Friday, November 12, 2010

Fremont Foreign Auto Repair treasure trove

I was driving between appointments in Fremont today.  Fremont is a suburban town full of tract homes.  It's a fairly average town with an above average number of great Chinese and Afghan restaurants.  So I was driving down a street and I saw an early 70s Audi 100LS parked at a repair shop.  WTF?  I braked hard and made an immediate u-turn.

Here is the smorgabord of cars I found at Fremont Foreign Auto Repair.

Here is a BMW E32 735i.  It was leaking massive amounts of coolant.  The tarmac looked like the Incredible Hulk had just exploded.

Behind the 7 series was this powder blue Mercedes W111 230S.

It has an odd gauge cluster.

The Merc was last registered in 1991.


If you look over the old Merc, you can see an Alfa Romeo 164 and the Audi 100LS.

Tight squeeze.

This is the Audi's interior.  Yes, that is a Maserati Biturbo in the reflection.  There's another Biturbo, in red, inside the garage.

Here is the Maserati, with Idaho (?!) plates.

Do we have a naval base in landlocked Idaho?

Bad ass.  (Check out the Jags, Vanagon, 2002, and 928 in the background.)

Maserati trident.

I peek in the garage.  It's truly Project Car Hell.  We've got a Mitsubishi 3000GT, a Maserati Biturbo E, and a Triumph Spitfire.  That mop bucket is for my head when it asplodes.

I then walk to the back of the shop.  Jaguar 420, anyone?

Motor Trend did not give out Import Car of the Year Awards until 1970, so this placard is odd.


I'm not a fan of MGs but I was impressed by this example.

The Porsche 928 and the BMW 2002 were in the overflow lot.  These finds really made my day.

9 comments:

m4ff3w said...

Oh, how I lust for a Biturbo.

I need to get the XR4ti fixed and sold to fund a Biturbo purchase.

Maxichamp said...

@m4ff3w: Care to share some pictures of your Merkur?

Rich said...

Wow. I'm going to get something broken so I can pay them a visit.

m4ff3w said...

My Merkur is uglier than most. I bought it for $300 in need of a headgasket.


http://picasaweb.google.com/m4ff3w/Xrati#5374462418210731762

I actually sold it to a former co-worker last November, within a few weeks, he broke the transmission. Earlier this month, he offered it back to me for free. I, of course, was very receptive to the idea.

Turns out, it only needs a clutch set and flywheel surfacing. Count me lucky. So I plan on getting it fixed and purchasing an '84 Biturbo I know of.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2lZtarARyWQ/TMi2wOtZSvI/AAAAAAAABA8/en39nkrJ40U/s800/image.jpeg

I'll keep the Alfa around for awhile, as I get the Biturbo sorted.

midelectric said...

I would not expect to see an early 70's Audi 100 anywhere else but a repair shop...

MattC said...

The later Biturbo's were much better with fuel injection. the earlier carbed models were troublesome to say the least. Is it wrong that I want one badly?. I love the old Merc, the 928 (very under-appreciated), and the 2002. Thankfully I do not have a garage now, so any chance of a project car will have to wait. I'm sure my wife is silently thanking the stars.

Maxichamp said...

@MattC: Here is a sub-$4,000 928 that will quickly end up costing you an arm and a leg:

http://www.justacargeek.com/2010/11/1980-grey-market-porsche-928.html

MattC said...

Thanks for the 928 listing. I was thinking of all the ways I could spin purchasing this car to my wife and finally just gave up. "Hey it has room for the kids"=Nope.

Oliver Sykes said...

That's an incredible find! I wish I was with you the day you took those pictures. As for me, I got my eyes on that Mitsubishi 3000 GT inside the garage.

@ MattC, I've done everything to convince my wife, but she still won't let me buy these babies!