engine and drivetrain Thoughts on this '72 engine

[beerbier]

I'm looking at a 72 tomorrow (non tii) and am curious about the engine (can you tell if it is a 121 or e12 head?) as well as if there are special Calif. emissions on CA models? I'm new to the 2002s, but have been doing a lot of reading. Something looks off, but perhaps it is just the stock look.

Any thoughts from looking at this pic on the engine are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

JT

[VintageAutobahn]

closer pics with the air cleaner off would be helpful.

[c.d.iesel]

....what looks off to me this far away is those stinking

front strut spacers are still living under the inner fenders !!

[Mike_R]

looks like it is not running

[Tommy]

To me it looks very stock. Original air filter and cool air intake is still there. The spacers are normally first to be removed so that also tells it should be pretty unmolested. But as also mentioned the respray looks like a quick job.

[JohnS]

Stock black coil with ballast resistor == good

[Mars]

the head will actually be stamped. just look under the air filter assembly and you will see what kind of head it is.

If you want to know if the motor is original look for the matching VIN where the top of the tranny bellhousing is at the back of the motor. This will let you know if the original block is in the car.

from what we can see it is a pretty nice stock car.

Good

* Stock air filter with summer/winter intake.

* original style coil and necessary ballast resistor (which crank better in my opinion)

* As mentioned the strut plates appear to be in place which I think is cool but it probably has the stance of a boat.

* original round VDO washer bottle

* Nose looks good. No major bends or dimples

* wiper motor has the cover on it

Not so good

* No battery brace

* respray = kind of crappy but you can clean off most of it off the rods, etc.

show us the rest of the car

[beerbier]

Many thanks to all who have replied - I greatly appreciate the feedback. I'm a long time e38 owner and have wanted a 2002 for a long time. Went and looked at the car today and it is in great condition. Original owner restored the car (or had it restored) and 2nd owner has owned for a couple years as a daily driver. I have a lot to learn about the 2002s and appreciate the feedback.

I'll post some more pics once I pull the trigger.

Thanks again,

JT