Survivor 1967 BMW 1600 - Florida Green

[danco_]

Price: $24000

Location: Long Beach, Ca

Description:

EDIT: deposit received/pending sale 
 

 

Hi guys,

I'm listing this car for a friend. This car is absolutely wonderful. I spent the last 300 miles driving and enjoying it throughout the coastal cities of southern California. This car lives in an indoor garage and is driven less and less now that the owner found his dream 3.0CS coupe. This car is a true survivor and maintains all it's rare bits that you seldom find on 66-67 cars. I'll try to detail as much as I can below.

1967 BMW 1600 2 Door Sedan

-Low Original Miles/Rare Survivor

-Very Complete/Never Disassembled

-VIN #1530514

-42,700 Original Miles Florida Green (Code 066) on Tobacco Brown Leatherette.

-4-speed Manual Transmission

-Clean and Clear California Title. Numbers Matching all around.

-This car was manufactured on June 30th, 1967 and imported by Hoffman Motors Corporation of New York City on July 5th, 1967.

Although not much is known about this early 1600, it was found about 7-years ago at a home (next to a barn) in Idaho. We believe it was with that family, if not from new then at least for most of its life. Sometime in the late 1990’s the water pump seized and the car was parked. At the time, they thought something really bad happened to the motor so they didn’t even bother with it. Recently it was found by an enthusiast who saved it and got it in the hands of one of the most knowledgeable vintage BMW collectors on the West Coast. This current owner knew how hard it was to not only find a dry and straight early BMW “roundie,” but to also find one complete with all the super rare and unusual early production pieces. Highlights of some of the original unrestored rare pieces on this example include: All grills, belt line, and deco trim Window frames/trim Bumpers “5-bar” kidney grill Correct front nose trim Hood and trunk badges/insignias Stainless steel hub caps with fragile and rare beauty rings (5 qty) All wheels are original and date stamped correct (including the spare) Gauges The engine and engine head are all numbers matching to the car Door hardware Chrome dash trim Rear and side view mirrors Carpet and upholstery (both no longer available) Water hose to the manifold with the red stripe (you NEVER see these) VDO windshield washer reservoir (narrow style) Two piece muffler Correct rear axles with clear boots (new boots) Airbox/air intake Complete interior 6-Volt system Generator All glass including windshield Chrome wiper arms Since the car sat dormant for so long, this owner’s team began going through all the mechanical systems. Their goal was to get the car running properly and be safe for a long journey. They also wanted everything to work properly. They were extremely careful to preserve as much originality as possible. Highlights of the recent work performed includes: Replaced all bushings in the suspension Services steering system including upper and lower bushings All new rubber seals throughout Flushed cooling system and cleaned out radiator Flushed out fuel system and cleaned out tank/new fuel lines Replaced drive shaft guibo Restored original rear axles with correct clear CV boots New Michelin XWX tires (all 5) Serviced stub axles with needle bearings Complete brake system overhaul including brake cylinders Refurbished original gauges. Full major service/tune-up New battery with correct mount system Furthermore, a compression test was performed and the results were outstanding: 150 even across all 4 cylinders The fact that this BMW exists at all is remarkable.

