1974 tii: Gone Retro!

[Conserv]

Not mine, no affiliation, but they have taken this example retro!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231983367423?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

VIN 2780827 is likely either a December 1973 or a January 1974 car, a square taillight by birth.  Fine. But this example, sold by the same dealer who previously offered 2760770, has had a nose job and a butt lift!  The snorkel-less nosepiece is obviously a round taillight piece as is the tail panel. But wait, shouldn't a square taillight have "flying buttresses" in its trunk, reinforcing the tail end and eliminating those cardboard trunk side panels?  My '76's trunk is shown below.  The missing reinforcements suggest they removed the WHOLE tail, from wheel housings back, and swapped on a round taillight tail.  And, yes, those wheel housings have been messed with.  The trunk-lid roundel is missing, consistent with the round taillight theme.  If I were interested in buying this car, I'd give some consideration to whether it had accident damage that led to the fairly radical butt lift:  most owners would not remove the flying buttresses just to make a square taillight into a more authentic-looking round taillight.

 

But they really got into the retro thing, installing a '72 or earlier two-piece dash and a round taillight instrument cluster:  note that the fan switch is up next to the gauge cluster, not down on the heater slide controls.  And the cross-hair gauges are gone.  But wait, how does that round taillight odometer happen to have the correct -- and almost unbelievably-low -- orginal mileage of a square taillight car?  Let me state that differently:  the car no longer has its original instrument cluster yet we are expected to believe the current mileage is correct for this car.  Hmm...makes one reflect.  Front seats are '75-'76.  Backseat is of indeterminate date, but closer to pre-'74 styles.  I've still never seen a convincingly factory Polaris with black interior (navy blue is the norm but Nick may have a bona fide tan interior).  And there appears to be Malaga paint or overspray on the underside of the car.  Original color, or just a passing fancy?  I'd certainly want to see BMW Archives' data on this.  Could it have started life as a Malaga-with-tan example?

 

I don't write up every '02 I see, but this example, in its "been-messed-with" way, reminded me immediately of VIN 2760770, curiously offered by this same dealer.  That was the Malaga-with-saddle '72 that is now Alpine White (post-'02 era) with black interior.  Coincidence?  I don't know, but both cars gave me a queasy feeling, as in:  Get a VERY good PPI!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited June 20, 2016 by Conserv

[jmr_1602]

Very interesting. Seems like a ton of work and money to backdate a square tail. Do you think it's a VIN swap?

I noticed they didn't led the upper nose seam to fenders.

It presents very nicely. I can totally see where someone unfamiliar or new to 02's would jump on this.

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[02Les]

 

Mtr quoted as 2762323. 2762323 was on Ebay in Nov '05 in Los Angeles, CA, and was Verona with Black interior & sunroof.

2780827 was on Ebay in Dec '05 in Los Angeles.

 

Could there be an interesting story here?

 

Also, 2780827 was on Ebay last month by it's 2005-2016 Owner in Iowa.

Edited June 19, 2016 by 02Les
additional info

[Conserv]

7 minutes ago, 02Les said:

 

Mtr quoted as 2762323. 2762323 was on Ebay in Nov '05 in Los Angeles, CA, and was Verona with Black interior & sunroof.

2780827 was on Ebay in Dec '05 in Los Angeles.

 

Could there be an interesting story here?

 

Bingo, Les!  I'd bet 2780827 was still a square taillight at that time....

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[Conserv]

7 hours ago, jmr_1602 said:

...It presents very nicely. I can totally see where someone unfamiliar or new to 02's would jump on this...

 

 

I agree, but when I saw that "lead-off" photo, showing the car from the right front, I took one look at the reflection of the white road stripe in the lower body -- just below the knee trim -- saw how distorted the image of the straight line appeared, and I said (to myself), "That is not a straight body".  Photos can lie, but the "truth" is generally worse!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

[jgerock]

Under hood vin tag is a replacement.  Looks like a Malaga car below.

 

interesting

[phugley]

The same dealer also offered, as I recall, a 1967 NK2000 in Verona (color not available for that car and year) with several other "improvements" a year or so ago.

[XAVMECH]

Jeez, after all that major surgery, you'd think they'd at least take the time to get the bumpers on straight.  After seeing some of the ads out there, I feel fortunate that I was able to obtain my old '73.  It's not a show car, but at least an honest representation... It'll be interesting to see if this Tii actually sells, and for what price. 

[esty]

original malaga car

 

[lilmo]

Well, as long as it doesn't have a snorkel  . . . . it must be legit.

[Conserv]

23 hours ago, jmr_1602 said:

...Seems like a ton of work and money to backdate a square tail...

 

Not if you're square taillight got crunched front and rear....

[Gordon]

It's easy to make a snorkel 02 a non-snorkel 02. My tii had a snorkel and I converted it back to it's original form.

 

[JAS]

I'm skeptical that such a rework has been done - the relay cluster by the left front fender is pre-1974. My 74tii parts car (2781480) and my good tii (2782415) have space for up to four relays next to the voltage regulator (see pic).

 

A VIN swap or some other shenanigan? 

[lilmo]

'74 plenum and '72/'73 air filter canister. Some dropped a couple tiis into a blender . . . . 

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, JAS said:

...the relay cluster by the left front fender is pre-1974....

 

1 hour ago, JAS said:

 

Bingo, JAS!  Excellent point!  And are the doors reinforced like a square taillight?  Probably not.  Jim made the point that the riveted-on VIN tag is a repro.  The Polaris paint sticker is just wrong: besides not being a Polaris car, Polaris PVC-frei was the Polaris used from some time in 1973 through the end of '02 production.  Neu Polaris came and went in the '60's.  

 

Please don't get me wrong, I don't believe anything was actually done "in order to create a more authentic round taillight."  I believe that whatever was done was done out of expediency!

 

But why would they use the square taillight's VIN, rather than the round taillight's?  Missing title?  Salvage title?

 

Gorgeous engine compartment, by the way!  Yours, not the Frankenbimmer's!

 

Regards,

 

Steve