The owner of this 1976 BMW 2002 says that it is not perfect, but that it is a really good, driver-quality car. It certainly presents quite nicely and has some very sensible mechanical upgrades that should ensure that it is an extremely entertaining car when pointed at a piece of twisting road. The BMW is located in Denver, Colorado, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN price of $23,500, but he is open to offers.
Apparently, this BMW used to belong to a collector who has a preference for BMWs in slightly unusual colors. This Golf Yellow 2002 certainly fits that description, but it’s still a nice color. There are apparently a few minor rust spots around the car, including a couple of areas in the front fender on the passenger side, and a few spots at the bottom of the windshield. The car has received a repaint at some point in its life, and it is showing some minor wear in a couple of spots. Otherwise, it does seem to be a solid little car. I also like the Euro-spec bumpers, but there is still provision available to refit standard bumpers if required.
The Beige vinyl and cloth interior trim work nicely with the Yellow exterior. The trim itself is in quite good condition, with only some marking on the edge bolsters of the Recaro front seats. The leather-bound wheel should make life comfortable, while I don’t mind the wooden Nardi shifter knob. There is an aftermarket stereo fitted to the car, and speakers abound. There are speakers in the front doors, in the rear trim, and a couple of subwoofers under the parcel tray. The installation looks very professional, so it could either be used or ignored.
It’s when you delve below the skin that you soon learn what this 2002 is all about. The 1,990cc 4-cylinder engine sends its power to the rear wheels via a G240 5-speed manual transmission. The engine itself wears a pair Weber DCOE side-draft carburetors, while the spent gases find their way out of the engine via Hi-Flow Headers and a Scorpion exhaust. The owner says that the car has had a recent service and tune-up and that the engine starts and runs really nicely. Making a car perform is one thing, but this little BMW has had some modifications that will make an already agile car grip the road even tighter. Stiffer springs, Bilstein shocks, stronger bushes, a strut brace, and new Kumho tires all add up to a car that is now said to drive very nicely, and the whole combination sounds like it would be a real blast when pointed at a twisty mountain road.
The BMW 2002 was already a great car, but this one appears to have belonged to an enthusiast who wanted to take the car to the next level but maintain reasonably easy maintenance and mechanical reliability. This BMW isn’t perfect, but I would be willing to bet that it would be a pretty entertaining and engaging car to drive. I wouldn’t mind owning this car myself. How about you?
Love it the way it is. I wouldn’t change a thing not even the color (though I would have chosen something else if it had been mine to begin with)
Hope the next owner enjoys it and treats her right.
Good looking car with the Euro bumpers. For the life of me I can’t imagine what excuse is out there for going back to the US stuff.
I would say those speakers are installed in the kick panels and not the doors. And to my eye the repaint doesn’t quite look like Golf, but I could be wrong.
This car has what these cars needed most to make a real cruiser, the 5 speed, and the Webers. Love these cars.
Bob
Nice car! As others noted, I like the mods too – particularly the E21 Recaros.
As cool as this ’76 is, $23.5 seems too high to me. For a more reasonable price, however, this would be the best. Let the collectors have all the early, original 2002s, I’ll take a late one modded like this to drive the wheels off of. Also, as much as I love round tail lights, I think the later lights with small bumpers, like on this car, is a fantastic combo.
They removed the federal bumpers but not the reflectors?
Beautiful looking BMW 2002.