'38 BMW by juddman

4 minute(s) of a 27 minute read

HI Rob- Thanks for the kind words! Dad is still with us, thankfully. He handed the car off to me when he realized that he wasn't going to get to it. It's a little ironic because he was an engineer with Grumman for about a zillion years and has far greater mechanical skills than I do. I'm fine with most basic tasks, but the bodywork required for the car is well beyond my skill level. On another note, I'm sorry to see that your 525iT was hit. I had two E34 535i's, one of which had a 5 spd, and they're really spectacular cars. Probably the best all-round car I've ever had.

Cheers - CJ

Just a quick post to note that my friend who is doing the metal and woodwork on my car, Doug Cygan, is available to assist with restoration or fabrication issues. 

He is deeply talented with metalwork, woodwork (both structural and decorative), mechanical repairs, and other more esoteric things. For instance, he sand casts aluminum parts, can mold rubber and plastic pieces, and seems to me to be able to make just about anything from sheetmetal. Doug is exceptionally bright, creative, and thorough, not to mention friendly and a genuine pleasure to talk to. Furthermore, he is confident in his abilities but is always learning more and his ethics are absolutely beyond reproach. I have seen his handiwork first hand many times and I am always amazed at both his range of capability and the consistently high quality of the things he makes. 

Doug has a website at:  1938 BMW 327 Cabriolet

He may be reached by email: [email protected]

Mailing address and phone are: 

PO Box 267

Belmont, NH 03220

(603) 267-7540

In short, Doug is a great guy who really knows his stuff!

Cheers!

CJ

2-26-2012

Hey, I'm glad your son is OK - rather lose the car than him. We were all young and dumb once...at least I was! 

The E34 is perhaps the only car I've had that I'd go back to. BMW really got it right with those. The only thing I didn't like about my 535's was the fuel consumption. They were good looking, reliable, really comfortable, they handle beautifully, and the old M30 lump could lay down the power pretty well and sounded good doing it. I'd love to transplant an M30 /5 spd into a Touring... Good luck with the new 530!

Doug is pretty close to it. Adding to any feeling of inadequacy, he just does this as a hobby and is self taught. His day job is completely unrelated - he uses his extensive knowledge of botany and entomology for that. As I said, he's brilliant.

3-3-2012

@ RU22 - Thanks for the encouragement! My dad described the way the car drove as surprisingly modern with excellent chassis dynamics and brakes, however lacking in power. 

A funny story: In order for him to be able to register and drive it in Germany with a US military registration he had to show that the car had seatbelts and that the brakes would lock all four wheels in a panic stop. To do this, he had to take his immediate superior for a brief ride and demonstrate. When the sergeant ordered him to punch the brakes, dad hesitated for a moment because he remembered that he had a 5 gallon jerry can full of fuel in the luggage compartment behind the rear seat on the passenger's side. He mentioned this to the sergeant, telling him that he was worried about the can coming forward and mashing him against the dashboard. His sergeant disregarded this and told him to follow the order, which he did, obtaining the anticipated result. 

Your website is pretty neat; who would have thought one would find an Edsel in Poland? One day I'd like to see eastern Europe. I work with several Poles and a couple of Romanians and in my admittedly limited experience, the're truly great folks & pretty funny too.

@ Superboss - Thanks!! (and your English is perfect!)