As the US winter lingers and east coasters resort to coupe staring in their garages, I must say it is not too late for a South American Sojourn like mine.
We stayed close to Punta del Este, where I confirmed one local E9 (shown covered in the first picture). Color is maroon I recall. I did not poke for VIN without owner's permission. The car is driven during the summer I hear, and is in excellent shape. Probably a Euro as it had no US artifacts. We can add this mystery E9 to the database as I vow it exists.
Driving loaned cars from friends and family one realizes that rental car companies exist for a reason. Loaners break and put you in a position of thinking you broke them. You end up fixing them to a better state than before.
The BMW loaner we used is of rarer lineage than a CSL, it is the Uruguayan E12 CKD (Completely Knocked Down) production of 1979-81. Only 660 such cars were ever made and about 30 are believed to exist now. See http://e12.assertion.de/palette/ckd/02a74l20.htm
The Uruguay CKD was hand built, just like Karmann E9, also with no rust protection and is very idiosyncratic in terms of locks and doors having a will of their own. The ride and the carb smell reminds of the E9, and it is great on gravel country roads.
I treated the E12 to rear Michelins as soon as I saw the steel coming through the old tires. The new carb installed last year seems to run too rich but I did not venture to fix that. It only left us stranded once after a 3AM meal at a nice rustic joint. We hiked back for 45 minutes on a beautiful night, with only aggressive dogs to worry about. Returned the next morning and with sun light we realized the battery connection was loose.
Visited a trendy fishing village on the 31st, where we saw the 1961 DKW 4x4 for sale. Looks cool, but maybe it belongs in a summer resort after all. That trip was on a 10 year old Hyundai loaner, good engine but no shocks or CV joints left. The alternator quit at about 11:50PM on Dec 31st in the fishing village... At 3 AM we headed back on the coastal road as I prefer to sleep on a beach than by the side of a highway... There was some eventual towing involved but I was not allowed to take pictures. The tow truck was doing a side job without the knowledge of his employer. The alternator rebuild took five days so I went back to the E12.
For those who are constantly asking about larger blocks one can fit into the E9, I attach a picture swimming next to an intriguing object on the coast. I guess by the size and location it has to be marine, so Blumax may know. If you know your WWII history you know about the battle of Punta del Este, so it could be a German block for all I know. 5 cylinder? I am sure DeQuincey can get it shiny again and bolted into a car.
Hope to have inspired your February vacation plans, and if you have to chose between reliable weather and reliable cars for your vacations, chose weather.
We stayed close to Punta del Este, where I confirmed one local E9 (shown covered in the first picture). Color is maroon I recall. I did not poke for VIN without owner's permission. The car is driven during the summer I hear, and is in excellent shape. Probably a Euro as it had no US artifacts. We can add this mystery E9 to the database as I vow it exists.
Driving loaned cars from friends and family one realizes that rental car companies exist for a reason. Loaners break and put you in a position of thinking you broke them. You end up fixing them to a better state than before.
The BMW loaner we used is of rarer lineage than a CSL, it is the Uruguayan E12 CKD (Completely Knocked Down) production of 1979-81. Only 660 such cars were ever made and about 30 are believed to exist now. See http://e12.assertion.de/palette/ckd/02a74l20.htm
The Uruguay CKD was hand built, just like Karmann E9, also with no rust protection and is very idiosyncratic in terms of locks and doors having a will of their own. The ride and the carb smell reminds of the E9, and it is great on gravel country roads.
I treated the E12 to rear Michelins as soon as I saw the steel coming through the old tires. The new carb installed last year seems to run too rich but I did not venture to fix that. It only left us stranded once after a 3AM meal at a nice rustic joint. We hiked back for 45 minutes on a beautiful night, with only aggressive dogs to worry about. Returned the next morning and with sun light we realized the battery connection was loose.
Visited a trendy fishing village on the 31st, where we saw the 1961 DKW 4x4 for sale. Looks cool, but maybe it belongs in a summer resort after all. That trip was on a 10 year old Hyundai loaner, good engine but no shocks or CV joints left. The alternator quit at about 11:50PM on Dec 31st in the fishing village... At 3 AM we headed back on the coastal road as I prefer to sleep on a beach than by the side of a highway... There was some eventual towing involved but I was not allowed to take pictures. The tow truck was doing a side job without the knowledge of his employer. The alternator rebuild took five days so I went back to the E12.
For those who are constantly asking about larger blocks one can fit into the E9, I attach a picture swimming next to an intriguing object on the coast. I guess by the size and location it has to be marine, so Blumax may know. If you know your WWII history you know about the battle of Punta del Este, so it could be a German block for all I know. 5 cylinder? I am sure DeQuincey can get it shiny again and bolted into a car.
Hope to have inspired your February vacation plans, and if you have to chose between reliable weather and reliable cars for your vacations, chose weather.
