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Goodbye to Holly

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    Goodbye to Holly

    Its with great sadness that the car I've poured my blood, sweat and tears into is no more. I've owned this car for about 7 years now and its gone from a basic m42 318is, to an autocross beast and then a super fun HPDE track car with a built S52. I've prided myself on not just building a fully gutted track car but one that retained many of the comforts that a full interior car would have, and goddamn did I keep it clean.

    Over the last few years I have been attending track events and trying to learn as much as I can in hopes of one day doing some competitive racing later in life. I began transforming the car after years of learning from autocross and helping to instruct autocross for my local BMWCCA Chapter. Different suspension setups, tire setups, brakes, you know... the bug you get when you see seconds start to drop off.

    I do love that I'll still be able to retain all the knowledge and relationships I've built over the years as these do not remain in the the car itself. From late nights spent at Guten Parts pestering Levent as we built this car up over the years. The anticipation of driving it after it received a motor from an e36 m3 race car. Making the transfer from being the borrower of tools from all my family in the NYBMWCCA to one that lends tools out, calling locals with questions when I was stuck and getting great input from forum members when I needed ideas. Working with Denis at OMG to add pits an pieces and bugging the hell out of everyone in my phone when I hit a snag doing things on my own. These are relationships I find more valuable than any car and ones that I intend to grow as I build the next.

    Now on to the events that brought me to this post. It was the second morning at Watkins Glen of a two day HPDE. That morning the car felt the best its ever felt, my inputs were growing significantly better and I was really happy with the balance and the feedback it was giving me. I even ran a personal best 2:16:94 lap, three laps before the incident. Thirty minutes into the session without any warning the brakes were gone and I had no pedal pressure as I entered the braking zone into turn 8. I did my best to try to get the car turned and scrub off some speed and not hit head on as I was taking the turn off line. The rest is history. My instructor and myself walked away with no injuries. That is the most important part.

    With the important part out of the way, I can now express how heartbroken I am to have lost this car that has been my canvas for many years. That being said I will take what I can from her and build a stronger, safer, and faster car. I don't want to jump the gun and hop right into someone's project but I am itching to get back on the track asap. I would appreciate input as to what I should do next, I know building a car from scratch is the most expensive road to take but most satisfying in the end. I've been constantly debating in my head about changing platforms, perhaps buying a full caged and prepped e36 or e46, maybe making the jump to something that is a full fledged racecar and learning from there. Or starting from scratch with the e30 platform I know best, gain more knowledge and save my race car dreams for later in life. After this accident I really do want a full cage with door bars. I could ramble on for days with pro's and con's of each, the right situation will pan out in time. But if you have a rust free 318is slick top you are hiding for a great owner, let me know. I'll also entertain any 2 door Caylpsorot or Lagunegrun rust free cars.

    I'd like to share some pictures of the car, not only in its sad state now but as it has grown through out the years.













    Cheers Holly 1991-2017

    Onto the next one.

    -Greg
    sigpic
    1991 318is S52
    1987 325i Vert
    1991 325i
    2011 e70 X5

    Need Anything E30? -> http://www.gutenparts.com/

    #2
    F**k man. Always loved your car. Glad youre ok.

    The Build:
    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=191125

    Comment


      #3
      Sorry for your loss! Your 318is was an absolute beauty!!

      Comment


        #4
        Instructor is an absolute fool for bracing by putting his feet up on the dash.

        Comment


          #5
          That's rough man, I'm glad you're continuing and look forward to your next car.

          Its important to learn from this as well, as someone very inexperienced I have a couple questions...
          Do we know what caused the break failure?
          Would pulling the e-brake have helped with anything?
          What speed do you think you impacted at?

          Scary stuff, wishing you the best...

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Boggie1688 View Post
            Instructor is an absolute fool for bracing by putting his feet up on the dash.


            My thoughts exactly. If your in a crash you cross your arms grab your sides and hope for the best especially if your the driver on a high speed impact holding the wheel can snap your wrist. That being said glad everyone is okay and was able to walk away i really wasn't expecting to see that when i scrolled down she took a hard lick. Hopefully you can find a car that suits your needs soon and get back out there.


