CSL registry

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corsachili

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The question of how many CSLs are left has been asked many times. I know that Yannick had taken a stab at collecting VINs of surviving CSLs a while back but I'm unaware of anyone have come up with a complete list.

For those of you with CSLs, or merely those interested, do you think it would be feasible to collect a list of the known surviving CSLs out there? I'm curious to know how many are left here in the States, as well has how many there are around the world.

Does anyone have any thoughts or clever ideas as to how to tackle this? It would be cool to start a REAL e9 registry as well, but that number is much higher and thus more daunting. 1057 is much more palatable than 30,000. = )

On the previous board we had at least 20 or so accounted for, perhaps more.
 
Still waiting on my "mole" in the DVLA to come up with the numbers
Will let all know when I find out (England Scotland and Wales only)
Malc
 
I indeed did start a first CSL Web project a while back but unfortunately did not manage to get a final and decent site... The project did more or less remain a poor draft (professional commitments, lack of time, same old song...).

The important thing is that some significant domain names already are reserved and that I did (re) start to work on the project a couple of days ago.

Just to make sure nobody will get it, I did block the www.30csl.com domain name and a (kind of) "presence page" does exist under this address. No genuine activity so far, just to say "we do exist". I however will work on it and do hope to get a decent site till the end of the year, my professional activities permitting.

No need to say, it will be fully dedicated to the CSL.
 
Proposed CSL site

Why wouldn't you just start a CSL forum off of this site? Seems like we should keep all of the owners and their discussions together regardless of model.

Cheaper, less work, share the knowledge, etc. The power of this site is the intellectual capital of its owners. Splitting it up just reduces its efffectiveness.

In the end and despite the limited production runs, a CSL is just another Coupe.
 
Good point Tod
With few survivors, a common interest, and the differences in models being in some regards "slight" we should keep to the same "pool" as it were
My 2 pence worth
Malc
 
Tod,

Different people, different views. I see your point and do not want to start any kind of unfruitful discussion on this Forum. This Forum is a "high level" one and I do appreciate the way people do share and discuss together. Also the behaviour of the members is really great.

However, I do not agree with your sentence "In the end and despite the limited production runs, a CSL is just another Coupe". I do understand the sentence but I do not share your point of view.

As well, a Porsche RS 2,7 is not just another 911 and a Sport Evolution E30 M3 is not just another M3. The cars are different, the owners are different and they are looking for something different.

On top of that, tons of CSL owners are pushing me so hard to share the 20years+ CSL data I have collected that I definitely could not consider a different way than doing something very "CSL specific". This also is what CSL owners do want.
 
I stand by my comment. A CSL IS just a coupe (Ok, its lighter and its got some subtle differences but it IS a Coupe albeit with a very cool racing heritage) and I mean no disrespect by that comment. Some CSL owners do tend to look down their noses at us "common" CS/CSi folk which I get a kick from. As I am not a true CSL owner, I cannot speak to their specific information needs.

That all said, its your info and data, and you can share it anyway you want. If you would like to leverage this site with your CSL information we would be happy to extend you the appriopriate admin access so that you can build and present your data here as you desire in a separate, CSL specific forum. You could even have your own CSL message board. The Mye28 board took a similar approach in that its all one site but with different forums for the M5 and now "forcefully induced" cars. They share forums for parts of sale, pictures, etc. which is more efficient and reaches the widest audience. That approach just makes the most sense to me but its your call.

Regardless, good luck with whichever way you choose to go and let us know if we can help. If you are ever in the Boston, MA area, please let me know as I would like to meet the myth, the one they call Yannick! :D
 
My sentiments exactly................I've said this time and again, CSLs aren't that special. They're CSIs with a couple minor (and arguably mostly stylistic) differences. For a "race car" the engine is downright boring. Again, compare the Alfa Giulia Sprint Veloce to a GTA. Same basic car, but complete aluminum skin, twin spark head, high compression, magnesium gearbox, tricky bits aplenty.

Any car owner who looks down their noses at any other car is missing the point. I have more to talk about with the owner of a car I could care less about (ie. a 71 Corvette) who did their own work than in someone who owns a CSL like mine that they paid to do all the work on. I would rather have a car that looks less pretty, but which I built, than a trailer queen that I had to write someone a blank check for. I am interested in saving old machinery, in updating things where it makes sense, in figuring out how to solve a problem wrought by time and the unavailability of parts, and in making whole again what was once torn asunder.

My interest in the CSL registry was only because I'd like to know how many are left, I had no interest in fragmenting this fine board, nor in causing a rift between owners. I love E9s, and all BMWs for that matter. Sure I like some more than others, but the enthusiast owner is what I really appreciate, doesn't matter if they're driving a yoked out Miata or a CSL, their passion for spining spanners is what I find interesting.
 
