My BMW's: Memories of my favorite BMW 2002

Memories of my favorite BMW 2002

The beginning of a love of BMW's.

It was 1971 and I was soon to be discharged from the U. S. Army in Europe when I was told that I could send a car home from Germany for free. The thought came to mind to buy a 250 Mercedes Coupe. After determining that $5500 was more than I could afford, I settled on a brand new 1971 BMW 2002 for $2900.

I drove it to the port and then was left without a car until I returned to the United States and picked it up in New Orleans. It was a renewed friendship when I drove it back to Arkansas from Louisiana.

After a brief loss of the car due to divorce, I bought it back, and then later sold it to a couple from Louisiana.

Years later, I found the "red" car on e-bay and the rest is history. It is a great little car. Read on and click on the red links for additional pictures.

History

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.

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.

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 modified breather, and Petronix ignition. The head was recently rebuilt. 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, 2004.

The interior is original vinyl re-sprayed with SEM camel dye. 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 boot
leather shift knob with BMW emblem
chrome belt-line 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
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
upgraded transmission mount
stainless steel brake lines
front rotors
blue cloth brake fluid hoses
318i radiator
Weber 38 carb with electric choke
modified stock air filter housing
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

electric trunk release

The car runs on the "real deal"Alpina 13" wheels with Michelin Pilots.