Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[econti]

DSC_0349 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And just like that I've got a new desktop background.
Great pics, great write up. I'd love to make it to one.

[mike.bmw]

The Vintage 2021

I finally made it to The Vintage! After years of hearing such great things about the people, the cars, and the event, I finally made it. It exceeded my expectations. The people are great. The cars and fantastic. The event is must-do for any classic BMW enthusiast. Additionally, it was awesome meeting a few R3V'ers in person (@mo

I caravanned from the Washington D.C. area to Asheville, NC with Joshua Reger. It was about a 500 mile trip. We managed it in 8 hours with a few stops for stretching and bathroom breaks. Joshua recently completed his '72 2002 project and it didn't miss a beat. Roller when we approached Asheville.

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I stayed at the Clarion Inn. The parking lot at the Clarion was jam packed with classic BMWs. Here are a couple:

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The owner of the patina'd 2002, Mark of Classic BMW Garage, invited me to go on a Blue Ridge Parkway on Friday with a small group. We stopped at the Arboretum to plan the route:

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As we went up in elevation, we hit lots of fog and rain, but it was a blast. Lots of opportunities for cool shots on BRP. And a waterfall!

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The BRP crew went to lunch and I drove 90 minutes to Greer, SC to check out the BMW CCA Foundation's exhibit on Z cars:

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While I was there, I ran into Zach (@moatilliatta) and another R3V'er (I forgot Johnathan's username).

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We all headed over to the BMW Zentrum and of course grabbed some shots in front of the museum.

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After the Zentrum, we headed back to the Clarion Inn for registration and the parking lot party. Hundreds of classic BMWs wrapping all the way around the 1/3rd mile hotel parking lot. We ran into Albie325 and his awesome M Tech 1 build. So great!

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The next morning was the show. It was an hour drive to Hot Springs, NC on some truly fantastic roads. The show itself was on a grassy field completely surrounded by mountains. So many BMWs, such surreal scenery. Here's a small taste of the show:

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On Sunday, my wife flew in and I picked her up from the airport. The kiddos stayed with Grandma for a few days and my wife and I had a short vacation - the first time in over 7 years we've been away for more than a night. So we saw the Biltmore and went on some great hikes (which meant a lot more driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway).

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On Wednesday we headed home. In less than a week I had put over 1500 fun-filled miles on my 318is. I had wiped my car down a number of times on the trip, but with a few days of rain my car was the filthiest it has EVER been under my ownership. Dirt caked all over the sides. Stains on the Alpine White paint. So the first thing I did when I got home (after catching up and spending time with my kids) was clean the car - they even helped. It still needs a full wax, but it's back to a reasonably clean state and my inner clean-car OCD has been appeased. :-)

I can't wait to go back next year. It was great meeting so many welcoming BMW enthusiasts and connecting with people I've chatted with online for years, yet never met in person. HUGE thanks to the organizer, Scott Sturdy, for putting on such a great event!

[moatilliatta]

Those brick pavers photograph nicely. Oh and the cars! :)

[dhlerner]

Mike, those shots look amazing! Have a great time at the Vintage, I wish I could have joined you.

[mike.bmw]

Less than 48 hours until I leave for the Vintage! A friend introduced me to someone to caravan with, so I won't be making the 500 mile drive alone. Many of the people in my area can't make it this year due to the date changes, but I'm looking forward to meeting a number of R3V'ers while I'm there!

I hadn't taken my E30 out for photos much lately, so last weekend I remedied that with two friends, jgerock and dhlerner, for some E30 goodness. I had taken photos of a '64 356 C and '14 911 50th anniversary in the same spot a month earlier, and got married there 12 years prior. :-)

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Mmmmm, Porsches.

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[mike.bmw]

Vintage Prep

Less than three weeks until I make the drive from the Washington D.C. area to Asheville, NC for The Vintage. My first Vintage!

