Canadian '71 2002ti project - uncovered after 35 yrs

[ae86guy]

Hello 2002FAQ,

 

I thought I would introduce myself and share the progress on this 1971 BMW 2002ti project. The car has been in my family since 1976 when my uncle purchased it from the original owner here in Alberta, Canada.  From what I understand, this is one of the "North American 50," a detail I learned about here on this forum.  The car is a 4-spd, in Colorado yellow, with the original sidedraft Solex 40PHHs.

 

It was driven by my uncle until the late 80s when he moved to Ontario, at which point it was parked here at my grandmother's house where it remained untouched for 35 years until August 2023:

 

This past summer, on a trip back to Alberta, my uncle entrusted me with seeing if we could get it back up and running

 

A bit of context: I am a long time old-school JDM enthusiast, as you may be able to tell from my username. AE86s, 510s, Zs, etc. have always been my thing.  This will be my first time working on a vintage BMW, but I'm no stranger to working on old rusty cars, having worked extensively on my AE86s, including replacing rockers, floors, and rear towers on my last project AE86.  Suffice to say I was the ideal person in the family to get this thing back on the road.  I should note that I am not by any means a mechanic by trade, just your average weekend warrior.

 

 

 

The car has undergone a respray but remains remarkably original and surprisingly rust-free for the most part.

 

Here's my uncle turning the crank to verify it wasn't seized.  So far so good! Luckily, he was a heavy duty mechanic at the time, so he had the foresight to put oil in the cylinders when he parked the car. 

 

The battery had physically cracked into two, the rad had a massive leak, but everything major seemed intact.

 

The tires had dry-rotted and so the first challenge was physically moving the car out of the spot it had sat for all those years, as it was also boxed-in by decades of garage clutter.

 

We had these vintage Campagnolo wheels with 40 yr old unused tires stashed in the basement... they had never even lost air! With these on we could roll the car out and have it towed to my garage where I would be able to work on it more easily.

 

 

The first time the car has moved an inch in 35 years!

 

 

Back at my garage I spent the next few weeks tackling all the usual maintenance items you would expect for a car sitting this long. I drained the old fuel, oil, installed new distributor cap/rotor, spark plugs, battery, and we sent the radiator off to get re-cored. The car clearly needs a deep clean but I'm just focused on the major mechanical side of things at this point.

 

 

Getting ready to see if the car would start, I took the cam cover off to pour oil on the cams. Looks pretty good in here!

 

 

Put the new re-cored rad back on, some new fluids and a few other maintenance items. One of the fuel lines to the carbs was all gummed up and the T-fitting had practically disintegrated.  $10 in fuel lines and a new fitting at the local hardware store fixed that. And it runs! It's a huge relief to know that the motor is still operational.

 

One of the few upgrades done to the car was an aftermarket oil pressure gauge, which read about 60psi on a cold start, dropping down to 25-30psi at operating temperature with Castrol 10W-40. Within the healthy range for this car, from what I understand.

 

 

 

The brakes/clutch were still operational, but were in much need of a bleed. After that, the car is ready for a test drive around the block! First time moving on it's own power in 35 years 😎

 

 

A few other maintenance items done. Car still needs a deep clean but unfortunately there's no running water at my little garage/workshop that I rent. 😑

 

Here it is with the original airbox back on

 

A pic with my 86.

 

Sadly, the drivers side fender sustained some damage during a hit-and-run in the 80s. That'll have to be addressed, as well as some rust bubbling up in the rear quarters.

 

 

More updates to come! Sadly, winter is starting here in Canada, and so it's time to put the car away for storage for now.

 

Please let me know if you have any pointers for someone new to this chassis. Thank you for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by ae86guy
Spelling mistake

[resra]

The condition of the car indicates what a great uncle you have. The way the car was preserved and he knew all these years he had something special. Just a simple beautiful machine. Thanks for bringing her back to life.

[Ian]

That car is in amazing shape.  Kudos to your uncle for his foresight, and to you for bringing it back!

