My 1970 BMW 2002 is a "Roundie" again!

[Rich Elliott]

First Pic

Hi All,

 

I purchased my 1970 BMW 2002 in early 2018 with no engine or transmission, for only $800!  The only problem is that it had the wrong rear end panel.  At some point in it's sketchy history, someone had installed a rectangular style rear tail panel.

 

 

On the way home, towing it from Battle Ground Washington, to Portland, Oregon, the rear diff locked up and I had a real big problem.  My girlfriend's AAA came to the rescue and we got it home.

 

After that, I bought a '76 2002 for just over $3,000 in San Francisco and drove it up to Portland.  It was a cold and frigid drive.  After swapping in the engine and transmission, I was finally able to drive around town.

 

The problem is, the wrong rear end was bothering me so much, I couldn't stand it!  So after getting my hands on a new "Roundie" rear tail panel, directly from BMW, I went to working cutting out the old rear end.  It was a mess.  I was held in mostly by rust and bondo...

 

With a little bit of "project creep", I decided to replace the rear spare tire tub.  So, I bought the metal, bought a welder and got to work.  It was a TON of work!!!!

 

 

 

 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

 

Along the way, I also purchased and installed some awesome rebuilt E21 Recaro seats, which I love!  They make the ride so much more comfortable.

 

Future upgrades include, but are not limited to:

• 5-Speed Getrag 245 install.
• E21 Limited Slip Diff install.
• Rust repair: Mainly roof, floor boards, rear window channel, and the engine bay.
• Engine build / rebuild.

 

I would like to have it in driving condition for a trip to the Bay Area Show and Shine... which I heard was re-scheduled to September of this year.   It would be really cool to meet more folks in the BMW 2002 community.

 

I made a YouTube video showing my rear tail panel install if anyone is interested:

 

 

Thanks to this site and the people on it for all the awesome information and contacts that I have made along the way!

 

Rich Elliott

Low Key Builds

Instagram:  @lowkeybuilds 

You Tube: Low Key Builds

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Rich Elliott
Better You Tube Link Again!!!!

[Rich Elliott]

BTW... If anyone can tell me how to make a cool You Tube link like this page...

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/176602-02-build-on-youtube/

 

I would be greatly appreciative!  I can't seem to figure out how to add a YouTube link in the post like this one!

 

Thanks,

 

Rich

 

Nevermind!  I figured this out!  It was way easier than I was making it.  Just post the YouTube link and the BMW2002FAQ site automatically does the embedding stuff for you.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Rich Elliott
Answered my own question.

[Gordon]

I remember Rob Torres of 2002 Haus in San Luis Obispo CA driving a early white 02 with a square tail light conversion but that was about 12-15 years ago. IIRC, it had a high performance motor (possible M20 conv).  Do you know the history of your 02? 

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Gordon

[Rich Elliott]

3 minutes ago, Gordon said:

I remember Rob Torres of 2002 Haus in San Luis Obispo CA driving a early white 02 with a square tail light conversion but that was about 12-15 years ago. Do you know the history of your 02? 

 

I know very little of the history.  For all I know, it's the same one!  Can't be too many of those around!

[Mike Self]

Nice job!  If you've just learned to weld I'm really impressed by the neat job you did.   Looks like your car was originally Colorado--or at least the trunk's interior was!  

 

The wheels that were on your car when you bought it are kinda cool...do you know what they are?  Kinda hard to tell from the pictures. 

 

cheers

mike

 

 

[RAS-2002]

Wow; nice resurrection! Great job!

-Bob

[Conserv]

8 hours ago, mike said:

 

... The wheels that were on your car when you bought it are kinda cool...do you know what they are?  Kinda hard to tell from the pictures...

 

I don’t know either, Mike,

 

But they look like Gary’s (second photo)!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[Rich Elliott]

14 hours ago, mike said:

Nice job!  If you've just learned to weld I'm really impressed by the neat job you did.   Looks like your car was originally Colorado--or at least the trunk's interior was!  

 

The wheels that were on your car when you bought it are kinda cool...do you know what they are?  Kinda hard to tell from the pictures. 

 

cheers

mike

 

 

 

Thanks Mike!  I'm still very much an amateur welder.  It's way harder than it looks.  I think my second YouTube video is going to be "Fixing My Jankey Welds".  A number of my welds when attaching the rear panel have that piled up popcorn look. From what I've learned, that's what happens when your welds are too cold.  I'm gonna try to visit someone who is really good at welding and just get everything attached and welded 100%.

 

As far as the color, the original color was "Atlantik".  The trunk had like five different colors in it before I went to work with the grinder.

 

 

I'm not sure what color I want to end up with on the final build.  I like the original color, but I'm really partial to black, white, or red. Or maybe silver.  I can't make up my mind!

 

As far as the wheels, I kind of regret not keeping them.  The deal when I bought the car was $1,000 with the wheels or $800 without the wheels.  I choose to not keep the wheels.  (I returned them later and the seller gave me those bottle cap wheels).

 

Those old wheels were Monoblock Ultra Light. The tire size was 205/50 R15. They are a pretty cool look.

 

 

Thanks again for the compliments!

 

 Rich

[Rich Elliott]

6 hours ago, RAS-2002 said:

Wow; nice resurrection! Great job!

-Bob

 

Thanks Bob!!!

[joysterm]

Well done Rich

Edited April 27, 2020 by joysterm

[Rich Elliott]

16 minutes ago, joysterm said:

Well done Rich

 

Thank you!!!

[Jinho]

Looks great, nice work. I'll be going to college in Portland next year, glad to know there's some 02 guys up there. Cheers.

[RYOLEER]

Looks good to me! Also, did BMW charge an arm and a leg for the rear panel? I didn't even think to use them as resource for finding 02 sheet metal.

[Rich Elliott]

3 hours ago, Jinho said:

Looks great, nice work. I'll be going to college in Portland next year, glad to know there's some 02 guys up there. Cheers.

 

Thanks Jin!  Looks like you have a cool 2002 project there!  Hit me up when you get to Portland and we can meet up at the local BMW Cars and Coffee!  

 

BTW... the best way to reach me is to DM me through my Instagram page.... @lowkeybuilds 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Rich Elliott
Spelling

[Rich Elliott]

1 hour ago, CristianGarcia said:

Looks good to me! Also, did BMW charge an arm and a leg for the rear panel? I didn't even think to use them as resource for finding 02 sheet metal.

 

Thanks Cristian!

 

I think I paid about $550 for my rear panel.  It seemed like a fair price at the time.  The local BMW dealership parts department can be surprisingly helpful with old parts.  Availability comes and goes but my understanding is that BMW occasionally produces a run of different body panels.  You just have to check with they every few months.