This example remarkably is incredibly dry, straight, and complete. It does not appear to have had a rough life. Most likely it slept in a dry garage for many years untouched. The chassis shows nothing more than some light surface corrosion on the raw metal parts. There are no signs of serious rot. The spare tire well and gas tank are in great shape. The incredibly rare and original two-piece muffler is still in place. It’s a testament to how this BMW was stored as most just rusted off the car. The engine further supports this example’s low survivor miles. Unobtanium bits like the rare radiator rubber hoses are still in great shape. The front nose does not show signs of even being slightly tapped as most were back in the day. The exterior looks very nice and has that original survivor-driver vibe. The paint is not original; it has had one light exterior repaint. The trim and glass were removed first. New seals were reinstalled. The paint has a nice soft glow to it. It is not super polished shiny as the intention was to keep with the original look theme. There are small chips here and there throughout the car (see pics). The wheels are in good shape with just some minor signs of wear on the original paint. The rare beauty rings and center caps have been carefully straightened and polished. They are wearing new Michelin period correct tires and new brakes. All the glass is original including the windshield. All the chrome and brightwork is original and in remarkable unrestored condition. There are some light spots of surface corrosion in few places on the bumpers, but that’s all. The trim is very straight. All the exterior lights work properly except the reverse lights. The interior is completely original as it left Munich 52-years ago. It is showing typical signs of wear. The driver seat has a tear on the bottom as and the cushion is a bit saggy. The top of the rear seat has cracks from the sun. The headliner is in decent shape and also original. It has a tear by the rear view mirror. The sun visors are in great original condition. The carpet shows just some light signs of wear with no significant stains or tears. The door panels are very original and have all their original and rare hardware. There are some signs of mild wear including some of the silver material fading on the passenger side. The interior door spears are in good shape. The interior and dash lights work. The dash has never been removed and is the rare 3-piece unit with some cracks. The instrument cluster is in great condition and all the gauges work properly including the clock. The correct and rare hazard light switch/mount shows no cracks and works properly. The chrome pieces across the dash show some light wear. These pieces are very hard to find in this good of original condition. This 1600 drives fantastic.

This car starts first time every time. The manual choke works great, and the original single-barrel solex carb has been rebuilt and tuned. It idles steady and runs very strong. The 4-speed transmission shifts nicely with gentle shifting and there is no slipping of the clutch. The brakes have a wonderful pedal feel with good initial bite. Everything about the way this 1600 drives is very tight and indicative of a low-mileage survivor example.

California registration is current and a set of original, 1967 Black/Yellow California plates will be included for proper YOM DMV designation, so she can look 100% correct.

This car comes with one set of keys (doors and ignition are the same, trunk has its own key), original manual in german, original tool kit, original wheels and tires (spare wheel is also original), and original lug wrench. This is about as good as it gets.

In the last 6 months, the car spent a few weeks at Coupe King in Long Beach and underwent another $4k in mechanical work including having the below items rebuilt and tuned accordingly:

-generator

-brake booster

-Front Rotors, Pads, Calipers

-1600 rear brake backing plate

-rear brake drum cylinders

-brake shoe set

-rear brake drums

-brake hose kit

-adjust passenger door and window alignment

-replace window guide rod

-early style distributor cap, rotor, points, condenser - installed and adjusted

-r&r carb, rebuild, adjust and tune

In the last two weeks, I took the car to a detail specialist in Costa Mesa for what may be the single greatest thing you can clean - the undercarriage. Detailed photos below.

Aside from that, this car is ready for the next caretaker. You can decide to redo the interior, or run it as is. I personally love it because it's truly original and I value such things.

Please see the link below for more photos of the car. The price is low for the condition and I know this. I really want someone to get a great deal and enjoy this car. It deserves it.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPHx5ZG

Please reach out to me if you are interested and have questions. I'm happy to answer any and every one.

Thank you,

Ryan Danco

Edited August 6, 2020 by danco_

[1inhiding]

Florida is such a great color. Looks like an amazing car. Good luck with the sale!

[Conserv]

Ryan,

 

That is one big-ass “Wow” of a 1600-2! I love this car!

 

GLWS,

 

Steve

 

[steve oneill]

Now we finally know exactly what they looked like off the boat. You will be beating buyers away with a connecting rod.

 

A treat!!!

[danco_]

First party to come see the car left a deposit and agreed to purchase at full price. 

 

I knew this would be the case.

 

Thank you all for looking! 

[iinca]

Florida ftw!

[DerekZ4]

And was just going to pm if still available by the weekend, I’ll check it out. 

Too late again.

