02Anders

Thx Gents! @Son of Marty, I was originally planning to restore the wooden rim myself, but in the end opted against it only because I came across a guy who seemed to know what he was doing, yet still had what I found to be very sensible pricing. Now I'm really happy I went with him, because to be quite honest, I would have never managed the same quality finish myself...

Ed & Jim, the seats are the same as those BMW used with the Sport Paket which could only be ordered for the Touring. But while the full Sport Paket was not an option for the 'normal' 02, you could still order the same Recaro S seats as a stand-alone factory option. The only difference was that the Recaro S seats got white piping when they were part of the Sport Paket, which they did not when ordered for the 'normal' 02. Here's the Recaro S seat as part of the Sport Paket on a 2000tii Touring: And here's the same Recaro S seat in a 2002tii: A small and useless anecdote - I took both these pictures at the Bavaria Tour 2011.

I've had a rare wooden "ti" steering wheel lying on the shelf for ages, but this winter I finally got around to doing something about it! The lacquer was all cracked and starting to peel, so I had it professionally refurbished. Both the tone of the wood and the gloss were matched to a wooden gearknob which had equally been sitting on the shelf for a fair while. Luckily the three little metal clips that sit at the end of each spoke were still present on my steering wheel, as they seem to often go missing and they've been NLA forever. And today was the big day!! After 20 years or so with a Petri sports steering wheel in my NullZwei, it was time for a change. Out came the wheel along with the leather gearknob, and for the first time in my NullZwei's 44 year life, she suddenly had a wooden steering wheel and gearknob. My anticipation was huge, and I must say I'm rather pleased with the result... It's really quite amazing just how much it has changed the ambience of the whole interior. Not near as teutonic anymore. The subsequent drive was a real pleasure - not just because of how good the "ti" steering wheel looks, but it also just felt right in my hands...

What a beauty!! I've always been a massive fan of Taiga Green. Such a great colour... And those OEM Recaro seats are just pure and undiluted automotive porn! Sadly they've all been snapped up by the Porsche crowd, as the longhood 911's used the same Recaro S seats. If only I could afford a set for my Verona '73... Very well executed restoration, and glad to see you get out and drive her proper on the road as well. That many years with the same car will always create a special bond...

We had a smidgen above 20 degrees (that's celsius of course - so around 68 or 69 fahrenheit) in the High Peak today, and clear blue skies to boot! How could I not go for a cruise through the hills...??

Progressing nicely mate! I hope you get her back on the road soon, so we can go for a blast through Peak District together again...

Hi Daniel, You seem to have taken some offence to my writing. I do apologise. I can assure you, that you of all people were certainly NOT the target of my opinions... But you suggest that I should have written: However, let me point out that I did not write those words - you did. And the reason I didn't write those words, is because that is no where near to my view on the subject. If you could be bothered, can I ask you to please go back and re-read my little rant. You'll notice that not once do I divide people in to groups based on their financial means. Not once do I say that you can't be wealthy - or stinking rich for that matter - and still be a true classic car enthusiast. Of course you can! Several of my classic car buddies have financially managed significantly better than I have, and hence have more expensive toys too. But I most certainly do not view them as lesser enthusiasts because of that! Daniel, while I haven't had the chance to meet you out there in that weird thing we call the real world, the impression you leave here on the forum is definitely that of a pure and true enthusiast! No doubt about it... I do not judge people on the amount of money they have - or don't have for that matter. Instead I try to judge them on their actions. If someones actions are that of an enthusiast, then they're in my good book - regardless of how well off they are. But if someones actions concerning classic cars are purely that of an investor, well, then they're sadly going to end up in my bad book. I maintain, that those people who are into classic cars purely to make a quick profit, are not doing our hobby any good. Surely Daniel, you too have come across those guys. That can equally be someone with very small financial means trying to buy cheap old wrecks and flip them without putting any effort whatsoever into the car, purely to make a quick buck on some enthusiast. Or it can be a wealthy investor, whose only reason to be in the classic car game is because he sees a financial opportunity there. Yes, it's a free market, and both those individuals obviously have their right to do so. But I equally have a right to feel that it's not doing our hobby any good. Daniel, by all means feel free to disagree with me. But if you do so, please disagree with what I have actually written, and not what you perceive might or might not ly behind my written word. And if you in fact still disagree with me, I would be genuinely interested to hear your view upon those six points I put forward, explaining how I feel these rapidly increasing market prices are effecting our hobby in a negative way. Differing opinions are always interesting! If you see a positive effect as a result of one or more of those six points, I would be intrigued to hear it...

