A "CAR GUY'S" STORY, my friend MURRAY FOWLER

Car guys are simply the best people God put on the planet and I think after you read all of this you will understand what I'm saying. This is a story about my friend Murray Fowler who will turn 84 years old in January 2013 and is battling cancer. I met Murray some years ago at Crystal Cove which was the Saturday morning car event prior to Cars & Coffee held in Irvine, California.

Attending on a regular basis I spotted a beautiful BMW E9 Coupe. Owning 10 BMW s over the years starting in 1974 to present time and being around them since 1966 this was the one that I've always wanted, still do, and got close a couple of times but never pulled the trigger.

When I first started looking at this car my heart raced and thoughts came that this car should be in “my” garage. Then one day an elderly gentleman approached me to discuss our '55 Chrysler Town & Country New Yorker Deluxe wagon. He relayed that when these cars were built he worked for Chrysler in Detroit and thus the attraction.

Shortly into this meeting I learned that this was Murray Fowler, the owner of the “BLUMAX” the very car that made my heart race. We hit if off immediately and when I told him of my history with the mark and mentioned Joe Schneider and Schneider Motors Murray's eyes lit up.

Seems that Murray had discovered Joe and his magical shop some 15 years later than me. By this time I'd moved on to other cars and thus we never met. Over the years we've shared our “Joe” stories and DKP member Gregg Bunch managed to get some ball caps made with the BMW logo and Schneider Motors on them. When Murray spotted mine he asked where it came from and I told him I'd get him one. Thanks to Gregg's generosity that came to be. The day we presented it to Murray at C&C his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

Murray is not able to get behind the wheel and pilot his beloved BLUMAX these days but he still has and shares the passion for the car. According to Murray's account of the 41 year love affair this car has attained 422,000 miles. Yes, you did read that right.

In his story you will learn of a young mechanic he met at Schneider Motors. Well I knew him too and this was Danny Kruger, brother of DKP I member Gary Kruger. So once again there is a VW connection as far as I'm concerned.

I've attached a video that Murray did not to long ago which I think is one of the best I've ever seen. He does the BLUMAX and himself proud.

I haven't seen Murray lately but he is in my daily thoughts and prayers and we do e-mail. The article you will read below is from his hand and I did get permission from him to share it with you all. I hope you all find some meaning in what he writes and feels for his ride. We are all car guys, well I guess I've already said that, so on with Murray's words.

Murray, I look forward to visiting with you soon and God Bless you my friend. You've made my world a better place to be.

