Zak

I've been running 1600s since the early 80s. And. I've come across two types of calipers for the early single circuit brakes. My first 02, an early 68, like your car, had the identical calipers with the smaller diameter pistons. The brake line comes off the top on this version. On my early 69 with single circuit brakes, the calipers are nearly identical, except the pistons are larger (48mm) and the brake line is fitted to the center of the caliper. The two calipers are interchangeable and have the same mounting hole pattern, also using the same brake pad. And, Yes ! Some Alfas use the identical caliper. I used to source them from salvage yards. And, I took some of them off Alfas and fitted them to my 1600. They are a direct fit. The very early 2002 from 68-mid 69 with single circuit brakes also uses this caliper. Up until recently I knew of a very good source down here in LA which rebuilt these calipers for about $40 / each. They told me the pistons, or perhaps the entire caliper, were also fitted to some Mercedes cars. Unfortunately, the place closed down during the pandemic. Not all calipers are rebuildable. It depends on the condition of the bore. Brake pads are easy, since they are also used by Alfa, Volvo, Porsche etc. The Remote T50 booster is nearly identical to a similar unit used by Mercedes from the period. Some places are asking too much to rebuild them. Ireland Engineering sends them out for rebuild at a very reasonable price. Well, they did it while Jeff still ran the place Give them a call and the new owner may have one still laying around. If you ditch the early remote booster in favor for the newer style mounted to the firewall, you’ll need to do some juggling. In this scenario you would need to swap out the pedal box for the newer version used in tandem with the newer firewall mounted brake booster. The brake master cylinder is mounted directly to the newer booster. And, you would use the single circuit brake master with attached fluid reservoir from the e21 320i. You would need to decide whether you want to retain your mechanical clutch linkage or convert to hydraulic. If you want to retain your mechanical clutch linkage when switching to this newer style booster, you need to source a pedal box from a 1969-76 1600-2, which retained the mechanical clutch. But, if you decide to use the hydraulic clutch of the 2002, you would need to source a pedal box from the 2002 any year. Or, you can fabricate your existing pedal box to mount a clutch master on to it. That was done to my 67 by Top End Performance in North Hollywood. If you ever decide to install a 5 speed overdrive transmission from a 320i, you’ll need to go with the hydraulic clutch. You’ll have to send the brake master cylinder for rebuild, especially on the 68. It is attached to the brake pedal box. And, for the 68 it is longer than the one used on the 66-67, which is also attached to the pedal box, but is fatter and shorter. The shorter variant is much simpler and the single seal is available for under $20 from Centerline Alfa Kit #BK382. But, I never found a rebuild kit for the longer variant on the 68, which used smaller and multiple seals, some with complex profiles. The rebuild kit from the similarly long and more common later 2002 brake masters won't work. Here an e-bay listing for the caliper with 48mm pistons which will fit your car and which were also fitted to the 68-mid 69 2002 and early 69 1600. Oh ! By the way. My 67 is nearly identical to yours. I even have the same period Cosmic wheels. My 67 is also equipped with these 48mm calipers. Brake Caliper Front Left For ALFA ROMEO 75 90 60729256 106017 692177B 48mm PIMAX WWW.EBAY.COM Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Brake Caliper Front Left For ALFA ROMEO 75 90 60729256 106017 692177B 48mm PIMAX at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

You're right. Let's get back to design. I believe the Corvair influenced the belt line on the 02 along with that of the Type 34 VW. The Type 34 rear deck also owes a lot to the Corvair.

Mike, You raised a valid argument in favor of the 318i. I had an early 325i convertible. And, I wasn't impressed with the car or the motor.

