02Anders

Thx for sharing Steve. In my view, US brochures should be divided into two separate categories. 1) General 02 brochures which were translated into different languages - among them American - and distributed all around the globe. 2) US-specific 02 brochures, which were only distributed in the US, and differ from 02 brochures seen elsewhere in the world. In my experience, the easiest telltale is the number plates. If the 02's are wearing German numberplates, then it's a general brochure which has been printed in a wide variety of languages. If however the 02's are wearing a US numberplate, then it's a US-only brochure, and as such the pictured cars will usually also feature all those US-specific details. However there is of course always an exception to every rule, and I believe your first brochure here - the BMW 1600 brochure from III/68 is indeed a US-specific brochure despite the German numberplates. I have never seen a copy of this brochure in Europe. Your second and fourth brochures - dated IV/68 and VIII/68 - are general 02 brochures, as these were available in Europe too. I too believe that your IV/68 brochure is the first 2002 brochure - I have never seen an earlier one, though bizarrely my own copy of that very same brochure is dated III/68. The fact that the 1600ti is included in your VIII/68 brochure is a dead giveaway that it's a European brochure which somehow made its way to your shores. Your third brochure - BMW 1600 / BMW 2002 brochure dated V/68 - is the earliest brochure I have seen thus fare to feature pictures of 02's wearing US numberplates. It is clearly a US-specific brochure. It is annoyingly also a brochure which I lack in my collection! The earliest US-specific 02 brochure I have is a 14-page BMW 1600 / BMW 2002 brochure with a Granada red 02 on the cover, and it's dated X/68. Of course, as we got further into 02 production, it gets easier and easier to recognise the US-specific brochures, as there were more and more differences between Euro and US cars. It all started fairly subtle with slightly larger overriders, and the two-piece dash being introduced 3 years earlier in the US compared to Europe. But by the time the SRL 02's came along, those massive federal bumpers where a rather in-your-face difference, which probably also made the need for US-specific brochures more apparent. Of my 28 different 02 brochures, only five of them are US-specific. The earliest I have already mentioned being dated X/68. The next bizarrely doesn't have a date on it, but various details make me believe it would be from '70. The last three I have are all from the SRL era, being dated 2/74, 1/75 and then 2/75 (despite the last one clearly stating "1976" on the cover). How many other US-specific 02 brochures were there? Surely there must have been some on the second series of 02's from between 04.71 and 08.73...??

Congrats!! Well done Sir...

Stating the obvious - a truly amazing build!! Well done Mark...

But do I really mate...?? I used to own a SRL 2002tii, and in all honesty, of all the 02's that have been through my ownership, it is the one I miss the least! I vastly prefer carbs. I find throttle response is more immediate and low-end torque much more satisfying. Furthermore, I also prefer the sound of a carb - even if it's just a single barrel downdraught. I think I'll stick to my stock 1600, my stock 2002, and my period-modified 2002 with twin 45DCOE's, a 300 degree BMW Motorsport cam and high comp. pistons. No need for Kugelfischer here my friend...

Life is pretty good....

Precisely Toby!! For me, it's not about the money - it's about the cars. I don't care if it doesn't make any financial sense... We only get one shot at this thing called life, and "owning/driving/spannering/polishing/and more" classic cars makes me happy.

Jeeeez... Daniel, you sure do seem quite intent on arguing a point I wasn't even trying to make...?? The second post I made in this thread, was based upon my opinion of the effects that the rapidly rising prices in the classic car market are having on our hobby. I was not trying to define what makes a true enthusiast or what makes an investor - nor that vast grey area in between. I feel that I expressed my views quite clearly and also backed them up with facts. That's of course not to say that you need to agree with me! But I would appreciate if you would refrain from placing words in my mouth. There's really no point in me arguing the point any further. I stand by what I wrote earlier in the thread, and would therefore only end up repeating what I've already written - thus fairly promptly putting to sleep any poor soul who's still mustering the energy to follow this debat... Daniel, can we just agree to disagree?? Preyupy, thx for your sober and sensible reply. You make a very valid point too - it is in fact the one counter argument to my views on this matter, which I honestly don't have much of a comeback to. A vague attempt at a comeback... and I would claim that the rising values of our classic cars, in turn also help workshops justify higher cost of labor and manufacturers justify higher cost of spares. Thus it is to some extent the higher value of a classic car, that also makes it more expensive to restore or even just to maintain. But granted, my argument here is of course not bulletproof! Normal inflation dictates that prices will of course rise on both labor and spare parts since way back when we all bought our very first 02. So yes, there is no denying that the higher prices mean that more 02's - or classics in general for that matter - are being saved. Not just saved, but even resurrected. And that is of course purely a good thing! As with almost everything else in life, there are pro's and con's to this subject too. I thoroughly embrace this positive result of rising classic car prices, but I equally feel that the negatives in this case still outweigh the positives. All of which is of course rather trivial, as there's obviously nothing I can do to change the situation anyway...

