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!

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

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.

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.

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?

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!

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.