COOP

About a dozen cars in the class, including Alfas, BMW, Lancia, Mercedes & Volvo among others. I guess the first "selection cut" occurred when they made the decision as to which vehicles would be invited to the CD for judging...they took about a month to make their decision on my car which had me wondering if I'd get a rejection letter. The classes themselves seemed a bit strange to me...For example, there were a bunch of other Alfas (Veloces, etc) that were in a totally different "Sports Cars" class...and yet they raced against the 2002 back in the day and seemed of the same genre. At first, I thought that it might be a question of "door count" but no, there were plenty of 2-doors in my class as well...a bit random if you ask me and I would have loved to compete against those cars! COOP

Thanks to John Miller (John76) who coaxed me, I submitted my '72 Baikal tii awhile back for judging at the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance which took place this past Sunday. The car was accepted for the "Imported Passenger and Touring Cars through 1973" class, which was already plenty cool. Well, the car ended up winning Best in Class...I'm still floating on Cloud 9! Thank you again to John76...hanging out with him and his lovely Wife was one of the high points of a perfect day. COOP

THANK YOU.

My original post was merely inquisitive, i.e., are these OEM and would it not be a good idea to call out whether or not they are OEM in the listing? As mentioned in my post, I planned to buy a set regardless... The above, snooty response, as well as the second I.E. post "educating" us all about how "OE is not actually-really-necessarily-always-OE-but-is-sometimes OE" successfully upgraded (or downgraded) me from inquisitive to annoyed. Oh, and I'm a very old I.E. customer and I know how reputable and awesome they are, so no need to remind me, dear friends. First of all, I find the original post title of "New tii brake rotors back in stock!" to be misleading (I'd like to hope not intentionally so or "by design"). Everyone who owns a tii, myself included, has been waiting for ages for BMW to release a new batch of rotors. My (logical) interpretation of the post's subject line was that the OEM parts ship had finally appeared at the harbor. Second, um yeah, I think everyone on this forum knows that nearly ALL "OE" parts are made for the manufacturer by outside vendors and are not smelted in-house by BMW. That whole blah-blah response seems designed to distract attention from the fact that you simply should have specified in your listing that the parts were aftermarket. "Aftermarket part" is different from "OE part made for BMW by an outside vendor," even if the two are identical with different numbers. I just think we have a right to clearly and unambiguously understand what we're buying at a glance of your ad. Third, no I shouldn't "be able to make the distinction just by looking at the price." A. I haven't bought a set of tii rotors (OE or aftermarket) for ages and have no recollection as to what they cost; B. Hey, I have a better idea: Why don't you just clearly describe what you're selling?!; 3. I thought your response was candidly an unprofessional way to respond to a customer. Finally, do you have a sponsored (paid advertising) arrangement with the FAQ that explains why you post "For Sale" items in the "General Discussion" forum? Lots of personal, positive history with I.E. as a customer but this just rubbed me the wrong way. COOP

Nothing to lose, and I'll likely buy a set for my stock...but OEM or Aftermarket, I personally just like to know what I'm buying for my $86 X 2, just so I can...well, know. Would it be unreasonable to expect a seller to make this distinction in their listing? COOP

At the risk of asking a potentially stupid question: These are BMW OEM parts and not an aftermarket supplier, correct? COOP

Are you a police officer by chance? COOP

Sweet car! Congratulations!! COOP

Cool Chris!! Long time ago...Kermit Upton III, MASR in Ludlow VT, circa 1994 I believe. What an incredibly powerful and reliable 2.5L motor that man built me, the highest output that I've ever heard of from an S14 (260 + RWHP) with Dyno Sheets to prove it. COOP

I believe that Andrew's point in mentioning Chris's tenure here on the FAQ was to respond to Driv3r's "PS Welcome to the Forum," which read as a rather disingenuous and condescending expression of "you're clearly an FAQ rookie who doesn't know what he's talking about." If that's not what he intended, than apologies in advance...but it certainly came off that way and I know I'm not the only one who thought so. It seems rather inelegant and not very intelligent to say things like "I have built a better car" and "many members here own better cars." Inelegant because we're talking about something that represents the fruit of people's (people with feelings) love, creativity and labor; not very intelligent because "better" is such a highly subjective term, not by any means a black & white absolute, anymore than it is with a painting, a bottle of wine or architecture. I am lucky enough to own two 2002s, one being a bone-stock '72 tii and the other being a highly custom, '73 M2 2.5 tii. While I personally feel they're both "top 10%" cars, I would never dream of saying that either one was "better" that anyone else's baby because, well that's just not very classy or nice and I wouldn't want to come off like a churlish vulgarian. It seems odd to conclude that a car is somehow not special because certain of its features (brakes, wheels, diff, interior, Getrag, S14, etc) "have been done before." I say this because the magic of that Inka M2 is not just in some of its parts...it's in the sum of its parts, which were artfully interpreted, assembled and expressed in an absolutely unique and impeccably executed manner. The result is undeniable magic, even if one doesn't like some of its creative choices (those speaker pods!). COOP

