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Story of a Time Capsule.........


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I can't believe what I just laid my eyes on.  This Polaris/Blue, '74 2002 4 speed, is an absolute time capsule.  Just beautiful! 43k miles!  not 143k miles but a true 43k mile car.  Not a wear mark on the seats,pristine dash and carpet, perfect paint and original Michelin xas tires.Also has all of the glove box books and original tool kit.  I will be helping in the resurrection and sale of the car.    Has the original,like new window sticker and, the shipping invoice. Hasn't been registered or driven since 1990. just sat in this huge garage,covered,all these years.New battery and fuel in the next couple of weeks.

No pics or, asking price yet. The recently uploaded pics below, were from 2013 when, the car was pulled out for a bath and pushed back into position and covered afterward..

The only oddity that I spotted is, the drivers door has a trap mirror. Didn't 74,5,6 have flag mirrors?   Dave swears that nothing but minor service has been done on the car since he purchased it new and, I believe him. Purchased at German Motors in SanFrancisco.  it's 5/74 car.

 

Stay Tuned,

dq

Edited by coloincaalpine
can't upload pics damn it.
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I do believe some 74's (primarily earlier build dates) left the factory with trap mirrors. My August 1st 74 build date (late which is weird) tii has a trap mirror that the previous owner of 35 years said was on the car when he bought it from the first owner. Conversely, our family's 74 that we had when I was little had a flag mirror. The earlier poster who said that they weren't introduced until 75 is incorrect I do believe. W/the exception of a few cars, all 74's that I've seen over the course of the past forty years have had flag mirrors.

Conserv should have the definitive answer.[emoji6]

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'74 Sahara/Beige 2002 HS car, long, long ago...

'73 Polaris/Navy 2002 tii lost to Canada

'73 Malaga/Saddle 2002 current project

'73 Taiga/Black 2002 tii in my dreams

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2 hours ago, 1936spyder said:

I do believe some 74's (primarily earlier build dates) left the factory with trap mirrors. My August 1st 74 build date (late which is weird) tii has a trap mirror that the previous owner of 35 years said was on the car when he bought it from the first owner. Conversely, our family's 74 that we had when I was little had a flag mirror. The earlier poster who said that they weren't introduced until 75 is incorrect I do believe. W/the exception of a few cars, all 74's that I've seen over the course of the past forty years have had flag mirrors.

Conserv should have the definitive answer.emoji6.png

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk
 

 

I think Chris (above) is correct: the 1975 model year is split between trapezoid mirrors and flag mirrors. Of course, we can probably argue endlessly as to when that mid-year changeover occurred. I believe the best informed ‘02 historians agree that very early 1975 models, e.g., September and October 1974, came with a single trapezoid mirror. Those same people probably agree that late 1975 models, e.g., June through August 1975, came with a single flag mirror. But, with the exception of a handful of November or December 1974 tii’s, I believe all 1974 models came with trap mirrors. Even the 1975-76 U.S. ‘02 brochure — with photos shot in or around August 1974, shows solely trap mirrors.

 

I’m in a camp that says the flag mirror was introduced in very late 1974, perhaps November or December 1974.  Perhaps Chris’s mid-year is later, sometime in the 1975 calendar year. I don’t believe we have sufficient data to absolutely prove either of these theories: the frequency of mirror damage and the larger size of the flag mirror were compelling needs/reasons to upgrade from that old trap mirror, but the frequency of that upgrade has forever altered the population of rearview mirrors. Notice how many pre-1974 cars have flag mirrors today!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited by Conserv
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1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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Amazing find, dq.

 

We’re, obviously, going to need more photos, as you get this sorted out!

 

The only two items that leave me slightly incredulous are original paint on upper surfaces, assuming this is Polaris PVC-frei paint, and original tires, largely because I’ve never gotten more than 35,000 miles out of an XAS. Ca. 1974 XAS’s will have no DOT codes whatsoever.

 

But everything else looks just perfect.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

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1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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My 6/24/74 tii came with a one owner-guaranteed trap mirror.  Looks like I'm a fellow camper, Steve. 

 

Trap vs. Flag is not much of an interest to me.  The most important question to me is this:  When will I ever be brave enough to forego the vanity of having a pristine paint job and surrender to a logical and life-saving safety option by drilling into that luscious finish and attaching a passenger side mirror.  Dang, it surely would be comforting to see my way clear whenever I need to move back into the righthand lane.   

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Yeah, no DOT codes on these tires. Owner ( stand up military guy) says 90% of the miles on the car came from driving from the Bay Area to LA and back.The paint does look flawless and will get current pics when I get out of the dark hole and cleaned up.It'll be a couple of weeks before I can  make a space for it at the shop.

dq

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On 8/24/2019 at 10:23 PM, 2002#3 said:

 

Trap vs. Flag is not much of an interest to me.  The most important question to me is this:  When will I ever be brave enough to forego the vanity of having a pristine paint job and surrender to a logical and life-saving safety option by drilling into that luscious finish and attaching a passenger side mirror.  Dang, it surely would be comforting to see my way clear whenever I need to move back into the righthand lane.   

