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Films: 1973 BMW 2002: A Tastefully Modified Treasure
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Made To Drive | S11 E16

1973 BMW 2002: A Tastefully Modified Treasure

The '02 was love at first sight, but this particular one was decades in the making.
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Paul Onboost
Paul Onboost
4 years ago

OMG, excellent short, beautifully done 02, and the perfect wife!
🙂

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Doug Detwiler
Doug Detwiler
4 years ago

Well done! What other 02s did she have?

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Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug Detwiler

Lisa has a 1600 that is a little jewel. All original. @B Bop, below, gives you a URL for the Jay Leno review of that car.

Inspired by what Lisa has done here, and the other resto-modded 2002’s on Petrolicious, I thought that I might build one. And then I discovered what everyone on the forum 2002faq already knows: that finding the trim parts for these cars, is either very, very difficult, exceedingly expensive, or a practical impossibility. One vendor is selling the 9 of the 10 belt-line chrome strips, in as-new, old stock, for $3,000 on eBay. And he may get his his price. I saw a set of NOS grilles, including the center kidney grilles for $5,000, without any meaningful competition on price. You can find a nice 2002 chassis with rebuildable running gear for $15K, which is not too daunting, but the car is selling for that price because the bits you need to finish it do not exist. Lisa must have done some serious shopping to find what she needed for this one.

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Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago

Lisa mentions a “Bluetooth distributor” when she is talking about the M10 engine right around 3:10. Since the cars I work on do not have distributors at all I had no idea what she was talking about. 123 Ignitions sells one that allows you to set the amount of spark advance, and the curve, from inside the car with your cell phone. If you want one level of advance on the track, and another in traffic, they have you covered. You can also set the rev limit. Very nice. http://123ignitionusa.com/bmw-with-4-cyl-m10-engines-tune-4-r-v-bmw-bluetooth-suitable-for-use-with-kugelfischer-injection/

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Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago
Reply to  Robert in LA

More reflections. The Bluetooth distributor also has an ‘immobilizer’ feature that works with your cell phone, which is very nice, given the relative ease with which these cars can be stolen. The distributor also measures intake vacuum and uses that signal, in addition to RPM, to calculate the spark advance. Quite a sophisticated product.

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David Sonck
David Sonck
4 years ago

Very nice restoration! Well done Lisa

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robert.alther
robert.alther
4 years ago

Great to see this superb 2002. I always envy you guys with your beautiful countryside roads. Quite the opposite to my daily driving habitat in and around Bangkok. Nevertheless, I enjoy it every day, especially on early Sunday mornings when it is just me and my BMW 2002 on the – for once – not so busy city streets.

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PDXBryan
PDXBryan
4 years ago

I wish there were some women chiming in with a “you go girl!” It’s just awesome to hear a young woman extol the virtues of analog cars and shifting gears. Thank god I’ve got my own beautiful lady that prefers shifting for herself, otherwise I’d have a hopeless crush after seeing this video! Also a big fan of that steering wheel! I bet the thin rim and driving gloves gives excellent feed back.

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Vincent Guy Cox
Vincent Guy Cox
4 years ago

Thanks for sharing Lisa. I believe this was the best execution overall to date filming and interview wise! Loved the relaxed energy and spirit of her story too! I have a few Datsun 2.0 roadsters I feel the same about and often see the 2002’s rolling in the hills here in Laguna Beach. Always a cool car to see in motion.

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Bohemianracer
Bohemianracer
4 years ago

Lisa is my kind of a girl, she is cool, drives a gorgeous car with a manual. I love it.

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Paul James
Paul James
4 years ago

Thanks for sharing Lisa, its inspiring I always loved the 2002. I miss my old 1750 Alfa Romeo, looking forward to driving it again. You captured brilliantly the thrill and elegance of these cars. I could feel you driving it the sensitive visceral experience right through to your fingers and toes. That is no point A to B drive, you shared the Experience. Well done Lisa!

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tim3machine
tim3machine
4 years ago

I’m in love! Not often does one encounter a classy lady with this level of passion & enthusiasm for vintage cars. Keep on motoring Lisa! Thanks for the feature Petrolicious!

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Paul Steel
Paul Steel
4 years ago

Thanks petrolicious, another nice vid.
When I got my own Schwartz 02 about 4 years ago [mine is a less desirable square light], I joined the faq and fb pages, and a post by Lisa (the 02 Princess as she is known) was one of the first I read, and she was one of the first to congratulate me on my new purchase, I watched the build closely and often in awe, such attention to detail.. oh and a very nice lady.

