As “furn” cars (as they were sometimes called years ago) made inroads into the American auto market in the early seventies, BMW’s 2002 stood out as an “it” car – they were popular! They drove well, handled tightly, had spirited performance, were roomy for a two-door sedan, and showed U.S. buyers what a little “farfegnugen” was all about. Today’s 1976 feature edition, courtesy of Zappenduster, has that rode-hard-and-put-away-wet look about it, but let’s not be too judgemental and check it out. Los Angeles, California, is where you’ll find this BMW best-seller, and it’s listed here on craigslist for $6,300.
The 2002 (’68-’76) is part of the BMW 02 Series (’66-’77) and was offered as a two-door sedan and convertible. According to bmw2002faq.com, total 02 production exceeded 800K copies, with 429K being the 2002 model. Of that total, approximately 99K were exported to the U.S. The seller states, “It is an original “Mint Grun” sunroof car with no apparent accidents. With that said, it obviously needs a complete restoration. There is some cosmetic rust (hood, trunk lid, right door bottom, left front jack point, and front left floor pan corner); however, the structural areas which commonly rust and are difficult to repair (shock towers, frame rails, cowl, front and rear windshield surrounds) are all solid.” No doubt about it, rust is the 2002’s enemy, and while there doesn’t appear to be any rot-through, the surface rust is rather extensive. There’s a lot of unattached trim too, though it’s all supposedly included in the sale.
By 1976, BMW was as afflicted by the same emission control requirements as any other automobile manufacturer that produced or imported cars to the U.S. That being the case, the 2002 made do with a standard 96 net HP, 2.0-liter in-line four-cylinder powerplant. It doesn’t sound like much, but this is a 2,300 lb. base curb weight coupe, so performance was still lively, but hardly shattering. The seller claims, “The engine and four-speed manual transmission are very healthy,” though the brakes have apparently gone soft.
The interior shows better than the exterior, at least as far as the tan leatherette seating upholstery is concerned. The dash pad, unfortunately, is cracked and the passenger door is missing its hardware. The center console has been removed, but it is included in the sale.
“I purchased this with the intention of restoring it but haven’t had the time it needs and will not in the foreseeable future, so I have decided to sell it,” as the seller relates this oft-told tale. Even assuming this car’s claimed soundness, the cosmetics are off-putting and will be expensive to remedy. These are fun driver’s cars, but if I were interested, I think I’d search for a better example; how about you?
Nothing a complete restoration & credit card won’t take care of.
Seller doesn’t have the time…or the money