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Cafe Technic: Our Summer Cars and Coffee

August 03, 2016Performance Technic

If this is your first time hearing of Cafe Technic, let us summarize: it’s a casual, two hour meet that we host here at the shop during the summer months. This year is the first that we’ve run the event, and it usually takes place on a Saturday morning. It isn’t limited to BMWs, it’s family and pet friendly, and you can choose to park your car in our lot, or just show up to hang out. Our July meet took place this past Saturday the 30th, and it was a hit.

For this event, we decided to do something a bit different: we hosted a choice number of display cars inside the shop. This display, like everything else with the meet, was not BMW specific. The vehicles we chose to display were a mix of car community friends among our staff, and a couple of our own PTech builds. Situated on the shop floor was Johnny’s Nissan R32 Skyline GTR, Hootie’s hillclimb BMW 2002 tii Touring, Shafique’s S54 Felony Form E36, the SE46 racecar, and Toan’s pristine Datsun 240z. We felt that having a variety of cars to show would create a more diverse atmosphere. While we are a bespoke BMW specialist, we also have great appreciation for tasteful and unique builds across any make or model.

Johnny’s GTR and Toan’s 240z were shown together on one side of the shop. Johnny purchased his GTR earlier this year from International Vehicle Importers at their LA location. This R32 generation GTR is special in several ways, but most notable are its rare color (known as TH1) and the fact that it is 100% CARB compliant/California legal; the first in the Bay Area! Johnny’s car was also the first to actually drive away from the IVI parking lot. Seeing as many of these cars do not become California legal, IVI cannot allow them to drive away from their location. These cars must be trailered, whether it’s within California or out of state. The cost of a GTR of course increases when it comes to making the vehicle CA legal, but the benefits are enormous. Johnny explored the process and completed everything necessary to legitimize the R32, so now he can be seen driving it all over the Bay Area!

The first generation Z car behind the Skyline belongs to Datsun enthusiast and father of two, Toan Nguyen. This isn't his first Z, nor do we think it will be his last. Powered by a turbo L28, this Z remains nostalgic to its roots. It’s an excellent example of a clean resto-mod.

If you follow our blog and other social media, you’ll most likely recognize the orange Touring from our last feature. The S14 powered tii made the trip from San Francisco to display in the shop. Having the 02 present gave everyone who read the story a chance to see the car in person. Reading about a build online and seeing it for yourself can be two different experiences, but in this case, Hootie’s Touring is even better in person.

Plenty of other cars showed up for the meet, some pulling in even before the 10AM start time. A great array of everything from 2002s, E36 and E46 M3s, all the way up to the F8X chassis came out. Our immediate parking lot filled up with cars in almost no time, but we managed to shuffle and make room for as many vehicles as we could.

Our shop Touring project was on display outside alongside Greg's M4. We just had our Touring ceramic coated by Jason at CarzWerk, and we're very excited to see how it holds up to daily use. (Our full write up on this car is coming in the next couple of weeks.)

We are very grateful for the support we receive from our wonderful customers, family, and friends. We enjoy hosting these events because it gives us the chance to socialize with our customers outside of a work environment. With so many fantastic cars that show up, both street and track oriented, it makes demonstrating what we do here at PTech effortless to explain.

Jerome's Dinan equipped Frozen F80 also made an appearance. He has come a long way with this car since it first rolled into our shop.

We look forward to our future Cafe Technic meets, and hope to see even more of you at our next one in September! We have yet to decide on a date, but it will be shared across our social media as soon as we are able to plan it. If you attended this time, do you have any thoughts on the cars we displayed?

German Built, American Driven: Hootie's 1973 BMW 2002 Touring

June 29, 2016Performance Technic

I first saw this car in person at the Bay Area 02 meet a couple of months ago. Throughout the show, I found myself gravitating back around the loud, tiny car, even though there were tons of others to look at. There was no sight of the owner, but we eventually connected through social media and managed to set up some camera time.

