Well, here’s the story so far……

3 years ago I decided I wanted to restore a car and for it to be my first car. It also was to be a father-son project and something where I could learn about the workings of a car and how they are put together. At the end of the project, I aimed to have a nice daily driver 2002.

I pretty much knew straight away that I wanted a BMW but wasn’t sure which one I should choose. At the time the options open to me were an E21 3 Series, E12 5 Series or a 2002 – all of these being in my price bracket. Though I am a huge fan of the E12 shape, it wasn’t a car I saw myself driving as spiritedly and having as much fun in as a 2 door coupe. The 2002 eventually won out over the E21 purely because of the cars character (of which it has spades of!) and the fact my father had a 74 tii some 15 or so years earlier.

After only about a week of searching, I came upon what is now known as “Blacky” – an original Schwarz Black 74’ 2002 or 4200440 which I believe makes it the 440th RHD square taillight produced. It was pretty much a case of love at first sight. Instantly I wanted the car. After looking around, it became apparent the car was structurally sound but had rust in some of the usual trouble spots such as doors, floors, etc. The engine wasn’t in great condition and needed new valve guides but at the time wasn’t blowing copious amounts of smoke. A few days later, the car was ours and I was stoked!

I later found out that it’s actually a Euro Spec 2002– once I had boned up on the 02 lingo. According to the previous owner, the car initially lived in Ireland before an RAAF pilot in the Air Force brought it over to Australia. He drove it for many years before passing it onto a lady. It then somehow ended up in a scrap yard where the owner decided it was too good to scrap (Thank God!). He sold it to the previous owner who took care of it well and was a member of the BMW Car Club. He then sold it to us.

Once we transported the car back to our place, the teardown began and we assessed the rust more closely. We also decided that we had to restore Blacky on a tight budget so that meant that much of the work which we would prefer to get done by professionals; we did ourselves (which was a great learning curve!)

Over a period of the next 3 years, the following has taken place:
• The teardown
• Taking the car back to metal
• Rust repaired
• Resprayed
… and we are currently in the re-construction stage.

Now 3 years may seem like a long time but during this time, other projects have popped up like “Bluey” – a 73tii and “Whitey” – a 72ti(-i) so Blacky was put on the backburner.

As time went on, we acquired some nice parts for Blacky, like E21 Recaros (which are rare as hen’s teeth in Oz), a full Ti carb/airbox setup (imported from Germany) and a 2002 Turbo steering wheel. Unfortunately, as much as I would love to have kept the Ti setup, it was not economical for me as a daily driver so I sold it to a worthy fellow in the US and fellow Faqer (though not on here much anymore) in favour of a reco 32/36 downdraft carb (Thanks Andrew!)

The engine was in need of some work so the options were to either recondition the current one or buy another good one. The solution came in a car known as “Auto”. One day I decided to give our local Pick’a’part a call to see if they had any 2002’s. I knew it was a long shot but weirder things have happened. It turned out they didn’t have any in. About a week later I get a call saying they have just got one so we jump in the car and head down to check it out. There sat a 74’ Auto. Again a structurally sound car, pretty much only needing a front nose clip and some touch ups to be ‘rust free’. No prior history came with the car but a clue to its previous owners came in the form of a sticker of a workshop on the rear window. We called up the shop and it turned out the engine had been rebuilt only 10,000km’s ago! SCORE! We agreed to pay the $500 for the car and they handed over the key…er…wait a sec…screwdriver. The car didn’t come with a key so the ignition barrel had been busted and a screwdriver was used instead. This made life interesting, especially on the way home when going around a corner, the steering locked!

‘Auto’ paid for itself almost straight away when the diff went in ‘Bluey’, however we also used the good doors, trim pieces and the engine I mentioned before.

The Faq has been a great inspiration to me in keeping on pushing ahead with this project and I have met some awesome people (or some I haven’t even actually met in person yet!) who have offered me support and helped me through the tough parts of the restoration. Whether it be just well wishes, information or hands on help – Thanks guys – You know who you are and I am forever thankful.

Currently, Blacky is sitting in the garage, painted and partially re-constructed, waiting for the engine to be dropped back in this weekend. Fingers crossed the car will be on the road in 1 month – at the latest, 2!

Now for the photos!...




First of all… heres “Bluey” and “Whitey” – The reasons why Blacky isn’t finished!


My father and I a long time ago in his 74tii

Now for Blacky…



The day Blacky was bought


As the car sat after most of its deconstruction.



Before the rust repairds..




Rust repair was the next issue we had to tackle. As neither myself nor my father can weld, we ended up getting a professional to do this.


The car was high filled… twice. First time was too ‘polished’



…then primed. After primer was applied, many months of sanding followed.





The car was finally painted late last year and the re-construction could begin!


First we needed some parts from W&N…

The engine coming out of Auto late last year..


Now all painted, polished and looking pretty

The freshly recovered dashboard

Short style rear bumper with bumper covers, not over riders

Reco heaterbox reinforced at the stressed areas

Shifter redone using Nolathane parts – Should solve the sloppy shifter problem for a long time!


The Recaros – Before & After

14” Superlites

The Ti setup before we sold it…







How Backys looking now…
• Dashboard in
• Carpet underlay & temporary carpet in
• All glass in
• Heaterbox in
• Speakers in
• NEXT: The engine!

Stay tuned! More to come!
_________________

72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky