2760007

Original owners. Quite possibly the longest owned Tii in the USA, if not the world. Bought new from Weatherford BMW Saturday February 5th 1972 in Berkeley California.

The BMW 2002 tii US VIN 2760007 was manufactured on October 20th, 1971 and delivered on November 8th, 1971 to Hoffman Motors. The original colour was Colorado, paint code 002.

My parents purchased the car Saturday February 5th 1972 at Weatherford BMW in Berkeley California. 

While this all happened before I was born in November 1974, I know the story of how my parents came to be interested in BMWs and how they happened to purchase this Tii well...  My parents actually met in German class in junior college in the fall of ‘64, so they had an interest in many things German since then. Dad was an avid reader of car magazines, and as the magazine road test articles on the Neue Klasse BMWs and 1800Tis came out, Dad had an interest in BMW’s practicality mixed with its sporting sedan image. He even stopped by a BMW dealer in Albuquerque NM on his way home from Army training in Huntsville AL in ‘66 looking at the Neue Klasse sedans they had. While he couldn’t afford one yet, he had a desire to once he could. That desire grew as the Army saw his language skills and electronics experience from junior college and sent him to Germany to work on NIKE missile equipment maintenance rather than waste his talents in Viet Nam. Mom even got to go live with him off base and after an apartment or two here and there they found a room for rent in the upstairs of an old family farmhouse just outside of Mainz. Dad has many stories to tell of all the cool cars they saw while there in Germany, including then brand new 2002s and 2002ti’s, and watching races at nearby Mainz Finthen Airfield, and the ‘68 German Grand Prix at the Nurbürgring. An Army buddy of his even had a new ‘68 Mustang GTA 390. One Monday morning that friend came to my dad to tell him of going to the Nurbürgring and getting to drive the track. Knowing my dad was a knowledgeable car guy the friend asked him what the heck a BMW 1600ti was, as one had blown passed his Mustang on a corner exit and down the straight like he was standing still. Dad explained what it was and they both had a laugh at how a little German sedan could be so fast.

My parents couldn’t afford much in the way of a cool car while they were in Germany, but did  get a ‘64 VW Beetle that did the job of getting Dad to work at the various NIKE missile sites around the area, and to explore Germany with Mom on the weekends. Dad likes to tell the tale of transforming the handling of the Beetle with a set of Koni shocks and Dunlop radial tires he purchased at a department store.

After Germany, my parents came home to the Berkeley area to find that a neighbor at the end of their Court had purchased a silver ‘68 2002. Being a dead end street, they would hear the neighbor drive by every day. After a couple different jobs and some more college at Hayward State, building up a ‘65 Corvette with Grandpa that they had gotten from a tow yard sans engine, Dad got a job with Pacific Telephone and Telegraph and was building up his and Mom’s savings. In late ‘71 early ‘72 they were interested in a more practical and new car to replace the Corvette and add to the garage next to the Beetle. Dad had a few cars on his want list, and on one occasion while car shopping he stopped by the local Plymouth dealer and asked if they could order him a four door Valiant with a 340 and a four speed. They said they could get him that combo in a Duster, but not in the four door. Dad said no thanks, he’d rather have a sedan. Good thing then, because they wouldn’t’ve gotten the Tii and definitely wouldn’t’ve joined the BMWCCA in early ‘75... Anyway, Mom, Dad and my sister Gwen (she was a few months over three years old, but remembers it well, she’s a car girl after all, and remembers such events as well as anyone) were out car shopping on Saturday February 5th 1972 and went into the BMW dealer in Berkeley looking to purchase a Bavaria but happened to find one of the very first few 2002tiis in the US in the showroom floor. Now Dad had a Road&Track subscription and had just read about the 2002tii in the October ‘71 issue, so was pleasantly surprised to see one in the dealer so soon. So, $5300 and change later, they bought that 2002tii and Mom and my sister took the bus down to the dealer that Monday to pick the car up.

Decades of enjoyment and joining the BMWCCA later, my parents still own and enjoy their Tii.

This Tii was delivered to Weatherford Friday February 4th 1972 with 250 some odd miles on the odometer, Shelby Cal500 Slot Mag wheels, an Ansa Sport exhaust, AMCO bumper bars front and rear, and NO anti sway bars, none. We suspect it was a dealer transfer, and possibly used for either a demonstrator car, used in California emissions testing, or possibly the display Tii at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January. If anyone knows of someone who MAY have photos of the BMWs on display at that LA Auto Show, please message me here through the FAQ!

Decades of enjoyment and joining the BMWCCA later, my parents still own and enjoy their Tii...