Finding a BMW 2002 in a barn or workshop is always exciting; finding an original 2002 Tii in a great factory color is quite another. This 1974 2002 Tii here on eBay is listed as a project needing rust repair with an opening bid of $3,000 and no reserve. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jim S. for the find.
According to the seller, he managed to scoop up two Tii projects when a friend’s family member passed away. This car that’s for sale is painted in a great factory color known as Sahara Beige, which is a bit more unusual than the typical blacks and blues. The paint looks consistent enough to be original, and the seller had plans to bring it back to OEM condition.
The reason for that is because he’s keeping the other car in the garage stash to turn into a track project. You can see the two cars above, which must have been quite the rush to peer into the darkness and discover a pair of 2002s tucked away. When parked next to each other, there’s no question I’d want the Sahara Beige car, especially with those sweet color-matched Italian wheels (hello, 1980s). Nothing is said about the troublesome rear shock towers, which are hotspots for rust.
Of course, I wouldn’t want to sell either of them if it were me. Walking outside and seeing these two Tii’s parked next to each other would make each morning’s commute just a little bit better, but obviously they’ll each require a lot of work to be daily drivers. The engine in the Sahara car does turn over freely, but it’s not running at the moment. Once you tackle that and the rusty floors, what would you do next?
First thing I’d do if I owned either car is lose the bumpers and swap in a set of ’72 or earlier
I wish he posted more pictures of the trunk and undercarriage
The tan car has been listed for only about a day, but I’m surprised there hasn’t been a bid even at the $3k opening yet. Maybe being in Texas but not being a pickup truck is the reason (sorry for that remark).
These are the most desirable of the 2002s other than the unobtainium Turbo, and they are worth enough now that someone could bring it back for about what it’s worth even of they had to pay someone to do metalwork and paint providing they could do most of the rest of what the car needs. A bit of insurance is the fact that these are continuing to appreciate.
The big question is: How much metalwork? The engine bay and lower body don’t look as bad as a lot of cars we’ve seen lately, so if that’s true this could be a bargain for someone who wants one of these special cars as a project. But the blue car is from Louisiana, and since they came from the same owner there’s a chance the tan one is from there too, so a close look at the underside is important to see how much more rust there is besides the driver’s floor. No photos of the trunk or the interior either, so be careful.
You’ve got a good eye. The blue car’s license plate is Louisiana, and the “A” in the middle of the number indicates it was from the Baton Rouge area (State Police Troop A is headquartered there. If it was a New Orleans car it would a “B”, and so on around the state). It’s also possibly been off the road a long time, because that plate numbering system was abandoned in the late ’80s or early ’90s. You’d have to see the yearly brake tag to know more. Either car would have to submit to a fine-tooth comb to make them smart purchases.
I don’t mind a squarie other than the ridiculous front bumper. I tucked mine and I like the look of the car so much better.
But after being rear-ended in my Volvo 1800, I hesitate to tuck the rear bumper. A chrome bumper conversion is pricey, and involves some sheet metal work on the rear. But, as this car will need plenty of sheet metal work, maybe just go ahead and do the bumper swap. Or, just bone off the Tii stuff and do a “clone” on some less-rusty chassis. Why not?
The Tempests and LeMans get turned into GTOs, and the Skylarks into GS cars, so what’s the harm in cloning a Tii? Obviously the ’02 is an oft-modified car, no?
Here’s my tucked 75 base 2002 Malaga.
OK let’s try this photo thing again.
OK, what am I doing wrong with the photo?
Rex, the upload feature is designed to pull a picture off of your PC–some folks try to link to a picture already on the internet and it doesn’t work–that *may* be the issue. Also, it takes a while to load the picture; make sure you wait for it to load before moving on to the next page–once you hit “Post Comment” it takes a little bit of time to finish. No connection from this picture (it’s our 1956 Standard Vanguard Sportsman) to the post, just wanted to load something to make sure I was giving you accurate advice!
I tried doing a photo once, too, and with no luck.
Thanks Jamie, here’s another shot at posting a pic of my 75 Malaga 2002 with a front bumper tuck.
I am pulling the pic right off my PC after hitting your browse button. Then next to the browse button there is some code, which indicates that you’ve got the file. But, I hit “post comment” and no photo shows up.
In my own defense, I do have the ability to gap points, which the boys at AutoZone think is extremely cool. They tweeted this out before even collecting my money.