In between all the (unrequited) lusting I was into sports cars big time. Thoughts of flashing through the streets of Monaco were catnip to my fevered imagination, in a low slung red Ferrari of course. A little closer to earth were Jaquar XK-E's, and all the little Triumphs, Austin Healys and like flitting around. Granted I couldn't afford any of these, but that didn't stop the dreaming. I went off to college with my hand-me-down 69 Mercury Cougar (growl!) until one day I saw it. I was in Seattle visiting my friend Ripley and there it was parked in the street. A gorgeous Inka Orange 2002 tii.
I was smitten.
It just looked right. It's form, subtle but agressive. Exotic German Engineering. It spoke of winding roads through the Bavarian forests, hairpin turns in the Alps. All car guys know the moment of which I speak. It might be a 70's muscle car, or even a new 90's Evo or WRX ralley replica. Something just goes in your brain: Yeah, that's it.
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with questions or comments about this web site. So fast forward past a misspent youth and plunge into the depths of middle age, well past the time when young women started calling me "Sir". For several years I raced a 1973 Porsche 911 RS in Porsche Club and NASA events. The car was still street legal even with the roll cage and fuel cell. Light with a stout motor, it was a blast on the track and going to the beer store on the weekends at home. When my early 911 wizard aka Harry the mechanic retired to upstate New York, I sold the car and bought a race only 944 which is still in the garage and being actively raced.
Well, the 911 been gone for two years now and I found myself missing it. There's something about those early 60's and 70's cars. Light weight, no extra crap on them (including safety gear to be honest), small and fun to drive, and you can even work on them. A fellow racer, Mark Weining, bought a 60's Porsche 356 and that started me thinking - always a problem. I thought about another early 911, just a street car, for puttering around on weekends and then it came to me. What did really want and had forgetten about? Why a 2002 of course!
And the search started. Looking for a 72-73 Inka Orange tii of course. Naturally, within the first 3 days of searching that exact model popped up on eBay and went for a decent price. But I wasn't going to buy the first one I saw, so I continued searching, reading the forums, researching, watching eBay and getting familiar with the market. Now if that orange tii came on the market now, instead at the beginning, I would have bought it in a heartbeat.
However one day, this showed up on eBay and while not a tii, and while not Inka Orange, it was pretty cool in it's own way. A 72 Euro spec 2002 with the turbo body package. You'll won't see this every day on the East coast. After consulting with Maggie I pushed the Buy-it-now button and here we are:
Sold and titled as a 1972, an inquiry to the BMW factory got this response:
The BMW 2002 VIN 2607364 was manufactured on June 19th, 1970 and delivered on June 26th, 1970 to the BMW dealer Heermann in Heilbronn. The original colour was Chamonix, paint code 085.
So even cooler, a 1970. It lived most of its life in Europe, was bought by a US serviceman and brought back to the US. Eventually sold and moved to Maryland for several years where it was sold to the previous owner before me in Virginia. Just some light surface rust on some of panels. Paint is original except for the hood and is ok for a daily driver. Euro spec means the gauges are in Km/Hr instead of MPH and bunch of other little oddities like the rear fog light.
Mixed bag here. Battery relocated to the trunk - good. Fuel pump capable of powering a aircraft carrier instead of carbs mounted high over the fuel tank - bad. Did I mention it was LOUD!!!!! Sorry can't hear you over the stupid PUMP!
And it's toggled on/off with a switch under the drivers seat - bad. And so it goes. Replacement of this system will be the first project.
So what do we have here? All in all, it's a nice driver, mechanically good. No rust - the bane of ungalvanized cars from the 60's and 70's. Lots of little bits that need some tender mechanical attention. The first week I fixed: left blinkers not working; headlights not working; dash turn blinker not working; fuel lines leaking; marker lights not working; adjusted the steering rack to remove play. And I'm sure there's more I forgot. My plan is to restore it to a reasonable, not concours, standard. Meanwhile, I'm not in a hurry, I'll be driving to the beer store with the sunroof open, windows down and running up and down through the 4 speed gearbox. The long way round of course.
Something just goes in your brain: Yeah, that's it.