We decided to meet up at a large pull off out on Skyline (which is one of the most enjoyable driving roads in the Bay Area). Getting to see the Touring at a show and having private, one on one time to look at it were two completely different experiences. During our shoot, there were so many more details that stood out, some of which I had overlooked at Bay Area 02. Hootie described to me the story of the car as we did a walk around.

“The car was imported in 2011 by a well known 2002 importer in San Jose,” he said. I asked him what influenced him to buy such a unique and rather irreplaceable vehicle. As a true enthusiast does, he said that he’s always looking for the next car, even if there’s no intention to purchase. Keeping a constant, scouring eye out for classics seems to be one of the most effective ways of finding one.

“Typically, I stick to some Craigslist searches and Bring-a-Trailer listings,” he explained. However, during Fall of last year, he began to feel the need for something really different. “I started branching out to RacingJunk, private sites, and eBay, which is where I found the Touring listed.”

He mentioned that he lived in San Francisco, so I could only imagine the stress of owning such a vehicle in the City. Luckily, he has his own garage space, but that still doesn’t eliminate the stress of SF streets.

His experiences summed up? “Dodge pothole. Slow down for large, raised construction plate. Avoid getting caught on Fillmore Street hill. Can’t park there because that car looks sketchy. You get the point.” He told me that many of his friends don’t understand why he would purchase the Touring, especially with it being his only car. However, Hootie insists that now is the perfect time to own the car. He came from driving an immaculate ’91 M5 and wanted something very, very different. With no wife, no kids, and no work commute, why not?

Our conversation went on to discuss the origination of the car, which is printed boldly in its livery. It was built in Germany by Einzig. It was raced as a hill climb car and then later imported to the US, along with a couple of other vintage BMWs. Toward the end of our shoot, Hootie retrieved a white binder from inside the car. Across the front was a handwritten title: “TOURING S14, ’73 INKA.” Scattered across the front cover folder were random notes, one of which read: “Choke knob operates the fan - car was set up this way.” Stuffed inside was a huge collection of pages, all containing material from import documents, hand drawn wiring diagrams, and complete part lists, all articulated in German.

Hootie laughed, “When anything breaks, I have to either figure out a custom solution or track down the right parts. Fortunately everything was pretty well documented… if you’re fluent in German.”

The parts list was extensive. It contained pages of neatly organized parts, some of which were translated or easily understood. The Touring is propelled by a 2.3 liter S14 power plant, which is mated to a five speed gearbox. The motor looks completely at home in the Touring’s engine bay, and gives the car a perfectly balanced power boost. Additional part mentions include the fiberglass hood, front fenders, and Turbo 2 flares produced by Singer. There is a sort of Frankenstein mash up of other parts, such as E23 hubs and oil cooler, 2002 Turbo radiator, and brake combos between the E28 M5, X5, E34 535i, and E38 740i. As far as suspension goes, the Eibach Competition Springs provide a stiff but very drivable feel.

On the interior side, we find a Heigo roll cage, an ATI steering wheel out of an M1, vintage Schroth harnesses and Motometer gauges, and a P Zero wielding spare in the hatch.

After I had finished with our shoot, he offered to take me for a ride in the Touring. We were in the perfect place for it, so naturally he didn’t have to ask twice. Let me start by saying that this car is incredible. Weighing in around 1,900 lbs. with about 215 HP, this little car hauls. The greatest part about the Touring is that it isn’t fast. It’s quick, it’s nimble, it’s a true driver’s car. We flew down the winding Skyline roads and throwing the car into turns seemed effortless. For being caged and gutted, all of the noises seemed to work in perfect harmony. Nothing sounded questionable. The 02 stayed almost perfectly flat around turns, and the S14 produced the most amazing sounds that echoed between the trees. Riding in that car, you could almost feel the history behind it.

While it’s easy to talk about parts and power figures all day, what matters most is the feeling a car gives you. For a major enthusiast, the relationship with the car is everything. Hootie reminisced on his childhood affliction with autos: “I’ve always been infatuated. I would memorize every make and model. I could tell cars apart based on their silhouette or lights at night. I loved everything about them - the shapes, the sounds, the feeling of the paint or leather…” His reply went on, but the general consensus was one of certainty that cars will always be vital to him.

