Conserv

I love Blunt, but after my original radiator’s upper tank started leaking through pinholes everywhere — the radiator had a 4-year-old three-row core — I switched to the Walloth & Nesch heavy-duty (not turbo) radiator, and I believe that is an improvement over my three-row re-core. Regards, Steve

We worship at your feet, Les! You the Man! Best regards, Steve

Great! The fact that it is a tii might draw a bit more attention. Granatrot metallic becoming Verona might also trigger some memories: two memorable colors. Post some photos, even if it’s not pretty! Regards, Steve

Very cool. I just love period ‘02 photos! I’m guessing your car is a 1970 or 1971, manufactured after December 1969 and before April 1971? It looks great! Regards, Steve

Whew! That’s going to be a hard nut to crack! Not even a remnant of an old Quaker State oil-change sticker on the driver’s door jamb? My ‘73 had two stamped service plates soldered to the upper radiator tank (below). This was a common practice in the days of metal radiators. Both plates were traceable to L.A.-area radiator shops. How’s the rust situation? If it’s really low rust, you could do VIN searches in New Mexico, Arizona, and California — just in case! I would then: 1. Send both VIN’s (the chassis/engine VIN and the steering column VIN) to BMW Group Archives and request their data on the two cars. Your email should go to info.grouparchiv@bmwgroup.com . 2. When you get back their response, I’d publish it here in this forum, placing the models, years, and VIN’s in the title, as in “Looking for info on 197x 2002 (VIN 2xxxxx) and 197x 2002 (VIN 2xxxxxx)” 3. I’d enter both cars into this forum’s Registry, just in case someone finds an original service booklet or Owner’s handbook and takes a look in the Registry to find a current owner. Admittedly, the steering column VIN is a long shot when it comes to finding info about your car, but why not follow every last clue you have — you have very few? Regards, Steve

Fabulous summary! It shows me all I missed! Thanks for documenting and sharing. With these photos and descriptions, I can probably answer “Hell yeah” to the “Were you there? I didn’t see you!” question.... ? Steve

Does the car have any license plates, inspection stickers, service stickers, bumper stickers, window stickers? Is there a title? If so, what state is it from? In what state did you pick up the car? Regards, Steve

Have you Googled his name, along with the state and/or city where you think he may have lived? Do you know in what state your ‘02 was registered when this fellow owned it? In some states, you can request a registration history by VIN, and these sometimes show owners and addresses. Regards, Steve

For turbos only, if I recall, Art? But requiring additional combustion chamber modifications before it could go on a turbo.... Huh? Best regards, Steve

JR, Here’s my take on ‘02 emissions, based on a range of ‘02’s and 45 years of experience: 1967 1600-2, 1970 2002, 1973 2002tii, and 1976 2002. Beginning in 1968, the U.S. began imposing emissions regulations that increased, generally, each year. It started largely with air pumps, in 1968 — which consumed some measurable, albeit small, amount of horsepower — but, thereafter, became exercises in tuning engines for optimal emissions, and not for optimal power. The U.S.-spec exhaust manifolds, at least for the carbed cars, had air injection ports from the introduction of the air pump onward, so exhaust manifolds did not generally become more restrictive with time (I don’t know enough about the 1975 thermal reactor exhaust manifolds to comment on them). Further, a perception that U.S. buyers, at least for the carbed models, would be turned off by the need for premium fuel, kept BMW from compensating for the U.S. tuning losses with higher compression. These tuning “refinements”, e.g., vacuum retard distributors, indeed, took a toll on power. How much power was lost on U.S.-spec ‘02’s from 1968 to 1976? I’d guess 5% or less. And 49-state 1976 cars (which is to say, most 1976 cars) acquired the cleaner burning E21 head, which allowed BMW to eliminate the thermal reactor exhaust manifolds seen on 1975 cars and the vacuum retard distributors seen on 1974 and 1975 cars. I’d thus view the power degradation on U.S.-spec ‘02’s as a gently-sloping downward ramp from 1968 to 1975, with some minor power recovery in 1976 (excepting 1976 California versions, which were identical power-wise to all 1975 ‘02’s). At no point did ‘02 power fall off a cliff. Rather, it was nibbled away, year after year, by the increasing emissions standards. I still run full original emissions equipment on my 1976 49-state version, not because I need to but because I want to maintain the car — I’m the original owner — in a largely stock state. I’ll freely admit, however, that the car is no longer tuned for optimal emissions. It’s tuned for power and smoothness. Regards, Steve

