VIN Help 72 2002

[DadBod72]

Hi - I was hoping someone could help me get info about my 2002.  I emailed the Andreas with the BMW group and it sounds like they are in the process of moving so I will not hear from them for a while.

 

My VIN is 2580122.  The VIN matches on motor, under hood tag, under hood stamp and title.

 

Any information you can provide would be super helpful as I am new to BMW.

 

My car has a sunroof and I was wondering if this is a rare option or not.  Also I am not sure if the rims are factory but I have factory alloy rims.   The interior is tan.  

 

Thanks in advanced!

[John_in_VA]

The sunroof was an option, but not extremely rare.  The early-style alloy wheels were optional over the steel wheels & available at the dealer.

[Mike Self]

First of all, matching numbers is a Good Thing for a future owner who cares for such things, as it means the engine is original to the car.  Carbureted 72 2002's VINs run from approximately 2577438 to exactly 2585187.  Since BMW uses calendar years to date their cars, while we in the US use model years, model year '72 production began on 1 Sept 1971 and ran through 31 August 1972.   If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say your car was produced sometime in December 72 or January 73, but that's just a guess.  Be patient and BMW Classic will get to your inquiry; they're moving so they can't reply until fall.

 

Sunroofs are not exceedingly rare and became more common in later years than the early ones.  Nice thing to have though, and they're surprisingly leak-free so long as you keep the drain hoses clear.  

 

Based on the car's tobacco/saddle (take your pick) interior, either it's been changed or the car's been repainted.  A Chamonix (white) car would have had a black or dark blue interior and "salt and pepper" carpets.  Your interior would have come with a Sahara, Nevada (both tan), Malaga (maroon) or Agave (green) exterior.  Poke around under the carpets, down in the spare tire well and round the gas tank and look for the original color.  The color sticker may still be present near the under-hood VIN plates.

 

Oh, and those are rare(ish, since they've been reproduced) and original factory alloy wheels, optional or dealer-installed, and most usually found on tii's.  Nice addition to your car.  

 

And you already have a BMW CCA sticker on the back window, so you should join!

 

Cheers and welcome to the fraternity/sorority.

 

mike 

[Son of Marty]

It also has a late model 74-76 one piece dash

[Ensign]

1 hour ago, Son of Marty said:

It also has a late model 74-76 one piece dash

it looks like a  2-piece to me...

 

Also, looking at the registry, VIN 2580062 was built on 12/21/1971.  If that is true, then 2580122 must have been built a few days later, unless the factory shut down for the Christmas holiday.

[Son of Marty]

Damn these old eyes ?.

[Conserv]

On 6/29/2021 at 4:01 PM, Ensign said:

… unless the factory shut down for the Christmas holiday…

 

Might be the case!

 

The VIN decoder offered by the BMW 2002 Car Club of Columbia — generally accurate but not “date-specific” like the data offered by BMW Group Archives — shows VIN 2580122 (below) as a 1972 calendar year car, with VIN 2580114 (8 cars prior to yours) being the first U.S.-spec 2002 manufactured in the 1972 calendar year. Yours could have been produced in the first week of 1972.

 

I agree with the above comments, and certainly Mike’s supposition that the exterior color has been changed.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[02Les]

I can tell you that your car (2580122) was for sale in the BMW Club Magazine (Roundel) in the mid '80s. The Seller stated the colour as Sierra Beige, but I'm assuming he meant Sahara. Seller's name was James Hope of Jacksonville, FL, and he also noted that there was 75k miles on the rebuilt motor.

[DadBod72]

I really appreciate all the great info.  This community is incredible. 

[Gordon]

I hope you eventually repaint it back to the original color, Sahara.  It doesn't get much love but it's such a classic period correct color. I even repainted my Sahara tii, Sahara. Love the optional factory alloy wheels. 

[Chris_B]

On 6/29/2021 at 11:17 AM, Mike Self said:

Sunroofs are not exceedingly rare and became more common in later years than the early ones.  Nice thing to have though, and they're surprisingly leak-free so long as you keep the drain hoses clear. 

