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Inspired by Singer, built on a 993 with more power.
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1973 BMW 2002: A Tastefully Modified Treasure
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.
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/
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Okay. Over in Fremont. Very clean shop.
https://www.performancetechnic.com/theshop/
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
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?
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.
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.
