Just purchased! 1968 BMW 2002 Polaris 99% rust free!

[rustdogbrown]

It needs work: head job, interior, shake-down, tires, repaint. But the important thing is that it is solid and it's mine. It has been ten years since I have owned a 2002. I have had a 1976 and 1974(tii). This is my first roundie.

So the car is a 1968 model year, but it has seats w/o head rests and no side marker lights. This is weird to me because from my experience with british cars 1968 was the first year that head rests and side marker lights were required. Can anyone clear this up? I do not think that it is a euro version.

Anyway, I am excited because it is an early '02 and Polaris silver with virtually no rust.

Regards,

Rusty

[rtheriaque]

Congrats!

I don't have anything technical to add, other than the fact many people "affectionately" refer to their cars as "Rusty." You'd better not let hear anybody call you that in the car, lest it get any ideas or misunderstand your intentions...

[Mike Self]

reflectors--and neither did the '69s built before VIN 1664760... Polaris was one of the two optional metallic colors available in '68 and '69 on USA cars, and in fact the R&T, C&D and other auto magazine road test cars were Polaris. It should have a dark blue interior.

US '68s have a VIN below approx 1662858--they were only in production from approximately Feb '68 to the end of August, when the "first series" '69s began production. So '68s are the lowest production of any year.

Does yours have a 3 digit VIN?

mike

[rogerspeed]

Adding to Mike's comment, the federal law allowed for a phased implementation of the requirements, the British did it all at once, BMW phased it in during the run, see the early R&T (68?) owners survey article, it mentions and has a box with planned dates for "upgrades" many of which are the fed required. Are your seats full recliners or 1600 style 3 position cam adjustable, my experience is, the earlier the front seats, the tighter the backrest (vertical) portions are to each other. My '69 '02 has four reflectors, not illuminated markers.

[rogerspeed]

PS - My 68 1600 has the year "1968" on the vin plate after the model designation, I believe the same was done for the '02 in the year 1968

[eastsidebimmer]

Please report back your VIN number and do tell us if you have the all important embossed hood trim and dogdish hubcaps and trim rings. You should also have a non-ribbed dash parcel tray and all white sun-visors.

Please take and post lots of pictures....

Ben

[bmw1602.com]

how do you know it's rust free? has it been dipped and restored?

congrats!

[Poon]

how do you know it's rust free? has it been dipped and restored?

He said 99% rust free, not 100%. So it only needs the floors, rockers, and shock towers.

[hplug]

Congrats! I have 6 2002s but my favorite by far is my 68 which will come in for a full resto soon. Mine is also 100% rust free as it was purchased new here in New Mexico and never left. Mine is also really original right now. My vin # is 1660257 and it does say bmw 2002 1968 stamped in the plate. I still have the original folding key as well as the near perfect embossed front trim. My sunvisors are two tone not solid white but maybe they were chaged at some point. Anyone know what the earliest 2002 vin number was, and or who has an early one?

[rustdogbrown]

The VIN for my car is 1661063. Don't know about the embossed trim, what kind of embossing should I be looking for?

Okay, Okay...so I can't be sure about the rust free assessment. But I feel pretty good about it. I poked around the car and looked in the usual spots. The floors look good, the rockers look good and the shock towers look good. There are three bubbles at the lower aft corner of the drivers side door. They are cluttered in quarter sized area. Fenders look good; that place on the inside of the fender at the back where mudd collects was clean.

It's not a perfect shell, but it's pretty darn good from what I can tell.

It looks like it has been repainted. I have noticed that the inside of the fender wells is painted black. Also, some of the paint that was pealing off the rockers revealed similar black paint underneath. Could it be a corrosion protectant? Is this factory?

I am told that it was a California car until 2004 when it was brought up here to washington. It's been sitting in someones backyard for the last two years.

A local guy who does 2002 restorations told me that the early 1600's and 2002's had better protection against rust. Can anyone back that up?

Anyway, it's been awhile since I have wrenched on an '02, but I am sure that it will all come back to me.

thanks for the information(and even the opinions, I guess)

Rusty

[rustdogbrown]

the VIN is 1661063.

don't think I have the embossed trim.

The rust is minimal (especially for it's age)

not perfect, but good for the price I paid.

oh yeah, no original front grill.

the motor's not original.

the hubcaps look like typical roundie caps.

Rusty

[eastsidebimmer]

the VIN is 1661063.

don't think I have the embossed trim.

The rust is minimal (especially for it's age)

not perfect, but good for the price I paid.

oh yeah, no original front grill.

the motor's not original.

the hubcaps look like typical roundie caps.

Rusty

So, you are 187 cars away from mine (born May 17, 1968) so your car is probably a few weeks older. BMW mobile tradition will email you the stats...search the site for the email addy for the guy who does it. Your car should look like the one pictured below. (note the beltline trim)

Ben

[Mike Self]

The black paint you found on rockers and inside wheel wells was not factory. Those areas should be body color. Rockers weren't painted black until the squarelights came out in 1974.

The early cars had very poor rust protection in critical areas--virtually none. I bought my '69 new and had rust bubbles on the front fenders' trailing edges when the car was less than two years old. Bottoms of the doors were gone in five years. This was of course in Ohio winters. Oddly enough the floors themselves never rusted at all, except where a leaking master cylinder rusted out the drivers side frame rail. Spare tire well did OK too--just a few small rust holes.

The lowest VIN number I've seen on a US 2002 is 1660495--that was "Crusty"--pulled out of a Georga field and driven to Ofest in 2002. Anyone know of a lower number?

mike

[hplug]

Yes mine is lower 1660257. Any lower out there?

[BarryA]

--and neither did the '69s built before VIN 1664760... mike

as you may recall, my original paint/interior '69 Chamonix sunroof (1664730) DOES have both side markers and headrest seats - may have something to do with the fact that it was ordered as a tourist delivery car for pick up at the factory in Feb '69.

Production info on this car is a bit muddled - every part date stamp I've found except one (right side tail light bulb housing) has been from either November or early December of '68, but Mobile Tradition insists the production date is in late January of '69.