Newsletter - SoCalEights

Newsletter
September 2013
Issue No. 13
SoCal Eight’s Wrenchfest
September 14th
at EF1 Motorsports
Our Best WrenchFest Ever!
Event News
Fern Mora
In Marina Del Rey, CA
Greetings from SoCal:
We had amazing Wrenchfest events in August and September. Our Wrenchfest on
August 3rd had 16 attendees and following that the Wrenchfest on September 14th
had 22 attendees in preparation for our trip to 8-Fest.
Chad Weltzien, owner of Solely Bimmer in Mission Viejo, was our host in August.
After 12 years in the business of fixing BMW's, specializing in 8 Series, and soaking
up as much knowledge and experience as Chad possibly could, he thought the next
logical step was to open his own shop. His simple goal was to create South Orange
County's premier independent BMW repair facility. Here at Solely Bimmer, the only
way they know to do things is to make sure they're done the right way, and we
invite you to put them to the test.
Fabrizio (Fab) Aldrette, owner of EF1 Motorsports in Long Beach, hosted our
September Wrenchfest. Growing up in the automotive business, Fabrizio had a
passion for cars at an early age. It is this passion that compelled him to dedicate
his life to the automotive industry and eventually opening his own shop – EF1
Motorsports. As a member of both the Ferrari and Porsche Owner’s Club of
America, he has worked on countless exotic and European vehicles throughout
Southern California and abroad. To this day, customers that have moved to
neighboring states continue to bring their vehicles to Fabrizio for major service and
maintenance, but more importantly for the rapport he has with them. He also is a
big supporter of SoCal Eights and offers excellent service at the lowest costs
possible.
We appreciate the support of these two local businesses in our efforts to maintain
our cars in top condition!
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest
EF1 Motorsports
2675 Dawson Ave
Signal Hill, CA
(562) 424-3378
Fab had such a good time with us at our
Wrenchfest he hosted in February that he
wanted to invite us for one more this year.
Even though we held our second
Wrenchfest in August at Solely Bimmer,
some of us felt it would be a great idea to
accept his invitation before driving to
Garberville California for the 2013 Left
Coast 8-Fest 10th Anniversary.
Fab closed down his immaculate shop on a
Saturday just for us and offered the use of his 3
lifts, tire mounting and balancing services,
specialized tools, his mechanic Robert’s
services, and his alignment rack. Four of us took
full advantage of the great savings he offered for
4 wheel alignments.
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest
Wow what a great Wrenchfest!
We held our 3rd Wrenchfest of 2013 at EF1 Motorsports in Signal Hill, CA. Fabrizio (Fab)
opened up his shop and allowed 22 of us to use all his facilities. We also picked up two more
8ers for our group, Jeff and Ernie. You may have met them at 8-Fest. We held a meeting,
discussing the caravan to 8-Fest, and handed out information about the caravan which was also
sent out and posted on the forum.
It was the best Wrenchfest so far. Here are some of the activities that were performed.
* 3 sway bar kits installed including welding new brackets for the rear sway bar
* Tire mounting and balancing
* Oils and filters changed
* 4 wheel alignments were done for Ronn, Taylor, Gary, & Carter
* Replacing AC sword and misc. items.
* Window slider repair
* Seat latch replacement
* Control arms and tie rods replaced
We were able to finally find the electrical problem with my 8. After several weeks of
replacing/exchanging starters suspected of being bad because they worked on the bench but not
in the car, Gary and Taylor were able to trace the problem to the cable connections under the
jump start terminal. This connection leads to the starter and there was also a frayed ground
cable that prevented the car from starting consistently. Gary cleaned some corrosion on the
contacts and Voilà! There you have it. It started!!!! I later replaced the intermittent ground
cable that no longer had any insulation.
Thanks go out to Fab and his mechanic Rob
(yellow t-shirt in the pictures) for their support,
hospitality and for arranging the Jumbo Dog
Truck to drop by and serve us lunch. We greatly
appreciated Fab for letting us use his tools,
welding sway bar brackets, his long hours and
over the top effort that made this event so great. It
was 7:30PM when I left and Fab was still aligning
Carter’s car. Thanks to everyone who came and
made this event so great.
Fab hard at work welding sway
bar brackets
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest Attendees
Paul N.
Bill L.
Tom J.
Ronn H.
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest
Taylor Patterson’s car (left) is on the lift
working on the front suspension with
Lou helping him out. This led to Taylor
having his rear suspension worked on
by Fab later in the month.
Fern’s car is in forefront.
The car would not start just click . We
were still trying to find out what the
problem was when this picture was
taken. Later, the main problem was
narrowed down to the ground cable that
goes from the block to the frame.
Olin Johnston hard at work on his 840
Fab was working
hard to get Gary’s
new tires mounted
and balanced then
working on his car
alignment. He still
had three more
alignments to do.
It was a busy day
for him.
Mark MacFarlane working on his
window sticking issue
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest
K-Bars Anyone!
Stefan and Brian came from Arizona
to join us for our Wrenchfest.
Stefan's sway bars waiting to be
installed in Ronn Harris’ car. His rear
sub frame has already been removed.
Three sets were sold and two installed.
Brian D.