[Dudeland]

Nice work. It looks great.  I will try to arrange a cruise night once I get mine back on the road.   I am in the T.Dot proper.  Judging from the housing stock, you must be north of the city. 

 

If you need any help, please feel free to DM me. 

 

Regards

  

[jgerock]

You have what I really wanted for a second 2002.  I see headers and a snorkel in the nose piece (the air intake tube welded next to the radiator). Perhaps your uncle can tell more about these.

[ae86guy]

Thank you for all your replies, everyone.

 

Glad to be a part of this group.  I used to be very active on the Toyota AE86 forums back in the day, unfortunately they've all but been replaced by Facebook groups.  Great to see there's still a vibrant community on here.

 

4 hours ago, Dudeland said:

Nice work. It looks great.  I will try to arrange a cruise night once I get mine back on the road.   I am in the T.Dot proper.  Judging from the housing stock, you must be north of the city. 

 

If you need any help, please feel free to DM me. 

 

Regards

  

Thank you for the offer! Unfortunately the car is still here with me in Alberta (Edmonton to be exact), whereas my uncle is in Toronto, where he has lived since the 80s (hence leaving the car in Edmonton since then). Sorry if that was unclear from the post.

 

I'd be very curious to know if there are any clubs or '02 owners groups here in Alberta. I only see about 1 or 2 of these on the road per year these days.

 

3 hours ago, jgerock said:

You have what I really wanted for a second 2002.  I see headers and a snorkel in the nose piece (the air intake tube welded next to the radiator). Perhaps your uncle can tell more about these.

Yes, my uncle installed an aftermarket header back in the day. The rest of the exhaust is factory. Interesting about that snorkel - always assumed that was factory but I will definitely ask if he knows anything about that. Other than the oil pressure gauge, aftermarket stereo, steering wheel, and some minor suspension upgrades (stiffer springs + bilstein shocks), pretty much everything else on the car is still stock.

 

Plan is to keep it mostly original with perhaps some period correct, reversible upgrades. Long term maybe some Recaros, LSD, 5 speed. But the first priority is making it a reliable, safe weekend cruiser, and addressing the bodywork.

 

Long road ahead!

 

 

 

 

 

[Jam3422]

That's a great looking ti project.  I believe the large bumper over riders are specific to the Canadian ti's.  As mentioned above, the nose has been replaced, maybe related to the issues with the front fender.  Maybe your uncle can provide some info on that mystery.  Other than that, it looks really unmolested, really nice.  I'd love to see some photos of the interior when you get a chance.

 

I also have a 71 2002ti, also Colorado.  Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

 

Andy

[TobyB]

How bad is the rust?

 

t

 

[Jam3422]

Also, a tip on the LSD.  2002 LSDs are a little different than the later e21 etc LSDs.  The common practice of spinning one rear wheel and seeing if the other one rotates in the same direction is not a reliable indicator, nor is looking for the S stamp on the diff.  I finally discovered that my diff is an original 2002 40% LSD when I removed the rear cover...I thought it was an open diff for years.  It was just worn out.

 

Also, it would be great if you can add your car to the registry.

 

Thanks

[ae86guy]

21 minutes ago, TobyB said:

How bad is the rust?

 

t

 

 All things considered, not too bad at all. Definitely accustomed to far worse here Canada as they salt the roads like there's no tomorrow. Luckily this car was never winter driven.  There are 2" diameter rust holes forming on both sides of the rear quarters. Rockers have some surface rust but miraculously intact, and perhaps more importantly, the inner rockers are near perfect. Jacked the car up with the jacking points on the rockers (don't crucify me, I know) just to see if they were still structurally sound - they were.

 

Frame rails and floors have a bit of surface rust but nothing major. Rear towers look pretty much perfect which is pretty unbelievable to see. Believe me, I know it's always worse than it looks.

 

As I said earlier, I had to do all the metal work on my AE86 - rockers, floors, rear towers, you name it, so I'm no stranger to the grinder and mig welder.  You can check out my instagram @ae86corollavirus where I've documented a lot of the work on my Toyotas as well as the '02 more recently.