 

Two very different thoughts on this:

 

Pro-Mirror:

Starting sometime in the mid-‘70’s and continuing through today, many many ‘02 owners have added passenger-side rearview mirrors. And lucious finishes were not harmed in the process. I had the dealer add a right-side rearview mirror to my ‘76 for its delivery new (below: no longer brand new, but photographed in April 1977).

 

Contra-Mirror:

Before the 1980’s, few cars had dual outside mirrors and yet we somehow survived! Outside ‘02 mirrors seem to perpetually become loose. A passenger-side mirror will double the number of loose mirrors on your ‘02! ?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

E3ADF8FB-9039-452A-A337-B7978E6AB619.jpeg

3B11F280-76A1-49B0-B8A5-52E2595CA3D5.jpeg

Edited by Conserv
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1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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I'd be really leery of brakes and tires after all those years of sitting, although I have a set of Pirelli Stelvio tires that have to be at least 50 years old that are nice and soft and hold air nicely!

 

mike

'69 Nevada sunroof-Wolfgang-bought new
'73 Sahara sunroof-Ludwig-since '78
'91 Brillantrot 318is sunroof-Georg Friederich 
Fiat Topolini (Benito & Luigi), Renault 4CVs (Anatole, Lucky Pierre, Brigette) & Kermit, the Bugeye Sprite

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1 hour ago, 2002#3 said:

When will I ever be brave enough to forego the vanity of having a pristine paint job and surrender to a logical and life-saving safety option by drilling into that luscious finish and attaching a passenger side mirror.  Dang, it surely would be comforting to see my way clear whenever I need to move back into the righthand lane.   

 

46 minutes ago, Conserv said:

Outside ‘02 mirrors seem to perpetually become loose. A passenger-side mirror will double the number of loose mirrors on your ‘02!

Gary--go ahead and add the pax side mirror, for safety's sake, since I know you drive your cars on long trips and have been known to pass other cars.  Definitely a safety thing.  Easy to place:  remove the driver's side mirror, and make a paper template using the leading edge of the door and the sill molding as locating points to pinpoint where the driver's mirror mounts are.  Then turn the template over and you'll have a guide to mark the pax side install.

 

And Steve--you can keep those mirrors nice and tight by replacing the slotted set screw in the mirror bracket with an allen head set screw.  You can torque the allen head screw down much better than the slotted head and your mirror will stay nice and tight.  

 

mike 

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'69 Nevada sunroof-Wolfgang-bought new
'73 Sahara sunroof-Ludwig-since '78
'91 Brillantrot 318is sunroof-Georg Friederich 
Fiat Topolini (Benito & Luigi), Renault 4CVs (Anatole, Lucky Pierre, Brigette) & Kermit, the Bugeye Sprite

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  I think Chris (above) is correct: the 1975 model year is split between trapezoid mirrors and flag mirrors. Of course, we can probably argue endlessly as to when that mid-year changeover occurred. I believe the best informed ‘02 historians agree that very early 1975 models, e.g., September and October 1974, came with a single trapezoid mirror. Those same people probably agree that late 1975 models, e.g., June through August 1975, came with a single flag mirror. But, with the exception of a handful of November or December 1974 tii’s, I believe all 1974 models came with trap mirrors. Even the 1975-76 U.S. ‘02 brochure — with photos shot in or around August 1974, shows solely trap mirrors.  

I’m in a camp that says the flag mirror was introduced in very late 1974, perhaps November or December 1974.  Perhaps Chris’s mid-year is later, sometime in the 1975 calendar year. I don’t believe we have sufficient data to absolutely prove either of these theories: the frequency of mirror damage and the larger size of the flag mirror were compelling needs/reasons to upgrade from that old trap mirror, but the frequency of that upgrade has forever altered the population of rearview mirrors. Notice how many pre-1974 cars have flag mirrors today!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

Huh! Well, I would certainly defer to you but it does make me wonder about the 99% of 1974 model year 2002's that I've seen over the course of the past 40 years which had flag mirrors; I can't imagine such an overwhelming number of cars having their outside mirrors replaced at some point. Some of course could be attributed to accidents, parking lot scuffaws, repaints, etc, but to such an extent? 

 

 

Not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things as I'm certainly no purist and I personally prefer the look and design of trap mirrors. If anything that only gives me more ammo when people question the originality of my car. Surprising though about the 75-76 brochure which has illustrations with trap mirrors present...

 

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'74 Sahara/Beige 2002 HS car, long, long ago...

'73 Polaris/Navy 2002 tii lost to Canada

'73 Malaga/Saddle 2002 current project

'73 Taiga/Black 2002 tii in my dreams

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