Gaydon 2012 - August 19th

[e21-Mark]

Was good to see a few guys at Gaydon and the Baurs looked just about perfect for the hot weather.

On the drive up m3gaz's white 320 looked lovely in convoy with my Mrs in her white 02tii. The roads being peppered with cherished BMW's is my fave part of the day tbh.

It was a shame that there were so few e21's allowed down on to the stand area. There were several very nice examples in the car park, including a pretty mint 323i in henna and a special. There were certainly far fewer cars on display overall.

[Jeroen]

Nice, thanks for the pics! But more E3's than E21's... shouldn't be too difficult to double the figures next year guys!

[cobbler2u]

The guy with the red 323 in car park. poped up to see us on the show area.
He was telling me he has owned it for 30yrs.

[Jeroen]

Car looks brilliant! So one owner, full history and low mileage?

[AndyBaur]

I had centre consul for you at show.

Damn, yes. Well hopefully an auto console isn't too different to a manual as I have one of those.

One of the guys on the E21 stand is sending me a set of centre caps. Did his buyer turn up? His car looked really good - he had a new interior custom made that looked really factory. He was from Carlisle so had travelled a similar distance as me.

[bluebaur]

Had a great time, there were some real beautys there. Met some guys from the forum, which was nice. Only big let down
was how many e21's arrived. And shows like this should have a stand selling parts for e21's, PERFECT.

[AndyBaur]

BlueBaur: I was having a look at your Baur for some reference points to mine.

Your ride height is much better - mine seems to have gone everywhere on the sump.

When the old wings were removed they seem to have taken away the lip that the bottom of the wing bolts to. I guess I need to get one welded on.

I wanted to see the inside of your targa lid - mine is a bit grotty (I believe there's a how-to on restoring them).

etc, etc.

[nas80]

Gaydon is such a waste of time really.

Its all about boring bmws and nothing else.. Static shows are ok but gaydon isnt so good. Because there is no action.

Next year I'm going to not bother and go to some shows where I can thrash my beemer against other cars.

[e21-Mark]

Its all about boring bmws and nothing else.. Static shows are ok but gaydon isnt so good. Because there is no action.

Apart from the track bit.

[Duracel79]

Only took a couple of phone pics of the E21's, Amuses me how there was always someone stood by my engine deep in thought



Got carried away with the Jaguar Heritage Collection:

XJ13 (thee only real one, well mostly after the crash rebuild)



Prototype XJ220 (V12 4WD etc)



SS100



Ben

[Jeroen]

Thanks!

[Mobster]

Its all about boring bmws and nothing else.. .

At a BMW show, yea I see your point.

[AndyBaur]

Gaydon is such a waste of time really . . . Its all about boring bmws and nothing else..

I dunno - my 500SL was quite a conversation piece

It all depends what you want to get from it. If you just want to wander around looking at the cars then yes, the Classic Show at the NEC is better. I had rather given up on Gaydon but as registrar for the E24 section I had to attend & always end up talking E24's all day long which is much better than just looking. It would have been nice to have added some E21 chat to the mix.

It is what you make it.

[nas80]

Its all about boring bmws and nothing else.. .

At a BMW show, yea I see your point.

Ultimate driving machines not being driven. Apart from a few who paid for it.. Yep. I just think static shows are just lacking because its like looking at pictures of cars on the internet but in real life. yes we get to meet other bmw owners.. Would have met one person from here I didn't already know had I gone this year...

Last year the highlight of gaydon was the epic journey to the show. I can't tell you too much but I fully utilised the performance of my ultimate driving machine. anyway it wasn't the show.. The car park had some gems while the main show was just full of e30 M3s.

[Jeroen]

...Ultimate driving machines not being driven...

Agree, but that's a matter of taste I guess. I usually do one meeting of that sort and I'd like it to be special: enough cars and special cars. And it's not called a meeting for nothing: it's a great way of meeting many other BMW fanatics. Here in Holland, the Sharknose Meeting fits that purpose perfectly. Every once in a while I attend a combined M3 and Alpina meeting that takes place abt every other year here, also because there special cars and nice people.

Other than that, the bmwe21.net meetings here always have some activity added. Usually it's a drive in a beautiful area combined with lunch or dinner, but we also visit interesting sites like an engine overhaul business that's giving demos on all the work they do. I kinda quit doing frequent parking lot chats over 20 years ago

Still, here in Holland there's not much interest in a trackday from within the E21 community, but we may do some advanced driving training in the near future.