Mission Aborted...

Well, after starting the Schwarz E21 project, I had a change of heart and decided to sell it and do the Baur E21 instead.

The car was sold to a long time friend, who will fix it up and use it as his daily driver. I plan to ship the Baur to Puerto Rico on May 20, and will start working on it when it gets here.

Here's a parting shot of the 320i when the new owner left with it:

Miguel Alejandro's Inka Roundie

In addition to posts about my cars, I will continue to feature interesting local BMW's. There is a good number of nice Bimmers here in Puerto Rico.

This one is Miguel Alejandro's restored roundie. He bought it needing a complete resto, and has done a great job with it. He did most of the work himself.

Here are some pictures of the car as it looks now, and some "before" ones:

Pedro Rodriguez' M42-Powered 2002

Had a chance to check out my buddy Pedro from Mayaguez' recently completed M42 project. In addition to the engine and transmission, he also used the radiator and most of the brakes from the donor car, a 1991 E30 318is.

The car has been mostly sorted out, and Pedro took it that day for a pretty long drive from Mayaguez to San Juan and back.

Here are some pics:

Touring Update

Work continues to progress slowly but surely on the touring. Lack of funds is the main thing slowing it down, However, this was meant to be a long-term project from the start, so there is no rush.

The new trunk floor has been installed, and welding has started in other areas. Hopefully the economy will improve soon, and it can be moved along at a faster pace.

Here are the latest pics:

End of June Touring Update

Well, my daughter finally sent some pics of the touring's progress. All the rusty metal has been cut out from the rear and a new trunk floor has been ordered from BMW. Previous repairs in the rear shock towers have been removed so they can be re-done properly.

The rear valance was quite ugly, so it was cut off, and another was removed from a regular '02 to see if it can be made to fit. This '02 also donated other parts of its body, including the Hofmeister kinks.

Maybe I'll get another update soon, but I expect to travel to Atlanta in the middle of August and should have a more thorough update then.

Hopefully by the next update we will see new metal added to the car so it can start taking shape again.

It's unfortunate that the car is half an ocean away and I can't be doing any work on it. Hopefully I can be there when reassembly begins, which is the most fun part of any project.



In other news, I created a message Board in Spanish for Classic BMW owners in Puerto Rico. It has been slow to catch on since I started it a week or so ago, but hopefully it will become a great resource for Bimmerheads like me in the island.

Here's the link:

http://prclassicbimmer.forumotion.net/index.htm

The Touring Project

Finally saw the touring!

Last weekend I took a trip to Atlanta to finally see it in the flesh (or rather, in the metal and rust). It IS quite rusty, but it IS a tii, and a touring to boot. So, after assessing its condition, I have determined that I'm gonna take a shot at restoring it. Plans are to make it a nice driver, not a concours beauty. It will probably be a long and arduous (and expensive!) process, but I am sure the end result will be well worth it. There is nothing like driving a tii, and I still miss the Chamonix '73 I sold over 20 years ago.

There is a possibility that the welding and bodywork can be done in Atlanta. Alex from Carma told me that he has a good friend, Jeff Chang, who is a great welder and might be able to take it on. I do heve new doors, left frond fender and nose panel which came from the car, but I will still need to get the right front fender and the uber-pricey quarter panels. It also will need rockers and quite a bit of welding in the floor area.

I will post updates as I progress in this journey.

The touring arrives in Atlanta!

After a few hits and misses, the touring finally arrived in Atlanta last Thursday (3/5). My son sent me some pics, but I will have to wait until I go there to evaluate its condition and decide what will I do with it. I would love to restore, but it all depends on the extent of the rust.

If I decide to restore it, I will probably bring it to Puerto Rico, since the restoration would be a lot less costly here, even taking into account the transportation costs and the darn Puerto Rico Excise Tax.