1982 BMW 323i Baur

1982 BMW 323i Baur
Memorial Day 2010 First Drive 1982 323i BMW Baur Lapisblau M20 5 speed #4154 of 4595 made. The car was imported to California by Dietel Enterprises. I have since changed the wheels, installed the clear turn signal lenses, and I am in the process of installing a new cabriolet roof. I have to do something about those bumpers, too. :) I love this car! To see one of the reasons why, check my post "Score One For the Good Guys" on 6/26/2011.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Followup on the Wide Body Baur in VA

We have received some additional information from bimmerforums member 'vev' regarding his wide body Baur. This info has been posted in the bimmerforums thread "Baur TC1 in the US" already, but I wanted to update it here for the benefit of the blog readers.

The following is vev's post:

"I spoke to Lothar Schuettler. His recollection is that the car came to the U.S. with modifications already done, including the widebody. He believes that the body kit is from Hartge. He reviewed the existing records and forwarded the following:

"The car came in to port of Baltimore #1303 on 12/11/85 entry #86164588 2
via transport ship Kaijin Maru
by the Herman Ludwig Inc agency on behalf of Adrea L Brier. later Brier-Coleman
We took possession of it from Adrea Brier-Coleman in 7/18/88 and sold it to
Jean-Louis Evenou on 9/1/88
per his request we installed:
2 BBS 15x7 and 2x15x9 wheels - RS Design
Momo sport steering wheel
Flofit sport seats
New front grills
Four speed manual transmission (not sure why it was replaced and don't know if it was new or reman)
and we repainted the car or parts of the car (again no details on this.)"

The car still has the parts identified in the correspondence except I think it now has a five speed transmission. I am going to ask for copies of the paperwork. Looks like additional answers might reside across the Atlantic."



Wow, very interesting stuff, and we are indebted to vev for sharing that with us. Thank you, vev!

There are still some big gaps in this 'unofficial provenance', but this is certainly great information for the owner of any special car to have. At the very least, it is a great starting point for vev to pursue further--- and we hope he does!--- and we are happy to have been able to assist in some small way.

The first gap is in the car's early life prior to it's arrival stateside (1979-12/11/1985). This is apparently when the bodywork was done, possibly by Hartge. This is a relatively early car, so I am not sure what info Jeroen (Our Man Over There) can get on it. :)

(This week I came across a local BMW 7 Series for sale that has a "euro " wide body kit from Koenig, reportedly. It may be interesting to compare it with vev's wide body kit... Which I can't say I have seen in a good pic yet. I am working with a new iPad2 here, so I don't know if I can figure out how to post a pic of that 7 Series in here. It is a very strange looking car.) :)


Here is vev's wide body Baur.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1473937&page=2

This should be the thread for the wide body 7 Series.. It is called: "WWCD.... What would Charbel Do". Check it out. Do you know who Charbel is? If you do not know... Suffice it to say that Charbel is legendary in bimmerforums.... He is the BMW Fanatic's Fanatic! At this moment, he probably has 30 or 40 bmws, including some really great examples! He is such a great enthusiast that I even overlook the fact that he hasn't learned to appreciate the Baurs. Yet. I love the guy. Come to bimmerforums and check it out.

The second gap to fill is from Jean-Louis Evenou's ownership (1988) until vev took possession of it. That may be fairly easy to trace since it appears that the car may have remained in the MD/DC/VA area during that time.

We wish vev every success in this endeavor, and hope he will continue to keep us informed on his progress. This is not only a great little "how-to" story for any car owner seeking to find his car's provenance, but it is also an inspiration to those seekers that.... it can be done!

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