1968 02 detachable headrest? Is this original?

[68BMW02]

Hello everyone,

 

I acquired a 1968 02 about a year ago from an elderly woman that came with corbeau racing seats. The PO called me the other day and said she was cleaning out her garage and while doing so she stumbled upon the original seats. She said I was more than welcome to pick them up and so I did. The seats appeared to be in very good shape and she said her husband had swapped them out for the corbeau racing seats very early into ownership of their 02. Now what interested me was a detachable headrest she handed me after I had loaded the seats into my car. She said from what she remembers it came with the 02 and it even matches the color of the seats perfectly. She mentioned it only came with one so if either of them were driving solo the driver would use it and whenever her husband drove with her in it he would attach it to her seat. Why it never came with two? I don't know. I've attached pictures! Has anyone seen this before? Whether it's original or not I think it's pretty neat!

 

 

Edited August 25, 2018 by Hawaii2002

[John_in_VA]

Coolish - I've never seen them before.

[68BMW02]

29 minutes ago, John_in_VA said:

Coolish - I've never seen them before.

Same here! A bunch of my local 02 buddies haven't either!

[Conserv]

So, yes, there was an optional (dealer accessory) headrest in the days before headrests became standard. And, yes, you purchased these headrests singly, not in pairs. And yes, Mercedes-Benz and other European manufacturers (OEM and aftermarket) offered similar single headrests during the ‘60’s. And, yes, the BMW OEM headrest was illustrated in a December 1968 French-market dealer accessories brochure.

 

Unfortunately, the source I used to access a copy of this brochure — a thread on the U.K. 2002 forum — has become de-linked from photobucket.

 

http://02forum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=9835

 

Seeing a headrest (in the trunk of an eBay car) similar to the headrest in the current thread’s original post, I questioned in this earlier U.K. forum thread whether it might be a BMW OEM version. Other members convinced me quickly that it was a generic headrest, quite common in the European and British markets, but absolutely period-appropriate to the late 1960’s.

 

So I’m saying this headrest is of the period but not BMW OEM.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited August 25, 2018 by Conserv

[Simeon]

My Dad had some of those in his Triumph 2.5PI saloon. He kept them when he sold the car in case he needed them for another car. He gave them to me for my first car, a Mini 850 but since the seats were tiny and only came halfway up my back they were a bit wobbly and pointless. I quietly took them back out again. 

[68BMW02]

15 minutes ago, Conserv said:

So, yes, there was an optional (dealer accessory) headrest in the days before headrests became standard. And, yes, you purchased these headrests singly, not in pairs. And yes, Mercedes-Benz and other European manufacturers offered similar single headrests during the ‘60’s. And, yes, the BMW OEM headrest was illustrated in a December 1968 French-market dealer accessories brochure.

 

Unfortunately, the source I used to access a copy of this brochure — a thread on the U.K. 2002 forum — has become de-linked from photobucket.

 

http://02forum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=9835

 

Seeing a headrest (in the trunk of an eBay car) similar to the headrest in the current thread’s original post, I questioned in this earlier U.K. forum thread whether it might be a BMW OEM version. Other members convinced me quickly that it was a generic headrest, quite common in the European and British markets, but absolutely period-appropriate to the late 1960’s.

 

So I’m saying this headrest is of the period but not BMW OEM.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

Cool to know! Whoever made the one I currently have did an excellent job to match the seat color and vertical lines!

[02Les]

Here's a pics of the BMW optional headrest. Thanks to someone who posted them a while back.

[TobyB]

Quote

an elderly woman that came with corbeau racing seats

 

from pasadena, perchance?

 

hee

 

t

[Mike Self]

11 hours ago, Conserv said:

So I’m saying this headrest is of the period but not BMW OEM.

I remember seeing these advertised by various suppliers (Vielem B Haan comes to mind) in period Road & Tracks and Car and Driver magazines.  Cool period accessory.

If you've seen (at Mid America) Meg's very original and highly accessorized '67, I believe it has at least one of those headrests

 

mike

Edited August 25, 2018 by mike

[jgerock]

16 minutes ago, mike said:

I remember seeing these advertised by various suppliers (Vielem B Haan comes to mind) in period Road & Tracks and Car and Driver magazines.  Cool period accessory.

 

mike

Yup.  I may have at least one Haan ad from an old magazine to post here.

[HBChris]

I went to the Haan store on Santa Monica Blvd in the 60s, all I could afford were the wood shift knobs!

[bluehills2002]

I have an accessories catalog in English/French that shows a headrest similar to, but not exact, as that posted by Les.  Could that dimple  in Les’ photo be the “Special Equipment”  badge (which google translates to “For Your Automobile ...Special Accessories...Developed and Tested”) or is it simply the roundel (or neither?)

[John_in_VA]

2 hours ago, bluehills2002 said:

Could that dimple  in Les’ photo be the “Special Equipment”  badge (which google translates to “For Your Automobile ...Special Accessories ...Developed and Tested”) or is it simply the roundel (or neither?)

 

It appears to be a roundel on the right one in the top photo from Les.

[Conserv]

27 minutes ago, John_in_VA said:

 

It appears to be a roundel on the right one in the top photo from Les.

 

+1

 

And the vinyl seat covering on the other headrest in Les’s photo has been flipped backwards (stained? torn?) so you can see the little roundel from the backside.

 

Regards,

 

Steve