the nne newsletter - of the bmw car club of america · the “dream ride”. this is not only a car...

THE NNE NEWSLETTERTHE CONSOLIDATED NEWSLETTER OF

THE NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND CHAPTERS OF THE BMW CCA

1FALL | 2019.4

Shut Up and Driveby: David Hulick, WMC © All Rights Reserved

“Honey,” I started tentatively, “I need a hobby car. Something to fix up and make better.”

The response came without hesitation, “Does this mean I finally get a hot tub?”

“Yes, of course it does!” was my inspired reply.

“Then get any damn car you want.”

Done deal.

After more than 25 years of blissful Mazda Miata ownership, it had dawned on me that something was missing. The red roadster was a blast to drive. It started every time. Nothing ever broke. In April, it starts right up and drives flawlessly until October. Repeat. Again and again and again. Change the oil annually. Replace tires every few years. Replace the timing belt every seven. No need to open the toolbox or even have tools, for that matter. Kind of fun to show it off as a one-owner, all original car that looks new. But it didn’t satisfy one particular itch.

It needed a companion that demanded wrenching and improvement. Some-thing Iconic. Historic. Drivable. Parts available. Not crazy expensive. Easy to work on. Something I could identify with. Something I could point to and say, “I made it like that. It runs like it does because I cared enough to make an effort.”

I did the math and the answer was clear: Iconic + race history + affordable x fun squared = 2002.

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NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND NEWSLETTER | 2019.4

W H I T E M O U N T A I N C H A P T E R | 2

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G R E E N M O U N T A I N C H A P T E R | 3

3Green Mountain Chapterof AmericaBMW Car Club

CHAPTER BOARD

PRESIDENTPeter Ohlweiler [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT (ACTING)Peter Ohlweiler [email protected]

SECRETARY (ACTING)Peter Ohlweiler [email protected]

TREASURERWalter [email protected]

CHAPTER STAFF

DECPeter Ohlweiler [email protected]

MEMBER AT LARGE / TECHNICAL EDITORMike [email protected]

NEWSLETTER STAFF

COPY COLLECTION EDITORWalter [email protected]

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2019Unfortunately, OktoberFAST 2019 has been canceled.

Read above for more information.

Letter from the Presidentby: Peter Ohlweiler, President

Greetings Members,

First off, I want to apologize for my lack of leadership this year.. It has been a dif-ficult year with complications of family illness and a death in the family. Now that things are settling down I am get-ting things back to normal with my life and the Green Mountain Chapter.

Unfortunately, there will not be an Ok-toberFast Event this year, but we will be on board for this event next year. As many of you are aware this will be the last year for the BMWCCA Octoberfest. After fifty years of the club’s existence, BMWCCA National has decided to ask the different Regions support a similar event within their own Region. In late September I joined our North Atlantic Region VP (Jeff Caldwell) and represen-tatives from the other Chapters in New England. This meeting was to focus on the future of events within our Region and join together to promote one Event that is organized by all our Chapters in our Region. This meeting was very constructive and we will continue the conversation at the Leadership Confer-ence which will have taken place by the time you read this. We will keep you in-formed as to how this moves forward.

Now to get on with the needs of the Green Mountain Chapter. As you are all aware Pam and Stew Loeb have stepped down as our Secretary and VP. Once again we (the Green Mountain Chapter) are in need of Board members. Anyone who is interested in helping to move our Chapter forward please contact me via [email protected]. It is very important to have a Board so that we can organize and schedule events. To be quite frank I have been reaching out for

some time asking members to step up and lend a hand. Pam Loeb will be sorely missed as her passion for the club was widely noticed with her commitment to organizing OktoberFast and other events. I do hope that both Pam and Stew will continue to support the GMC with their efforts.

I hope all of our members were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather we enjoyed over the summer, taking your Ultimate Driving Machine for some drives on a vacation or a daily drive or maybe to a car show. I was asked if I would like to volunteer at a car show at the Farmington Polo Grounds in Farm-ington, CT in late August. This car show was like no other I had ever volunteered for or attended. The event is designated the “Dream Ride”. This is not only a car show (motorcycles and trucks were also invited), but one which as a primary purpose to raise money for the Special Olympics . The event started on Friday and ended on Sunday. On Saturday there were over 400 car owners that provided a ride for one or more Special Olympian passengers. The resulting parade drove the Special Olympians around the Farm-ington Valley area for about an hour. The energy and enthusiasm had by the driv-ers and the passengers was over the top. On Sunday, motorcycle owners provided rides – over over 2800 motorcyclists participated, some whom even drove from up Florida to participate. Sunday also saw the primary car show ($30 en-try fee that included a sit down meal) which brought in over 2400 vehicles displayed on the open grounds or under a tent for judging.



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Food trucks, vendors, carnival rides and even a demonstration of trained police dogs were part of the activities for the week-end. Participants of the weekend included Ferrari of New England, McLaren of Boston, Miller Motor-cars Greenwich, CT. and a couple of Audi dealers. Unfortunately there was no primary display of BMW’s. When I asked the orga-nizers why, their response was “Why don’t you bring these people next year and we will set up a special area for all the BMW’s to be dis-played.”

