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| 04-03-2008, 08:32 PM | #1 |
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ONE that never could be a garage queen
So far, BMWs I have owned (not counting my Spec E30 race car and numerous E30 parts cars) include: E36 M3, X5, 540/6, two M Roadsters and a 545. Each of these cars was picked up from the dealer and lovingly maintained. I admit that my type A personality sometimes edged me toward the neurotic with regard to cleaning and maintenance. (Witness thousands of dollars spent at Griots Garage on every manner of cleaning product and countless Saturdays spent removing wheels to clean the inside
recesses of wheels that no casual observer would ever notice.) With the advent of racing, I learned that it was ok to obsess over the cosmetics of a street car but never, never, never a car used in club racing. Race cars at the Spec E30 level are simply tools to drive fast. They are not garage queens. They will get hit by other cars (often several cars in a single race) and eventually you will hit some immovable object at a very high speed. That object for me was the Armco at the outside of turn one at VIR. With this history, I ordered a 135 with the sole intent of being the fastest BMW in this year's One Lap of America. No small feat considering that BMW has become a sponsor of the race and has entered a new M3 to be driven by a BMW Performance Center Instructor. With better brakes than the M3, a couple hundred pounds less ballast and a twin turbo motor that is ripe for performance software it seemed like the perfect car to take on BMW's “premier” sports sedan. I ordered mine with humiliating the M3 as the deciding factor in most decisions: no nav/iDrive, no comfort/cold weather package, sports package and an unsuccessful attempt to delete the sunroof. Well, I got the call that it was at the dealer and drove over to pick it up this Monday. I really did not know what to expect as I had never even seen a "One" in the flesh. It was sitting at the dealer next to a new M3 and the first thing that registered was how big the M3 looked. I sat in the car and it felt proportionally perfect. The metamorphosis of a 2002 and an E30 with a roof and greenhouse taller than the M3 with a length shorter than my SpecE30, a stubby shifter with throws shorter than a celebrity opening day pitch. Perfect. The only problem now was that I was having serious second thoughts about putting a One Lap beating on a brand new car that I had just fallen in love with. I pulled out of the dealer lot and headed south to BimmerWorld. Without spending even a night at my home, the new One would have no opportunity to convince me that it should lead the life of a garage queen. In order to send the factory guys back to Spartanburg with their tails between their legs, I needed lots of professional help getting the car ready: a BMW shop backed by significant racing experience, great connections and a David and Goliath mentality. My neighbor, friend, fellow SpecE30 racer and co-conspirator in this plot, Vic Hall, and I talked about options for about 30 seconds before settling on James Clay at Bimmerworld. He had helped us out with the Spec E30 build and provided tons of advice (that involving consumption of Jagermeister was admittedly of questionable value). From the moment that we laid out the idea James was IN and making plans. With some mixed emotions I dropped the day old One at the BW shop and am eagerly anticipating her return. James has lined up terrific go-fast sponsors for the project including : Active Autowerke for software, BOV and intercooler, Diffsonline for the limited slip that the factory refused to provide in order to protect the M3, JRZ-- RS DA dampers because a street suspension is only good on a date, Performance Friction and Riss Racing down pipes-turbos need to breath easy. More sponsors to come. If anyone is still awake and interested, I will update as the metamorphosis progresses. Pictures to follow. |
| 04-03-2008, 10:47 PM | #12 | ||
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| 04-03-2008, 11:38 PM | #15 |
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give him a break! he just wrote ALL of that today...
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| 04-04-2008, 07:08 AM | #16 | |
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| 04-04-2008, 08:17 AM | #17 |
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Nice write up. I especially liked "a stubby shifter with throws shorter than a celebrity opening day pitch".
I will check back regularly. Welcome and thanks for the pregnant first post!
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| 04-04-2008, 08:29 AM | #18 |
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I can't wait to see how this turns out ..
Crowley
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| 04-04-2008, 11:10 AM | #21 | |
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 But I live nearby and would love to stop by some saturday morning and give you guys a hand if you need it!
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