John

A MAN, HIS CAR AND 41 YEAR LOVE AFFAIR
It’s a love story now spanning over four decades as I now try to share this experience by describing it in words.
Truly, it was a case of “love at the first sight”!!
One that began in 1970 when I read a featured article in Road and Track about BMW’s newly introduced BMW 2800 CS. From that article along with several action photos, I was smitten by its overall stunningly beautiful design. I thought to myself then, that it would become an instant classic. Today, many designers with extensive automotive design experience have come to agree as well. I’ll add that, recently a group of designers met for purposes of selecting their favorite auto designs. The BMW E-9 was selected as one of their top 25 favorites.
Unlike many youthful love flames we all experience, I was 41 then and my love object was new. The reality of it’s out of my reach high price and scarcity when new, at least for me, and its rapidly rising price clearly indicated that finding a used, not new one, was my answer to ownership. Quickly however, I discovered that finding a used 2800 CS was “more easily said than done” as very few new ones had even found their way to these shores by that date.
Late in 1971 my eyes actually first rested on its beautiful lines when I spotted my automotive love object. It was parked in front of a home in my neighborhood along Sandcastle Drive, a residential street that enters Harbor View Hills, a recently developed hillside community just above old Corona del Mar, California. Soon after, I saw a second one at the Naval Air Station in Los Alamitos, California while performing my Naval Air Reserve duties there. Those two sightings deeply set the hook of my desire to own one.
After seeing the dark blue BMW Coupe parked in front my neighbor’s home on several occasions, the temptation to learn of its ownership grew too strong to resist. When I inquired at my neighbor’s home, it turned out that it belonged to the brother of the lady of the house. Would he consider selling it? He might, just give him a call. Call I did and met with him, unfortunately he wanted $7,500 about $500 beyond my absolute maximum budget. Disappointed, I had to pass on it as my #1 candidate. Years later that specific coupe was to join the two other coupes we had at that time, but that’s another part of this story.
The name BMW gave this beautiful exercise in automotive design was simply a number, identified numerically as a 2800 CS on its trunk lid during its first two production years. This number was the displacement of the engine powering the Coupe Sport body design.
Early affianados of BMW’s simply call this beauty the “Coupe” or with tongue in cheek, the “poor man’s Ferrari” as at full song the motors sound somewhat resembled. Sporting a hand built body by Karmann, all coupes were fitted with BMW’s newly designed six cylinder single overhead cam motor shared with their luxury production bodied 2800 sedan. That sedan was BMW’s counterpart and competitor to the Mercedes top of the line luxury sedan, the 280S, and became the first BMW models to be so equipped. Over time, that 6 cylinder motor was to prove very durable and was later described by the automotive press as having the quality of being “turbine smooth” in its performance. Engineers at BMW moved ahead in their development of 6 cylinder engines that ultimately ranged from 2.5—3.5 liters displacement. In turn, they then served BMW’s larger 5, 6 and 7 series model needs for the years from 1968, the first year, all the way through 1993. It has proven to be one of the finest in-line six cylinder automobile engines of all time.
Back to our love affair! Introduction of the 2800 CS, known in house as the E-9, was destined to be a very limited production model that was introduced to the North American market. New U.S. spec. models began arriving in late 1969 just in time for the dollar to experience weakening in the face of the rapid increase in the value of the Deutschmark. This followed the Zurich auto shows late 1968 introduction to other global geographical markets. During the entire period that Hoffman Motors was the exclusive importer/distributor of the BMW marque, only slightly over 3,100 Coupes were officially imported to North America. On average that was only around 500 per year.
Before BMW had become known for such special “Flagship Cars”, even finding a BMW dealership that would have one in their on hand small inventories would prove a challenge. Put in perspective, the prospects of finding a new Coupe within the dealer distribution system outside of a major metropolitan area was a real challenge. Imagine the odds of locating a used 2800 CS coupe during the first two years following new car introduction, and with no internet available for searching; only our newspapers and magazines were available resources.
That’s exactly the way the BLUMAX turned up following my unsuccessful effort to buy my neighbors coupe in late 1971. Around the end of January 1972 a small classified ad appeared in the Daily Pilot, the local newspaper serving Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, CA. It was an ad for a 1970 BMW 2800 CS for sale by a private party on Balboa Island. I immediately called the number listed, verified that it was still available, and arranged to meet the original owner, Albert Lefler. Al was a recently released US Army Officer who was planning to return to the University of California Irvine to complete his Master’s degree. Proceeds of the sale of his Coupe were to help offset his college expenses.
Backing up in time, while serving as a young US Army Officer in Germany he first saw the Coupe and immediately ordered one with the equipment he desired that happened to include all the good stuff available then that still appeals to real drivers today. Having come from an affluent family in San Marino must have helped then as the price tag for the Coupe was nearly $10,000, a sizable sum of dollars, especially in those times. Following delivery it appears fairly obvious, based on frequent entries in the service record, that Al Lefler started enjoying driving it in Germany. For example, during his first week of ownership he covered 1,000 miles! From later entries in his service record it further indicates that he travelled some 8-10,000 miles while stationed in Germany before returning to the US with the car.
Upon his return to the US my understanding is that he was assigned to a specialized armored vehicle school in Georgia that prepared him for a further duty assignment in Vietnam. I’m rather certain he drove his Coupe cross country upon return and while completing the school prior to his tour of duty as stated. After surviving his Vietnam duty assignment he returned stateside and was released from his active Army duty. He settled on Balboa Island, part of Newport Beach, and shortly thereafter he offered this very early 2800 CS for sale to this fortunate 2nd owner.
