Thumbs up for Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic

E9Wayne

E9Wayne

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E9 fans, just got done reading my Rob Siegel autographed copy from this year's Vintage event in NC. My wife surprised me with it after I brought home 5th place in the People's Choice awards. This could not have been a more perfect day and my wife, Fran, must have come from similar DNA as Rob's wife, Maire Anne.

Anyway, for any fan of the E9, especially those of us who have worked on our pride and joys, have full time jobs and try to do our best for our families at the same time, this book is a must read. Honestly, though, I think Rob is secretly more lustful of Roundie 2002s than E9s, but they were both early '70s BMWs, and his advice applies to basically any low electronics vintage iron.

In the first 30 pages he basically nails the male car guy psyche. What follows is all the stuff that makes you realize why your trusted mechanic, like Don Lawrence is to me, is worth more than their weight in gold. And his section on Air Conditioning would have been worth a Doctoral Thesis if such a course were offered.

Splendid book, funny, introspective (as much about human relationships than our famous German toys) and a clearly a great guy to boot, someone I hope to get to know better at the next event!

Buy it on Amazon, or go to Rob's next signing event and get a copy.
 
+1 I enjoyed it also. Besides the BMW content, I particularly enjoyed the (mis)adventures in the VW Bus named Sheriff Johnson. Reminded me of silly things I did in my youth and somehow managed to escape unscathed.
 
Thanks!

Thanks E9Wayne, Stan, and everyone else.

Part of the joy of writing, publishing, and supporting this book is the way it lets me interact with other car guys, and how I can have phone or e-mail conversations with people who are as different from me as can possibly be -- geography, education, politics -- except with relation to car stuff, where we all apparently are cut from exactly the same bolt of cloth.

Buying the book from Amazon works well if you're ordering other stuff from them; they charge about $25 for the book. Ditto Bavarian Autosport; they sell them as well. But you can order them directly from me at list price plus shipping, and I personally inscribe them any way you want. Follow the link in my signature.

As far as my secretly being more of a 2002 guy, WARP9 has been in my continuous possession for nearly 30 years, while 25 2002s have come and gone. And if the s**t hit the fan financially, it would be the last car on the property.

But I DO love this new Bavaria...!

--Rob
 
Book came in yesterday, and I'm almost half way through it already.

My friend who works on my Coupe had an '02, he works on Ferraris for a living, and he's the car guy to the extreme.

I'm going to give him my current copy, and buy another signed copy from Rob.

Ordered a signed copy. I hope Rob can put some words of wisdom into a page to make us young Millenials keep these old Bimmers alive. I'm only 31...lol. sfdon said I'm the youngest person he's seen buy a nice Coupe. Must be imprinting.
 
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Thanks!

Thanks Brendan. Your copy went out late last week.

For those who haven't read it, while there's no pretending it's not a car book with a lot of BMW-specific content, the book is really about engaging your passions within a sane set of boundaries that doesn't cripple the family finances. It's a book about why we do what we do, what energizes us. For many of us, that thing is cars -- buying them, driving them, working on them. And, while I'm preaching to the converted about the lure of vintage BMWs, I've had Porsche, Chevy, VW, and Corvair guys tell me they love the book, that, basically, I'm them and they're me.

That having been said, my E9 does play a central role in the book; the photo on the back cover of my E9 on the Blue Ridge Parkway on my first trip to Vintage at the Vineyard isn't just pretty packaging. There are three chapters devoted to the purchase and body restoration of the car, using it as a teachable experience to talk about paint, bodywork, and restoration in general. Similarly with air conditioning -- the single longest chapter in the book is about a/c, with my retrofit into the coupe being one of the prime examples.

(end of commercial. my E9 is calling me. must need something.)

--Rob
 
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