Spoken Like A Guy Without Children

Given the time, I too would prefer to do all of my mechanical work. However, with a 3 and 5 year old, it ain't gonna happen. I barely had time to change a headlight this past weekend. At least the little guys love riding around in the coupe. Even they know it's a cool car.

So I guess we're both lucky TJ.

Enjoy your great running CSL.

John Raho

P.S. $4.79 is a bargain for 100 octane petrol, I just paid $8.00 a gal. at Limerock.
 
John, I certainly understand the time constraints imposed by much more important things than playing with cars (ie. family). I did not mean to cast aspersions on those that do not do their own work, only that I have more in common with those who have an interest in how cars and motorcycles work, and how to fix them, than I do with people who view them as investments, status symbols, or object d'arts. Still, I'd rather see someone that likes the car for whatever reason keep it on the road, show it, and support the cottage industry that is classic cars rather than have it rot in to the ground because "someday I'm gonna fix it up". So while I choose not to have others work on my car, I do appreciate the fact that they're out there, supporting the hobby as a whole.
 
Hi TJ,

I didn't take any offense to what you said before, I knew what you meant. I was just reminding you that sometimes, doing it yourself, just isn't possible (for the time being). And I'm counting down the days when I can do a project car with my son. I'm already wondering what kind of car will he want to fix up.

John Raho
 
Regardless of where it is, whether the CSL is a gussied up CS or a special car unto itself, or whatever. We would be well-served by having a CSL registry and as much information as Yannick cares to put down on "paper" for all of us to use/share. Here, on the 30csl.com, wherever. Build it and they will come. At least I will. And I'll register mine, too.
 
Let's hope that your son does not end up with Mad Cow disease, that illness common on young 'uns sometimes, in which they develop a fondness for the small, heavy, underpowered cars manufactured in the UK in the mid-60s through the late 70s.

Ten years after I turned the last wrench on one I'm just about now at a stage where I don't constantly worry about oil pressure, whether the engine will overheat in traffic, and if I'll make it home, even though I'm in a 30 year old car.

There's a great joke about Ducatis.................."Ducati, making mechanics out of motorcycles for over 40 years". The same could be said about MG, Triumph or Jaguar, but if it were my son I'd forego the massochistic mechanical lessons and have him learn on something that won't spite his devotion to the craft. Something preferably German or Italian.
 
My four-year-old son helped me put the transmission in my touring a few weeks back. It was priceless and he loved it.

No, he didn't get under the car with me. I was guiding the tranny in from underneath as he pumped the handle on floor jack, per my instructions ("ok, Joe, push the handle down. Now lift it, but slowly.") I wish my nine-year-old daughter was interested.
 
Both registries already exist, yes? In the case of CSR, get involved if its not floating your boat...though that same arguement led to all our old iron being (for the most part) trivialized by, say CCA.

There have been several iterations of CSL registries as well, out of the UK and Yurrop mostly, I believe Dan K also got started on one at one point.

The danger of going in and saying "I am going to be the one to do this right" is that kind of self-will is pretty distasteful to many hobbiests (SSR is a great case in point.) Theres strong value to the umbrella of a larger parent organization (like BMW CCA, BMW UK, etc) but for MOST of us, we just wanna reap some benefit and pay some dues for it. Not many take on reviving a special interest car group (again, SSR is a great case in point.) But approaching it as if there's an exclusive, or enlightened perspective doesn't do anything for the hobby or promotion of the cars in the long run. I think TJ's made a lot of good points, and am pleased that the rogue-thug element around big 6's in general has quietened down. (donning nomex anyways as a precautionary measure)

One last thought, for all that post-modern car buff talk, where did the "its all about the people" talk like in some of those parent organizations come from? If I want a support group, I can go to a 12-step program. If I want a cool car, and enjoy sharing it, and even need help from time-to-time with it, where will I get THAT if not from loose-knit groups like ours? Enthusiasts are special people with a special (usually) interest, but to say "it's not about the cars" is kinda goofy-sounding to me.

Dale "still wanting my very own L" Phelps,
Northern Colorado
 
Of course it's about the cars.................and we all have our own levels of mechanical skills, problem solving ability, and financial means. The cars are key, but you can't talk to a car, and in the end, talking to fellow enthusiasts about the cars is what I enjoy. The conversations I appreciate are more along the lines of, "well I couldn't find the original part so I had to modify the broken one that I had. That necessitated that I blah blah blah" and less like, "I told my mechanic to do everything that needed to be done and call me when it was finished. I saw one at last year's show and I just had to have one".
 
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