At the shop we have noticed cars tend to come in in threes. You look out in the parking lot and there’ll be three E36’s, or three E39’s, and sometimes three or even four E30’s.
But today was Mini’s day. Five Mini Coopers, all S, and surprisingly all different colors, decorated half of our parking lot today. Granted the grey S has been here for almost a month and the white S is the boss’s wife’s, we serviced three Mini’s today. Look at that, we are back to three of a kind. Isn’t life funny.
Are you wondering where John is? No, he’s not on vacation, and no, he didn’t win the lottery. Well in a sense I guess you could say he did. After the birth of his daughter, Violet, in May,
John decided he wanted stay at home to raise both her and his son, Enzo, who is now close to 2 years old. When he first told us he was going to leave the shop at the end of July, we were in shock. We couldn’t believe it. John had been at North Bay for 13 years and the Service Writer since 1998.
What would we do without him? He was the brains of the shop, he knew every customers name. He had been “The Man” in the office for 11 years. Luckily, he gave us enough warning before leaving and was able to help Matthew, one of our techs, move up into Service Writer position. We are sad John decided to leave us here at North Bay but are happy he is able to spend so much time watching his family grow. So the next time you stop by, come in, and say hi to Matthew. He would love to help you with any questions you may have. If there is any thing you would like to tell John let us know, he maybe gone but he hasn’t disappeared.
North Bay Bavarian: Adventures in Mexico
This will be the second year North Bay Bavarian has entered the Pan Americana Race, the first time was in 2007 with a 1964 chevelle. It’s a wild and woolly 2000-mile road race through Mexican back roads in vintage race cars. The Pan Americana is a big deal for us! And it’s a lot of fun.
Right now, the shop is putting a lot of time and energy into two vintage 1967 2002 BMWs for the 2009 race in October. Rick and the team are building the cars from the ground up. Tommy and Matthew stripped the cars, removed and reenforced rusted areas, and installed the roll cages; the team built and set up the suspension; Rick built and installed the motors; and Logan wired both cars from bumper to bumper.
Be sure to visit our Blog the last week of every October to read about the race as it happens.