Oh, and I should perhaps clarify... I was in my previous post here, in no way trying to imply that all our 02's need to be picture-perfect OEM representations. I currently own three 02's, and while one on them probably comes pretty damned close to being that good, my two others most definitely are not. And that's fine! At the end of the day, it's only important that we have a bit of fun with our beloved little 02's. We need to drive them, mess about with them in the garage, and more than anything enjoy the social enthusiast community to which they are en entry ticket. Luckily that can be achieved equally well with a rough or a decent 02, as it can with a perfect 02. My point with regard to the Turbo was, that if you're going to ask that kind of money for a product, you really need to make sure that what you're selling is above and beyond. Not just a decent example... Preyupy, I'm not too sure that I can agree with you here. In my opinion, everyone that bothers to be on this forum, actually "have some skin in the game". Simply because this is our hobby! And sadly our hobby is currently changing rather rapidly - largely due to investors who are much more concerned about making money, than they are about enjoying a classic old car. But the enthusiasts got here first!! Just like many others on this forum, I bought my first 02 when it was just a cheap 19 year old car, which very few people really cared for. It most certainly wasn't a collectors item, nor did very many people even consider that I would ever potentially become such a thing. But that didn't matter to us. We bought these old 02's because we liked to drive them! It wasn't about the money or even about the show-off-effect, because there quite frankly wasn't any. Only much later, did the investors get in on the game, and their hunger for a quick profit is sadly driving many of those original enthusiasts out of the hobby that they so love. Let's analyse what happens when prices are sharply driven up on classic cars.... 1) Many (real) enthusiasts will suddenly no longer be able to afford their dream classic car. As an enthusiast, I think that's rather sad. Besides my profound love for 02's, I have a confession to make... I have always - since I was but a small boy - dreamt of owning a Alfa Romeo Montreal. Some 10 years ago, it actually seemed just about achievable. I wasn't that far off. But prices have skyrocketed quicker than I have been able to save up. I have now had to accept that a Montreal will forever only be a dream. 2) Even those that luckily already have one or more classics in their garage, will suddenly struggle to justify keeping their pride and joy. It hasn't gotten quite that bad with 02's yet, but for arguments sake, let's just say I had bought something like a longhood 911 or an early flatfloor E-type some 25 - 30 years ago for peanuts. Well with the current value of those cars, even if I had originally bought the car for next to nothing, I couldn't possibly justify to my family having so much equity placed in a toy that I kept in the garage! I would be forced to sell it, so all those funds could go towards other things such as the mortgage or university for the kids. Needless to say, all of those concerns wouldn't be an issue, if my (imaginary) longhood 911 or flatfloor E-type was still only of any interest to a small group of hardcore enthusiasts and thus only worth peanuts. 3) As values on our classic cars skyrocket, the manufacturers of the spare parts we require to keep our cars going, will also charge more and more for the same spare part. It happened with 911 parts some 10 years ago, and 02 spares have equally taken quite a hike up in price in recent years. Bizarrely the quality of those spares seems to have generally gone down at the same time the prices went up...?? 4) As values on our classic cars skyrocket, sadly very professional and targeted thefts are also becoming more and more common! 5) As a direct result of 3 and 4 happening, insurance premiums for our classic cars are rising, and will naturally (from an insurance companies point of view) have to continue to do so. 6) Regardless how much of an enthusiast we claim to be, can we even justify continuing to drive our classic cars?? Again, this is perhaps not an issue for the average 02 owner just yet. But let's go back to the longhood 911 or flatfloor E-type. If I actually owned one of those, I sincerely hope that regardless of value, I would continue to enjoy my classic car on long and spirited cross-country roadtrips. That is after all where I have always found the greatest joy in classic car ownership. And driving your classic car cross-country in all weather and/or through dense traffic and/or parking it up outside a motel on your travels, has never been an issue when the car is worth $ 10k. But would you start to worry about it if your classic car was suddenly worth $ 50k?? Or how about $ 100k?? Damn it NO, I'm not going to let it spoil my fun - I would still drive my beloved classic car!! Okay, how about $ 500k then?? Uhmmmm.... yeah, I would worry! And I'm not sure I would be able to enjoy those spirited cross-country trips as much. So please explain to me how you feel "we have absolutely no skin in the game"?? Please explain to me how rising prices are possibly a good thing for the proper hardcore classic car enthusiast?? Personally, I would be a very happy man, if good 2002's would forever remain $ 10k cars. A factory Turbo could be $20k. A Montreal, longhood 911 and flatfloor E-type could perhaps be $ 30k. And the world would no doubt be a better place....

Pure and undiluted automotive porn....!! She looks utterly delicious Mark. Keep up the amazing work on this landmark racing 02...