That is such a wonderful idea that I intend to reach out to all other Chapters in the North Atlantic Re-gion to urge them to consider attending next year. This event raised over $2.4 million dollars for the Special Olympics, and we should be part of this in-credible event. What would be better than to have people from New England, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey show up en masse and demon-strate our support for the Special Olympians. We can certainly put on a display of BMW’s and BMW owners that will “Blow their doors off.” I hope all of you join me next year.

As we now enter the fall season, I’m sure everyone will take the opportunity to enjoy driving their “Ul-timate Driving Machines” through the twisty and wonderful back roads of New England. Remember to always be respectful of all other drivers and roadways. Use electronic devises responsibly while driving and always wear you seat belt.

Best to all,

Peter Ohlweiler



5Follow Your Dreamsby: Walter McNally, Treasurer

I had written an article on the travails associated with my 2011 328 and 2008 528 but scrapped it.

On October 2 a WW II Boeing B-17 crashed at Bradley Airport in Connecti-cut while attempting to land. There were thirteen people on board, ten pas-sengers and three crew. Tragically, sev-en of these people died in the accident. Looking at the wreckage it was hard to imagine anyone survived.

You are probably wondering why you are seeing this in a BMW club news-letter. Just two weeks beforehand, a co-worker and I went for a ride in a B-17 at the Rutland Vermont airport. Not the same plane, but the same vintage and certainly the same specifications. It was a real shock when other co-workers came up to me and told me about the incident and how lucky both of us were. The plane we were on was built in 1945

so it did not see much action. The plane that crashed at Bradley survived 140 missions over Europe during the war.

There was quite a crowd at the Rutland airport just to see the plane, whether they were going for a ride or not. Seems like everyone had a story or some sort of connection. My co-worker’s father was a B-17 pilot and while he did not fly into combat, he did fly many missions. The joy on her face when she stepped aboard the plane was incredible. For her it truly was a dream come true. My dad, who passed away in 1995, was in the Navy and was part of the D-Day mis-sion. When I sat in my seat, I knew I had a deeper connection with him. Several years ago, one of my co-workers flew on a B-17 operated by the foundation which owned the plane that crashed. He may have flown that plane. His father was a member of a flight crew on a B-29 and served in the Pacific. Others at the air-

port that day had fathers, uncles, grand-fathers who were part of flight crews, ground support or performed other ancillary, but very important roles. No one ever said anything to their families about the horrors they saw and endured while on active duty. And still others were pilots or aviation buffs who simply wanted to experience a part of history.

Every man and woman on this plane were following their dream and seek-ing a deeper connection with a family member. Each of us, as members of the BMW CCA, are passionate about our cars and following our dreams, whatev-er they may be. The point of this article is not to extoll the virtues of flying in vintage aircraft or enjoying our cars - but rather as a reminder that life is short.

Follow your dreams.



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7CHAPTER BOARD

PRESIDENTPaul [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENTDavid [email protected]

SECRETARYPaul [email protected]

TREASURERBruce [email protected]

CHAPTER STAFF

MEMBERSHIP CHAIRTom [email protected]

DRIVING EVENTS COMMITTEE CHAIRBruce [email protected]

SOCIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE CHAIRDavid Harrison [email protected]

MARKETING + SPONSORSHIP DIRECTORPaul [email protected]

WEBMASTER (ACTING)Paul [email protected]

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATORposition [email protected]

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERPaul Michali

NEWSLETTER STAFF

COPY COLLECTION EDITORPete [email protected]

PRODUCTION EDITORMartin Callahanmjc.design.works, LLC

ADVERTISING MANAGERPaul [email protected]

White Mountain Chapterof AmericaBMW Car Club

White Mountain Chapter Membership Updateby: Tom Giffen, Membership Chair

Welcome BMW enthusiasts new and recent! The White Mountain Chapter is currently 640 members strong, down a bit from this time last year but still in great shape. The last report from National shows 4 new members, primarily from Southeast New Hampshire.

We are now in the thick of fall driving season, and with that comes the annual election and events still in the works. As I write this, we have one more ADSS scheduled at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as well as a fantastic fall foliage HPDE at Club Motorsports in Tamworth. We also have a fall cruise on the MV Mount Washington. While those events will have passed by the time you read this, please check the calendar accessible via the website, or our Facebook page to stay on top of upcoming events!

There are also two requests that I’m making: First, please remember to vote in November, and also consider nominating yourself or someone that you

know to run for a Chapter office. Second, if you cannot commit to running for a position, consider volunteering in some way. I am confident that doing so will bring you new and valued friends in our community.

WHITE MOUNTAIN CHAPTER BMW CCA

w w w. w m c - b mwcca . o r g



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Adirondacks Vintage Tour and Saratoga Springs Auto Museum Gatheringby: Will Gran, White Mountain Chapter

In mid-July I had the distinct pleasure of participating in two BMW vintage events rolled into one package; a 2-day driving tour around the Adirondacks in upstate New York arranged by the BMW Classic Car Club of America (BM-WCCCA) organization, and the annual BMW Vintage gathering at the Auto Museum in Saratoga Springs NY hosted by the BMWCCA Patroon Chapter, Alba-ny NY area.