[Slavs]

My opinions are certainly not representative of the mainstream here. But, I've seen a good number of these early BMW 1600s over the last four decades. And, this one is an unadulterated representative of some of the cars I've seen up for sale during the 80s and 90s. They were never very common, but they were cheaper than their 2 liter counterparts. A car like this went for $1,000 - $2,000, but usually closer to $1,000 than $2,000. Many people asked $1,600 just for kicks. Real BMW "Men" drove 2002s while the 1600 was shunned as a "Chick's" car or a car you passed on to the college student for basic transportation. And, in most cases nobody had anything positive to say; "Oh you have no head rests, those are not safe seats...Are you going to convert to 12V...Are you going to drop in a 2L...Are you going to convert to hydraulic clutch etc." 

 

I'm glad these very early cars and their clean lines are finally appreciated. Most ended up at the wrecking yards or being converted to 2002 specs. 

 

But, for me this is still a $1,600 car as that is the period when I was imprinted. I paid $900 for a similar car in 1990. Perhaps I'm just an anachronism and this is a very different world, now. But, from your description and based on gut instinct, this car was found sitting somewhere and bought cheap before it was refreshed, but not restored, and presented with its "Patina" .  All the oil, soot and grime which was removed from under the car  protected it from the elements. Now, it's naked. I'm not sold on the price or the presentation, but obviously some people are. As far as these cars are concerned the market has moved on from the world I'm more familiar with back in the day.

 

A few things I've noticed:

 

1. One of the trailing arms has been replaced with a later version which has the tab for the rear sway bar. 67 and 68 1600s were not equipped with a rear sway bar nor did they have provisions to mount one. But, they did have the fixtures to mount a front sway bar.

 

2. Most 67 1600s I've seen came equipped with the license plate lights mounted in the rear bumper. But, this car seems to have been retrofitted with a newer rear bumper and license plate lights mounted on the rear panel. Maybe the license plate lights transitioned from bumper to rear panel during 67, but I don't think so.

 

3. The carpet is not original or anything resembling original.

 

4. The valve cover is a later style. 67s were equipped with the older style valve cover.

 

5. That looks like a later replacement Pierburg fuel pump for a 2002. The 1600s had a specific fuel pump. Equipping a 1600 with a 2002 fuel pump overloads the carb.

 

6. Why did someone install an additional later style one way brake vacuum check valve on the booster line when there is already an older style valve located on the manifold ?

 

This car does not pass my $24K scrutiny.

 

Slavs

Edited August 6, 2020 by Slavs

[Conserv]

Slavs,

 

Let’s agree to disagree on your value and values comments. But two points:

 

1. My own mid-67 1600-2, back in the day, had the U.S.-spec license plate lights and rear bumper, not the Euro-spec components. Although I saw both styles on ‘67 models — again, I’m talking back in the day — I actually saw more with the U.S.-style license lights. It now appears, as we start to focus on such details, that all ‘66 and the earliest ‘67 models came with Euro-spec components but BMW switched to U.S.-spec license plate illumination mid-model year.

 

When was this switchover? I’m not sure, but cars produced May 1967 and later appear to generally have the U.S.-spec license plate lights.  VIN’s 1527132 (May 1967j, 1529238 (June 19, 1967), and 1529698 (June 1967) are shown below, in that order.

 

2. I, too, thought that all ‘66 and ‘67 model 1600-2’s came with un-ribbed valve covers, and — I admit — I poked fun at those with ribbed covers, until... one of our forum members removed the ribbed valve cover on his April (?) car only to find a March 1967 casting date. I no longer poke fun at early 1600-2‘s with ribbed valve covers... ?
 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[steve oneill]

Golly Mabel, I did not realize I was buying a "Chick's Car" 49 years ago when I purchased my first(and only new vintage BMW) 1971 BMW 1600. Like the guy in front of the White House the day after election day, 2016 holding the sign that said, "I'm Sorry" I will now say" I am sorry." About buying the 1600, no I did not vote for him.

 

I don't know what possessed me to buy a "Bird's" car. A "Twit's" car. Something that Twiggy would drive. Looking back I should have ordered an automatic. And a mirror on the driver's sun visor so I could check my eyeliner.  Having to confess to strangers it was not British Motor Works.