"The MARKET at that particular point in time." Not "THE MARKET." Your car sounds awesome, I'd love to see it one day. I have a pretty nice M2 2.5 as well...no idea what it's worth relative to the Inka car (similar in some ways, totally different in others), but I'd guess that it would depend on "The MARKET at that particular point in time." I'd also guess that it's sale price would generate myriad and sundry opinions about what it was really worth above (and below) the actual outcome. No intention on finding out though. COOP

Good God, everyone's a freaking automotive appraisal expert! The hammer price was a function of what multiple buyers BID for the car in an auction format (their economic activity constituted THE MARKET at that particular point in time) and not a function of what a seller "asked" that anyone pay as a function of his build expense. While I agree that this was a very lofty sale price, I just don't get the people (and they're never "players" by the way) who can't restrain themselves from blurtingly announcing their expert's opinion that "it wasn't worth it." Well apparently it was... And by the way, the engine alone is a $30K item. If you don't think it would cost $100K + to build this bare-shelled, rotisseried, seam-welded, transmission tunnel-modified, custom exhaust-endowed work of art, then I would respectfully conclude that you need a new mental calculator. COOP

Is this the same car that was at Legends of the Autobahn last August? I recall an incredible, Verona Survivor car there... COOP

I like the interior minus the "Inka everything" (easily addressed) and the fact that it has a stereo at all (especially those ghastly speaker pods in the doors). I do like the Motorsport cloth in the seats and door panels as well as the steering wheel, shift boot, etc. The only other other thing that I might upgrade would be the front brakes (calipers and rotor diameter both seem a bit wimpy for the power of a stroker S14)...but Marshall can weigh in on that. Oh yeah, and I would have had a custom cage done when it was in shell form, but that's just me! Yes, I get that it's a street car and not a race car...and I'm sure that the seam-welding did wonders for the body stiffness...I just know what a cage did for the handling of mine, easily the single, most significant difference-maker on the whole car. Still just an epically gorgeous build...I hope Roy kills it with the sale! COOP

I was surprised by that too given how long ago it was built (I still have the magazine issue and occasionally drool on it). "Different strokes" I guess...but I'm with you on the driving appeal of this beast vs the "microfiber appeal." COOP

Easily in the discussion for the nicest M2 in existence...AND it's a 2.5. Whoever gets this one will be one happy camper! BTW, if I had to guess, I'd say that the current bid of $66K represents about HALF of what the builder has into it...this one is top notch in every detail. COOP

I've been depressed ever since I heard about the accident and it immediately became clear that the situation was hopeless. I'm a lifelong Superbike & MotoGP fanatic and Nicky was one of my heroes. When I worked at Sears Point Raceway in the early 2000's, I not only watched him win the AMA Superbike race on the Honda RC51, but also got to shake his hand and chat for a few minutes. I was immediately struck by what a warm and genuine person he was with none of the ego or attitude of his competitors. In 2006, the year he won MotoGP, I sneakily planned our honeymoon at Big Sur so we could watch the race at Laguna, which he won handily on the Repsol Honda. I'm still in shock and so sad...my heart goes out to his family. RIP @#69kentuckykid. COOP

I don't think that this white '02 is a "Clarion Builds Car" at all actually...I could be wrong, but it's probably just a (very nice) 2002 with a Clarion stereo in it, unlike that Fjord car which was a soup-to-nuts build to an incredibly high standard. COOP

Not cool! Thanks for sharing danco. COOP

BaT sucks...How so? They didn't take care of you on your sale...Specifics? Weren't you the guy requesting not long ago (rightfully) that someone provide specifics to support their blanket statement that a restoration shop sucked? Just curious...thanks! COOP

Looking forward to seeing you and everyone else, Steve. Cars ready to rock, first Saturday off in a long time...can't wait! COOP

Thank you for sharing that fantastic background story, Mike. It actually enhanced my entire 2002 experience in a way, just how it brought my imagination vividly back to when these cars were new, even though I wasn't around. Much appreciated! COOP

Thank you for sharing, Mike...That is so incredibly awesome that you still own a 1969 02 that you bought new...Wow, it doesn't get more real than that! Do you remember the day that you picked the car up? Can you share any insight into the experience that special day and leading up to it? Were there other cars that you had considered prior to the purchase, or was your heart set on the 2002? Anything that might take us back to that moment and to how you got there would be really cool, at least it would be for me... COOP

As trick as it sounds, and as appealing as the concept of MORE power always seems on initial reaction, I wouldn't do a turbo on my M2 2.5L even if Jay Leno was writing a check in full for the most state-of-the-art installation ever performed. Why? Because in this case, I don't think that "more power" would be a good thing and would actually ruin the package. The car is already extremely quick/fast and more importantly, the all-important BALANCE of the car is sublime...I feel that would be ruined, both with a lot more power and by the type of power characteristics/delivery that a turbo would create. Finally, to me there is something magical about a naturally aspirated motor vs a forced induction motor...Just me. COOP