The Adirondacks Tour consisted of 20 vintage BMWs ranging from a beauti-ful rare 1960 BMW 507 Roadster (one of only 250 produced) to a 2000 BMW 740i Sport sedan. In between these “sandwich” years were a 1967 Glas 1700 GT (only 2 exist in the US), four BMW 2002s, five coupes, a variety of other BMW vintage cars; including my 1972 Bavaria 3.0S sedan, the SENIOR6, the only authenticated one-owner vintage BMW on this Adirondacks Tour.

The Adirondacks Tour group met on Wednesday July 10 late afternoon at the Saratoga Springs downtown Hampton Inn for a Meet and Greet buffet. Early Thursday morning July 11 a 20-car BMW caravan headed north on I-87 for a while before exiting on to Route 9 driving through Lake Placid and up a twisty scenic roadway to the top of White Face Mountain for lunch. After an opportunity walk to the summit el-evation at 4,867 feet it was back down the mountain to Lake Placid and the Crowne Plaza Hotel for dinner and the night stay.

After an early breakfast Friday morning July 12 at the Crowne Plaza we left Lake Placid and followed a local BMWCCCA member to a friend’s Adirondack lake home. This sprawling lake home has a 2-bay boat house, with two vintage wooden boats, which was typical for many wealthy families from around the east coast who spent summer vacations in the Adirondacks.

Next stop was at the Wild Center at Tupper Lake, a very large nature muse-um with live wild animals representa-tive of the Adirondacks area. We were given an interesting talk on the wildlife, including the porcupine.

Making the Roads Safer One Teenager at a Timeby: Bruce Bergeron, Driving Event Committee

The White Mountain Chapter proudly hosted its 2019 Tire Rack Street Sur-vival school at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway this summer. It was a fantastic event with over 30 registered students. We were fortunate to have 18 volunteer instructors and coaches to handle this large group. Most students were chaperoned by their parents which made for a large and exciting day. With the tireless help of our volunteers the event went off without a hitch.

As is typical, the teenagers arrived at 7:30 am with blurry eyes and a large amount of trepidation. However, by the end of the day they were smiling, laugh-ing and showed great pride in their new-ly discovered skills and knowledge.

Here is one parent’s perspective on the day:

“A great big thank you to all that were involved in putting on the Street Sur-vival Teen Driving School. Every instructor was professional. I wanted to have my daughter take an advanced driving school above the standard driver’s education she received, and this program provided this training.

Watching the hands-on exercises was inter-esting and informative. My daughter said she learned a lot from the exercises, and I was impressed with the increased confi-dence she showed during my ride-a-long on the autocross. My daughter told me that the coaches were kind and understanding while giving guidance, which is important when dealing with teens.

I attended the classroom portions and found the information was a good refresh-er for me as well. Even with 35+ years of

driving emergency vehicles and taking multiple EVOC courses I was able to learn and relearn concepts that will help me both driving my personal and work vehicles.

This program is something all new drivers should take, to give them experience and information in a safe location. I have rec-ommended this program to my sister who has a son and who just received his driver’s license.”

For more information about the Tire Rack Street Survival School check out their website:

www.streetsurvival.org



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Believe it or not, in March 1965, the Board of Directors at BMW was con-cerned that they would not be able to sell 100,000 of the proposed 2-door to repay the development cost. Why? Their car was expected to be priced higher than the competition. Their fears were unfounded. What they ended up with was a 10-year success that sold 862,000 copies! The car paid for the de-velopment of the 3- and 5-Series models that put BMW at the top of the perfor-mance sedan world. Company saved. This is truly an iconic car.

Race cred? Check. A private-entry 2002Ti won its class in the 1975 24-hour of LeMans, arguably the most challeng-ing auto race of all, by out-lasting the more powerful Ford and BMW factory entries. It was a rallying and SCCA favorite. I wonder how often Paul New-man watched the roundies pulling away from him during his SCCA career in hot Datsuns. The 2002 is legendary for performance in a practical and simple package. Parts are available and rela-tively inexpensive. And it was manu-factured in Munich, Germany, which is where my employer also has its head-quarters. So an homage to the organi-zation that paid off my house and put my kids through college is a nice touch, too. There are lots of other old cars that appeal to me, but the 2002 is the one stood out above all the others.

Once I knew the car I wanted, there were many to choose from. Survivors, beaters, cream puffs, and everything in between. One beautiful Saturday I drove to Long Island to look at a white 1974. I took tools and the owner let me take my time looking at it. I learned a lot, but it was just the beginning of my education. His car was a survivor. Not abused. Benign neglect would be a better description. Everything bone dry. Lubrication and maintenance were not part of this guy’s routine. The tires were ancient and rotten. There might have been bushing remnants under-neath, but that is doubtful. My short test drive, in fact my first drive ever of a BMW, was scary. I left him a care-ful survey of what I’d found, and said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Frequent scans of Craigslist followed. Eventually, a Fjord Blue 1973 caught my eye. It was the last of the roundies with the chrome bumpers and a factory sunroof, offered for sale by a shop down south. Advertised with no rust. It was worth cashing in some frequent flyer miles for a trip, which took place at the

same time as an epic ice storm. The car was not perfect. No matching numbers here. Some floor rust had been correct-ed, but fenders, sub-mounts and shock towers were clean as could be. Respray in the original color resulted in an ac-ceptable 10-foot paint job. The new in-terior was fine. The dash was not in tat-ters. It made a good impression. It was last titled in the state of Washington. So we talked back and forth. He agreed to a number of mechanical upgrades, including a 5-speed transmission, Bil-stein shocks and an Ansa exhaust. Also new wheels and tires. Not a steal, but it wasn’t going to break the bank. And the hot tub had already been installed.