 

Whatever rust issues there are, I'm confident I can tackle them. Seems to be a multitude of replacement steel panels for these cars. We aren't so lucky in the AE86 world, where we're stuck with hand fabricating panels and sourcing donor panels from wrecked cars, though it's getting better as of late.

 

18 minutes ago, Jam3422 said:

Also, a tip on the LSD.  2002 LSDs are a little different than the later e21 etc LSDs.  The common practice of spinning one rear wheel and seeing if the other one rotates in the same direction is not a reliable indicator, nor is looking for the S stamp on the diff.  I finally discovered that my diff is an original 2002 40% LSD when I removed the rear cover...I thought it was an open diff for years.  It was just worn out.

 

Also, it would be great if you can add your car to the registry.

 

Thanks

This is great to hear. I have just assumed it was open through the usual test. I guess I'll have to do a burnout and see if I get any 1-tire-fires 🫢. But in all seriousness, I still need to flush the diff oil before any serious driving anyways, so I'll check then.  40% lock is plenty for this car I think. I have a Kaaz 2-way in my AE86, for maximum skids 😉

 

[Tommy]

This is a really nice car, ti in such a desireable color and condition. Glad that it was preserved so well over the years. I wouldn't be too shocked if a ti got a nose with snorkel from the factory.

[ae86guy]

7 minutes ago, Tommy said:

This is a really nice car, ti in such a desireable color and condition. Glad that it was preserved so well over the years. I wouldn't be too shocked if a ti got a nose with snorkel from the factory.

Thank you.

 

Of the three '71 Canadian Ti's sold on BAT, two of them seem to have the snorkel. But who knows what's original and what's not as they seem to all have had varying degrees of restoration done to them 🤷‍♀️

[Tommy]

16 minutes ago, ae86guy said:

Thank you.

 

Of the three '71 Canadian Ti's sold on BAT, two of them seem to have the snorkel. But who knows what's original and what's not as they seem to all have had varying degrees of restoration done to them 🤷‍♀️

Exactly that. Forgot to mention about the Campagnolos you found from the basement, just about the nicest wheels you can have for this car!

[Mike Self]

Lucky you!  Great find--and in such good shape after years of salt country use, followed by 35 years in a carport!  Also interesting to note that those 50 ti's imported to Canada were not US spec cars like the "regular" 2002s--

• no side markers
• tungsten bulb (not sealed beam) headlights
• flat turn signals
• Euro license plate lights and rear license plate holder
• what look like factory sport seats

not how a US spec '71 would have been equipped.  From the pictures you posted, the nose panel looks original:  check the seam where the nose is spot welded to the inner fender--most of the time you can tell if the nose has been replaced due to weld marks, wrinkled metal etc.  Other ti owners should feel free to chime in here as to whether their cars have the snorkel--I'll wager they do, and it wasn't eliminated until the tii's came on line in late '71 as '72 cars.  

 

Be sure and post the VIN; with that we can give you a good idea of where in the ti production run your car was built.  

 

And...welcome to the 02 fraternity/sorority--don't be shy about asking questions--several thousand years of combined experience here, and we're happy to share.

 

cheers

mike

 

PS--many years ago I missed out on a set of identical Campy wheels off a fire-damaged 2002 in a country junkyard in SW Ohio.  Front tires were burned on top (engine room fire) but the wheels were perfect.  $25/wheel but I didn't have the money with me.  Came back two days later...and they were (of course) gone.  Sigh...

I have a set of factory alloys if you're interested in a swap 😁...

[Jam3422]

Most ti's I have seen, including mine, do not have snorkel noses.  Some of the ones that do have confirmed nose swaps.  I believe the snorkel-less noses were introduced with the 1600ti - see the factory photo of the 1600ti engine bay.  Opinions certainly differ, but I'm in the camp of believing that ti's (and tii's) didn't leave the factory with snorkels.  To me, it doesn't really matter, but it's kind of interesting that it's still a point of debate after decades of discussion.