Chris, I differ a little bit in that assessment. If it wasn't for the BMW 700, introduced in 1959, BMW would have closed its doors before the Neu Klasse 1500 appeared three years later in 1962. The 700 sports coupe was priced at about $1800 during the early 60s. The 1500 was marketed to the upper middle class in the US for about $3,400. The 1800Ti set you back about $3,600, and the 2000CS was a hefty $5,000. And, then came the 1600-2 in 1966 with a sticker price of $2,500. It just about equaled the performance of the 1800Ti while being much more economical to drive, delivering 22mpg in the city vs. 14mpg for the 1800Ti. The VW Beetle sold for about $1,600 in the US in 1966. And, the 507 would have driven BMW into bankruptcy during the late 50s when it set you back $10,500. That was the average price of a home in Los Angeles in 1960. With stagnant wages, hyperinflation, rising interest rates, astronomically high housing costs and very high costs of fuel and energy, it's time BMW started thinking about economy cars.

I rather have the alternative VW, a car for the masses. The BMW 700 is unique in that it's economical, practical and sporty, all at the sime time; like the VW 1500S Type 34 with which I started the thread. I really could care less for the e30, e28 & e39 M5’s, e36 M3etc. Different strokes for different folks. BMW pursued the expensive sports sedan niche and practically invented it. It did look back with the introduction of the 1600-2 in 1966 to compete with VW, but that also evolved into a car for the higher income earning professional class. I attended an energy sustainability summit about 15 years ago where one of the chief instructors at a prominent industrial design school gave a presentation, boasting about his school's involvement in the design of the all electric Bugatti super car. I raised my hand and asked him how that was going to have any positive effect on the mass introduction of affordable electrical vehicles. His arrogant response was that his institution and the Bugatti projects represents the vanguard of design and that it is up to someone else to pursue the design and development of an electric car for the masses. BMW has also become arrogant and obscene, in my opinion. And, this has the potential to dearly cost them, just like it did during the 50s. It was the 700 which saved the company, not the ostentatious 507. And, BMW seems to have forgotten that. We're headed towards uncertain times. And, it's the Toyotas which will prevail, not the e30, e28 & e39 M5’s, e36 M3etc.

Ha ! Ha! Ha !

I'm aware, but the very specific tail lights on the 02 are nearly identical in design, shape and size to the ones on the VW and BMW 3200CS, as noted by Chris.

Wow ! Now, those tail lights appear identical to the ones on the VW. It must have been a design fad in 1961.

Your friend has good taste. That car looks the period; the color, racing stripe and wheels fitted with period style Dunlops. The simplicity, spartan character and diminutive size of this economy car is everything BMW is not these days. The 700 was marketed as the most basic transportation for the masses, but with excellent style, designed by Giovanni Michelotti. It was BMW's first monocoupe with proven engineering and mechanicals, compliments of BMW's Chief Engineer, Alfenbeck. And, It's the car that saved BMW from economic ruin during the post war years. Too bad BMW ditched the economy car market and moved away from the concept.

Nope ! I don't think so. But, the VW Type 34 Karmann Ghia has tail lights nearly identical to the 02. There is nothing closer. As for headlights, The 02 borrowed them from the 700. That's the way I see it. The 700 Coupe has got to be the coolest Anti-BMW BMW. It is a BMW for all the cool reasons a modern BMW is not. I should have grabbed one when I had a chance.

Yep, no doubt about it.

Thanks Mike. I learned that from you. The red center lens on the early US bound cars is the only US specific feature which I like.

These are the earlier sun visors (66 - 67). I borrowed the pic from the FAQ. Danco should recognize it. They are all white, and the plastic fitting in which they sit is located in a different location at their tip. Notice the protruding rod which fits into the fitting. When you move the visor from its fitting and swivel it to partially cover the door glass you risk poking your eye as it sits in that location (For God's sake, don't move the visor. You'll poke your eye out and end up looking like Tom Cruise acting as Claus Von Stauffenberg ). I've been looking for an extra set of these visors. They are one of the things I didn't remove at the salvage yards when I had a chance 25-30 years ago.

