history and reference Evolution of a 2002 race car

[Anthony]

Hi Gang,

 

Been ages since I have been on. Wanted to share some photos of my car and seek help and wisdom of the group. 

My race car has a neat history.

 

It was the first BMW sold in 1970 new in Alberta, there was no dealership so it was special ordered through a european specialist. It was sold to an Austrian Doctor living in Alberta who had just watched Nikki Lauda Race 3 BMWs in a single weekend at the Salsburgring and win all 3 races (1602, 2002 and 2800 or 3.0) he was sold....he wanted to start racing cars and it had to be a BMW. 

 

Thus was the start of the race car's history, never registered for road use it has been a race car since day 1. 

 

It started in B Sedan racing at local tracks and ultimately in 1973 it raced u2 in the trans Am race in Edmonton. Starting 25th it finished a respectable 2nd in u2 and 11th overall. The winner of that race was Greenwood, but names such as Peter Gregg, Al Hobert, Ludwig Heimrath were also there. I was told that back then the only guy with a decent car hauler was Penske, even the McLerans showed up on a flat bed.

 

 

The quad headlamps were needed during and enduro

This was how it looked in the first few seasons with bolt on flares and eyeballs on the headlights. 

 

The driver of the 1973 Trans Am race confirmed to me this was how it looked, in a conversation this week. Lucky I was able to track him down and he is still with us. Blanked off lights and integrated flares. He doesn't remember what the script on the door said and is looking for a better image. 

 

 

Current livery and GT spec bodywork

 

 

After that the car has been raced by enthusiasts like myself. Being constantly updated and improved. RaceSkiBmw (Jeff R) who was the previous owner to me did a ton of work turning the car into a GT contender.

When the HAT Wurth Liveried e21/m12 car made a stop in Calgary, when the owner of HAT relocated his family from Germany to Calgary in 1970's many of the cast off spare parts (which had become obsolete on account of series updates) made their way onto that car. 

I raced the car in 2008-2010 in WCMA GT3 and finished 2nd, twice. A modern Acura racer remarked "I never thought the most reliable car in the series would be a 40 year old BMW". One year the only reason I lost the championship was that I completed 2 less races than the winner, due to budget and time. 

 

The car has had many evolutions over time. From BSedan to U2 to IT to GT racer. As the aero on modern cars has gotten so good and the GT grids have dwindled due to SIR rules and cost concerns the car is likely not to be competitive in GT anymore. Given I already have another race car (s54 powered e30 m3) I am thinking of returning the car to as raced configuration in 1973 and keep the car for vintage racing. Of course the Schnitzer 8v motor and Alpina dry sump now live in a california based racer - but I have the parts to configure a strong 2.0 with carbs. Interesting is the concept of brining the car full circle, back to how it raced, after all the "developments". 

 

Can anyone comment on these flares? I suspect they were home made, but curious if anyone has seen something similar? 

 

Thanks for the interest and help!

Anthony

Calgary, AB

anaphe@gmail.com

Edited November 13, 2015 by Anthony

[zinz]

What a fantastic read... Amazing the car has lasted as a race-only car all this time.  Great history!

 

Thanks for posting,

 

Ed

[PaulTWinterton]

Great story!  Thanks for sharing.

 

My car started it's life in Calgary. Bought at T&T Motors. I wonder if my PO ever met your PO.

[xferboy]

Funny, in my 73 tii, I found a registration slip (not the first year, maybe '75???) , and it was a Doctor from Calgary as well.  If memory and google serves correctly, I think he has passed.  I'll have to see if I can dig that up.

 

small world.

[markmac]

Great story.  I think it would be great to bring it back to its original livery.  I have looked at a number of images from that period, haven't seen that car (at least on the site I was looking) but did notice that some of the other cars had similar sorts of flares (in particular a Datsun 510).  I would guess they were custom made, I haven't seen anything quite like them - there is another thread on this forum with a similar subject.  I helped my friend Jeff acquire a Schnitzer 8v slide a few years back, I am sure he will read this, I have never heard of him selling (anything) - Jeff your a hoarder.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mainjet/15636197525/in/photostream/

 

If you decided you wanted to go with injection, this is very similar to the Schnitzer 8v slide (only obviously a new casting).  Injectors are in the same place, kind of cool looking I think (looks like they want EUR 1,700 for it), use the link and page half way down

 

http://www.moreschi.info/magazzino.htm

 

Look for this......

 

Ghigliottina aspirazione per motore BMW M10 (2002 Tii, 320i E21/E30)
completa di trombette e iniettori meccanici Bosch.

 

I know someone that might have an Alpina DS pump, if you were interested I could check to see if he has any left - he had a pile of them and has systematically sold them off.

 

Good luck with your project.

 

www.alpinabmw2002.com

[Anthony]

Hi Mark, 

 

As luck would have it I still have the spare pump from the HAT car pictured here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It does need a good going through though. I could send it to someone like Petersen and have them look at it. I also have access to a brand new heidigger from the same time. 

 

Thanks for the notes.  

Edited November 13, 2015 by Anthony

[markmac]

Re: the pump(s), I doubt (though I don't know for sure) that Peterson would be interested in going through a vintage DS pump that is someone else's.  If you go that route, I would call Terry Tinney here in Cali - any repairs etc., would be right up his alley and I know he has experience with Steve Walker's luigi CSL engine that has an alpina DS pump.  You can't go wrong with a Heidegger pump, probably the best (Still today), I had one but traded it for an Alpina since that was the pump my car originally used.  Fun project!  Get going, Monterey is coming fast next year....

[Anthony]

@Markmac, Petersen did go through my last pump (alpina) pump. They were actually super keen about it. I did send it in concert with a petersen pump as well though. 

 

FYI.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Anthony

[markmac]

That is a surprise, good to know.  Pretty cool of them really I think.  Looking forward to seeing your project progress.

[Benjamin A.R.]

I really like those flares!

[TobyB]

...and Wes Ingram will do pumps up here.  

t

[Fatherof3]

Love those slotted mags

[bimbill]

Do you know if this car was raced with ICSCC at Spokane circa 2000-2005?  I think it is the one I remember and if so, it was very quick!  I think the owner/driver was named Jeff.  If it's the same car, I remember the engine was mounted vertically vs. the standard slant.  Lots of cool features.

 

Good luck with the resurrection and hope to see the car down our way one day soon.

[kbmb02]

Neat car and history. -KB

[Anthony]

Do you know if this car was raced with ICSCC at Spokane circa 2000-2005?  I think it is the one I remember and if so, it was very quick!  I think the owner/driver was named Jeff.  If it's the same car, I remember the engine was mounted vertically vs. the standard slant.  Lots of cool features.

 

Good luck with the resurrection and hope to see the car down our way one day soon.

Hi bimbill,

 

Yes Jeff (RaceSkiBmw) raced the car during that time period, raced it after that most recently in about 2010 at Spokane. The challenge is that GT grids are almost dead at the regional level. In conference Pro3 and Spec e46 are doing an amazing job of recruiting drivers. I think it would be cool as a vintage racer again as most everything can be de-tuned.