Three months later, in February 2015, my ‘new’ BMW showed up on the car carrier. And then my 2002 education started in earnest. First of all, the guy did everything I asked him to. But he did it as quickly as he could without any concern for workmanship. And that was after I sent him $100 for a pizza party to motivate his mechanics! Loose driveshaft bolts? Broken transmission mount? Improperly installed shocks? Shorted wires? Seriously? I can’t hold a grudge because unwittingly, he did me a favor. His team’s sloppiness did more for my mechanical education

than anyone else ever did. He started me on a journey to find all of his crappy workmanship and then figure out how to correct it. My toolbox was used like never before. My mechanical aptitude was stretched thin. My mechanical-ly-inclined friends feared my phone calls.

I kept a list of everything I did to the car. Fixing one thing inevitably uncov-ered two new problems. Many of the repairs were simple enough for me to handle, but I had to save others for my local mechanic. As nice as he is, he is not expert in the care of vintage BMWs, so we were both somewhat in the dark. The list grew to seven tightly spaced pages.

The car drove. For local country roads at 40mph it was fine. Starting was never a problem and it did not leave a cloud of blue smoke behind. This is a car that puts smiles on other people’s faces, too. I cannot stop for gas with-out meeting someone who wants to talk about the 2002. And almost every story ends with, “And I wish I had kept it…” At a car night at a local restaurant, an impeccably-dressed gentleman got out of his perfect Rolls Royce Corniche




convertible and made a bee-line to my BMW so he could tell me how he had one in his youth. Wow. Was I flattered!

But looks aren’t everything. It was clear that my 2002 was not as peppy as it should be. I tuned and tuned: Plugs, cables, timing, vacu-um, and carburetor. It got better. But not much. My 0 to 60 run at more than twenty seconds was painfully slow. Hills were a chore. I was chum for old VW Bugs. The motor just would not rev under load. Time to face the facts. The mill was dog-tired. When the dog won’t hunt, it is time to get a new dog.

Late last summer I drove to Dublin, New Hampshire to visit someone. There is a garage there that I’ve passed countless times during the last 30 years. AVA Restoration Services is in an old-school, red brick shop set back from the road. There are always old BMWs out front. And every time I spied a 2002 it spoke to me. So I showed up unan-nounced one day.

“Hi, I’m David,” I introduced myself, “You are one of the reasons I bought this car, and I’m hoping you will help me with it.”

After Alex Vogel and his crew finished eyeballing the 2002 like a long-lost friend, they were willing to give me some attention. The vibe was good! I explained that I wanted to do as much of the work myself as I could, but that I needed help. Over the winter, the motor had to be overhauled. My offer to Alex was that he would give me advice and I would buy all the parts from him. Second best deal I ever made, after the hot tub. Alex told me to pull the motor and take it to R&L Engines in Dover, New Hampshire.

But before doing that, I wanted to visit Leo at R&L in person. The shop is a motor-head’s can-dy store! Fantastic chromed, monster race engines sitting on crates waiting for pick-up. And here I am, wanting to bring him a dirty, little 2-liter 4-cylinder! He said he’d been working with Alex for decades and had overhauled

many M10’s for him. Jackpot. I had two experts in my corner. They got my ap-proval to do whatever they thought best to make a strong street motor.

Taking the motor apart and pulling it from the car was kind of fun and at the same time highly informative. Every-thing was photographed, bagged, and tagged. R&L got the block, the old guts, the flywheel, the head and the intake manifold. I cleaned the rest and waited for spring.

There were many casualties. The head was warped, cracked and porous. Three strikes and it was in the trash. The camshaft and the valve train had given all they had to give. Trash. The oil pump wasn’t doing so much pump-ing anymore. That is just the start of

a long list of parts that had to be re-placed. Alex always came through with good parts for me. In March, the call came that the short block was complete. When I picked it up, Leo asked if I could deliver a lightened flywheel to Alex. I had just enough time to make it from the seacoast to Dublin that afternoon. That proved to be truly fortunate.

On the 90-minute drive with my overhaul investment riding in back, I began thinking about putting it back together. I had photos. I had bags and bags of tagged parts. I had the Haynes manual. But I didn’t have experi-ence or confidence. I was having nightmares about ruining my new motor through innocent incompetence. Then came the inspiration. When I got to Alex’s garage, I asked him if I could build the motor in his shop under his supervision.

“Why not?” was all he said.

And when the motor was all built, sitting on its stand looking like a million bucks, I asked him, “Can I bring the car here, too, for the installation?”

With a smile, he said, “I was hoping you would think of that”.

The seven days in Alex’s shop was the experience I was hoping for, with ac-cess to tools, parts, sand-blast booth, paint -- and someone who could guide me through a quality M10 build. My labor contribution was about 80%, but a real professional was there to step in for the critical steps, and to correct my missteps.



11As he walks by, glancing down at the M10 on the engine stand, not even breaking stride, “That motor mount is upside down.”

Simple enough, but think about what it would have been like with the motor swinging on the hoist, trying to figure out why it would not fit into the car.

“What’s this?” I asked about a short, dirty, rusty little clamp.

“That holds the wiring harness to the block. Clean it, blast it and paint it.”

“What’s this?” about another bracket.

“Don’t know, doesn’t belong on a 2002. Throw it away.”

As I assembled the accessories, Alex asked, “Where is your manifold-starter bracket?”

“It didn’t have one,” I answered.

“Figures. Wanna go shopping?” He was as unimpressed with the other shop’s workmanship as I was, and at every step there were corrections and improvements. “Going shopping” meant going to the shed out back and combing through a wonderland of old parts to find what was missing. I did a lot of shopping, and because he had everything, the project didn’t stall once. With the bracket or brace or whatever located, after a trip to the parts clean-er, sand blaster, wire wheel and paint booth, I had a new part in hand. It was like magic.

Alex spec’d the motor, and he did it well. In addition zero-timing chains and pumps, he upgraded the motor with 2x oversized pistons to get a 10.5 com-pression ratio, Tii distributor with elec-

tronic ignition, Bosch blue coil, hotter plugs and new cables, exhaust manifold from a Tii, a lightened flywheel and new clutch plus all of its hydraulic parts. It got new transmission seals and a new, short-shift linkage. The 32/36 sequen-tial carb I bought last year was replaced with a 38/38 progressive Weber. I spent a long time hogging out the intake manifold to match the bigger carb. He recommended a new Bosch starter and alternator, because the old ones were “knackered”. He had a nice, wrinkle finish, powder-coated valve cover to top it off. It took me an entire evening to carefully by scrape off the rock-hard, ceramic-like coating by hand to reveal the raised stripes and BMW lettering.

My assumption that the motor would go into the car in one day was naively opti-mistic. Of course it took longer, because we stopped to fix everything that was not “right”. That was fine because I knew the result would fly. Both R&L and Alex estimated that the Level 2 upgrade would produce 140hp. Think about it. 40% more than stock -- but probably 100% more than the dog-tired mill I had before! The anticipation was unbelievable. It fired up the first time within 5 seconds. No mistakes, no troubleshooting required. It sounded heavenly.

Alex told me to put 500 miles on it before bringing it back for a check-up and to change the break-in oil. He gave me a week. My usual 19-mile commute wouldn’t get me there. So I started crisscrossing the state of New Hamp-shire going west to go north and east to go south on winding back roads and state highways. Driving 140 miles every day quickly got me over the fear that my new motor would break!

Although restricted at first to 4,000 rpm, the dramatic performance up-grade put a permanent smile on my face. The old dog was a new dog, and all it wanted to do was play. Starts at the first hint of the key-twist. Snorts when you get on the gas. Jumps 1,000 rpm in the blink of an eye. Snicks from gear to gear. And gets 29 mpg. What a trans-formation!

As we progressed with the build, I no-ticed that Alex was becoming more and more engaged in the project. At the end, when I thanked him for his hospi-tality and support, he surprised me by replying, “Thanks for getting me back to the fun stuff I know so well.” It seems that both of us got gratification from this 2002 restoration.

This is the car I wanted when I was 18 back in 1973. It makes me feel like a kid every time I drive it. What has finally become “my car” has personal touch-es. There is a label under the hood,

made to resemble the factory stickers, recognizing the people who built the motor. The coolant overflow bottle is a Munich beer bottle as a tribute to the city where it was built. I bought that bottle in Munich especially for this car. It has VDO gauges from my first car in a console that I rebuilt from the base up. I still have the ball cap from the 1973 high school baseball team, and it now lives in the car. In the trunk there is a Düsseldorf, Germany license plate from the car my dad had when we lived there in the late 1960’s. Sure wish I could permanently mount it up front, but the local constabulary has a problem with that!

Being fortunate to have not one but two iconic sports cars, the drive is always more important than the destination, and it deserves my full attention every time. The “Fasten Seat Belt” warning on the dash has had a subtle change.

It now reads “Shut Up and Drive”.



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After a box lunch, our next stop was at the Adirondacks Experience Museum at Blue Lake Mountain. This was an expansive outdoor mu-seum with several build-ings on the geology and history of he Adiron-dacks area with period displays of real early life in the region. Very inter-esting and informative, worth a revisit.

The final leg of the BMWCCCA Vintage Adirondack Tour was returning to the Hampton Inn in Saratoga Springs. I kept my attention on the SENIOR6’s instrument cluster watching the five odometer tumblers and four trip odometer tumblers slowly roll to all nine 9s several miles before leaving NY-28/US-9 (fittingly) on to I-87 South. Then the tumblers slowly turned to all nine 0s as the Bavaria achieved 200,000 true actual miles driven during its life.

I arrived at the hotel with just enough time to freshen up before going to the Parting Glass Pub for the Meet and Greet Dinner and check-in for the BMW Vintage Gathering the following day at the Saratoga Auto Museum.

