Congrats to Chris Macha! (long)

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RonP

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Okay, let's go back in time a bit. Back in 2006 or 2007 a few of us Bimmerphiles met Chris at Cars & Coffee and quickly realized he was a lot like us...a car nut. The only problem was he was, at that time a Mercedes guy. Well, it didn't take long for us to de-program him and bring him into the "fold". So, Chris easily conformed and the next thing ya know, he shows up with an E9! I guess we had a lot more influence than we realized. But...this wasn't any "cream puff" e9 we all pant over....no, Chris went to the dark side with his new acquisition. He had one thing right, he was able to find (maybe un-knowingly) a rust free example. The problem was, it was pretty much all wrong...wrong paint color, wrong interior color, etc. Chris has taken an "ok" car to the absolute max. He now has the right colors with the paint and interior and has brought forward the most beautiful example of an e9, and has poured his heart and soul into the car and it shows!!! If you have seen his car in person, you know what I am talking about, if not...well you need to.

What goes beyond his e9 is the owner. Chris is not one of the "hey, I have a cool car and I show up at an event and always win" guy, and I am sure you know "that" guy. No, he is planets from "that guy"! If you view his posts here, you will see that Chris is one of "those guys"...yeah, the guy that will drop everything to come help you, the guy that will answer your questions/problems here on the forum, and the list goes on.

Today, Chris brought his immaculate e9 to the San Diego BMWCCA Clean Car Contest, and to all of our surprise, there was a huge e9 turnout. If you know Chris, or his car, you know that is always going to take home a trophy, but today was different, the BMWCCASD decided to change things up a bit. They have had a Perpetual Trophy since 1992 that was in honor of Mr. Jack Cavanaugh whom brought the chapter back from extinction. In my opinion, this is the Stanley Cup" award for Concourse BMWs. The award was not intended for the guy/gal that showed up with the cleanest car, but it was designed for the person that shows his/her dedication to not only what car they own ,but their dedication to the marque. And Chris Macha fits that bill and I don't need to go into the details of what he does, but I am sure if you know him or know about him, you will agree.

So, after my long diatribe....Congratulations to you, my friend and I couldn't think of a more deserving soul than you. On my way to the event, I had Chirs as my #1 pick for this years recipient and am pleased to say that I had no opposition from the other judges.

Oh, and sorry you had to work so hard making your car worthy of the"other" trophy, and thanks for understanding the new rules!
 
Oh, and the "change" was, that if you were a winner in your class and you were picked for the Cavanaugh Trophy, you had to fore fit your position. Anyway, I am sure Chris will be okay with the change!
 
thanks for letting us know Ron. having been for a ride in Chris' beautiful coupe, and getting to know the person he is ... he wouldn't have told us this story. i agree with you, he is that kind of a guy ... one that i am proud to say is one of us. and one of the guys that many of us should try to emulate.

a big congrats my friend
scott
 
Congrats Chris!

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Way to go Chris. Glad your dedication and service to the enthusiast community has been duly acknowledged! Hope to see that Coupe and meet the owner one of these days. Congratulations!

Thanks for bringing this to our attention Ron.
 
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Ron and friends,

You are making me blush, this was so unexpected. It was a beautiful day spent with fellow BMW friends, the drive down is the best part, 1 1/2 hours with no traffic with Fred Larimer as our wingman in his awesome e30 M3. And Mike Burger won the Masters class with his e28 and Gary Collins got a well deserved 3rd in Super Clean. This is truly the last year for judged events for the coupe, I promise! We have the Huntington Beach Concours in two weeks and I want to experience Ofest in August. It will be display only at Legends which has moved back to Rancho Canada in Carmel, we need more owners to register, it will be a great event once again.

After that I have something planned that is quite contrary to my normal manner, a swap with an M30B35 Motronic 1.3 with a chip and custom intake manifolds thanks to help from Don Lawerence and Paul Cain. My motor is tired, it doesn't have my VIN, and I want more power. Not triple Weber power like Steve's but I should get 240HP and plenty of torque. There just isn't any comparison to a stock M30, tired or not. Or Maybe Don just wore me down on doing this swap!

Thanks everyone, it is a pleasure to be part of such a great community of enthusiasts who share stories of their trials and tribulations of coupe ownership and who go out of their way to help others enjoy their coupes to the fullest. There isn't a better group of people anywhere on the planet. And thanks to Stan who helped and who now knows how much work it can be to clean a coupe!

Chris
 
The man behind the Coupe.

I've experienced something in this group which I find very inspiring. Besides the benchmarks that keep getting set by our enthusiasm for the mark there is also this unspoken rule of helping out our fellow petrol-heads. Chris embodies this rule and sets the momentum. His desire to lend a hand, search out a rare part, or share his knowledge is uncanny and extremely generous. He is always thinking about you and is always complimentary of your efforts. I wish other groups could learn from this way of life.

I can't think of anyone more deserving of this prestigious award. Chris it is an honor to be your friend!

Mike
 
Congratulation Chris!!

What an accomplishment to be recognized by others outside our small community regarding your passion, contribution, and dedication to E9's and to the BMW marque.

Well done Chris!
 
Congrats Chris! Looking forward to seeing your car and finally meeting you in person at Legends/Oktoberfest in August.
 
Chris, well done, we're looking forward to following your next project. Thanks for your help with my car projects.
 
Congratulations Chris - your willingness to share insight and to assist other coupers is what makes this a particularly deserving award! Now there might be a chance for some other Malaga coupes to win something!

I am truly sorry to have missed this year's event, but other priorities kept me on the other end of town.
 
Congratulations Chris; well deserved. I for one have been the direct recipient of Chris' willingness to help many times. Thanks for all your help so far, not the least of which was the acquisition of the Taiga E3; couldn't have done it without you! Now, how do we get the NK's together for a playdate...:roll:
 
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