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Michael Ball
Michael Ball
4 years ago

3:38 the perfect evil supervillain heading to the next masterplanned crime scene!

1
Andrew McGowan
Andrew McGowan
4 years ago

You really have to see this car up close and personal to appreciate it…I followed her build via the 2002faq as it was happening, and then seeing it right after she got it back….it is amazing

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Gonzalo
Gonzalo
4 years ago

really a treasure!

2
Larry Kirkpatrick
Larry Kirkpatrick
4 years ago

Great car and story. The 2002 is one of my favorites and has been since seeing the first ones years ago. I like the way she thinks the car needs exercise. I think of when I drive certain cars on a certain day, it’s like ” the beast needs some love, so I think it needs to be driven today!” Today I’m giving the old pickup that love and exercise. Go for it girl, drive that Tesoro

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dmojahed
dmojahed
4 years ago

Great video and love Tesoro! Such a tasteful update. If not mistaken that looks like the Performance Technic garage.

2
Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago
Reply to  dmojahed

Okay. Over in Fremont. Very clean shop.
https://www.performancetechnic.com/theshop/

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Kurt Uzbay
Kurt Uzbay
4 years ago

Lovely car, lovely young lady… there IS hope for the new generation…
( I’m only 45, but that’s how I feel… 😉
– Kurt

4
Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago
Reply to  Kurt Uzbay

Kurt, I think that Lisa actually is more or less your generation. On the Jay Leno video she says she bought her first 2002 “over twenty years ago”. If she was twenty or so at the time, you two are closer in in age than you think. Some people have the good fortune to be ageless.

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Joe Barthlow
Joe Barthlow
4 years ago

always nice to wake up to an article or video of a 2002

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B Bop
B Bop
4 years ago

Nice video, gorgeous car, and a charming owner. The whole thing had an air of familiarity about it, then I remembered that Lisa had appeared in an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage with her bone stock 67 BMW 1600. Well worth a peek for those interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-PYhs2wYzI

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dennis white
dennis white
4 years ago
Reply to  B Bop

Hawkeye B Bop! That’s where we saw her! Thought it was an old Petro video. Good catch!

4
Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago
Reply to  B Bop

Thanks for the reference. Nice to see Lisa talking about the 1600. Her knowledge of the car is exhaustive, but Leno stumbles a bit. Lisa, I think, is one of the only women Leno ever interviews on that series. Is it possible that Leon, who has spent so much of his life interviewing people, actually does not know how to talk to a woman younger than he is, who knows more than he does, who is wearing the highest of high heels and designer jeans?

3
Tom Schmidt
Tom Schmidt
4 years ago

I’m thrilled with her take on the ’02. It’s so different from those of us who came up with the car as teens. As an original owner, I would have done things differently, more period correct. That said, her adaptation is lovely. The Ohtwoprincess might want to see my “as delivered” all original 1970 Atlantikblau. Only three mods; Mini-lites, a Amco walnut shift knob and a Peace sticker. All period correct.

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dmojahed
dmojahed
4 years ago
Reply to  Tom Schmidt

Love the Atlantikblau and its great seeing one in original spec so well kept. If you are here in the SF Bay area there’s are many great weekend meetups.

1
Paul
Paul
4 years ago

So refreshing to see a young person who “gets” classic cars, their ownership, drivability, maintenance joys and manual transmissions. Yay!

4
Pedro Macedo
Pedro Macedo
4 years ago

Fantastic restoration work. It’s a gorgeous 2002.

Funny seeing those BBS wheels, though, since I just put similar ones on my E30 last week!

2
Joe Urbano
Joe Urbano
4 years ago

Tastefully restored, tastefully articulated………………Lisa is one for the ages.

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Robert in LA
Robert in LA
4 years ago

Lovely 2002. I have always liked the size of the 2002. They always seemed just right for a personal car. For my daily driver I use an e46, but in truth it is too much car for me. The Bay Area has terrific BMW shops that do this kind of artisanal restoration routinely and with certainty. I wonder who did this one? Does anyone know? In other parts of the country doing this kind of restoration would be a more complex process. In California, people keep cars far longer. A cottage industry has grown up around that fact.

4
Phil Pullinger
Phil Pullinger
4 years ago

What a refreshing attitude to have towards classic car ownership. I would have throttled the recovery driver. The 2002 has been nicely restored and modified with great taste. I think the BBS wheels suit the car well. The paint
work in black looks fantastic.

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