Mike, I wonder how many 02s were produced with sunroofs, and the corollary question is how many are left. My guess is that sunroof cars have been more aggressively protected/rebuilt/restored than non-sunroof cars. What is your observation?

[Conserv]

8 hours ago, Chris_B said:

… My guess is that sunroof cars have been more aggressively protected/rebuilt/restored than non-sunroof cars…

 

Perhaps…

 

But, sunroof cars, with their factory drain tubes directed into the rocker panels — which have slit drains that frequently plug over time — have a reputation for greater rust. The evidence for this is generally, in my opinion, anecdotal, rather than verifiable. Still, the allegations of greater rust could well be true.

 

Unlike BMW’s internal records of production cars, which specify the cars’ factory exterior colors, BMW does not even possess meaningful records of options such as sunroofs. The largely handwritten records occasionally show a scribble for a sunroof, but such notations appear to be mostly limited to rarer sub-models such as ti’s or turbos. These notations of sunroofs are far far rarer than actual sunroofs; most factory sunroof cars have no such notations in BMW’s records.

 

One could, today, conduct (A.) a statistical analysis of known surviving cars to determine the prevalence of “surviving cars with factory sunroofs.” And I suppose one could also, today, conduct (B.) a statistical analysis of surviving window stickers (or equivalent) to determine the potential prevalence of “documented factory sunroofs based on window stickers.” (There are surviving cars without window stickers and there are surviving window stickers for cars no longer extant. Thus, these are two different populations. And group B is perhaps closer to the original build population.)

 

I suppose that if the results of B above showed a higher prevalence of sunroofs based on window stickers (or equivalent) than the results of A, surviving sunroof cars, you might have evidence toward the “rust-inducing sunroof” theory, Conversely, if the results of A above showed a higher prevalence of sunroofs among surviving cars than the results of B, you might have evidence toward the “sunroof-cars-get-saved” theory.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[DadBod72]

Any recommendations on how to restore the rims?

[DadBod72]

On 7/5/2021 at 8:30 PM, Gordon said:

I hope you eventually repaint it back to the original color, Sahara.  It doesn't get much love but it's such a classic period correct color. I even repainted my Sahara tii, Sahara. Love the optional factory alloy wheels. 

Can you post some other pics? I would love to see other angles and also the rims. Looks great!

[Conserv]

59 minutes ago, DadBod72 said:

Any recommendations on how to restore the rims?

These early OEM alloys were made for BMW by FPS (Fratelli Pedrini Sarrezzo) from 1971 until, I suspect, the late 1970’s. But they’ve also been manufactured, again for BMW, and again by FPS, from approximately 2000 through today. The obvious visual difference is that the period versions, as yours appear to be, had “FPS” cast into the reverse side while the modern versions have “FPS” cast into the front face. Good sets of the period versions are fairly rare, and certainly desirable!

 

You could simply dismount the tires, remove the balance weights, lightly sand them, and spray them something like Krylon’s Dull Aluminum — hard to find recently — or Wurth’s Wheel silver. There are lots of threads on this forum regarding re-painting rims. And there is lots of good advice within those threads.

 

But… given these are probably 45-50 years old, look a bit rough, bear both weights and traces of previous weights, I would probably have a wheel shop examine them for trueness, straighten them if dents or out-of-true conditions exist, and strip them, even if I wanted to save some dollars and paint them myself. ‘02’s, with their early McPherson strut front suspensions, are particularly susceptible to shimmy and vibration. The combination of that with the age of the aluminum alloy rims suggests due diligence to ensure that you’re not installing good tires on out-of-round rims, or damaged rims on a car that may well have other suspension needs, e.g., bushings, ball joints, tie rods, steering box, etc. Start early eliminating the variables!

 

An ‘02 with its suspension in new or near-new condition is an amazing pleasure: instantly responsive, tracks straight, goes straight at speed, with good self-centering. Shoot for that goal.

 

Below, my ‘73’s set of the modern version — my spare is a period version.

 

Regards,

 

Steve