The BLUMAX wears VIN # 2270016, designating it is the 16th E-9 built. The factory build date is documented as September 5, 1969 and its stamped delivery date to Albert Lefler was October 1, 1969 at the factory in Munich.
Upon meeting with Albert and discussing the Coupes features, its condition at 26,000 miles, and his very reasonable asking price of $6,000, I took temporary possession of the car from him for a PP inspection of the Coupe. At that point in time, the party I had determined to be well qualified for that purpose was Joe Schneider, owner of Schneider Motors. Schneider had been one of the pioneer and earliest small BMW Dealers, typical of those making up Hoffman Motors Dealer network. Schneider was then located in Anaheim, California.
Coincidentally, Schneider owned an identical 2800 CS, even to its Atlantik Blau color, except it was fitted with an automatic transmission instead of the 4 speed manual fitted to my soon to be Coupe. After inspection he pronounced it fit, however, in need of automatic choke adjustment, a minor issue. He then inquired as to its asking price and upon responding stated a “good deal”. In the years since it has certainly proven to be so!! BTW—Schneider’s coupe passed through several owners, during which time it developed serious rust problems. It ended up locally in the hands of a fellow Costa Mesa resident who is restoring a later 3.0 CS who parted it out before being crushed.
The early build date of my 2800 CS Coupe was 9-5-1969. I’ve become convinced that the factory assembly team was a very happy crew that day, possibly even proud of their workmanship. I have come to that conclusion as the BLUMAX has simply never experienced a serious or disabling mechanical condition in its now 43 years and world record 422,000 miles of travel to date. Possibly the second owner’s relentless approach to preventive vehicle maintenance has also contributed to its years of reliability and its pristine condition, both cosmetically and mechanically today.
Completing the purchase of my early 2800 CS Coupe, VIN # 2270016 was routine, even uneventful. However, that which has followed these past nearly 41 years while covering a world record (for an E-9), of 422,000 miles, has certainly set it apart from its peers. In recent years it has become known for its given name BLUMAX, its travels and escapades by fellow E-9 owners worldwide, most over the past 10 years by way of our active E-9 message board!!
First, it was used daily as my business car while a professional in the insurance field and covering many miles, some 25-30,000 miles over a period of 6+ years until relieved of its daily driving duties. Its daily duties were relieved by another Coupe finally located after a one year search. BLUMAX was also personally enjoyed and extensively used to tour this beautiful country, primarily over its two lane blue roads, the ones less travelled!
Then, one of its first outings to a special automotive event came as a surprise outing for Murray. It was for a special trip to Monterey to attend the Concours d’Elegance in 1974. That first trip to Monterey has since been followed by many others to what has become the world renowned automotive week “happening” with numerous auto auctions, special drives for participants, Concours by honored Marques, etc. BLUMAX attended again this year in 2012, for its 38th anniversary of its 1st, surely a record unlikely to be matched by any other automobile that is, or has, always been driven to that event!!
This recent outing was also attended by my two sons, David and Jeffrey, and two of my Grandsons, Ian and Alden Fowler. There, at the Legends of the Autobahn, they observed their Father and Grandfather receive three awards for his long time participation:
They were, among the several hundred BMW’s attending this year’s LOA, one for the “Highest Mileage BMW in Attendance”, one for “Longest Ownership of His BMW” and finally a very special award named simply “Max” for my years of supporting the Marque, etc.
I’m sure the reader is beginning to wonder if the writer had ever heard of the word brevity in his writing. The answer is yes, and he will now attempt to show some needed restraint.
One extended road trip that still stands out as one of the greatest Coupe outings in BLUMAX occurred in 1975. My mate and I had the flexibility in our work schedules to arrange a several week trip that started by a long drive up US 1 starting in Santa Monica, CA and following that roadway wherever it was available to Port Angeles, WA. We then travelled by ferry to Victoria, BC and then again by ferry to Vancouver on the BC mainland. Then, we leisurely crossed the beautiful Province of BC to “The Emerald Lake”, Lake Louise in Alberta. The next leg of our road trip had us travelling the Eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies to Banff along the route of its many glaciers ending in Jasper. Turning east we traveled to Edmonton, then south to Calgary and on to Glacier National Park in Montana.
In later years, yours truly and the BLUMAX traveled cross country to my place of birth in Missouri on 3 occasions. Then travels North through Iowa, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, stopping to visit our National Parks while on the return to our home base in California. Following other Midwest visits, we travelled South through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona including visiting many National Parks while driving on many well-known historic blue roads such as Hwy’s 54 and 66 in those states. Such travel is no longer available to us as those historic routes have now been replaced by Interstates.
Starting in the mid 1980’s, a group of fellow E-9 owners headed by the Civil Engineer who handled design elements of the race track at Laguna Seca claimed turn 5 for an annual gathering that became known as “Coupe Fest”. BLUMAX became one of the early attendees at that event that also became such a popular gathering as many as 65-70 Coupes attended annually. Quite a turnout in those days considering we had no personal computers for communication, all was by phone or US Mail. This event has since grown into one of the West Coasts premier annual BMW gatherings and has become known as “Festorics”. BLUMAX, due its maturity and long term attendance at this event, has been and continues to be accorded special treatment.
In August of this year 2012, BLUMAX was once again driven to the week of automotive events on the Monterey Peninsula. Specifically to attend “Legends of the Autobahn” and “Festorics”, the two premier BMW events in the Western U.S. August 2012, was in celebration of the 38th anniversary of BLUMAX’s first drive to this premier automotive event, the first drive having been in 1974.
At the 2012 Legends, the BLUMAX was once again honored with awards. One, for “Longest Owned BMW” attending. Second, for “The Highest Mileage BMW in Attendance” and Third, the “MAX” award.

