Body panels

[Mehrdad]

Hi,

was there a different fender lip on 2002s?

Mine has a square edge and as far as I can tell the fenders have not been replaced. Some are rounder.

Also, should the the joint on the front nose and fender be exposed?

My car is a Euro 75 tii Lux

Thanks in advance

[VWJake]

That seam above the headlight should be leaded in. Those are likely aftermarket fenders.

[Conserv]

‘02’s, from the 1966 1600-2 to the 1977 1502, used the same front fenders and rear quarter panels. The original lips of the front and rear wheel openings should be small and softly rounded, not squared. Below is my ‘76. The left rear quarter panel is original and has never been hit or rusted (I’m the original owner) and the left front fender has been replaced, due to rust, with an NOS item (orange label, so probably pre-1985-ish production).

 

The open seam above the front grille on your car testifies to the fact that, at minimum, the original left front fender has been removed. In all likelihood, the original fender was replaced with a new fender at that time. The lip either started larger than stock (as in “aftermarket”), or was modified. The left rear quarter panel might have been replaced with an aftermarket quarter panel, but it could also have (a.) had a rust repair to the lip, and/or (b.) been intentionally altered to provide additional clearance for oversize tires: these cars all originally came with either 6.00 S 13 bias-ply tires (1966 through 1968 1600-2) or 165/80 13 radial tires. Your tii came from the factory with 5 x 13, ET28, steel rims  and 165HR13 radials. Both your rims and your tires appear to be larger than the stock equipment.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited September 9, 2019 by Conserv

[Mehrdad]

Thanks Steve and Jake.

 

what's surprising is that all four fenders are like this. The car was imported new to Iran based on BMW records in 75. After the 79 revolution, it basically sat idle until 10 years ago when I bought it. There is no rust on the car at all and all the welds look original. Still has the tii front nose without the snorkel opening. I really have to find out what had happened to it for the fenders to be like this. I guess one way to find out is to strip the paint around the lips and see if someone may have replaced them to like you say have more

Thanks again

[Conserv]

45 minutes ago, Mehrdad said:

Thanks Steve and Jake.

 

what's surprising is that all four fenders are like this. The car was imported new to Iran based on BMW records in 75. After the 79 revolution, it basically sat idle until 10 years ago when I bought it. There is no rust on the car at all and all the welds look original. Still has the tii front nose without the snorkel opening. I really have to find out what had happened to it for the fenders to be like this. I guess one way to find out is to strip the paint around the lips and see if someone may have replaced them to like you say have more

Thanks again

 

If I had to guess, someone modified the lips for larger tires and rims, which would have rubbed against the original lips....

 

As to the front fender replacement, my ‘76’s first-and-only re-paint was in 2015-2018. It’s rust included:

 

(1.) a small box-section reinforcement under the trunk floor, between the fuel tank and the right rear quarter panel,

 

(2.) a spot in the spare tire well, which was not rusted through, and

 

(3.) both front fenders... 

 

I’d swear those front fenders were rusting before the ship off-loaded the car at its original Port of Entry! ?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Conserv

[Mehrdad]

But the original port of entry would have been back in 75, when the car was new!

 

As for rust, I have dealt with them quite a lot, specially with my e9s. I just restored a 71 2800CS that had quite a bit. And believe me when I say this, this tii is virtually rust free. 

[tzei]

2 hours ago, Mehrdad said:

I guess one way to find out is to strip the paint around the lips and see if someone may have replaced them to like you say have more

Maybe a paint thickness gauge would tell?

[Mike Self]

2 hours ago, Conserv said:

I’d swear those front fenders were rusting before the ship off-loaded the car at its original Port of Entry!

Pretty close.  Rust blisters started to show on the trailing edge of my '69's front fenders within 18 months of my taking delivery of it new...it's now on its third set of fenders...

 

Mehrdad, those have to be modifications on your four wheel opening lips--very attractive, and unnoticeable to the casual observer (but not to us hard-core '02ers!)

 

Very nice car--'02's appeal seems to be world-wide.

 

mike

[Mehrdad]

Young boys here go crazy for the 02s. 

Just missed another tii for sale here that sold for an extremely high price in our economy to a young guy. Strange car being a Euro tii with 73 US style bumpers. They are a worldwide phenomena. 

[Conserv]

29 minutes ago, Mehrdad said:

Young boys here go crazy for the 02s. 

Just missed another tii for sale here that sold for an extremely high price in our economy to a young guy. Strange car being a Euro tii with 73 US style bumpers. They are a worldwide phenomena. 

 

A 1973 U.S.-spec front bumper is the same as a 1973 Euro-spec front bumper, with one exception: the 1973 U.S.-spec bumper has bumper brackets that provide an additional 1 1/2” of space between the bumper and the body (to meet a then-new U.S. 2 1/2 mph crash standard). The nosepiece on the tii above appears to be that of a square taillight — with plastic side grilles). Thus, it would have been (a.) manufactured after August 1973, or (b.) or a round taillight, manufactured before September 1973, that later acquired a square taillight nosepiece.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Mehrdad]

The car was a Euro 74 with the US spec bumpers that had the extended brackets, front and rear. 

That made it strange.

[tzei]

Front turn signals are U.S. spec too?

[NYTransplant]

5 minutes ago, tzei said:

Front turn signals are U.S. spec too?

Yes, they are.  I'm not sure if those lenses were used anywhere else in the world.  it's likely @Conserv would know.

[Mike Self]

3 hours ago, NYTransplant said:

I'm not sure if those lenses were used anywhere else in the world. 

AFAIK only the US and Canada (who basically got US spec cars with km speedometers) were inflicted with the bulge type parking lights/turn signals.  Admittedly they make the front signals much more visible, but spoil the car's lines...

 

mike

[Cruzr]

I have heard of owners in other countries seeking US signal lenses. I guess the appeal of having something different.