 

And that 12,000 mile road trip I took that summer, across Canada, down the Coast Road and home through Dixie, Cruising at 90mph, road racing and beating a Datsun 240 Z. Really impressive for a Chick's Car.

 

But thankfully I never did that again. Because after the 1600 it was on to four E9 Coupes, four Bavaria's and six months ago a 2002.

All real Men's cars.

 

Steve

[coloincaalpine RIP 2021]

Congrats,  Well bought.

[Slavs]

Yep ! us 1600 pilots were the underdogs in the 02 world.

And, as I suspected, some of the transitioning occurred during the 67 model year production. 

 

But, getting back to the main point; this car does not leave a $24K impression with me.

It's all gotten out of control and heading towards the Porsche territory. The student, average "Joe" working class or even the "Middle Class" will no longer be able to own these things. It's not the way I remember these cars where as an 18 year old student I purchased my first 1600 back in 1982 for  $500 and drove it home, using it as basic transportation for the next ten years. It had the same interior, only cleaner with no cracks on the seats or dash.

 

Lost in Time,

 

Slavs

[danco_]

Slavs, I still want to get a coffee with you. 
 

I’ve come to enjoy your opinions and criticisms and your general “get off my lawn” grumpiness of a bygone era. 
 

I mean that with sincerity. I can swing by your neighborhood coffee shop next week if you are up for it? 
 

I’ll bring my orange 2002 and you can verbally destroy it with criticisms and I won’t even argue. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by danco_

[Mars55]

Lovely Florida! Congrats on the sale! 

Quick color check question: Is that brown vinyl "tobacco brown" or just brown? What color was the original carpeting?

(My '68 Florida needs both.)

 

Thanks, 

[Slavs]

This color combination Brown / Black interior is slightly different from the later Brown / Black color combination in that the Brown is darker. The carpets were brown, but certainly not a loud or bright brown. They were tightly woven and thin. There are the carpet experts here who can weigh in. This interior was usually installed on Florida, Manilla and Chamonix cars since it complimented those exterior colors well. I have a couple sets of these interior panels in excellent condition laying around (Part of my old junk yard stash where I picked them up for $5 each). I took one of them off a solid and rust free 1968 Manilla 1600. It had a perfect non-dented nose section and grills. This was during the mid-90s at Pick- A - Part. They even offered me the complete car for $500 with a salvage title.  I'm certain that car got crushed along with hundreds of other 02s I've seen in those places. And now we're paying over $24K for these things ?   I thought about installing those panels on my Bristol or Granada which have worn out black panels. But, I don't think the colors will work well together. I don't know. Perhaps somebody can weigh in on the interior/ exterior color combinations used by BMW ?

 

Yes, I'm pissed I can no longer run down to the local Pick- A -Part and rummage through 02s and Neu Klasse cars. Parts cost next to nothing. It was a goldmine. It was a time you can do it all on a budget, if you were willing to put a little elbow grease into it. The interiors and trim were easiest to remove. It was fun. Many collectors were after "Muscle"cars at the time, and they frowned down on the Bimmers. The Porsches and Alfas were already getting pricey, and most of those people could have cared less for old BMWs. The "Collectors" and snobs weren't interested. That's why they littered the Pick- A -Part junk yards, but, no more. Now they are presented with their "Patina" and "Swan Neck" mirrors. It must those Porsche snobs who have hijacked us. Only they know about all those very particular details that sets apart  the Pre-A 356 from the rest of the crowd. Yes, classic BMW's are a bargain for people willing to fork out $200K + for a 1966-67 short wheelbase 2.0L  911. One guy purchased an unrestored TISA for $75K and was bragging to his Porsche buddies of what a bargain it was. All those poor Neu Klasse 1800Ti and 2000Ti cars I saw at the bone yards ! They have been crushed and molten into Toyotas.

 

This is no longer fun and cheap like it was back in the day.

 

Slavs

Edited August 20, 2020 by Slavs