Congratulations to this week’s Garage Goals winner, Sandlapper Chapter member Tim Dennison! Dennison has won $25 gift cards from Shop BMW CCA and Griot’s Garage thanks to this picture of his amazing garage and awesome collection of BMWs!
“I’ve been spending more time driving than in the garage,” said Dennison. “The South Carolina heat will send the temperature in the garage to a point where you’re in a full-on sweat before you turn a wrench. Working from home since March means nearly every minute I spend in a car today is purely for pleasure. The other day, I was running an errand two miles from the house in my 1972 2002tii. When I left the store, I took a ‘wrong turn’ and got home an hour and a half later with 65 extra miles on the odometer. I just can’t help it when I’m in that car!”
Asked how he found out about the BMW CCA, Dennison said, “My first experience with the club was back in 2003 when I moved to Greenville. Before then, I toyed with buying an E36 M3, and my wife came close to buying a Z4, as they had just come out. When we found out the company was moving us south, we put that plan on hold.
“My wife and I were living in a hotel in Greenville while our house was being finished. One day I came ‘home’ from work—and the entire parking lot was filled with BMWs, all Z cars. The group was having a great time washing their cars, having a few beers, and generally hanging out. At the time I was driving an MR2, which would have been inconspicuous save the full-blown racing-sticker job, as it was my SCCA Nationals autocross car as well. Needless to say, my standing as a car guy was obvious.
“I struck up a conversation with a few of the folks, and they told me that they were there for Homecoming, the annual event where Z3s and Z4s converge on the plant. We chatted for a while, then I wished them well and let them get on with their merriment.
“That same night, my brother, a musician, called to tell me he was going to be in town and asked if we wanted to have dinner before his gig. His band was playing at a big BMW event—Homecoming or something. Turns out he was the entertainment at the downtown party by the river. I got into my first Homecoming never owning a BMW because ‘I was with the band.’ My wife and I sat in the back and took it all in. This crowd was different. They were having an amazing time and you could tell it was family. BMW knew how to throw a party!
“The following weekend, a 1996 Z3 roadster in bright red came up for sale a few miles north of Greenville. We bought it and became part of the BMW family. We immediately joined the Sandlapper Chapter of the BMW CCA and were again welcomed into another family. We had that Z3 for seventeen years, selling it to a friend a couple months ago. She loves it like we did, and we still get to see it on occasion.”
Tell us more about the BMWs in your garage!
“Right now I have five BMWs. My wife drives a 2019 Z4 and I have a 2009 650i, which is great on long trips. Within the past two months I sold the Z3 roadster, an E36 track car, and an R1100 S, and bought a 2015 228i M Sport with the track-handling package.
“Being a Sandlapper member has a distinct advantage—the BMW Performance Center. The chapter holds a driving event there once or twice a year. Last weekend I took the 228i out and had an amazing time. I was blown away by how capable that baby BMW is.
“I have two favorite BMWs that I’ll probably never sell. The first is my 2002 Z3 coupe, which I bought in Los Angeles and drove back to South Carolina in 2015. I documented my trip from pre-purchase, driving cross-country and culminating in a return home to the BMW Plant where it was born, in a blog called Clownshoe Diary.
“The second is my 1972 2002tii, Fritz. Fritz is my favorite car to take out for a long drive through the back roads. He isn’t pretty, but he’s a rust-free example from the California desert. He’s reliable and fun to drive without having to shatter the speed limit—a real driver’s car. I’ll never restore Fritz because I’d probably be afraid to drive him if I did.
“I’ve bought and sold a few BMWs—an E36 and E46 M3, an E89 Z4, and a couple of E36s. I can’t see me straying too far from the brand. They truly are the Ultimate Driving Machine.”
As always, thank you, Tim, for your support of the club—and for your participation in our BMW CCA Garage Goals giveaway on Instagram.
Want to win $25 Gift Cards from Shop BMW CCA and Griot’s Garage?
We will be awarding a lucky BMW CCA member a $25 Shop BMW CCA gift card and a $25 Griot’s Garage gift card every Friday! For a chance to win, all you have to do is post a picture to Instagram with the hashtags #BMWCCAGarageGoals, #GriotsGarage, and follow @GriotsGarage.
It will be a fun way for members to share their garage setups, what they’ve been working on, and what’s in their BMW fleet. Maybe you just finished putting a new coat of Griot’s Garage wax on your M3, or added some vintage BMW memorabilia to your garage wall. We want to see what you’ve been up to and share the passion! It will be a fun way for us to stay connected and interact while many of us are spending more time at home and in the garage.
We’ll announce the winner on Instagram, Facebook, and BimmerLife every Friday. Good luck, everyone!—Chris Hennecy