I salute you for keeping her auto. The auto's were fairly rare in the first place, and through the years loads of them have been converted to manuals. Not that I blame those who have converted them, as I'm very much a manual-guy myself. But equally, it makes me happy every time I witness an auto being preserved... She looks great too! Granada red is such a lovely colour for the early cars. If it were mine though, I'd sort some new chrome inserts for the front- and rear window rubbers, and find a set of trapezoid door mirrors too. Final touch to make perfect might be a set of wipers in polished stainless steel.

The optimum - considering you've gone for Alpina flares - would obviously be 13" Alpina alloys. But I also recognise that they're more than just a little expensive. In that light, I'd recommend finding a set of 7x13" Ronal Kleeblatts... They'd look proper awesome under those flares...

True Mike. At the same time as BMW had this "ti" steering wheel as a factory option for the 1600ti and the 2002ti, they also offered another wooden steering wheel. However it's an all together different wheel, as the whole center is vastly different and it's also a larger diameter. The "ti" steering wheel is 380mm, while the other steering wheel which was offered as an option on the early E3's, E9's, NK 2000tilux and 2000tii was 400mm. Both steering wheels were produced for BMW by Petri, and as a result, I can - from bitter experience! - confirm that the original lacquer finish of the "ti" steering wheel is just as utterly impossible to remove. as what you experienced on the bigger wooden steering wheel. I btw. had one of those on my Atlantik "70 NK 2000... The more sober and upmarket styling of the bigger wooden steering wheel seems to suit the 6-cylinder big brothers and range-topping NK's, while the more sporty character of the raw metal spoked wheel suits the smaller 02's well. Later I was even lucky enough to find a factory black leather NK interior for the Atlantik NK. Ended up selling the car in late 2011 - wish I hadn't....

Bummer! That's a real shame... Inspired by some older pics of your '68 (before the accident), I was actually planning on getting my Opel Rallye's refurbed, so they could be the next set of wheels I tried out on my Verona '73. Guess I better go through a trial fitting before I pull the trigger on the refurb. Just a bit annoying as there are currently no tyres on my Opel Rallye's. Oh well, guess I'll have something to curse about, while you're cursing about overspray removal...

I couldn't possibly agree more Steve! It' doesn't seem like the best solution. To be honest, despite being the one taking the picture of those light grey cord Recaro S seats in the Turkis 2002tii, I didn't even notice that extra lever. I just figured all 02's with the Recaro's would have the tilt-forward function like on the Tourings with the Sport Paket. @Juan Carlos, apologies for Steve & I going off on a tangent and spamming the heck out of your thread! But I love all those pics in your second post! Great attention to detail during the resto. Certainly a 2002 you can rightfully be very proud of...

Thx! I only ask because I have a set of those Opel Rallye's too, but mine are 6" wide. I'm slightly concerned whether they'll rub anywhere on lock? Enjoy your overspray removal. It's a time consuming hobby...

HaHaHa....!!! You never fail to astonish me Steve... Well spotted! Sadly, I can't help you with an answer on this one. I quite frankly do not know...

Looks great!! Glad to hear you've got her on the road again. You just need to get those upright bonnet-supports behind the grills painted semi-gloss black - for authenticity, make sure you do it rather sloppily with a fairly course paintbrush... Also, can I just ask how wide your Opel Rallye wheels are? I'm guessing 6"....