What is 'The Vintage'? A story of a beer and old BMWs

"Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2" (pompei426) 06/04/2015 at 16:07 • Filed to: None

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The Vintage at the Vineyards, to those that aren’t into old German iron, could be described as a collection of old men pillaging once a year to Winston Salem in their out-of-date BMWs. But that’s not my interpretation of the gathering.

I was first informed of this event last year by Clay and Dudley. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , so some of you might recognize it, and Dudley is another local with an 02. I met Clay and Dudley at a C&C in Bethesda, MD because we all shared pretty much the same car. After realizing that they were two of the nicest car guys out there, we chatted for a bit, and The Vintage came up in conversation.Unfortunately, I found out about The Vintage two weeks before the 2014 event, and I happened to be moving that very weekend. So, I had to wait over a whole year for this experience. Although I couldn’t attend, I knew I had to make it the next year (2015). I was told many things about this event, but instead of sharing what others said, I’m going to share my story. So, enjoy!

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Preparation

Oil change, fixed oil leaks, replaced fuel pump gaskets, changed tranny fluid, changed diff oil, changed coolant, adjusted valves, adjusted timing, new fuel filters, treated and painted rusting rockers, painted front and rear glass lock strip, and installed a freshly painted valve cover (thanks Clay).

(gaskets cut from a school notebook)

Thursday

The Vintage takes place from Friday to Sunday. But since I live in Maryland and the event is in Winston Salem, NC, it was only logical to make the Memorial Day long weekend even longer. I knew I would be traveling with a group of people, and since I lived the farthest north, I had to hit the road a bit early. So, up at 6, out the door at 6:30 and at my first stop, Dudley’s house, at 7:30. From there we left Bethesda and cut through Rock Creek Park (beautiful drive) and shot out right before the VA line right at the Jefferson Memorial. From there we continued south to the next stop, Marshall’s house. Once there it began to pour buckets, but we also met up with 4 more 2002 owners. Once everyone arrived and went to the bathroom we were on our way. It rained hard until we made it to Richmond, where we stopped for lunch. Then we continued to The Vintage, leaving 95 and cutting west. The weather cleared up and the roads became fun and beautiful. And, after almost 400 miles I finally made it.

Now the event doesn’t start till Friday, but that doesn’t stop anyone from having fun. We arrived at the hotel a few mins after 3, and it didn’t take a minute till all 7 of us were out of our cars and holding cold beer. Right then, you look around and all you see is a parking lot full of old BMWs. Once there, beer in hand, everyone wanders around. Some looking at cars, but most talking with other owners. Immediately I knew I was in great company. I was introduced to people and people were introduced to me. But, the majority of the time, people would just walk up to you and say ‘which one is yours?’ And BAM you just had a 20 min conversation about cars and you made a friend. This continued all night, and by ‘this’ I mean drinking beer, meeting great people, and look at amazing cars.

Friday

Friday was the day of the road rally, and boy was I excited. Why? Well I got to ride shotgun in Marshall’s car. Now, many of you are probably asking who the hell is Marshall and what does he drive. Well, he drives a square light S14-powered 02 in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! last year, all the info is in there. To sum it up, it’s balls-to-the-walls fast.

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So Friday morning, I head down to breakfast and meet more people. I run into a gentleman and we have this conversation.

Him: Hi my names is . . . do you attend any other BMW events

Me: No, this is my first.

Him: Well, there are some great ones in Massachusetts and Vermont, you should try and make it out there.

Me: I’d love to.

Him: Hey, if you need a place to stay, my house is always open. You can stay with me and my family and we’ll drive to whatever event. And I’m not just saying that, I’m serious, if you’re coming up, just give me a call.

Now, I know this may sound odd and creepy, but he was a genuine guy and he had the same attitude as everyone else there. But, I still couldn’t believe it. I talked to the guy for 30 seconds and he was offering me a place to stay if I’m ever up north. And he reassured me that the offer was genuine. Now, I know this is supposed to be about a car event and this is a car-oriented website, but by the end of the weekend, I couldn’t care less about the cars. It was all about the people.

