This BMW 2002 Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts

Owner: Josh Wilson

Year, Make, and Model: 1972 BMW 2002

Location: Savannah, Missouri

Photographer: Courtney Cutchen

This car was actually featured here on Petrolicious last fall but since then the interior has been redone, wheels swapped, and it sits a little lower. Some other touches have been added to change up the look.

The goal was to keep the car simple and period correct, but also to add some touches that don’t make it come off as another semi-restoration. Under the hood, the 2002 remains mostly stock except for a 32/38 Weber carburetor and E21 radiator. CaTuned has been involved with all of the clutch and brake lines and the will be involved with coilovers over the winter. The interior features a European dash, “silver dollar” gauges, Momo Futura wheel, AMCO wood knob, custom built console, saddle brown door panels, Recaro seats and hand painted visors. The body has a patina’d trunk, all red euro tails, headlight grills, bumper guards removed, Enkei Apache V’s with slightly cut springs. Right after these pictures were shot, I started bodywork to prepare for a full respray, and in addition to the coilovers, I’m planning on shaving the Bimmer and repainting the engine bay.

Originally I had an E21, and my dad was also looking for one but happened to stumble on this 2002. At the time, the owner didn’t have a title for the car but my dad asked for a call if he found or got it. After about three months, from out of the blue, the owner called and my dad picked it up before it went back on sale. Once it was home, he had it for a few months, after which I bought another 2002, which was much rougher. My father told me that he’d sell me this one if I got rid of the “money pit” and then the rest was history.

I enjoy the simplicity of older cars but really love how a BMW 2002 drives. They are nimble but still give you that old school feel. I find myself taking the long way home or finding any excuse to just get out for a spin. This car is most fun on blacktop highways, and in rural Missouri we have plenty of them. Around fifty-five mph is very comfortable in the car and hitting the turns in the country side just brings a smile to my face.

With all the influences throughout my life, car-wise, I’ve tried very hard to avoid from what everyone else does (BBS wheels and Turbo aero kits). The Enkeis come from my JDM experiences and I stayed with a smaller wheel because it was more period-correct. From my domestic influences, I have pulled custom hand painted visors, the AMCO knob which was big with ’60s GTO guys, and Moon gauges in the console. And even though everyone seems to swap them, I’m dead set on keeping the m10 as long as I own the car.

Most recently, I just made a thirty-hour round-trip drive from Missouri to Helen, GA. I drove seventy-five mph the whole way and had no break downs. This little BMW is no trailer-queen and even though old cars require some upkeep they are more than able to make the same road trip any newer car can make. I’m a firm believer that cars are meant to be driven, not just sit in a garage as a conversation piece or something that only goes to shows to collect trophies. And this gets driven whether it’s sunny or raining.

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