Pulling the exhaust off Ronn’s car
Stefan
Rob, Fab’s Mechanic
Stefan and Carter lining up the brackets to be
welded now that the complete rear end is out.
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest
Man that was some hard work getting the rear end
out.
Rob clamping the brackets in place
Finally, the rear end is pulled out!
Fab welding the new brackets in place.
Checking the
weld to make
sure it looks
good.
Bracket clamped in place and ready to weld
Done!
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest
Mike
MacFarlane
Hal C.
Mike M.
Ron P.
Roy A.
Mark F.
Mike working on his door while other talk shop. Good thing I brought coffee and muffins for the crew
Fern’s car on
the lift.
Gary was
bound and
determined to
find the “no
start” problem.
Gary helping Taylor check his
suspension
August –September Issue
A lot of Heavy Wrenching Going on
Stefan
Carter
Lou Medina
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest Lunch
Lunch was served early for our
group by Jumbo Dog. Hot dogs and
drinks were provided courtesy of
EF1 Motorsports.
Morning coffee muffins, and water
were provided through SoCal’s
donations collected at the previous
Wrenchfest.
Mike Mahoney having
his coffee before work
We came
for the food
Lou Medina
Fern
Hal Compton
Bill Lawrence
Ron Powell.
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest Candid Camera
After working hard - taking a break Can you please text her and say
I’ll be home late for dinner?
This is hard work
Got you!
Yup, that looks like Gary’s tire
I need a drink Taylor, can I have your hot dog? No!
Looks like a door card to us
Hey Gary!
Fascinating, simply fascinating
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest Candid Camera
Jeff and Tom in deep conversation
Roy and Mark checking out Jeff’s new CSi
Everyone wants to see how to remove the rear end and install K-Bars on Ronn’s car
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest Meeting
SoCal Eights Gather
We took advantage of the Wrenchfest time to
hold a meeting for those planning to meet at
Vista Point in San Francisco to caravan and
arrive together at 8-Fest. Maps and fuel stop
information was handed out and discussed.
Tom Jacobsmeyer also presented samples of
the SoCal Eight’s 8-Fest fender markers we
would be placing on our cars. Everyone had a
chance to review them and vote to select the
final design.
Fender markers on some SoCal Eights.
August –September Issue
September Wrenchfest Testimonials
“I have never been witness to such a contribution of labor and effort on the
part of everyone there who helped out with the big projects. Brian, Carter,
Stefan, a couple guys whose names I know I'm missing, and especially Robert
and Fab for giving up their entire Saturday to open up the garage and help us
get our cars in shape for the great drive north to 8-Fest. Truly unbelievable!
Thank for ALL of your generosity!
Fab - Having now seen what's involved in dropping the rear end for access to
my bushings that all need to be replaced, I'm soon making an appointment to
PAY you and Robert to perform that work very soon.” Taylor Patterson
“Big thanks to Fab and Rob for the use of their shop and for their
assistance installing my new sway bars and aligning my car. Also, a huge
thank you to Stefan, Brian and Carter (who helped like it was their own
car!), for installing my new sway bars. I can't thank all of you enough for
your efforts and I can't wait to take the drive to northern Cali to really feel
the new ride. I owe you all big time!” Ronn Harris
“Great pictures Fern! Thanks for all the introductions and I really
enjoyed meeting everyone!” Jeff Porter
“Many Thanks go out to Fab for his hospitality, generosity, and for
arranging our lunch. It is supporters like you that help our SoCal 8’s
community keep their cars on the road. You and Rob were a great help
and we greatly appreciate everything you do for us. We also wish to
thank you for staying until 9:00 PM, missing your dinner, and working
late to complete Carter’s alignment”.
Thanks Fab! Fern Mora
August –September Issue
Giving Back!
Our Wrenchfests,
I wish to thank everyone who have attended these events; without your participation the
Wrenchfests would be less interesting. These have to be two of the most extensive and
rewarding Wrenchfest we have held. There were more participants and wrenching done
than I have ever experienced before.
We are fortunate enough to have two great hosts for our events. Our sponsors, Solely
Bimmer and EF1 Motorsports, have extended their help to make these Wrenchfests
extremely successful. We have formed a long-term relationship with both shops. They
will continue to support our needs and events and assist us in any way they can.
It is now up to you, our members to support them by taking your 8’s in for service. They
will provide you the best service possible while at the same time cutting labor costs.
Both shops have even agreed to allow us to bring any pre-purchased parts you wish to
have them install.
Our Next Newsletter:
Our next Newsletter will cover the 8-Fest event held in October. I am currently
collecting pictures from many who were there and will compile a list of those who
attended. Look for this Special Issue in late October or early November. With over 71
cars in attendance and so many pictures taken by everyone, it will take some time to sort
through them.
All my best! Fern Solely Bimmer
Address: 23854 Vía
Fabricante
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Phone:(949) 243-7578
Hours: M-F 8-6
Owner: Chad Weltzien
www.solelybimmer.com
EF1 Motorsports
Address: 2675 Dawson Ave
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Phone: (562) 424-3378
Open M-Sat 8-5
Owner: Fabrizio Aldrette
www.ef1motorsports.com