They want HOW much....??? Regardless how perfect this Turbo was, that would still be a rather hefty price to ask. But when I from one picture alone can spot a whopping FOUR faults on the car, then the price is no longer just hefty - it's utterly ridiculous!! Steve, it's not just the upright hood supports behind the grill that fail by not being brushed semi-gloss black. At least that's a fairly simple thing to put right. But on the same pic it's also painfully obvious that who ever restored this Turbo really didn't know a whole lot about 02's. The top seem between the front outer panel and the front wings should of course have been lead-loaded so as to be totally smooth. To put this right now would involve painting, with which you would either have to fully respray the Turbo again, or risk getting a slight tone difference in the Chamonix paintwork. Furthermore, the front roundel is a modern plastic one rather than one of the correct metal items with raised letters. And then there's also the small cap that's missing from the hole in the front spoiler through which you can screw in the tow hook - these seem to always be missing on Turbo's. Last but not least, looking at the other pictures the Turbo is also wearing the flag door mirrors, but if it's really a '74 as advertised it should have the trapezoid door mirrors. Now is it just me that feels this asking price is rather iffy, when I can find five faults from only three rather superficial pictures?? Just imagine how many faults we could potentially find during an in-the-flesh inspection...!! If ever a 2002 Turbo should cost this much (and I personally doubt that it should...), I would most certainly expect it to be presented a whooooole lot better than this example.

They do look rather scrumptious!! Seeing as us European 02-enthusiasts usually aren't too enlightened when it comes Hardy & Beck, please educate me a little... I take it they are 15" is that correct? Or did H&B also provide other sizes for 02's?

Love these early ads! So fabulously politically incorrect...

Sorry, I won't be of much help as I've honestly never heard of a Tornado steering wheel before. But first clue could be to find out whether it fits a MoMo boss or a Nardi boss. Hmmm... or maybe neither...? Also, what diameter is the steering wheel? Further to that, just in case you are looking to sell, I would certainly be interested. Either way, best of luck in finding more info about your Tornado. I'm sure someone on here will have that knowledge tucked away and be ready to share...

See, I knew someone more knowledgable than me would put me right... in Europe we kept the 3-piece dash until the series 2 cars were introduced 04.71, and the 2-spoke steering wheel was kept up through most of '68.

If you want to beat the shit out of your engine (not to mention the rest of the drivetrain...), then do it on a racetrack, hillclimb or similar. 1) it's legal and 2) it's sooooooo much more fun!!

It's another of those US-market oddities.... All you need to do is source a Euro-market short center console. You see in Europe (well, really the rest of the world outside of the US...) all first series 02's up to 04.71 had the early 3-piece dashboard with the lower chrome trim. And with that, they of course also all had the smaller of the short center consoles to suit the dashboard. It was only in the US that the later series 1 cars received the 2-piece dashboard, and therefore they received an oddity of a short center console which the rest of the 02-world never saw. Of course, if you insist on looking only within the US for a suitable center console, then you need to find one from a 02 which was delivered with the early 3-piece dashboard. I'm not a pro on the US-specific details on 02's, but I believe that change happened late in '69 or something like that?? I'm sure Conserv or someone else more knowledgable than me will soon correct me on that last US-specific detail...

Love those early Alberts three-piece alloys! Simply stunning. Wish I could afford a set for my hillclimb 02...

One thing is the price you ask. Another thing is the price you achieve.

Hi George, Depends really upon how much you need the rear seats? If you have people sitting there regularly, then I'd advise against installing a roll cage.

Hi Mike, No apologies needed. I remember your NK - was a Turf 1800 I think?? But from memory you sold it fairly recently didn't you?? Looking forward to seeing your 1600-2 project. Sounds like you're a man with a plan! Nice spec you've laid out for it... Granada is a great colour too. The Mid America 02 Fest would be awesome to visit! Work gets me to NY, Boston, Orlando, Vegas, LA and SF every so often, but sadly no where near Arkansas. Still, I might look into making the trip in private some day...

Thx Mike! Love the first of those three pics!! My '66, myself and my two bestest carbuddies. For me, that just sums up all that is good here in life... Just to clarify though, the 02forum is not my website. Not even close! It's just The '66 Bible that I've compiled - and even that has only happened with a lot of help from other '66 owners. But I'm really glad it's been of use to you. Have you got a thread going on your 1600-2? I would love to learn more about your early 02...

Mmmmmmmm... tachoporn!! I've got this pic on my laptop. And also note that this is a factory early 240 km/h speedo! Very rare...

Thx Mike! I'll definitely have a look at that, as I'll probably hand in my Campag's for a pro refurb during this spring...

If only I had the cash to drop this beast into my Agave green Historic Hillclimb racer... That would just be beyond awesome!!