74 tii with 4700 original miles

[jgerry2002]

Interesting argument but I don't buy it, saying that the '74 is somehow less of a tii or more of a cream puff than the earlier '72/'73. Big bumpers were a reaction to changed crash standards. Differences in distributor were made for emission standards. There are other differences, but not dramatic enough for it to be a "totally different" car.

Could it be that everyone new that '74 was going to be the end of the tii in this country so they put the cars away? I'd believe that argument.

The E21 started down the path of "yuppie-mobile". The E30 seemed to be the pinnicle of that marketing though its a better drivers car than an E21, with the E30 M3 being the purest sports sedan but proved that peaky and harsh driving car was not what the public at large is willing to except from BMW anymore.

I've heard a similar argument used in the E36 world with the '95 M3s vs '96 to '99 M3s. Somehow the newer model is "less" of an M3 than the original with updated electronics, staggered wheels, and suspension changes. Its somehow a softer and more toned down version of the original. Having owned both I disagree.

To me this sounds like nothing more than the old round tail light vs. square tail light debate. I have no preference for either, but I somehow have two square tail/big bumper cars. Honestly if I had the garage space/money I'd keep buying more of them, newer or older I don't care, each '02 has a different personality. Some have more character than others, squarie or roundie.

[Delia]

Just for the record, a "Cream Puff" is a second hand car in very good condition.

I observed that the most recent discoveries of low mileage tiis are 1974 models.

It was implied that the reason these cars are low-mileage is because production numbers increased in 1974.

I noted that there were more round taillight tiis than squaretail tiis produced, so the likelihood of there being similar numbers of roundtail cars waiting to be discovered should be greater.

Based on recent observations, this has not been the case.

So when use facts and my experiences to analyze this observation, you guys tell me I'm wrong, then turn it into roundie/squarie debate.

I'm through here.

D

[rpacifici]

I thought you would all get a kick out of getting an update on this thread. Here I am, the proud owner of that very 74 tii! Seven years later its up to a whopping 22K miles and so happy to be out of the "container" and driving great.

[dbmw2002]

Its not about sqware vs roundie, or 72 vs 74,  its about enjoying what you brought, kudos for u and lookin for early bumps for my 76, and a container to ship her to europe, the autobahn awaits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jgerry2002]

More pics please.

 

Nice to see the original trap mirror on it too...

[austinmf]

That was a great read!  Super car!  I would love to see more pictures too!

 

Nice thread revival too!  Did it take that long to get it back on the road?

[jrkoupe]

..some of the nicest wheels ever made.....very Campy ish..Alfa ish...

 

sweet car.....

[rpacifici]

Here are three more pictures of the "White Virgin"

I'll try to type up what I know of the history this weekend and post it.

In the meantime enjoy these pictures.

 

Here are two web postings to check out:

 

This is the car right after it came out of the "container" as mentioned in the original post in this thread.

http://www.coupeking.com/virgin-74-tii-before-1183

 

This is the car after Coupe King got done with the "rectification".

http://www.coupeking.com/virgin-74-tii-after-2-1263

 

 

 

 

[SamAdams]

Very nice. Reminds me of my 1975 02 that I owned for 24 years. Chamonix/Marine Blue with Behr ac and factory alloys. But the Euro bumper conversion really cleans up the cars appearance. Thanks for sharing. I am rather envious. 

[Gordon]

My previous 74 Sahara tii was a Frankenstein. It had been hit numerous times, lots of body panels had been replaced along with the required bondo and rust. I found a clean 74 Sahara tii shell from Coupe King (traded my Euro E28 525e for the tii shell) that was an abandoned M20 project. I decided to do it right this time, I had Peter's shop do a diving board to Euro bumpers and delete the US spec side marker lights for a true Euro look  I had the tii shell repainted in the original color, and everything from my Frankenstein tii was moved over to the new tii shell.

 

Any regrets?  None what so ever. IMHO, all US spec BMW's from 74-88 are fugly compared to Euro models of the same era.  I've also owned a Euro spec E3, E12 & E28 and the difference is night and day between the way US and Euro cars looked during this period.. My first 02 was a Sahara 75 1802 that I had while in the Air Force stationed in Germany from 79-82. I wanted my tii to look like my 1802. I'm a firm believer that 72-73 tii's shouldn't be molested but it's OK to alter the appearance of diving board bumper 02's since they are so fugly compared to the Euro models. Anyone who says a 74 tii shouldn't be molested need to see what a square tail light 02 looks like after a Euro bumper conversion. The appearance factor is the primary reason for doing the conversion but your 02 will lose a lot of weight by converting from diving boards to early bumpers.  In fact, I prefer a square tail light 02 with a Euro bumper conversion over a roundie.

 

G-Man