Hello all, this is my maiden post and apologies in advance for it being a little long.
I'm one of those guys who has been away from 2002s for a few (like 10) years and has now "come home". I just bought myself a '73 roundie, Colorado, matching numbers and in good enough condition and original enough to be worth sorting out and hanging on to.
Have to say, it's great to be back, because I love these cars and because they've featured so heavily in my personal history. A Riviera '70 model was the family car when I was a kid in the '70s (yes, Dad made my brother and I climb in and out of that back seat for a decade 'til he finally got a four door E30 in the 80s). But although the 02 was by then beyond tired Dad didn't sell it -- he and I worked on it together to get it roadworthy enough to be my first car in '88. The addiction got serious in the early 90s when at one time between my brother and my friends we had five 02s in the fleet (and another 6 in the yard as "parts cars"). We built countless engines in our home garage -- turbocharged 'em, did big brakes, rear disc brake conversions, big differentials, etc. etc. And we circuit raced the hell out of them for a few years.
But the one thing we didn't ever do was keep them original -- and that's the route I want to go down now with the "new" '73 (while still driving the crap out of it!). I want to be able to hand this one on to my (now only 4 year old) son.
Anyway, there was nothing like the FAQ community back when I was last into these cars --and I have to say, it's just incredible to experience the knowledge that's shared around this place.
Thanks for indulging me -- I'll keep my future posts short!
Bram.