Oh, I see, Les! It was a British thing, passing off 2-door sedans as coupes...??? Best regards, Steve

Without even knowing what the “coupe emblem” is, I’m going to guess “None!” Photos help. The first photo below shows the rear panel of a 1966 model 1600-2. The second through fourth photos below show the rear panels of 1967 model 1600-2’s. Regards, Steve

In the vicinity of the casting date, you will find the head’s identification, e.g., 118, 121, 121TI, E12, E21. A 1974 engine originally came with an E12 head. 121 and 121TI heads were phased out in the approximately the spring of 1972, but replacement 121 heads were cast into the 1980’s, perhaps even later. A casting date alone does not identify the head; you also need the head type. Below is the April 1976 original head, an E21, from my ‘76, illustrating an example of head type markings. Regards, Steve

Yes, Larry, Everything, regardless of market (U.S. or Euro), regardless of sub-model (1802, 2002, 2002tii, etc.), had traps from April 1971 until the flag mirror was introduced ca. October 1974. I don’t have a good date for the introduction of the flag mirror: it could have been September 1974, it could have been November 1974. In June 1974, the flag mirror was but a twinkle in the eye of some BMW engineer or designer....? Regards, Steve

Could it be a different part for a car with a long-neck differential, and, hence, a rear subframe designed for the long-neck differential? I realize the mounting points were not changed. The long-neck differentials and subframes were replaced by the short-neck differentials and subframes in late January 1969 (beginning with 2002, VIN 1664761). I don’t know anything about this: I’m just guessing...? Regards, Steve

The flag mirror was introduced at the end of the 1974 calendar year. The U.S. 1974 model year ran, generally, from September 1973 through August 1974. Thus, with very few exceptions (i.e., some U.S.-spec 1974 tii’s manufactured after August 1974), 1974 model ‘02’s had no choice but trapezoid mirrors. Regards, Steve

Yep! Best regards, Steve

After I insisted on a right-hand mirror for my new ‘76, my father — no dummy — asked “What do you need that for?” Anticipating he’d respond to any practical response with a “I’ve done fine without one”, I simply responded “Symmetry!”. He had no response! ? Below: symmetry as of April 1977 and as of August 2018. Best regards, Steve

Alpina in those days was not a "manufacturer" as they are today. They were a BMW dealer and a "tuner". So you could buy any BMW through Alpina and order whatever you wanted done to the car. In the instance of this 2000tii touring, the factory options included: Tinted glass DM 266 Sunroof DM 470 Black interior DM 95 Silver paint DM 442 Five speed DM 897 Note: an '02 "five speed" was strictly a close-ratio unit, not an overdrive unit. Then Alpina layered on their options/modifications. Regards, Steve

No '02's came from the factory with dual outside rear view mirrors. Cars were shipped with one driver-side outside mirror (standard) and the mirror was installed by the delivering dealer. A second outside mirror was actually relatively rare in the 1960's, but U.S.-manufactured cars starting acquiring them in the 1970's. You could, if you wished -- and I wished at the time I bought my '76 new -- have the dealer add a second outside mirror, as a dealer accessory. My obsession with having a second outside mirror on my '76 was unusual in 1976! My impression is that very few people added a second outside mirror to U.S. '02's during the '02 era. As dual outside mirrors became the norm on all cars, however, '02 owners -- often long after the car left the factory -- added second mirrors, often simultaneously moving to flag mirrors, whether their cars were post-1974 or not. Dual flag mirrors represented a big improvement over a single swan's neck, trapezoid, or flag mirror! So, add a second mirror to your tii if you wish; right-hand traps were available from the outset of the design, albeit primarily to satisfy the needs of RHD cars. Regards, Steve

And...what’s that? CN36’s mounted by Alpina onto a brand new 2000tii touring in 1972.... ? Best regards, Steve