A Happy Accident - BMW 1600 Cabriolet
This was originally published in the BMWCCCA’s “The Ultimate Classic” here.
Back in 2008, we were at my high school’s annual car show and fundraiser. My Caribe 1600 had just won an award entitled “most potential,” which was a bit of a back-handed compliment. The previous week, unbeknownst to me, dad had placed a single bid on an eBay ad for a ‘69 1600 Cabriolet, thinking he wouldn’t win and subsequently didn’t check the auction all week. Shortly after I received my tawdry plastic trophy, he approached me with a huge grin: “We won!”
The car as we received it
As it turns out, dad had spotted this car just the week before, in the yard at a local auto shop. It was painted Verona-ish red, and had euro bumpers and knee molding from a ‘73. The interior luckily retained almost all of its original Cabriolet specific details - the seats, locking glovebox, fixed wing windows, and the quirky interior lamp, of which the original location has been a topic of debate in the small and **nerdy cab community. What was hard to miss in this interior however, was the bright red carpet. It was almost neon bright, and it wasn’t only on the floor - it was also in the glovebox, and the trunk! According to the notes that came with the car, it had a past rebuild in Germany, and was imported into the US around 2000.
Somewhere along the way though, the tin worm found its way to a few small areas of the car, and then about a year into enjoying it as purchased, the head gasket decided to fail. So out came the motor, which was rebuilt to stock 1600 spec, as well as the smooth-case Porsche synchro transmission. Over the next 4-5 years, the bodywork, trim, and carpet were all taken back to as close to original factory spec as possible. For one of dad’s birthdays during this time, I was able to source the “Karroserie Baur” badge that the car lacked - these were fitted to the lower right fender. The car was completed in 2016 in true “down to the wire” fashion and unveiled in its factory Granada red paint at Legends of the Autobahn in 2016, where it was the only full cabriolet in attendance. Since then, the return to original spec has continued all while it’s been a delightful weekend “boulevard cruiser” and never fails to turn heads and elicit smiles wherever it goes.
Photo by Lee Queano
Photo by Kyle Van Hoften