Anyway, we hop on the highway and Marshall and I are in the front of the pack, so I’m giving directions. There was 6 of us in the pack: 3 02s, an e28 M5, a 635i, and a turbo’d e30. We skipped down the highway till we were instructed to get off and enter a more rural landscape. It was thrilling. Being in front car it felt like we were in an actual rally. Marshall’s car is quick, seriously quick. It only has about 230 hp, but in a car that weighs 2300-2400lbs, it’s enough to have plenty of fun. He has a race suspension setup, so we were taking corners like I never imagined. The suggested speed limit for turns was a joke. Hell, we were doing twice that, yet still staying in the lane, and still completely flat. Being in this car was a whole new experience for me. Part of that might have been the racing seat and the 5-point harness, but it was mostly how shockingly quick his car was.

After about 10 mins the inevitable happened: we were lost. The directions weren’t very clear, but it was still my fault. So, we gave up the lead, but now I didn’t have to worry about navigating. I could enjoy the ride. It was about an hour stint to the vineyard. We arrived, had lunch, and left. We wanted to get back on the road and drive these cars, not look at grapes. We rode back into town and the beer consumption continued.

Saturday

Saturday is the day of the main event. Everyone gathers in Historic Winston Salem and it’s a festival of sorts. There are vendors, people selling every part imaginable, food stands, and of course, lots of old BMWs. There isn’t much to say about it, but the historic city was a beautiful backdrop for all the Bimmers. After the event, it was back to the hotel, out for dinner, and then time to meet more people and drink.

While meeting new people I found myself able to answer car questions. I was surprised. I’ve only had the car for 3 years, but it didn’t matter, everyone shared their knowledge. I had someone ask me what it’s like to drive an 02. I countered and offered them a ride. He didn’t take the offer then, but I found out he drove someone elses’ 02 and it’s now on his bucket list. Everyone was here to share experiences, knowledge, and stories. Once again, it wasn’t really about the cars. Sure, it was a large topic of conversation, but they were what brought us together.

That night I met a really interesting man, Peter, who brought the 2002ti in the lead image down to the event. Ti’s are rare sights because they were never imported in the US due to emissions. After talking for a while I learned that this man had a plethora of cars and motorcycles. An 1800Ti/SA, 2002ti, Slantnose 911 turbo, 930 turbo (Yellowbird lookalike, but with turbo arches), 72 911 race car, and more. So, we’re talking and I notice that he is wearing a Reading Hillclimb shirt. I ask about it and he says that’s his car on the shirt. I say I’ve always wanted to attend a hill climb, and he makes me an offer I can’t refuse. He said to give him a call and he’ll invite me and my GF to his house in PA. We’ll stay at his house and he’ll let me drive his 72 911 to the event and drive the 911 turbo after. Yes, this is not a dream and I’m not lying. I thank him and ask if he’s crazy. He said he just wanted to share an experience. And yes, it’s my dream to drive a 911 turbo, but that wasn’t even the point. The guy opened up his house and garage to me to share an experience. But that’s not all.

Three of the 7 people that I rode down with are race instructors at Summit Point. They also have their own sprint and endurance race cars. The invited me to help on their pit crew or volunteer at the track for races and they’d make sure I had a good time. Again, didn’t even think people could be this kind, especially to someone they just met. Must have been the beer. Well, that night I couldn’t sleep because I was grinning from ear to ear. I never thought I would meet people so generous and trusting in a 20 year old.

Sunday

We left early and made it home without any problems. Oh, and the sky was clear. And, even though I only knew most of the guys for 3 days, I couldn’t help feeling sad as each one turned off their respective exit as I continued north.

The Crew

Finally Home

Scary__goongala! > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/04/2015 at 17:07

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Very cool. Im hoping to make it to summit point the 1st weekend of September for an event.