My clutch had been grabbing quite high over the past few months. Within the first 5-10% of pedal travel. The throwout bearing had been noisy. The shift shaft seal had been leaking quite a bit. The guibo was cracked and needed replacement. So you can probably see where this is going...

I dropped my car off at RRT last Monday and they replaced the following:
- clutch and flywheel (stock, dual-mass, Luk setup)
- rear main seal (it was weeping)
- trans input shaft seal
- pivot pin
- release arm spring
- selector rod joint
- trans throwout bearing
- trans shift shaft seal
- driveshaft flex disc
- various other items while the trans was out

The clutch that came out of the car appears to have been the original (152K miles on it). It still had a little life left, but was pretty worn. The new setup feels great and also sounds great. Clutch engagement feels great. Shifting feels great. No more whining throwout bearing. It should be good for another 150K+ miles!

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[roguetoaster]

Disappointed that you didn't go with "Catching Some Zs," but otherwise, fantastic!

[mike.bmw]

Roundel Article

Some may remember my post about The Cherry Blossom run earlier this year. Well, I submitted a piece to Roundel (BMW CCA's national magazine, which is an awesome publication) and it was just published in the August-September issue! I couldn't be more excited about this! Big thanks to the BMW CCA and Roundel folks for publishing my piece!

Who's down for next year?

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Some of the original shots (I'd since re-edited for the magazine, but these are what I have hosted at the moment)...

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[mike.bmw]

A weekend-long date with a pair of Zs

I had the good fortune to borrow a Z1 and Z8 for a weekend. Lots of photos. Lots of fun. To top it off, I got to hear some amazing stories from the owner. Always a pleasure to spend time with him, hear his stories, and see his incredible restoration work at his workshop. I took about a thousand photos at various locations, but here's a taste.

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My friend and stunt driver, Jack.

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The Z1 is really something else. Driving my favorite curvy roads over the course of the weekend with the doors down was quite enjoyable.

[mike.bmw]

Photo shoots

I've been spending LOTS of time taking photos. Here are some from a set that will make their way into a der Bayerische article in the Sept-Oct issue:

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I haven't been taking as many shots of my E30 (haven't had time), but here are some from a few weeks ago.

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Perfecting the pan

I've been taking a LOT of panning shots. Finally down in the 1/15 1/20 shutter range with fairly good sharpness on the cars. Here are some of my favorites, despite not being my sharpest (sometimes the content outranks the quality of the shot).

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[mike.bmw]

A lot has happened in the past month. I'll separate these by posts.

Mark D Chip!

I've swapped out my SSSquid for a Mark D chip. A local gentleman I've purchased parts from before gave me a deal on a spare DME and Mark D chip. There is a nice bump in the 2500-3500 range which makes it a bit more drivable around town. When you've swapped a dash more than once, installation is a breeze.

20210801_102515 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[moatilliatta]

That's great! I wish my chapter was more active.

[mike.bmw]

One last tangentially E30-related update...

I took the cover shot for the latest der Bayerische! It's @dhlerner's awesome 325i on the way back from the NCC Dashing Through the Mountains Tour. My first attempt at shooting "rollers".

July_Aug_21_cover by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Additionally, Avery and I co-wrote any article in this issue! Avery and Carter both love the NCC Tours and it's such an enjoyable time with the kids. Check out the article here.

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I wrote a few additional things for this issue as well (Steering Column, D&V Autobody Masters Sponsor Spotlight, and part of the piece on Lothar's awesome BMW collection). Lots of fun!

[mike.bmw]

That's a pretty good solution for the tab repair. Too bad that the entry worker or another entrant didn't spot the caps and remind you.

Thanks, I've had success with the JB Weld Plastic stuff. I was happy with the simple rubber band solution to pull the tab outward.

Being my first time back at the track in over 18 months I had a checklist of things to do when I arrived in the paddock. Removing the caps was one of them, but obviously I missed that one. :-)

[roguetoaster]

That's a pretty good solution for the tab repair. Too bad that the entry worker or another entrant didn't spot the caps and remind you.