My 76.

[MauiBob]

The first time I was aware the 2002 existed was in 75, I was 15 years old.  I was hitch-hiking down to stamford from Pound Ridge.  Camped out there the night before, my dad worked in Stamford for FD Rich Construction. A Blue 72 Tii stopped, a small german business man in a suit stopped for me, proceeded to redline the thing on every shift.  I said "Wow! what kind of car is this?"  It is a bmw 2002 Tii! I was hooked.  That was 48 years ago.

 

By 11th grade I had a 69 1600, then a fantastic 1970, silver, 5-speed, that I wrecked.  Skip to 83, I'm a chef now, cooking on Block Island,  St Thomas in the winters.... tried to buy a white alpina from some old texan in st thomas named Bunker Wyatt I think...could not raise the $3500... Then that summer on Block Island, I bought the 76 I still have.   Drove it to San Fran in 88 after putting a metric mechanic sport head on it, headercraft headers( in the parking lot of my moms town home in Norwalk, Ct.)

Went to "Drivers Education" At Lime rock twice, once had Yale Rachlin (sp?) coach me around the chicane....

 

Moved to Maui in 88, shipped it here.  Two years later I stripped in to the metal glass out changed the color.  I was young and dumb, did not cut out the rusty rockers.  Hit a burm with a front wheel, bent the subframe!  put on new subframe all new front end and a Metric Mechanic ultimate 4speed.... then SK racing side drafts and made a custom koa wood console.

Then tucked it in a very clean dry garage.

 

Now I'm super excited about it again, the money was spent decades ago, when Bimmer parts was in business as well as Miller and Norburn.  I recall the front fenders, GERMAN, were $70!  Gaskets from Illuminesince group.

 

I took the carbs apart, put them in ultrasonic cleaner, got a 123 distributor and did some fun stuff to the gauges and dash.

 

Having dark uneasy thoughts about bumper swap to the old.... Right now I'm having shit fits with alternator upgrade wiring.

Effing Blue wire etc.

 

Dang brake booster bumps my cool Corsa Velocita horn, Tii ones are stupid expensive and not sure about the booster delete.  Open to advice/heckling etc!

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by MauiBob

[Dave919]

Very pretty car. Pics  of the interior and Kona console?

[jimk]

My car US POE was Honolulu 1-72 and there until 8-74.

[John76]

12 hours ago, MauiBob said:

Right now I'm having shit fits with alternator upgrade wiring.

Your alternator ground wire to the top of the valve cover is not ideal.

Make it shorter and bolt directly to the block.

All blue wire harnesses can be deleted. Just make sure you have a wire from the unfused side of fuse #12 to the coil +.

Happy Holidays,

John

[Mike Self]

Great story from a long time owner/fancier/caretaker!  I remember those $70 fenders (my '69 is on its third set of front fenders), and went to college with Russ Norburn.  Took a few wild and crazy rides with him through the Duke Forest along NC 751 back in the day.  

 

Suggest you put a plastic tray under your trunk mounted battery so you will absolutely prevent the rust that Billyj described/pictured on his car, a few posts down.  And yeah, I know it's an Optima battery but battery acid is still battery acid...

 

mike

 

PS on my last trip to Hawaii some years ago I brought back a nice Koa wood billet, and have turned shift knobs from the wood.  Very pretty stuff.

[jimk]

3 hours ago, Mike Self said:

PS on my last trip to Hawaii some years ago I brought back a nice Koa wood billet

Koa wood was scarce when I left, I have a set of koa wood bowls Hawaiian carved.  Most were carved in the Phllippines when I left many years ago, labor was less expensive there.

[Dave919]

17 hours ago, Mike Self said:

 Took a few wild and crazy rides with him through the Duke Forest along NC 751 back in the day.  

 

 

You have to get a bit farther out into the country now 😉 

[MauiBob]

On 12/25/2023 at 8:05 AM, John76 said:

Your alternator ground wire to the top of the valve cover is not ideal.

Make it shorter and bolt directly to the block.

All blue wire harnesses can be deleted. Just make sure you have a wire from the unfused side of fuse #12 to the coil +.

Happy Holidays,

John

 

Thanks John, the alternator is grounded to the block-off plate, the ground strap is one of three block to engine.

 

The trouble I've had is with  the exciter wire...I re-did gauge cluster and may have had the bulb twisted, not energizing  the blue wire....

[Son of Marty]

Is the bulb a led? to complete the circuit requires a incandescent bulb.

[slowbert]

43 minutes ago, MauiBob said:

ground strap is one of three block to engine

Try to avoid this practice, as it could introduce ground loops. Best practice is to run everything to a single point and use one connection only between items. 

[MauiBob]

11 minutes ago, Son of Marty said:

Is the bulb a led? to complete the circuit requires a incandescent bulb.

No, The factory bulb. Completes circuit and creates resistance.

[MauiBob]

6 minutes ago, slowbert said:

Try to avoid this practice, as it could introduce ground loops. Best practice is to run everything to a single point and use one connection only between items. 

Ok to be more clear I have a bus bar mounted in the old battery location (on a stack of black plastic cutting boards cut to fit) big gauge wire to block by starter, and a thick factory strap off neg bus to body, and the second from coil side to valve cover, and alt grounded to block off plate.  Battery in trunk with only the plus lead ( big fuse) going up to pos bus bar then to acc positive and alternator. 

The battery neg in trunk to car body by shock tower.

Charges and runs great, cool? Safe?

[MauiBob]

On 12/25/2023 at 2:24 AM, Dave919 said:

Very pretty car. Pics  of the interior and Kona console?

 

Koa wood!  I'm looking for a piece of Koa plywood to replace the wood I put on rear deck for the speakers....in 85!

 

Recently put the gauge trim rings from the guy in Poland on after taking cluster out cleaning every thing and adding white gauge overlay and carbon sticker of the fake wood, I really like it!

[slowbert]

Maybe it is more of a style question, but I would run a ground strap/cable to a location out of the way and kind of hidden. Yes, hard to install but you don’t have to look at it. 
 

I don’t have a picture handy, but I ran mine to a bolt on the bracket under the intake manifold. 
 

As opposed to the valve cover where you might forget to reattach it (and it is not as aesthetically pleasing). One big fat strap/cable with good ground connections on both sides and you are good. Use star washers for a good connection, too.