1. when did the sun visors go from all white, to white and black? Both of my 68cars had the black & white variant. My early 67 car has all white. The 66-67 visor is also different in that the mounting clip is in a different location to accommodate the rod which protrudes out from the visor. This proved dangerous when deploying the visors to the side, as the protruding rod could poke you in the eye. That’s why they changed them for 68. 2. what would be the correct door mirror for a 70 2002? swan, trapazoid,flag? I believe it’s trapezoid. I have an early 1969 1600 which also came with a trapezoid mirror. 3. when did the front grilles go from all silver slats, to silver slats painted black, to silver slats with black anodized covers? The black slats were introduced first in 1967 for the 1600Ti. They were adopted for the 2002 when it was introduced in 1968. 4. when did the usage of the front hood trim that was embossed start and stop? Did the side hood trim from this same era have a different clip to mount? The embossed trim seems to have been used through model year 68. Most of the cars produced during the latter half of 68, which sold as model year 69 seem to have been outfitted with the smooth trim. The clip mounts were round and a slightly larger diameter on 66-67 cars. And, the early trim from this era had smaller lips to accommodate the larger round clips. This trim doesn’t work with the later rectangular clips. But, the early larger diameter clips will work with the later trim with larger lips. It’s just a tight fit and takes a little more effort to fit the trim. The 66-67 clips and trim have been NLA for a long time. 5. when was the rear panel round badge pressed thin aluminum, totally embossed? All the ones I’ve seen are cast. 6. when did the round taillights go from red round centers, to orange? My early 69 has the red centers. The orange centers were introduced on US cars probably during the latter part of 69, on cars sold as model year 70. I think the orange centers were always used in Europe, even on the earliest 66 cars.

The 14X6 et35 e30 bottle caps sit a little too far in for 195 tires. Depending on the brand, there is a good chance they will slightly rub against the tie rod. If they don't rub , there is very little clearance. When I ran them I mounted 185/65 x14 tires for more clearance. An offset of about 25-30 is better for a 6" wheel. I couldn't imagine fitting 7" wheels and tucking the tires under the bodywork. 6" is pushing it.

Michael, I remember taking those Solexes apart when I was 18 years old. And, I didn't know what I was getting into. Are those Solexes set up to 1600Ti specs ? The 1800ti and 2002ti variants are most common. But, the ones for the 1600ti are rare. You can change the 2000ti-2002ti to 1600ti specs relatively easy, but the 1800ti variants are older and have some different features including the really short emulsion tubes.

The German Solex PHH carbs are not aluminum, but some heavier metal. They sell oversize shafts to give the carbs another life. You have to get those bores fitted to the oversize shafts. The Mikuno Solex PHH carbs, though, are aluminum and differ from the German version in other respects.

These parts are available from a vendor in Italy. They even make the throttle shafts in oversize. The jets are also available. These are excellent carbs. But, they are not good for making quick changes to jets or venturis in the field or on the track. To get to the Venturis on the Solexes you have to disassemble half the carb. On the Weber it's easy, though. The Weber jets and parts are easier to source. The Solex carbs on the "Ti" models are set-up by the factory for the respective "Ti" motors in 1.6l\L , 1.8L or 2.0L variants. If you deviate in the engine build from factory "Ti" specs and need to tune for additional compression, cam timing etc. you should go with the Webers. But, you also have to invest in a lot of time and extra jets etc. when you go this route.

I purchased a cheap new aftermarket support bearing for less than $20, and it failed within a month of installation. I removed it and replaced it with a factory support bearing, and I've had no issues after five years. Most of the aftermarket parts are inferior. But, this also applies to some BMW parts, as BMW is sourcing out manufacture to subs. where quality and craftsmanship is 2nd or 3rd rate. Is your support bearing aftermarket or an original BMW part ?

Early 1600-2 (msot likely a 1967), possibly a driver on weekdays and racer over the weekends, with period Cosmic alloys. These cars have the 6V electrical system. VDO made an 6V tachometer for BMW as optional equipment for these cars, a rare item these days. Note the early style kidney grill , forward mounted swan neck mirror and polished aluminum interior mirror with slide in design.

There is some BMW 507 in those wheels and steering wheel. I like the white wheel, a classy touch like in a 507or an early Porsche 356.

The Winter / Ski theme from back in the day:

I still have a pair of those exact Fischer C4 racing skis. I purchased them new back in the day.

That's right. "Slavs" has a point, make them affordable, not just for the established "Collector", but also for the average home mechanic. Yes, I agree, under $1,500 would be great.