The next morning Saturday July 13 after early breakfast we formed up and departed for the Saratoga Springs Auto Museum lawn show as a 20-car caravan so we would be parked together in front of the museum building. As other vintage BMWs arrived, the entire front and side lawns were filled to capacity with all types and colors of vintage BMWs. It was a beautiful cloudless summer day with full sun which allowed plenty of opportunity to meet old and new friends and talk their about cars. As the temperature increased in early afternoon, we heard a loud “POP” and sound of glass shattering. Ed Localio from East Hampton NY who was on the Adirondack Tour with his 1976 BMW 2002

discovered the driver side window had shattered, apparently due to heat expansion stress from direct sun. Ed and Judith had several hours ahead of them on the drive home with no side window.

Sunday morning breakfast at the hotel was a time for saying goodbye to old and new friends. Some of the Tour group were staying to spend the day at the Saratoga Race Course for horse races while the rest of us went to the Wolff Biergarten in Albany for brunch before driving home.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Adirondack Tour and met some awe-some people and saw a lot of beautiful vintage BMWs.

On August 10th, the SENIOR6 and shared a toast to our 47-year one-owner relationship.



P I N E T R E E C H A P T E R | 13

13CHAPTER BOARD

PRESIDENTAndrew [email protected] (207)-319-5653

VICE PRESIDENTKyle [email protected] (207)-314-3754

SECRETARYRitch [email protected] (207)-865-6600

TREASURERPeter [email protected] (207)-773-1044

CHAPTER STAFF

WEBMASTERWilliam [email protected]

NEWSLETTER STAFF

COPY COLLECTION EDITORAndrew [email protected] (207)-319-5653

NEWSLETTER ADVERTISINGAndrew [email protected] (207)-319-5653

Pine Tree Chapterof AmericaBMW Car Club

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Introducing Veronicaby: Andrew Wilson

This story starts with a call from Ma-rio Langsten during the BMW Classic Adirondacks Tour. Cindy answered the phone, and Mario said “I’ve found Vern a sister, Veronika a 1600 Cabrio”, and then followed up with an e-mail of photos. Now only 1,682 of these cabriolets were made by BMW from 1967-1971, so they are fairly rare.

The BMW Archive was the next stop, and here is the e-mail I received in re-sponse to my inquiry:

“The BMW 1600 Convert-ible VIN 1557163 was man-ufactured on June 07th, 1968 and delivered on June 21st, 1968 to Japan. The original color was Grana-da, paint code 023.”

So it seems the car was imported into Japan and sat on the show room floor about 2 years before it was sold in 1971. The seller found it in Osaka in 2001. Yoshida-san of Simple Auto “let him buy it” with the promise he would take good care of it. The sense of obligation in that 2001 transaction is easier to understand in the original Japanese, but here is a rough English translation:

“He proceeded to court my wife in the car. We enjoyed romps in Tokyo, mainly

on crisp winter nights, top down and blankets, with friends in the back, they were urban sleigh rides. He brought the car back to the US in 2003 and enjoyed it, in the end, the amount of time spent sitting vs being driven was not healthy for the car. We are pleased the car is in the caring hands of genuine enthusi-asts.”

Today, the windshield still has the Jap-anese registration sticker from that 2001 sale. This 1600 cabrio is still in really good shape for living in Blue Hill Maine for 16 years, the restoration has held up very well. Aside from routine maintenance she needs a clutch, shocks and struts, tires, exhaust, a good detail and mouse de-stinking. She also needs a new top which, I understand, is still available from BMW!




I insured and registered her on September 24, 2019. The vanity plate VRONIKA was approved and ordered. We are thrilled to be in a position to purchase the car and we hope to do some top down driving before it gets too cold out.

See you on the road!



15Athena and Monterey Car Week 2019by: Andrew Wilson

So, Athena spent the summer in Monte-rey CA at a friend’s storage space. A few days before we flew out to California on August 11th, I received a text from detailer Roman Barnes with a photo of Athena looking absolutely amazing! She had gotten pretty filthy after The Targa California. We were planning to display her during “The Concours on the Avenue” in Carmel on Tuesday Au-gust 13th, Athena needed to be at her best, and she was! Cindy and I answered countless questions, listened to previ-ous owner’s stories, others ownership dreams and several friends stopped by to say hello. It was an amazing day. As we were getting ready to head back to the hotel we met an enthusiastic wom-an who had just bought a CS Coupe at an auction and was driving it back home. Those 2 hours passed in what seemed like minutes.

Wednesday was for the “Little Car Show”, a show of small displacement cars under 2 liters. We walked from our hotel to downtown Pacific Grove and met up with our friend Lisa and her Derby 1967 BMW 1600. The BMWs shown were a Chamonix 1968 BMW 1600GT, Lisa’s 1600 and an Isetta 300

Cabriolet all won awards. After the awards the cars took a short fun tour around Pacific Grove.

The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance on Ocean Avenue in Carmel, held on Thursday, was a chance to see the amazing prewar classics and post war sports cars for free. With a Pebble Beach Concours Sunday ticket costing close to $400 apiece now, the Tour d’Elegance is the best way to see the cars and meet the owners. Again we saw many friends, some of who were on the tour. Being a prewar car enthusiast, I was like a kid in a candy store among the Packards, Duesenbergs, Bentleys and Bugattis. My friend’s Cadillac V16 Roadster took 2nd in class at the show Sunday.

Friday was Legends of the Autobahn! Athena was ready for her close up as we competed in the Concours Coupe Class. This class is a full concours class, so the judges open and examine everything for cleanliness and correctness. Four CS Coupes were in the competition. Judg-ing started at 11am, with Athena being the last coupe judged in the class. She was spotlessly clean and presented very well, and the judges completed their

examination and took notes. When they completed the judging they thanked us and left. 20 minutes later they were back, and the several questions that had were answered easily. I was then asked to see the spare tire, and when I lifted the floor board there it was -- a dusty dirty spare. I let out an involun-tary “oh, man!” and sighed, because surely I was now out of the competition. After we returned from lunch, under the

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16

windshield was a “Congratulations you have won an Award” card! Holy smokes! A friend came over and implored us to stay, the coupe awards were next to last at almost 4pm. After what seemed like hours, the 3 coupes were lined up side by side to receive their awards. 3rd was announced first, and it wasn’t us. But then they called “2nd Place Andrew & Cindy Wilson!” and we excitedly drove up as photographers snapped pictures. Paul Cain, the BMW CCA Concours Chairman, presented the award and congratulated us. 1st place went to a 1972 CSL.

Saturday we arrived at the Laguna Seca Festorics at 7am. Ath-ena had been selected to park in the BMW CCA Tent at Turn 5. This was a big deal because only a select few BMWs are allowed this privilege. We had a fantastic time walking the pits and visiting with a friend, Steve Walker, who races vintage BMWs. In the BMW CCA tent friend and author Jackie Jouret (pro-nounced Jour-ay) interviewed us about Athena, our BMWs and 1914 Kisselkar. Hoping there’s an article in the Roundel soon! After lunch we went up to the Corkscrew to watch the BMW CSLs run. Steve Walker’s Luigi CSL bested 82 year old Brian

Redman in the BMW NA 25 CSL. It was an exciting race and so much fun to see the old BMWs put through their paces at speed. At the end of the day we attended a garden party cook-out with a bunch of friends. It was the perfect way to end an excellent week.

We did not attend the Pebble Beach Concours this year. Instead we went for a “Big Day”. Breakfast at Deetjun’s down CA 1 in Big Sur. Then up to Big Basin North of Monterey near Scotts Valley for a walk among the huge Redwoods. We rounded out the day with pizza in Pacific Grove and doing laundry in Sea-side.

Monday started our trip back to Maine,

but that’s another story...



N O R T H E R N N E W E N G L A N D A R E A | 17

17CALENDAR DATES, TIMES & DETAILS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

To register, to RSVP or for the most current information, see the website of the chapter listed at the end of each posting.



Green Mountain Chapterof AmericaBMW Car Club

JANUARY

Wednesday, Janyuary 1st 5:00pm

NNE Newsletter Submissions Deadline

All content to be considered for inclusion in the 2020.1 winter edition of this newsletter must be received by each chapter’s respective Copy Collection Editor BEFORE this deadline. Late submissions might not get published until the following edition. See page 20 for details about submitting content.[NNE]

FEBRUARY

Saturday, February 8th

WMC Winter Reunion

SAVE THE DATE! The 2020 Winter Reunion is being planned for February 8th. Details are being worked on, so check here next edition (and the chapter’s online calendar) for details. The Winter Reunion is always a great time to get together during the “off season” for an evening of food, fun and camraderie; we really hope you’ll be able to join us![WMC]

APRIL

Wednesday, April 1st 5:00pm


All content to be considered for inclusion in the 2020.2 spring edition of this newsletter must be received by each chapter’s respective Copy Collection Editor BEFORE this deadline. Late submissions might not get published until the following edition. See page 20 for details about submitting content.[NNE]

JULY

Wednesday, July 1st 5:00pm


All content to be considered for inclusion in the 2020.3 spring edition of this newsletter must be received by each chapter’s respective Copy Collection Editor BEFORE this deadline. Late submissions might not get published until the following edition. See page 20 for details about submitting content.[NNE]


N O R T H E R N N E W E N G L A N D A R E A | 18

18CLASSIFIEDS AVAILABILITY & DETAILS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Contact each advertiser as posted for current information.

POSTING CLASSIFIEDSClub members can submit (non-commercial) ads at no cost. Submissions are subject to approval by the each chapter’s board which reserves the right of refusal.

To submit an ad, send all ad information and photos as desired to your chapter’s Copy Collection Editor, or, via the White Mountain Chapter’s website if you are a WMC member.

Publication is subject to approval and space availability with priority given to new ads. Continuing ads must be resubmitted for each newsletter edition with the exception of ads listed on the WMC website which are automatically downloaded for newsletter inclusion.

Ad submitters bear sole responsibility for the accuracy of all their ad content; no chapter of the BMW CCA can guarantee, in any manner whatsoever, items listed in the classifieds. Ads do not constitute or imply any endorsement by the CCA or any of its chapters.

MISC. FOR SALE

Used Motor Oil for Shop Furnace Fuel Approx. 30 qts., Mobil 1 motor oil. Used but “uncontaminated”. Ideal for burning in compatible shop furnace heaters. Price: FREE! Located in Newington, NH. Could deliver to a WMC meeting. Call/text Martin Callahan 603.493.1703.