To round off this story, we have shared some extremely interesting content below. Hootie provided us with numerous photos of the car back in its racing days, as well as the 2002 Touring Club’s webpage, found here, which followed this build and many others. The photos below mostly span from the mid-90s to the early 2000s, so the upload quality reflects the times.

Additionally, we have included a #BMWstories video featuring who many BMW enthusiasts know as The Collector. Hootie’s Touring can actually be seen in the short film, as it passed through The Collector's hands before he owned it. Pretty exciting!

What is your favorite vintage BMW? Do you have a special story with a past or present car? We'd like to hear about it in the comments below.

Recap: Bimmerfest 2016

June 09, 2016Performance Technic

This year, a large group of us traveled down to LA for the annual Bimmerfest show at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. For the first time, we hosted a Performance Technic booth, which was accented by four of our close customer builds. This year's event was extended to cover two days, as opposed to the single day it was last year. Saturday was certainly the busier of the two days, drawing hundreds of guests to the Speedway.

The variety at this year's show seemed to be larger than that of last year's. There was a noticeable increase in vintage appreciation, and the newest F8X builds were a bit more thoughtful and complete.

Dinan Engineering had a large display at the entrance of the vendor area, with four cars situated before it. Two of the builds, Marco's Clone and Jerome's Frozen F80, were built by Performance Technic and outfitted with plenty of Dinan goodies. On the display tables there were product examples, such as wheels, exhaust, filters/intakes, and other popular Dinan parts.

Throughout the show, both in the vendor area and the outer parking lots, there was a large number of classics. Everything from LS swapped E30s to E24s, 2002s, and E31s. The lots filled up quickly in the morning, leaving competition for parking. This year, a majority of the vintage show crowd seemed to favor air suspension.

On the modern side of things, there were two F80s that caught our attention, facing each other off in the public lot. The Yas Marina car sat on tastefully chosen Work wheels, while the Messing Metallic Bav Sound M3 was suited on a meshy set of HREs. Both unique color choices, both very nicely done! (Click on the carousel of images below to scroll through more pictures.)

All while the show took place, there were also cars out on track, exhausts roaring in the background all day. It was a mix of drivers who had signed up for the track day and BMW Driving School's own two F80 M3s. Our driver, Matt Powers, had the opportunity to take the Clone out for a few laps later in the day, which was exciting to watch. No one expected the car to leave its place at the Dinan booth, so it certainly drew attention.

One of the other main attractions of the show was the display that BMW provided. Among their lineup was the heavily anticipated M4 GTS, the M Performance M2, and M Performance M4. In addition, the Driving School M cars were on display when they weren't on track. Under the tent was a set of four cars, but our two favorites were the E46 M3 GTR and McLaren F1 GTR.

Sectioning off the show for the sake of a blog would compromise quite a few details, since there was so much to see. The remainder of the photos below cover other aspects that we haven't written about. Overall, this year's show was exciting and there were some amazing quality builds in attendance.

Kei Miura is the mastermind behind the famous Pandem / Rocket Bunny name. With a strong affection for body lines and a creative eye, he has designed these kits for the E36/E46, Lexus RC-F, Datsun 240Z, Acura NSX, and many more. It all starts with a … — Kei Miura is the mastermind behind the famous Pandem / Rocket Bunny name. With a strong affection for body lines and a creative eye, he has designed these kits for the E36/E46, Lexus RC-F, Datsun 240Z, Acura NSX, and many more. It all starts with a complete 3D scan of the stock vehicle. Then, the magic happens in both the virtual design and physical production processes of the kits. Each kit is formed to accent the car's original lines and features, not hide them.

Note: 2JZ swapped E46 M3. Definitely not built for the Purist community.

Did you attend Bimmerfest this year? Let us know what you thought of the show! If there was a particular build you favored, we're curious to hear about it. We certainly had our favorites, what were yours? Tell us in the comments below, and thank you, as always, for reading.

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