introduction BMW 1502 color question

[Medina15]

Hi guys, i'm new here, im from Chile, and few weeks ago i bought a 02 series, a green 1502 of 1976. I need some one to help me about the color of my car, im a little bit confused about it. I dont know if it,s mintgrun or taiga.

 

another question is, can i swap a square rear light for a roundie rear light? I always prefeer a roundie lights but here in Chile there are no a lot of this cars so i take the opportunity and bought it.

 

thanks for your help and congratulation for this amazing group of car lovers.

 

RODRIGO MEDINA

 

 

[danco_]

mintgrun 

[jgerock]

Neat car!  Congratulations.  I'll post this German language brochure again for you.  I borrowed the original from my co-worker who bought a new Pastellblau 1502 in December 1976.

 

[esty]

you can't simply change tail lights...the sheet metal is different on roundies...to make it work you'd have to replace the square light rear panel with one from a roundie....lot's of work

[Medina15]

1 hour ago, jgerock said:

Neat car!  Congratulations.  I'll post this German language brochure again for you.  I borrowed the original from my co-worker who bought a new Pastellblau 1502 in December 1976.

 

Thanks man, great info. 

Do yo agree that my car was a mintgrun green?

[Medina15]

48 minutes ago, esty said:

you can't simply change tail lights...the sheet metal is different on roundies...to make it work you'd have to replace the square light rear panel with one from a roundie....lot's of work

Thanks man, but if you look closer the outside part of the interior panel has a roundie shape (a half of a circle in fact) ...i think that it can be work.

[danco_]

1 minute ago, Medina15 said:

Thanks man, but if you look closer the outside part of the interior panel has a roundie shape (a half of a circle in fact) ...i think that it can be work.

Liked "Thanks man"

 

 

[Medina15]

Another question guys, can i change my actually front grill to one like those pictures?

[John_in_VA]

Just like the tail panel, the nose panel is different on earlier metal grill cars vs. later plastic grill cars like yours.

[Medina15]

Just now, John_in_VA said:

Just like the tail panel, the nose panel is different on earlier metal grill cars vs. later plastic grill cars like yours.

 OK, thanks. But my front grill was diferent than a plastic one of that white 2002. Can i use that plastic grill?

[John_in_VA]

The grills on the white car are probably just painted metal grills.  On the later plastic ones the side grills extend in behind the center grill, like yours.  Some owners here have taken the middle portion of an early metal grill nose panel & grafted it into the later nose to make the early grills work.  Anything is possible with enough time & $$!

[Medina15]

1 minute ago, John_in_VA said:

The grills on the white car are probably just painted metal grills.  On the later plastic ones the side grills extend in behind the center grill, like yours.  Some owners here have taken the middle portion of an early metal grill nose panel & grafted it into the later nose to make the early grills work.  Anything is possible with enough time & $$!

Sounds like a lot of work and money. Thank you for your time.

[Simeon]

6 minutes ago, Medina15 said:

Sounds like a lot of work and money. Thank you for your time.

 

A lot like converting a square tail to round headlights. If your car is majorly rusty in the rear end and you needed to replace the rear panel and the trunk floor then maybe. To do it in isolation of any other work would be a massive job. 

[Mike Self]

Welcome to the FAQ and the 02 fraternity/sorority.  I visited Chile several years ago and saw only a couple of '02s there.   I also scored a beautiful Auto Club Chile enamel grille badge with a condor on it.  It'll go one one of my old cars one of these days.

 

To answer a couple of your questions:

Colors.   Mint green is a non-metallic, pastel green; Taiga is a much yellower metallic green.  There are color charts somewhere in the board's archives; if you do a search on "color chips" or "color chart" you should be able to find them.  Your car is definitely Mint Green, or a close repaint color to the original.  

 

Round tail lights.  It's not well known that both round and square taillight 02s use the same quarter panel.  Removing the tail light assembly from a squarelight will reveal a semi-circular cutout that will conform with the outer half of a round taillight assembly.  So you can replace your current squarelight rear panel with a roundie rear body panel and convert to round tail lights.  

 

Sales catalog.  Jim Gerock's posting of a 1502 catalog for the German market is particularly interesting in that there's a US model catalog either from 1975 or 76 that pictures the exact same color car posed in front of the same restaurant (note the restaurant's signs are in English)--except that in the US catalog the car is a US spec 2002 with big bumpers, side reflectors and styled slotted wheels.  The wheels and tach are shown in the German catalog as options (standard equipment on US cars), along with a radio and sunroof.  I wonder if BMW used two different cars for that photo, or did a very good airbrush job (no Photoshop in 1976).  I have a couple of other US BMW catalogs from successive years that use the same picture in both catalogs, with obvious airbrushed updates.  

 

Again, welcome, and don't be shy about asking questions...this is the best source of 02 information (and trivia) there is!

 

cheers

mike

 

PS--by your VIN, you have one of the last 3500 or so 02-series cars built.  Production of all models ended with the 1502, at VIN 4200000.  

Edited November 9, 2016 by mike

[Medina15]

25 minutes ago, Simeon said:

 

A lot like converting a square tail to round headlights. If your car is majorly rusty in the rear end and you needed to replace the rear panel and the trunk floor then maybe. To do it in isolation of any other work would be a massive job. 

Thanks... in fact my car doesn't have any rusty, it spend many years in a garage, it's an amazing vehicle, right now i'm use it daily and never have any problem... amazing mechanic of that classics, i'm very happy to bought it.