MEMBER HOME TOWN CHAPTER MEMBER HOME TOWN CHAPTER

Steven Adler . . . . . . . . . . .Barnet, VT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Green Mountain Nathan Ashworth . . . . . .Hudson, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainJoseph Attura . . . . . . . . .Yarmouth, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeAlan Baker . . . . . . . . . . . .Ashland, NH. . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainDavid Constant . . . . . . . .Concord, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainEthan Creeger . . . . . . . . .Meriden, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainMichelle Davis . . . . . . . . .Lebanon, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainJohn Filbin . . . . . . . . . . . .Elkins, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainChristopher Fisher . . . .Monmouth, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeMike Girard . . . . . . . . . . .Portland, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeGlen Gray . . . . . . . . . . . . .Old Town, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeSteven Griffis . . . . . . . . . .Windham, NH . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainCharles Guerin . . . . . . . .Hampton, NH . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainBruce Hartman . . . . . . . .Epsom, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainChristopher Hau. . . . . . .Falmouth, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeJon Heymers . . . . . . . . . .Pittsford, VT . . . . . . . . . . . . Green MountainRobert Hunter . . . . . . . . .Windham, NH . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainPaul Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . .Milford, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainSantosh Kumar . . . . . . . .Nashua, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainGus Larsen Giangrave . .Boothbay, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeMichael Lerch . . . . . . . . .Warren, VT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Green MountainShawn Mckenna . . . . . . .Scarborough, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeLisa Merrill . . . . . . . . . . . .Hudson, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainDan Morris . . . . . . . . . . . .Vergennes, VT . . . . . . . . . . . Green MountainPatrick Nixon . . . . . . . . .Merrimack, NH . . . . . . . . . . White MountainAlec Nolan . . . . . . . . . . . .Fort Wayne, IN . . . . . . . . . . Green Mountain

Dominic Pelletier . . . . . .York, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeMartin Power. . . . . . . . . .Manchester, NH . . . . . . . . . White MountainTerrence Radican . . . . . .Portsmouth, NH . . . . . . . . . White MountainRichard Rocca . . . . . . . . .Vernon, VT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Green MountainLee Rohde . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hampton, NH . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainIan Rothwell . . . . . . . . . . .Warren, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeAnthony Serino . . . . . . . .Bedford, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainKenneth Spatola . . . . . . .Hampton, NH . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainNeal Stephany . . . . . . . . .Nashua, NH . . . . . . . . . . . . . White MountainGraham Tasker . . . . . . . .Auburn, ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pine TreeBrandon Travassos . . . .Londonderry, NH . . . . . . . . White MountainJeffrey Warden . . . . . . . .Vergennes, VT . . . . . . . . . . . Green MountainShannon Warden . . . . . .Vergennes, VT . . . . . . . . . . . Green Mountain

NEW CLUB MEMBERSAttention New BMW CCA MembersWelcome to YOUR Club!

We invite you to join us at any of our upcoming chapter events, where we’d really love to meet you. See the calendar of events on page 17 for more information.

One way to enjoy the benefits of club membership and a way you can make this great club even better is by getting involved. Hopefully we’ll see you soon!

Whether you drive a BMW or MINI or simply share our passion for them...

Welcome !



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20



Green Mountain Chapterof AmericaBMW Car Club

PRESORTEDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT #25

PORTSMOUTH, NH

Northern New England AreaBMW Car Club of America640 S Main St, Ste 201Greenville, SC 29601

The NNE Newsletter is a publication of the Northern New England Area of the BMW CCA, Inc. (“the club”). Its contents remain the property of the club. All information furnished herein is provided by the club and its members, for club members only. The club assumes no liability for any information contained herein. The ideas, opinions and suggestions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and no authentication is implied. Unless otherwise noted, none of the information in this newsletter is “factory approved”. Modifications within the warranty period of your BMW may void the warranty. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce any material published herein provided full cred-it is given to the author and the club, unless otherwise noted. This edition of The NNE Newsletter was published under contract by mjc.design.works, LLC, 195 Little Bay Rd., Newington, NH 03801, printed by Southport Printing Co., 738 Islington St., Portsmouth, NH 03801, and mailed from Portsmouth, NH.

The NNE Newsletter...- the quarterly newsletter of the Northern New England Area of the BMW Car Club of America. Club members are encouraged to submit BMW and/or club related articles and photos for publication consideration. No submission is too short, but long features welcome as well. All submissions must be digital, and all images at their highest available resolution. Share your passion, submit something today!

Send all submissions or questions to the Copy Collection Editor of your chapter:

Green Mountain Chapter:Walter McNally | [email protected]

White Mountain Chapter:David Thibodeau (acting) | [email protected]

Pine Tree Chapter:Andrew Wilson | [email protected]

Advertise in the NNE NewwsletterContact any chapter board member for more information about advertising.

Green Mountain Chapter:www.bmwcca.org/chapter/green-mountain-chapter

White Mountain Chapter:www.bmwcca.org/chapter/white-mountain-chapter

Pine Tree Chapter:www.bmwcca.org/chapter/pine-tree-chapter

Submission Deadlines

• January 1st | winter

• April 1st | spring

• July 1st | summer

• October 1st | fall

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