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Minnesota Winters: 1968 BMW 1600

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It’s a bit jarring to see a snow-filled eBay listing when we’re finally approaching the dog days of summer. However, it just may be that the seller of this early BMW 1600 here on eBay is trying to show us exactly how he discovered this round-tail light Bimmer. The 1600s preceded the 2002s and are a rare find today. This car may be destined for parts-bin status, but its original paint could make it special enough to save. The car is in Minnesota and bidding is at just $199 with the reserve unmet. 

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Of course, I hope the reserve isn’t set too high. This 1600 is fairly rough, regardless of its rarity. The interior is a mess and there’s a ton of rust hiding throughout this example. In fact, the seller even discloses that has much to do with why he’s moving this one along, as the work is more extensive than he’d like. He bought the car for some replacement body panels to use on his 2002, but the metal on this 1600 is too far gone on the pieces he needs to be useful for his project. The good news? The engine does turn over.

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The original paint color is called “Turf”, which is a shade of green as you might expect. For some reason, the Germans didn’t go overboard with green in the 60s and 70s (at least I haven’t seen an Irish Green Porsche or a Turf-colored 1600 in person) which seems to make cars in these colors more coveted than others. The later 2002s could be had in light green color called “Turkish” that is one of the more beautiful paint shades I’ve ever seen on an automobile. You can still see traces of it here, in between the desirable roundie-style tail lights.

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We just featured a survivor-grade 2002 a few days ago for a very high price indeed. This is the other end of the spectrum, but it could also demonstrate how you’ll spend nearly as much money restoring this car as buying one in nice shape. Regardless, if the reserve is set at $1,000 or less, this could be a rewarding build of an early neue klasse BMW. Hopefully, the snow in Minnesota will have melted if you do decide to go and pick it up.

Comments

  1. Avatar Rich

    Ouch. This hurts to see this!! The way prices are climbing on 2002’s I’m sure this’ll be saved.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Rick

    Back when decent 2002s traded for around $2K, I owned about 10 of them during approximately 20 years or so including a ’74 tii, anyhow it has been interesting to watch the values start to climb significantly just recently. Now the value of 2002 BMWs is skyrocketing and this 1600 because of its rarity, and as the earlier version may now actually be a restoration candidate. i.e you won’t be upside down when its finished

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    • Avatar Rich

      I was going to sell mine last year, then decided to hang on to it a while longer. Glad I did! I just may make my money back on a car for once lol.

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Joe Btfsplk

    It’s all covered in Canadian barn dust.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar redwagon

    photo was recent. here is international falls, mn as of earlier this week.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar seth

    had one of these in 1972. It was a blast to drive. had rust issues by 75 at the rear of the front fenders due to water trapped behind cracked rustproofing. After the pollution pump was taken off it ran even better. Had to shave head after head gasket leak.

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