The BMW 2002, introduced in 1968, laid the groundwork for the modern sports sedan. It offered nimble, sports-car-like handling and strong performance in a conventional two-door sedan. When Consumer Reports first tested the 2002, in July 1970, they said "the BMW’s quick acceleration and nimble handling make it a car that’s fun to drive--well worth considering." The successful 2002 is the grandfather of the current BMW 3-Series.
This car is a late model 1971 BMW 2002, VIN 2572582, manufactured on April 21, 1971; delivered on May 4, 1971 to the US-importer Hoffman Motor Corp. in New York. Here is a mock up of the window sticker.
I bought this 4 speed, sunroof, BMW 2002, (after it was donated to a church auction by its original owner, George C. Reinmiller), on January 12, 2003. It had been cared for and kept garaged in Portland, Oregon. There was no rust from the sunroof. The only rust was on each door toward the rear, where almost all of these cars will collect water, even from washing, and some rust on the front lower panel, and a minor amount in the spare tire well. All this was repaired during the restoration process, which included changing the color from Sahara to Verona, and can be viewed by clicking here.
EVERYTHING works on this car. With a lot of help from the various members of BMW forums and Chris and Danuel at Skip’s Foreign Car Repair in Conway, Arkansas, I managed to get this car in great driving condition. The engine had a new short block #5473598 installed by the previous owner and has a Weber 38 with electric choke, and Petronix ignition. Redline fluids are being used in the tranny and differential. It is strong and fast as anyone in the Arkansas group can attest to, and got 30 miles per gallon on a 1200 mile trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, for Cruisin The Coast, 04.
The interior is original except for Recaro seats which I take in and out, depending on the drive. The original AM/FM radio has a tape player and even the clock in the radio works. Two Sony X-plod speakers are in the rear shelf.
The following items were added new to the car:
black carpet
leather shift knob with BMW emblem
chrome beltline trim
"b" pillar rubber trim
front and rear roundels
license plate lights
passenger mirror
mirror gaskets
windshield gasket
windshield
rear window gasket
passenger and drivers window squeegee
chrome inserts for both front and rear windshields
trunk gasket
electric trunk release
door handle gaskets
washer bottle
wipers and wiper arm gaskets
hood insulation
all new decals under the hood
sunroof crank spring
sunroof drains to the rear wheel wells
sunroof gaskets
sunroof cables
metric mechanics shift mechanism
stainless steel brake lines
blue cloth brake fluid hoses
318i radiator
drains under hood
hood gaskets
front lower control arms and ball joints
center steering link
rear axle bearings and seals
slave cylinder
clutch master cylinder
poly bushings in the front and rear sway bars
The car either runs on 14" bottlecaps with 185x60 Michelin Warrior tires, fitted with BMW valve stem caps, or 13" Michelins on turbine style wheels, and has an extra set of 13" stock steel wheels with new wheel cover emblems on good full-size wheel covers. See the different wheels here.
Additions to the car include:
Metric Mechanics 4-speed
Sport steering wheel
Red-tip radio antenna
XM satellite radio docking station
under-dash courtesy lights
trunk carpet
Bilstein sport shocks on the rear
H4 headlights
euro front turn signals with tap-a-light bulbs
tii front bumperettes, crafted to fit the all-chrome bumper
third brake light with electronic flasher
VDO clock and 12 volt accessory plug behind the console
removal of lower black trim and front side and rear reflectors
removal of the single speaker in the console
stock exhaust and muffler
heater box rebuild with new control valve
rebuilt front calipers and new rear master cylinders
intermittent wiper switch
recaro seats are used at times
door storage pockets on both sides
Because it is a late '71, I replaced the rear bumper with the all re-chromed short sided rear bumper, and left the bumperettes off for the EURO look. The front bumper is now all chrome . |