Subject: East Fest Report
From: Joe Weir

Thursday:
Left work at 3:00. Just needed to drop by the muffler shop & have the mismatched Supertrapp replaced with the matching one that had been banging around the trunk the last 6 months. Up on the muffler shop lift, the rear tires are discovered to have frighteningly large patches (4"x6") of cord showing on the inside. No prob; Just get a couple of tires from work, I'll be on the road at 5:00. Plenty of time to meet at 7:00. I put the new ones on the front & took off. Had to stop 10 miles later to have the "new" rear tires balanced (they had taken the weights off the tires when rotating, go figure). Tire man burns hands on left rear wheel & wheel nuts. Caliper appears to be clamping all the time. Push pads back and get back on road. Its 6:00. Have to stop again for mysterious vibration after stopping. Feels like flat tire. No problem found. Arrive Greenville 8:ish right behind Steve Good.

Must have missed the cell number post. Steve Good and I were at the Hilton wondering where everyone was. At 9:00 we decided to search the Hyatt. Although Steve's friend Darryl had a right spiffy 02, Bavzilla's perforated panels, Faded paint and unbaffled Supertrapps got us enough ugly stares to live up to Offend and Horrify. An unbaffled big six sounds awesome when you rev it while cruising a parking garage.

Friday:
Spent morning counting Photo Contest votes for O'fest. Spent afternoon at Greenville dealership attempting to make car driveable. Again, severe vibration from center/rear and a red hot left rear wheel. Sticking caliper? Didn't appear to be stuck, as the pistons retracted when pushed back. Opinions?

Bavaria still in Greenville. Damn thing is Possesed, I'm sure of it.

Joe Weir

Subject: General East Fest Report
From: Gerald R Stanley

Sorry I missed seeing you there, Joe.

Briefly:
I set up camp at Paris Mountain about 4:30p on Thursday. Then headed over to the Hilton to meet y'all. Waited in the parking lot from 5:30 to 7pm. Listened to the whole White album, and drank half my beer stash. No-one showed. So I drove around the other hotels until 8. Holiday Inn said Good and Potsch had not arrived yet. Had trouble finding the Marriot. So I headed downtown around 8, found the Hyatt, and browsed the Vendor displays, ogled a couple of rat bastard show cars, picked up a DINAN license plate frame (because it was free). Went back to campground.

Friday was the concours. Jeffrey Baker showed his Bavaria, and DHW showed the Secret Weapon. My Bav stayed in the parking lot due to lack of registration for OFest, and zero desire to clean it. Dinan license plate surround was on the car by this time, with duct-tape cutout letters "NO" on the left and "HERE" on the right. Ate lunch with MARTY'S BROTHER, Mike. "Do all your sibling's names start with 'M'?" I asked innocently. "No." "Good," I reply. Pause. "Unless you count Margaret I suppose."

Marty: Mike misses you, and recounted fond memories of losing wheels at speed from 2002s etc.

The Potsches showed up about then, after an amazing trip from Chicago involving an exploding fan clutch, radiator repair, billowing smoke and disintegrated rear brake pads. With 3 people in the car. These folks know how to travel in style.

About dusk, Steve Good, Steve's pal Darryl and I got wind of a junkyard nearby, and despite the Margaritas we had just consumed, found the place and started poking around the 60+ old BMWs in this guy's yard/trees/blackberries. About 12 E12s, 10 E21s, 25 02s, 20 E28s, 10 e23s, 15 or so E30s. One solitary E3, parked for about 3 years. Apparently has a "fresh" 735 motor. 32/36 Webers, header, nice black leather interior (e23?). He wanted $150 for the front seats, but I decided not to, as the mounting towers were chopped out of the floor of the car in order to fit them.

Saturday, I picked up my CSL spoiler from Herr Woodham, and hit the road back to Lexington in convoy with with Jim Potsch Sr. We got to my place, and began work on his rear brakes. The right side was amazing -- brand new brake pads apparently melted completely away. Pad gunge slung all over the inside of the wheel and wheel well. Rotor coated in gunge, and discolored from extreme heat. Brake pades were just two slabs of metal. Both his rear calipers were seized, as was the spare set I had on the shelf. What to do? I had a fairly fresh set of front calipers, so we dug the rubber out of those 4 bores/pistons, and used it to rebuild my spare rear calipers. Installed & bled. Success.

Marilyn arrived around 10:30pm, having not slept for 3 days. We pointed her at a bed, and she was not seen or heard from again until about 10am the next morning. A fancy coupe and two worn Bavarias in the garage. Spot the concours winner.

I'm thinking we need to have a mid-western area get-together in the spring sometime...

Gerald

Subject: Chicago EastFest Report
From: Jim Potsch

From chicago:
First of all I would like to thank Gerald and Frau for opening up their house to all of us and the "Stanley Repair Shop" getting my dad's Bav back on the road. Genuinely nice accommodating people that you don't meet very often. Sharon, Jim Sr., and I thank you.

Gerald is one of those people who remind what the SSR is all about. We were in a jam, and Gerald offered his spare parts and garage to help out. If he hadn't offered the situation would have been a lot less positive, and I'm sure much more frustrating. So thanks again, we owe you.

All right. With 20/20 hindsight I can say this: Do NOT let a car sit for 3 years, get the engine and trans rebuilt, drive it about 30 miles before leaving for an 1600 mile trip and think that everything else isn't going to break on it.

Things replaced and repaired since Wednesday morning:

Gas tank (out of my car)
Various hoses that weren't tightened down correctly
Fan clutch
Radiator drain plug
Front bolt on valve cover
Gas gauge
Rear brake calipers
Rear brake rotors
One brand new set of rear break pads
One set of used rear break pads
Oh and the terrible exhaust smell that was coming in the car has been reduced

I think that looking back we should have bought a couple cases of cheap motor oil and drove my car down. Letting my car piss out it's front seal the whole way. It's ugly and rusty, but since I've replaced almost everything on mechanical on the car in the last two years I think that it might have been a little more sane...or maybe not.

Trip was amusing, kinda bummed that there wasn't a bigger SSR turnout, but hopefully a more organized event will draw more E3s/E9s out of the woodwork.

I'm all excited to work on my car again, which is really cool. :) I think everyone who gets frustrated with their car should try to attend one of these gatherings. The inspiration makes you want to go home and tear apart your car and fix everything.

Sold my second Bav to a guy in the Michigan UP, trip to deliver it is in a couple weeks.

Fun fun.

Jim Potsch