Group A BMW 635 CSi - a popular, solid performer

[FLORENT MOULIN]

Originally Posted by KA

Way back at the beginning of the thread, Ian mentioned that the 635 even appeared in rallycross. Just been looking around a French rallycross website (Jesper posted a pic from this in the European Holden Commodores thread) and found:

http://www.fanderallycross.com/1987N...mg1987002.html

There's another example further into the same album

Any idea if these were ex-circuit racers, or whether they were built specifically as rallycross cars- and if so, were they based on RA-numbered BMW Motorsport shells etc, or production shells...?

This car was an authentic RA1 raced by Bavaria Automobiles mostly in 83/84 including SPA 84 car #30.

Sold for Rallycross by the Team in 86 I think.

No trace from this car now.

[FLORENT MOULIN]

In addition the ex Texaco car from SPA 83 was later sold to Francis Dosières who won the European Hill Climb championship in 1985. RA1 004 I think.

Now this car belongs to a friend of mine in original condition

[Gerard Hodges]

Originally Posted by vap

Hi Guys does anyone have a picture of what the chassis plate should look like on a group A 635 csi and has anyone had one on a rolling dyno ?

Hi Vap, I do have a photo of a Chassis plate from a Grp A 635 (it is actually RA2-1).
Send me a private message through here with your email address & I will forward it to you.
Rgs,
Gerry Hodges

[Gerard Hodges]

Hi Ka,
All has gone quiet on the 635 front after I posted the Chassis numbers, I do hope that you are all OK & not struggling with the flooding in the UK!

[vap]

sorry guys ,but gerard did you get my e address

[KA]

Originally Posted by FLORENT MOULIN

Dear 635 fans,


It's a real pleasure for me to contribute to this impressive records compilation about 635s Motorsport-chassis and race results.

Here is the history about my car as I was able to retrace it from my file and the conversations I had with Serge Power, Fornage, De Deyne, etc …

E24-RA2-51 was ordered on 23-1-84 & delivered on 31-1-84, white bare shell.
It was sold to a customer who was located in Germany, but he had done nothing with the shell when Serge Power bought it via Schnitzer on behalf of his customer Michel de Deyne in March 1984.

Michel de Deyne was a famous driver at this time as he won 5 Belgian touring car championships and most of them with BMWs.

Once completed the car did one round of the Belgian championship and was entered at SPA in “Somati” colors, car number 18 driven by Michel de Deyne/Claude Bourgoignie/Kurt Thiim, 14th OA

Shortly after SPA the car was sold to “Bavaria Automobiles” a team headed by Dominique Fornage who always raced 3 to 5 635s between 1983 -1986. Included in the car’s price was an agreement for De Deyne to drive the car in ETCC in 1985.

The car raced most of the ETCC 85 championship in “Monroe shocks” colours ( nicest deco the car ever had ) driven by Ballot-Léna, De Deyne, Andruet, Metge, Belmondo, Haisnaut … and a lot of well known other drivers. SPA was raced again upon “Somati” colours ( De Deyne’s main sponsor ) by Deyne / Bourgoignie / Haezebrouck with number 10 but DNF due to transmission.

In 1986 it was raced most of the time again by Ballot-Léna with various sponsors. SPA was raced upon “Toshiba” colours with number 39 ( which it had all along the season ) finishing again 14th after the race was ruined during the night when Rahier sanded the car.

In 1987 it was sold to Robert Dupraz who previously rented the car with Bassot for the ETCC race at held Nogaro in 1986.

Robert raced the car as a Group A in 1987 but converted it to race as a “Supertourisme” in 1989.

After a long storage he sold the car in 1998 to Emile Ciglar who reverted it to Group A specifications.

In 2002 it was sold to Olivier Nicolle who spent a lot to rebuild it mechanically and raced the car still as a legal Group A at tracks and Hill Climbs were the car proved to be still a quick one !

I bought it in 2004 and decided in 2005 a nut and bolt concours restoration, the car is still unfinished due to lack of time and too many racing projects.

Thought not really for sale some picture can be seen on my web site www.florentmoulin.com in the “Car for Sale” section. I already have tons of pictures from the car in race but any new ones are welcome.

I hope this helps,

Passionately

Florent MOULIN
contact@florentmoulin.com

Wonderful stuff Florent- I'd seen the pictures of RA2-51 on your website, so having such a complete history really helps. Many thanks!

The information on the Texaco/Francis Dosieres car and the rallycross cars is really helpful as well- I think RA1-004 was one of the gaps in our list...

[KA]

Originally Posted by Gerard Hodges

Hi Ka,
All has gone quiet on the 635 front after I posted the Chassis numbers, I do hope that you are all OK & not struggling with the flooding in the UK!

I don't know about anyone else on here, but I'm in a different part of the UK, where we didn't have any floods- loads of rain, but no floods...I have to confess I hadn't looked in on the thread for a couple of weeks, so I'd missed the brilliant contribution from Florent on his RA2-51...

[Zep]

Tuisku Urpiala's Blaupunkt BMW 635 CSi in Ahvenisto 1983
http://ahvenistonfanisivut.com/vm/Ah...ysk1983_3.html
"Factory prepared".
Race reports from that era tells that Urpiala wasn't at first too happy with the car...

http://www.mat.fi/index2.htm
pictures 31-32 at the back in line with 320 Schnitzer Turbo and Metro 6R4: Schnitzer 635 CSi

[ian beckett]

Hello everyone,back from holiday! The 635 in the bottom link from Zep is ex-Schnitzer 1985 Spa 24 hour winning car now possibly living in the UK? May have run at Goodwood last year...can anyone confirm that a 635 was there? Ian

[FLORENT MOULIN]

Dear Ian,

If you told about the Festival of Speed I was there last year driving the Ferrari 550 LMGT and I don't remember of a 635.

