bmw-e30-325e-baur/6543443367.html

N.B.:  We originally found this Baur posted on January 16, 2018.  Here is that original information.  The only thing that has changed is that the asking price has been reduced to $5000.  The current craigslist ad can be found at the link above.  

RARE! 1986 BMW 325e BAUR TC2 - $6000 (La Mirada) California! 

I found this when surfing the internet tonight!  Baur number unknown at this point, but stay tuned!  ;)

Rare 1986 E30 BMW 325e BAUR TC2 5spd 2.7ltr Inline 6. It was built for the European market by BAUR Coach Builders in Germany. It's a grey market vehicle registered in California. It's registered as a Non-Op since 2013, but it's driven once a week around the neighborhood. Mechanically it works great and it should pass smog. Engine has been rebuilt with approximately 4,000 miles on it. Needs new paint, new interior, very little body work, and some electrical work. Great first hobby car to restore. $6,000 obo

condition: fair 
cylinders: 6 cylinders 
drive: rwd 
fuel: gas 
odometer: 186000 
paint color: red 
size: compact 
title status: clean 
transmission: manual 
type: convertible 


https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/6459077179.html

NEW FIND! Giacomo Jack Bracco's Restoration Project of Baur B42664 in Italy!

Congratulations to Giacomo Jack Bracco of Italy who contacted me yesterday regarding his 1984 E30 TC2 project Baur!  Since it is NOT yet listed in the International Baur Registry, it qualifies as  NEW FIND!  Welcome to our Baurspotting community, Giacomo! 

These are the only pics that we have so far, but we look forward to following Giacomo's progress on his project Baur!  So stay tuned!  Congratulations and welcome to Giacomo Jack Bracco!  ;)

Greg's 1985 325e TC2 in California!

I got a message through our Baurspotting Facebook page yesterday from Greg M. in California regarding his recent acquisition of a 1985 325e Baur.  I checked his Baur number, and sure enough...... it is NOT listed in the International Baur Registry, so it qualifies as a NEW FIND!   Congratulations and welcome to Baurspotting, Greg!

While it is apparently overall in decent shape (no rust), it did suffer some 'collateral damage' as a result of a messy divorce situation from the previous owner.  The worst of it is that the rear soft top (frame and cover) have gone missing!

So, here is Greg's request:  "Any idea where I can attain a folding top or even just the frame? Would you please put the word out to the community that there is a need for one?"

Anybody out there have a TC2 Baur rear top frame, or does anyone know of anyone parting out a TC2 Baur? Junkyard? Any help will be greatly appreciated! Please shoot me an email, or message me through our Baurspotting Facebook page. I will be posting this in Facebook also.

B45022-15, '86 325e, vin 1235623  

As you can see the rear fold-down soft cover and frame are entirely missing! Let's find him one! ;)

And there is other work to be done, as you can see, to restore this Baur to road-readiness! The good news is that all or moist of the needed parts here should be readily attainable from another early E30.

Baur #5022 goes to its new owner! Certainly looks like a decent starting point!

Here is hoping that we can be of some assistance to Greg in his quest for a replacement rear roof, and we wish him well as he embarks on the restoration process! Greg is not new to the BMW world, btw! He has others! "It rounds out a full set for me. I have a '85 745, '86 524td, '89 635csi, and now the Baur, all in euro trim and Bronzitbeige paint. Kind of like having a straight flush. lol"

Welcome to our Baur community, Greg, and good luck with your search and your project!