02Anders

30 years of ownership creates a rather special bond... ?

Thx mate. ? A rare wood-rimmed Petri as was optional on the 1600ti and 2002ti. I was lucky to purchase this many years ago and paid very little for it. Had it restored a few years back and love it to bits. I feel it brings some warmth and elegance into the otherwise rather sober and teutonic 02 cabin…

HAPPY B-DAY!! ?

Whooooaar... it's been way too long since I shared a pic in here, so here we go: a few recent ones from local drives this summer...

Truly gorgeous! Proof that a SRL with US bumpers can indeed look great...

Yup, great pics both on IG and here... ?

Thx @halboyles for sharing the latest BMW Classic video. ? Needless to say, I'm well and truly thrilled with my beloved little NullZwei having a supporting role in the this video. So proud of her... ? @SydneyTii, despite having more than 20 sets of period 13" alloys stashed away, it's always the FPS I keep coming back to. They're just so right! @resra, that's precisely how I've felt for the past 29 years with my little red 02... ?

Lots and lots of eyecandy there! Thx for sharing. That 315/1 is just beyond fantastic! The 507 is pretty special too. I see Lisa was there with her Derby - for a second I thought it might have been my old '66... ? The Ceylon til is certainly lovely too.

Sorry, but you've totally missed the point. I owned this hugely original '66 for four years. In that time, I took here on three major roadtrips - the biggest of which covered more than 2300 miles in a week. I would also regularly take her out for a weekend blast down a twisty backroad in the Peak District. The car was 1) hugely reliable and 2) hugely entertaining. The small 1.6-litre is actually more rev happy than a stock 2-litre. The car is also lighter than later 02s. The brakes easily modulated and very direct. The suspension forgiving and communicative. Obviously, you're not going to be winning races in a stock 1600-2, but it was always a blast to drive and it delivered smiles per mile like any other 02. I've always been the guy who drives and uses his classic cars on every given occasion, and frankly, I'd always choose another stock 1600-2 over some frankenstein 02 with big power and zero suspension travel... But each to their own of course... ? Good man... ?

Shawn, early 02s had different hinges for the bootlid. So it's not just the plastic caps, but the entire hinge. This isn't just a '66 thing though. Can't quite recall how long it was like this, but certainly into '68 - maybe even '69. I'm sure Steve, , Mike, Slavs or one of the other pro's will correct me here... ?

Thx Steve. These early cars deserve way more credit than they get. And I genuinely don't understand why that is? Try rocking up at a Porsche meet in a first-year swb 911 and the entire place will grind to a halt as everybody drools uncontrollably. How about a flat-floor E-type at a Jaguar meet - that's right, same story. And then try a '66 BMW 1600-2 at a BMW meet, and the vast majority will simply moan about it not having fuel injection, limited-slip diff, coil-overs and the biggest arb's on the northern hemisphere. REALLY...?? ? Anyway, I'm thoroughly pleased that there seems to be a slow shift in attitude and appreciation of these early 02s. The price AMY achieved in this auction is proof. But there is still more work to be done... ?

@MikeD - There's a thread going here: https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/279541-worlds-best-preserved-66-now-on-bat/

Wish I could have been bidding rather than just providing the commentary... ?

You did well. Sorry you didn't land it...

Whooooaar... that was exciting!! Sold for $ 53,500 Surely, a new record for non til/turbo 02s...??

@Slavs - Thx for your flattering words. I did indeed go to great lengths in order to preserve this early 1600-2 as best possible. But of course it's always a balance. You are entirely correct about the upholstery being original. Amazingly, the cloth, vinyl and padding of the seats are all factory original - that's a full 55 years old! Yet it's flawless... The early Perlon carpets are also factory original. And yes, I put two new engine mounts on the 1600-2 as I wanted to be able to drive it. And yes, I opted for the new style of engine mounts. I did however place the two old engine mounts in the boot before handing over the car to the next owner. So the original and correct engine mounts (albeit in a rather tired state) should still be with the car... ?

I must say, you've done really, really well on this one. The resurrection came out a treat... ?

As exciting as it is buying a 'new' classic car, nothing beats owning one for decades. It becomes an unbreakable bond based on mutual drives, memories and experiences... Oh, and trust you me! - I too will be watching as the auction on my old '66 comes to an end...

HaHaHa... you can always trust Steve to catch such a detail... ? But you are of course entirely right. 12th May 1966 for the engine block. Interestingly, it would be more than three months before the car was produced...

Steve, the fascinating thing is, when this car was 50 years old, I also did quite a few roadtrips in her. First from Northern Sweden to Denmark. Next major trip was from Denmark to the UK. And finally, there was our participation in the Bavaria Tour 2016 where I added more than 2300 miles in a week. Much like your experience, this simplest of little 02s just soldiered on and made every covered mile a pure pleasure. What a car!! ? Thx Mike! That genuinely means a lot coming from you... ? Quite a common aftermarket addition in northern Sweden and Norway. It's obviously not OEM, but I figured it had been installed in the car for the vast majority of the cars life, so I decided it needed to stay as it's of course become part of the cars history and identity. Thx buddy! ? Just for the record, my Verona red 2002 is nowhere near as unmolested, unique and historically important as the Derby grey 1600-2 is. But having owned the 2002 for all of 29 years and with it being the first car I ever bought, there's a massive affectionate value to me which no other car will ever be able to match. But from a collector's point of view, the 1600-2 is in a very different league...

Well, if the sale of this one can justify the resurrection of your '66, then that's surely a win-win...

To be honest, where I used to frequent the good old BaT quite regularly, I don't really bother with the current BaT. It traded its charm and integrity for $$$$... But when your old car pops up on BaT, I guess it's only natural to take notice... I hope you're right Steve...

Well, it appears my old Derby grey '66 BMW 1600-2 is looking for a new owner again... I'm sure you guys have already seen it, but here's the link nonetheless: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-bmw-1600-2/ I still absolutely adore this little sweetheart! Probably the car I most regret selling, and if there was anyway I could possibly buy it back... I would! Sadly, that's not going to happen right now. Will be interesting to see where the bidding goes. And not least, who the next owner becomes. Of course, there are still plenty of people who will only ever consider a 2002tii. If it doesn't have Kugelfischer, it's barely worth looking at. I clearly don't subscribe to that line of thought, but what do you guys think? Is this 1600-2 worth tii money or not? And why?

Gents, once again thank you for all your input. ? I'll try to answer the various questions - pardon if I miss one or two... - Yes, I primed the 1 bbl Solex straight into the barrel. - Yes, I did replace the lid on the air filter house before turning the ignition key. - Yes, the vent pipe between valve cover and air filter house is entirely clear. Admitted, I did not think of checking this before I turned the engine, but I checked afterwards and there's no restriction here. - The oil filler cap which made a break for freedom only to be held back by the garage ceiling, now doesn't have the required tension to seal properly. The two tabs are slightly bent. - Much as I'm always very careful when priming the carb like this, in hindsight, there's probably no point in denying that on this occasion, I clearly overprimed... ? - That said, I'm still hugely surprised about the result! Moving forward, I sadly won't have time to do anything about it during the week. But hopefully next weekend, I'll treat her to an oil change and drop by my lock-up and fish out another oil filler cap. At the very least, I'll at least check all four spark plugs. Then I guess I'll try cranking her over again. And @Mike Self thx for the tip on priming straight into the float chamber. Top Tip... ? I'll definitely use this method from now on...