RallyWrench > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/04/2015 at 20:10

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How did I miss this earlier? What a great writeup! I’ve got to make it back for this event someday, it sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing!

FromCanadaWithLove > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/05/2015 at 12:51

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That looks like heaven. Someday I need to track down an E28 M5 and get in on this.

WiscoProud > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/05/2015 at 13:46

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Great post. You have to take some of those guys up on their offers and post the experiences.

AM3R shamefully returns > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/05/2015 at 14:52

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Great read. Loved all the pictures. Hopefully one day I'll run into you at an event in the DMV area.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > AM3R shamefully returns 06/05/2015 at 16:16

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I’m usually at the Bethesda C&C every Saturday and the Burtonsville C&C every Sunday.

McGyver > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/08/2015 at 14:49

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Found my car! (Still looking for a good engine bay shot of it.)

CleverUsername > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 06/08/2015 at 15:50

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Well done, young Padawan.

LeadfootYT > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/16/2015 at 17:45

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Alas, I didn’t end up in any of the pictures. Excellent writeup though, and since you were there, here’s the video I put together from the event for CCA National. Might bring back some memories.

Bradley's Balls > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 00:11

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Woo, i’ve met about half the people in the last picture. Sadly I am no longer in the area.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Bradley's Balls 07/17/2015 at 00:23

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02 guy? or Summit Point?

smallmotorsmakemesad > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 04:05

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Nice writeup - thanks. Did any E3’s turn up? They seem to have all but disappeared from the face of the planet.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > smallmotorsmakemesad 07/17/2015 at 06:37

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I believe there were two

TheFamousEccles > WiscoProud 07/17/2015 at 08:21

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Too right.

Really enjoyed the article. Car (and Bike, I’ve a foot in both camps) people are tops!

E30Fan > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 09:00

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Where did that intake manifold come from on this M20? Custom fabricated?

TimG > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 09:32

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As crazy as this may sound to folks who’ve never owned or been around older BMWs and their enthusiasts, you’ve just described nearly every old BMW meet I’ve ever attended.

Granted my current E38 is far from “vintage”, but over my 10+ years of ownership of this model (not to mention the 7+ years I’ve owned an E12, 3 E28’s—including an M5—and 2 E34’s) the enthusiasts I’ve met have been some of the most genuine, sincere and outright wonderful individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting to know. After 20 minutes of swapping stories with one of them, and showing each other our rides, invariably the offers to “come visit” or “attend this, that or the other thing” start flying, and yes—they are genuine offers, and no—these people are not creepy.

For me, it really started back in 2007; I had bought my E38 a couple of years earlier and decided I was going to attend my first E38 meet near Philly and finally meet some of the people I’d gotten to know from one of the message boards. Next thing I knew, I had offered 2 guys from the message board (we had never met in person; one from Europe, one from NC) to come stay with me and my family so they could attend the meet, too. Fast forward 8+ years...that same group of people from the Philly meet has grown to well over 40 individuals, many of whom live no where near NY/NJ/PA and as far away as Canada, Hong Kong and Europe. We now meet annually in the mountains of GA and I honestly consider these people my “family”. We’ve been there for each other through life events, such as divorces, cancer, heart attacks, mergers & acquisitions, but also weddings and a couple of births. And the 2 guys who originally came to stay with me which started it all....they have become two of my closest friends.

Whenever we’re all together, it always comes up in conversation how it was the love of the cars that originally brought us together, but the quality and genuineness of the people that keeps us all coming back year after year. Believe it or not, although we still love and talk about them nonstop, very little is still about the cars.

I can’t speak to whether old Mustang, Audi or even Yugo enthusiasts end up with this same deep bond with each other, but who knew a stupid old German car could have such an effect on your life...