During the presentation of these three special awards my two sons, Dave and Jeff, and my two Grandsons, Ian and Alden’s eyes became very large at the sight of their Father and Grandfather being so honored. I must admit experiencing considerable emotion accompanied by tears at the moment of being so honored. Also, tears flowed at the moment of realization that attendance at the 2012 celebration was very likely the last this owner may ever be able to attend due his declining health.
The “MAX” award is a very special and highly coveted award. This award has now evolved over a period of many years from its humble start as the award for the winner of the Concours Class, presented annually at the BMW’s Ultimate Clean Car Contest.
This Central California Chapter tradition started in 1997 and has been awarded ever since. “MAX” is not necessarily awarded to the winning car of a specific class. The judging team must take into consideration that there were other aspects that simply had to be considered in awarding “MAX”. For example; careful consideration of the car owner himself, his enthusiasm for the marque, any contributions that he may have made to the BMW club as well as his attention to the preservation and espirit d’corps of same.
Certainly it’s a very touching moment to this owner that the “BLUMAX” should become recipient of such a prestigious award that the Legends “MAX” has become in 2012!!
It’s also a very trying point in time that I must now face the reality of declining health that has now rendered me unable to drive my beautiful BLUMAX. Soon it may also become necessary to find a new owner to care for my long time love. It’s not simply a matter of finding an E-9 admirer who wants an exceptional example to own and drive on nice days and has the necessary funds to pay for it. It’s also essential to me knowing that any new owner accepts that its special provenance and overall cosmetic and mechanical condition has significance placing it beyond any other driven E-9 known. It has been documented by the present owner of almost 41 years to have travelled over 422,000 miles, believed a world record for an E-9. It remains in show condition with more than a trunk full of trophies, all of which have been received at a variety of invited, judged events in California. They have ranged from La Jolla’s Invitational Car Show, to the Desert Classic in Rancho Mirage on to Huntington Beach’s Concours and ending at the rapidly growing Monterey “Legends of the Autobahn” annual Concours d’Elegance.
Provenance is defined as: Knowing the history of an object—in this case a Classic BMW:
The provenance of BLUMAX includes; but is not limited to its detailed history from the date of its manufacture, date of delivery to its original owner at the factory in Munich, its date and mileage service stamps during the original owners military assignment in Germany and those following in the US leading up to its change of ownership with its sale to me in February 1972. Then with me, records of most of its extensive travels, both during business and pleasure use since. The nearly 41 years include its relentless care and maintenance to keep it in such exceptionally fine cosmetic and mechanical condition that makes driving it so much fun. The care and maintenance of BLUMAX started at Schneider Motors with Joe Schneider personally handling most of the hands on needs for several years. Approximately 32 years ago I took a young man to Schneider suggesting that with training, he might be a very good BMW mechanic. After about 10 years that young man left Schneider to open his own independent BMW service and repair business nearby my home, so my BLUMAX and other BMW’s owned since have been well treated by Randy Nelson Owner of Black Forest BMW Service in Costa Mesa.
Why is driving the BLUMAX so much fun? Let’s have a look at some of the mechanical features that contribute:
•   DON’T BE MISLED BY THE 2800 CS BADGE STILL ON THE TRUNK LID!!
•   New Continental Extreme Contact DX hi-performance summer tires
•   Four Alpina staggered 16” X 7” X 8” wheels with caps and locks
•   Stainless steel brake lines all round on 4 wheel vented disc brakes
•   Carl Nelson suspension, with new bushings & Bilstein HD shocks all round
•   Enhanced cooling system with 3 row radiator and viscous 9 blade fan
•   Updated A/C system with Sanden rotary compressor & R-12 blows ice cold
•   A freshly built 3.5 L motor that’s fitted with a rare Hans Herman performance camshaft & pair of Weber downdraft 38/38 carburetors delivers unending torque from 1,500 rpm to near redline
•   A 5 speed OD transmission driving rear wheels through a 3.64 LSD
These features all combine to make it a superbly responsive, fun to drive Coupe with no rattles, thus belying its record of miles traveled to date.

SO EVEN THOUGH I’M NOW PEMANENTLY ASSIGNED TO THE PASSENGERS SEAT, THE FUN FACTOR REMAINS, SO MY DECISION IS TO KEEP THE BLUMAX UNTIL MY DEMISE, WHENEVER THAT MAY BE !!