Most of the time when I think of the concept of a sleeper car, it’s usually some 60s base-model American vehicle with the original paint that someone has stuffed a more powerful motor in, you know, kind of like this one. But this 1968 BMW 1600 also sort of fits the bill, and while it doesn’t still have the original paint, its outward appearance doesn’t lead you to believe it may have anything at all special under the hood. Looks are a bit deceiving here, and if you’ve been in the market for a clean late 60s Beamer with a little extra punch, this one may be a good one to check out. The car is located in Erie, Colorado, just north of Denver and east of Boulder, and can be seen here on Craigslist with an asking price of $28,500.
Reader T.J. has been keeping us Barn Finds staff writers busy, and we’d like to thank him again for the lead on this one and for all the other great tips- please keep them coming! We’re told blue is not the original color for this BMW and that it started out with a Granada Red finish, but a previous owner changed it at some point in the car’s history. While the paint looks pretty good in the photos, the seller is honest in telling us that it’s far from flawless and that the body has several small dents and dings, plus a small area of rust in the lower right fender and some in the spare tire well. But for a driver, it appears to be more than acceptable, and driving is what this car has been set up to do, so let’s check out the mechanics.
Gone is the original 1600 engine, and powering the car now is a 2.0 liter M10 engine block out of a 1967 Tilux, which was completely overhauled and includes a 121T cylinder head, Maule 10.5 pistons, and lots of other goodies inside. There’s also dual Weber DCOE 40 carbs, an electric fuel pump, and M10 shorty headers, with the seller describing the performance as “feisty”! The 4-Speed manual transmission is said to shift smoothly with the one exception being when the car is downshifted from third to second gear, which requires a rev-match in order for it to not grind. Should the next owner desire to undo all of this, the original engine is also included in the sale.
Things inside are in decent shape, with some wear and tear on the front seats but nothing too extreme. The rear seats are said to not show much wear at all and the gauges are stated to be functioning properly, with the overall condition of the interior seeming to match the personality of the rest of the car nicely. I’ve never had the pleasure of owning a vintage BMW, but I kind of like this one and hope it ends up in the hands of someone who will appreciate the mods and continue to maintain it for years to come. What are your thoughts on this one? Is $28,500 reasonable for what you’re getting here?
Only thing missing is turbo! I’m the day 1,000 hp was made with these motors for F1 racing. Of course you’d have to change out the pistons first.
https://e28goodies.com/product/bmw-m10-t3-twinscroll-turbo-manifold/P
That “TILEX” transplant really worked! Not seeing any soap scum or mildew on this car!
1600s are fun-to-drive little boxes even without the bigger engine. Only drawback for me is the ask.
Great looking car. The mods should make this a lot of fun to drive. I loved my ’75 2002 with M10.
And Mike, thanks for using the term “Beamer”, which is what I called my 2002. The BMW guys call the cars “Bimmers”, and the motorcycles “Beamers”, but I can’t use the term “Bimmer”, it just sounds dumb.
IIRC, back in the day Buffy and Todd (yuppies) used one term, whereas serious BMW aficionados used the other term. I’m not sure which is which though. Since I don’t recall which is which, to play it safe I always refer to them as BMWs. (That’s me all over, “Mr. Don’t Screw it Up Unnecessarily”).
Agreed, I (and everyone I know) have always used “beamer”….. I’ve owned a 2002, 320, 630csi and (while in W. Germany) and a 320i and 840i while in the US.
I would love to own this. The M10 built with 10.5:1 with the induction has got to be good for 140-150hp. I bet it’s fun to drive. I think it’s worth the ask because you can’t built it for that.
Tilux.
Thank you.
Had approximately two years of 2002 time babysitting cars for owners who had to be out of country for a long period of time (lot of that goes on in the Air Force). Cars are a blast to drive, especially with the larger engine. Never got used to adjusting valves with metal spacers but really enjoyed driving them.
cool bones…The original TI motors had split throttle shaft solex’ and an airbox and unless this has forged pistons made,the factory pistons to suit a 121 head were either 9.3 or 10 to 1….depending upon euro or american spec for the compression ratio….cool car none-the-less…the real early (67-8) were the ligtest made,so a lot of them went the way of racing through B-sedan,GT3,and later IT cars in this country…Nice to see a survivor still that is still intact …
Bimmer. Beemers have two wheels, sometimes three.
Four wheeled BMW is a Beamer, two wheeled BMW is a BM in the part of the world where I grew up.
A beamer – where I come from – is also the red face of embarrasment, often preceded by “pure”.
BM covers both, I think. It’s a nice-looking car.
Nice car. Good value compared to equivalent 2000GTV Bertone.
It always seemed to me, a 70+ year old sports car fanatic, the it was the gold chain poseurs who decided to pervert our terminology. 4 wheels – Bimmer; 2 wheels Beemer if you insist.
Had one years ago. Same year in the original beige color. Well balanced, handled great. Miss it.
Downshift issues are probably due to incorrect gearbox oil, use a special manual trans fluid not EP80-90 gear oil, valve adjustment is done using a 10mm spanner and a bent piece of wire, no shims in this engine,
Remember John Wragge Pat? He used Isuzu pick-ups for many years and after having lots of gearbox problems, especially with fifth gear, would drain the box and use only ATF which solved all of his problems.
Pat… Did he 1600s have the shims? Cars I had were early 1600s.
Cars are Bimmers. Motorcycles are Beemers.
The term Beamer is used to describe a car that’s always being driven with the fog lights on !
1602s had a tall 4.11 rear end vs the 2 litre’s 3.64. Hopefully they changed it with the engine swap.
I had a 68 1600 with all the same mods to the stock engine. Different header. It had Suspension Techniques sway bars front and rear. Rear was adjustable. Gas charged Bilstiens. Tower struts front and rear and negative camber plates. Funnest car I’ve ever driven or owned. It flat hauled ass. I miss that car …..