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > E30Fan 07/17/2015 at 10:04

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I couldn’t tell ya. But I know that there are at least a handful of manufacturers that would make those intakes.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > TimG 07/17/2015 at 10:07

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This is perfect. Yah, I really had no clue how great the people would be. When I first started getting into it I was scared because of the BMW stereotype. I think it takes a completely different type of person to take the time to keep these things running, not just lease them.

TimG > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 11:32

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You’re absolutely right. I don’t know why this is, but it seems the further you get from the newer, still-in-warranty BMWs, the less you see of the “BMW stereotype” which we’re all (especially enthusiasts) are tired of seeing.

Maybe there is a connection between “emotional maturity” and one’s ability to experience and appreciate a “labor of love” (and those who shared it) which is pretty much a prerequisite for owning an older BMWs....I don’t know We have had a few of the “BMW stereotype” show up on the message board, only to be asked to leave (or leave voluntarily) due to their conduct and attitudes in general just plain “sucking”. Usually, they end up heading back over to Bimmerforums...heh heh. YMMV, of course ;) Great article, by the way Chuck.....keep it up!

Bradley's Balls > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 12:29

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Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Bradley's Balls 07/17/2015 at 12:45

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Solid. It’s a great group of people. Just called Dudley, if you know him, this morning with an alternator issue.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > TimG 07/17/2015 at 13:06

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Thanks Tim. I keep telling people that there are BMW owners and BMW enthusiasts. Two very different breeds. I went to Bimmerfest East two years ago and I was one of 2 2002s in a crowd of over 1000 cars. Holy hell was I out of place. I kinda hated the culture. I was parked next to 3 or 4 M6s on 22’ rims. I really started to hate the scene. Bros everywhere, speakers blasting, adjustable halos everywhere. It was awful. Luckily I found a great group of fellow 02’ers that keep me clear of those people. The difference? We meet at 8am at a coffee shop, the ‘owners’ meet at 8pm in a parking garage.

The sad thing is that I don’t really like new BMWs, and part of that is because of what the image has become. ‘Oh you have a BMW, cool/fancy/baller’ or something like that. The other part is that I don’t think the vehicles are pure anymore. I don’t mean to sound like ‘that guy’ but the e46, in my opinion, was the last pure BMW. Even the e60 was ridiculous. Come on, moving seats?

I just wish people, and car enthusiasts, could know the difference. Sometimes I feel like an idiot wearing my BMW cap. I wish it could say, ‘hey, I actually work on my car, use my turn signal, and don’t hate everyone else.’

Bullitt Ride > E30Fan 07/17/2015 at 13:21

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http://racehead.com.au/

The guy is on e30 tech as well as R3V. He’s got threads there with dyno charts and what not.

He started developing his kit around the same time I was building my home made ITB set-up for my E30. He actually contacted me to ask for some of my dimensions that I had taken to get the angle of the runners correct to clear the brake booster.

torque > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 07/17/2015 at 13:47

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great write up and some nice pictures. I’ve been considering an e39 or E46 for a daily driver. What BMW forum (or forums) do you and TimG usually frequent?

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > torque 07/17/2015 at 14:01

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I don’t frequent any except bmw2002faq, but that’s not going to help you with an e39 or 46. I think Bimmerfest, Bimmerpost, BMW CCA, and the specific model blog would be a good start. If you’re buying I would recommend buying one from a CCA member because you know they did things right and didn’t kill it. It will cost more in the SR, but not in the LR.

TimG > torque 07/17/2015 at 14:59

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Sadly, the E38 sub-forum is the only active one, but I’m on Bimmerboard.com. We do occasionally see some E39 folks show up asking questions (since a few of the E38 guys/gals also have E39’s and because of the similarity of the two cars) but generally it’s just us E38 heads.

And for the record, I FULLY agree with Chuck’s buying advice below; pay more and get a solid, well-documented, well-loved specimen. Don’t gamble on ebay cars or those with little to no maintenance records as they will put you in the ground financially.