WTB: 2002 tii or roundie with bad paint

[dp2002]

For a friend.

He is looking for a tii or roundie that is sound mechanically, but has bad paint and minor rust. Looking to spend around $2500 for the roundie and $4K-5K for the tii 72 or 73.

If you have an extra one in your collection let me know.

TIA

Brandon

Irvine, CA

[Pigpen]

Hi,

I have a 74 tii that needs minor rust repair and paint. Very good driver, with Ireland suspension, low milage tires, and I just purchased a replacement 5 speed along with a completely new drive shaft from La Jolla Independent.

Shoot me an email if you want to check it out. I am in San Diego.

Mark

[Delia]

Hey.........................

That one sounds familiar.

Does the license plate begin with "5MAE"?

D

[Pigpen]

Hi Delia,

Yes indeed, the car is good old Mae West!

Although she has aged a bit from your photo, she did me very well, allowing me to go on a drive on nice days while I redid the interior on my 73. She has always started, never left me stranded, and got nearly 30mpg when I drove her down from SF. Too many projects and the yearning for a VARA Race car has encouraged me to put a few feelers out.

Best,

Mark

[Delia]

Hi Delia,

Yes indeed, the car is good old Mae West!

Although she has aged a bit from your photo, she did me very well, allowing me to go on a drive on nice days while I redid the interior on my 73. She has always started, never left me stranded, and got nearly 30mpg when I drove her down from SF. Too many projects and the yearning for a VARA Race car has encouraged me to put a few feelers out.

Best,

Mark

I knew that.

I loved this car. It was undoubtedly the best running, best driving tii I've ever driven despite it's cosmetic shortcomings (rust, shallow dents and "keyed" paint.)

It had once been owned by Daniel Cooper and much of the work was done at A1 Imports in San Rafael. (new floors, 3.64 lsd, IE Stage I springs, Bilstein HDs). I purchased the car from Richard S. who was good enough to sell it to me on a kind of "90 days same-as-cash plan." She became my daily driver (instead of my '73tii, "Orange Julius") and was reliable as the day is long.

To be fair, the picture posted above was taken just prior to one of the two unfortunate violations of Ms. West's dignity. She'd never looked better.

The first was a post-Bay Area 02 Fest offroad excursion on Quien Sabe Road that bounced the bottom side so hard it tweaked the chassis, threw off the alignment and caused an eventual driveshaft failure. (Note to self: Never let some bonehead from the faq message board drive your car to an event. )

BTW, it was a real heartbreaker to be following my other tii and watch said bonehead miss the turn and thoroughly "screw up" my daily driver.

When the driveshaft failed (an ear broke off the nose), I had a five-speed installed.

The final insult came when I was rear-ended on I-80 near the University exit by a Pontiac Vibe. The Recaro seat saved me but the damage buckled the rear quarters a bit and I got a serious case of whiplash requiring a bunch of PT. During my convalescence, felt it was time to re-evaluate what I drove out here on the "mean streets."

Anyway, as much as I love the romantic notion of driving a tii out here on a daily basis, I chose a 318is, the "spiritual successor" of the tii to do my daily driving chores.

And, after storing my other tii, "Orange Julius" away for the better part of a year, he too went on to a new owner in Santa Barbara.

Anyway, whomever inherits the legacy of Mae West will get a fine car with some stories to tell.

GLWTS

Delia

[conkitchen]

Sad story D; I'm all fa'klempt ova here. :-)