Greetings from the Sunshine State!

You may have heard rumors that we got rain here in the Midwest…well, thankfully, those rumors are true!  Today the skies are calm and cloudy, as if they’re resting after such a long, relentless stretch of heat and sun.  Taking a break for a while.   And because of this weather, tonight’s Cruise-In is weather-permitting.
And despite today’s blog post title, we are not in Florida right now.  However, we did have a bimmer in the shop this week that came to us all the way from the Sunshine State.  More on that in just a bit!

Don’t forget to vote on the IndyChannel.com’s A-List!  We’ve been nominated for Best Repair!  Cast your vote here!

We received some exciting news earlier this week that some of my photos would be featured again this year from our time at The Vintage in North Carolina!  Hot off the digital presses, check it out here!  (Did you miss the 2011 edition?  Find it here and here!)  If you’re not a subscriber to this publication, I highly recommend it!  Great articles, great photos, and perfectly designed by Scott Sturdy, who organizes the event each year.  He’s also one heck of an artist!

Reggie’s Aunt visits Indiana for a month each summer.  She absolutely loves her BMW and takes great pride in keeping up on any maintenance that’s needed.   Let’s take a look at her 2000 BMW 328i!

See the duct tape under the hood? Well, during her trip to Indiana from Florida, she had some cooling issues…

While looking under the hood, she saw this hole! (I took this photo with my cell phone of the back of her point-and-shoot camera.)  Needless to say, a new alternator vent tube was on the list!  Despite this scary looking situation, she made it safely to her destination without a problem, thank goodness.

The ’69 Camaro came back to the shop for new high-performance gears in the rear:

This zippy 2006 Mini Cooper S came in for a new exhaust system:

A look at the new bits for the new exhaust:

The old exhaust system has been removed here:

And the new system has been installed:

Also on the Mini’s to-do list: diagnose an oil leak, remove and replace intercooler, new fog lights, new oil pan gasket, and new rear brake pads. A previous service center had installed the brake pads incorrectly, and brake pad sensors were missing. A 39-point courtesy inspection was also performed while in the shop to make certain everything else was in order.

Last week we introduced our e34 family car.  Reggie has continued to make great progress on it, despite waiting on some parts.

A look underneath:

These Bilstein’s ought to provide a smooth for Baby Stewart:

The long awaited parts?  Vogtland springs for the front and rear!   In addition to a smooth ride, Baby Stewart will be sitting pretty, er, handsome, thanks to these colorful springs:

Reggie is content with the stance on this e34.  A little more mechanical work is left to be done before the fun part – paint! 

I’m certain that  Baby Stewart will love the wheels too! 😉

Have a happy weekend!