Best

Florent

[RA1/029 Fan]

Thanks to all that have contributed to this thread.

Hi, I stumbled across this thread while looking for pics of RA1/029 in action.
I worked for Peter Speirs and remember the day he bounced into the office saying he had bought it. He called me into his office and told me I was going to be part of the crew at the Youngtimer. Wow that was a good day in the office! Sadly Pete never made it to Germany, as he died in Feb 06. It was an emotional event. Not helped by changing the gearbox, in an hour, between first and second qualifying. Jody Halse of Munich Legends did a fantastic job in the race (the PAS belt came off on lap 2, he said his shoulders hurt a bit!). 1st in Class, 6th overall and 1st BMW home (Porsche 911 RSRs locked out the top 5 places). Pete would have had a smile from ear to ear for months! (See BMW Car Sept 2006 P.54-59, that's me & Jody by the front wheel on P.55!)

2007, I went to Spa with Munich Legends for the Youngtimer. The first outing after a meeting with a barrier at the ring. Jody had re-built the car, stripping it back and correcting a number of botched repairs this war horse has been delt in it's career. We had high hopes of a good placing. But fate showed up and the engine blew on lap 2.
RA1/029 will no doubt be heading to the Youngtimer events in 2008.

As I understand it, Peter's company Transfer2000.com own the car and Jody Halse/Munich Legends run the car on a 'you bend it, you mend it' basis.
Jody has got all the info about the car. I don't do stats, I leave it to everyone else. But what I do know is that the cars a sublime old(?) lady, that is still up for a fight.

Cheers! See you around Europe in 2008.

[ian beckett]

Hello everyone,things have gone a little quiet of late so perhaps something to stir up everyones interest again? For those who have not been following it try www.forum-auto.com Click Sport Auto,then Photos,then Cherche photos SuperProduction annee 70-80. Pages 3/4/5 have some photos of a number of the 635's which ran in this series.I hope this kick starts some more responses. Ian.

[Jesper OH]

That link should be worth a look for fans of just about any production car manufacturer. Anny Charlotte Verney's (her of Le Mans fame I presume) 635 look's remarkably group A, besides the missing rear bumber. Is that car running only 15" rims?

Jesper

[vap]

Hi guys just talkedto a guy here in belgium and he says he has chassis nr RA2 049 the car was still in bastos colors from when it belonged to JUMA RACING

[ian beckett]

Hi everyone,thought this thread needed a little stir!! Have just found the following site which shows quite e few 635's...www.empire-auto.com You need to click on the Spa 24 hours link.Ian

[glyn parham]

Hi Ian.

That site is a good find, lots of photos of cars that I have not seen before.

Glyn

[FLORENT MOULIN]

Hi Glyn, nice to see you here.

Thanks for the link Ian, there are also pictures from my RA2-51 in "Somati" colours http://www.empire-auto.com/Photos/24...84_spa_018.htm

and more genarally this galery contains a lot of 635s

http://www.empire-auto.com/Photos/24...heures_spa.htm

Best,


Florent

[jonners]

See below pasted in from details of 635csi racer currently for sale on Munich Legends website - there are photos too but don't know how to post them here.

No connection to car or seller - this post is intended for chassis anoraks rather than potential purchasers



One of two cars prepared and run by the Eggenberger team for BMW Italia, this evo-spec example with 330bhp was a regular front-runner in the 1984 European Touring Car Championship. The Italian/German pairing of Gianfranco Brancatelli and Helmut Kelleners finished the season fourth overall behind the Jaguars of Walkinshaw and Heyer and the Division 2 class winning Alfa Romeo of Rinaldo Drovandi. Season highlights for the team were outright wins at the Silverstone TT and the Nurburgring and a second at Monza.

Now fully prepared and in its original race-winning spec and livery, this grand old warrior (Chassis: E24 RA2-40) is just one of many of BMW's past heroes that is now ready to come out of retirement.

[KA]

Probably easiest to link directly to the ad than trying to post the pics- the copyright on them presumably belongs to Munich Legends anyway....

http://www.munichlegends.co.uk/sales...3Ftype%3Dstock

Like the ad says, that really is a grand old warrior.....now where's that lottery ticket....?

[chunterer]

Looks great doesn't it. A great car driven by two great drivers and prepared by one of the all time great race firms in Eggenberger.

That combination was one of the key elements of my growing interest in touring car racing at the time.

Would be great to see it out sometime soon.

[Splendid Cat]

Just a small point, but noteworthy nonetheless - exhaust pipe is at rear on this. Group A 635s had a single pipe exiting on passenger side (i.e. rhs).

[davyboy]

IIRC I think I saw that car in the paddock at the Silverstone Classic this year.

[ian beckett]

Hi this one is for Florent(sorry it has taken me so long to reply!). On the chassis details forum back in August you doubted that Gerard Bleynie had driven for the Bodard team? I believe that in 1984 in the French Superproduction series,he did indeed drive for the team,race#11 in an M635 backed by Sartec/Paco Rabanne/Bmw Concessionaires Mirabeau(his garage)/Hartmann Prototypes.The car was initially plain white and later had pale yellow(beige?) panels on the sides. Claude Ballot-Lena drove an almost identically sponsored and painted car for the JMS/Pozzi Concessionaires team..Ian

[terence]

For anyone interested,there is a road car entered in the Coy's London sale on 5th Dec,not a lot of money and certified rust free by the owner.

[terence]

Originally Posted by terence bower

For anyone interested,there is a road car entered in the Coy's London sale on 5th Dec,not a lot of money and certified rust free by the owner.

Estimated at between £1500 &£3000.Not a lot for a car of this caliber.