            1989 325is l 1984 euro 320i l 1970 2002 Racecar
            1991 318i 4dr slick top


            Euro spec 320i/Alpina B6 3.5 project(the never ending saga)
            Vintage race car revival (2002 content)
            Mtech 2 turbo restoration
            Brilliantrot slick top "build"

            Comment


              #7
              i am glad your Ok man..
              - Fercy -

              BimmerHeads
              Classic BMW Specialists
              Santa Clarita, CA
              www.BimmerHeads.com

              Comment


                #8
                E36/46 time. Then you can put down some serious lap times.
                1991 318is Brillantrot daily driver (slow restoration)

                Comment


                  #9
                  ugghhh i felt like i was looking at my own car in the 1st pic.
                  www.instagram.com/snwmble
                  #snwmble

                  Current:
                  '05 BMW M3 - Silver Grey/Imola Red
                  '90 BMW 325iX - Sterling Silver/Houndstooth sport(5-speed converted)
                  '15 Mini Countryman - Blazing Red/Carbon Black

                  Past:
                  '01 Audi Allroad - Light Silver/Platinum Saber Black
                  '88 BMW 325iX - Diamond Schwarz/Silver sport *Sold*
                  '01.5 1.8TQ - Brilliant Black/Nogaro Alcantara ...after 8.5yrs, *Sold* =(
                  '90 BMW 325i - Schwarz/Tan sport *Sold*
                  '89 BMW 325ix - Diamond Schwarz/Black sport *Sold*

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Metallated View Post
                    That's rough man, I'm glad you're continuing and look forward to your next car.

                    Its important to learn from this as well, as someone very inexperienced I have a couple questions...
                    Do we know what caused the break failure?
                    Would pulling the e-brake have helped with anything?
                    What speed do you think you impacted at?

                    Scary stuff, wishing you the best...
                    At this point I would lean towards a blown line, or failed MS. I impacted at around 70-80 i would imagine. Ebrake or downshifting may have done something, also could have put me into the wall at a more dangerous angle, I also only had 2-3 seconds to do anything. It was fucking scary. Believe me, I've been playing the shoulda/woulda/coulda game since this happened. All I can do is learn from this and move forward.
                    sigpic
                    1991 318is S52
                    1987 325i Vert
                    1991 325i
                    2011 e70 X5

                    Need Anything E30? -> http://www.gutenparts.com/

                    Comment


                      #11
                      i wonder if the t brake line above the rear subframe was the culprit.
                      www.instagram.com/snwmble
                      #snwmble

                      Current:
                      '05 BMW M3 - Silver Grey/Imola Red
                      '90 BMW 325iX - Sterling Silver/Houndstooth sport(5-speed converted)
                      '15 Mini Countryman - Blazing Red/Carbon Black

                      Past:
                      '01 Audi Allroad - Light Silver/Platinum Saber Black
                      '88 BMW 325iX - Diamond Schwarz/Silver sport *Sold*
                      '01.5 1.8TQ - Brilliant Black/Nogaro Alcantara ...after 8.5yrs, *Sold* =(
                      '90 BMW 325i - Schwarz/Tan sport *Sold*
                      '89 BMW 325ix - Diamond Schwarz/Black sport *Sold*

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Sorry for your loss. Glad you guys are ok.
                        1990 325i
                        2004 330i Individual 6-speed
                        sigpic


                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Boggie1688 View Post
                          Instructor is an absolute fool for bracing by putting his feet up on the dash
                          er.... looks like it was the handies not the feetsies up there.

                          Glad to hear you ok OP, you hit hard. I'm sorry about your loss :(

                          Comment


                            #14
                            That's a fucking serious hit. Glad both of you made it out okay - that's pretty impressive given the way the car looks. I've always liked your car, it's a shame to see it go.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Well, Is it too soon to say if Buddy was hoping to own Holly again one day that ship has sailed?

                              But, honestly, I'm thankful for your walking away, and although I'm not a track guy, seeing the hands go to the dash made me cringe.

                              Comment

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