Early Tii Mystery

[JimH]

I have located a Tii that I am considering purchasing. The owner has given me a VIN of 2760051. A very early model for sure. At first glance it appears to be a pretty major project to bring it back to an acceptable level. It will have to undergo sheet metal replacement including doors and rocker panels let alone what other demons I will find.

To learn more about the vehicle, I wrote to Andreas Harz at BMW. He actually gave me a very unique report on this car:

It was manufactured Sept 1, 1971 and was sent to Hoffman Motors in NY. The car then came back (though they cannot be certain it actually came back to Germany) and was used as a "Dienstwagen" (company car). On December 21st, 1972 it was delivered to someone named "Stammnitz" at "Riverside Street". He explains this could have been a dealer or a customer that got it as a used vehicle. There are no further details except the original color was 002 Colorado.... the car is currently WHITE.

My first question is: Is this early car with a curious provenance a better target for my collectible car investment.... since bringing it back will take a sizable investment of time and money. Or... should I buy a tii that has been sorted out already... What would you guys do? I do already have some parts for this car but......

Next, does anyone have any knowledge of what may have happened to this car to have it "sent back"?? One could guess that maybe it was damaged in transit... or it was a lemon... that damn newfangled injection could have been extremely troublesome... or maybe it had major flaws in the paintwork.... or someone working for BMW needed something to drive in the US... ????? They kept track of where it went when it was sold after all???

Also, anyone have any idea who or what "Stammnitz" might have been? A dealer or BMW employee or ??????

To me the early VIN is a very cool thing. I love old things and I love to give them another chance at life.... but I just don't know if I should take on the restoration or buy a well sorted driver for probably less money...

Thanks in advance for your '02 cents

[02Les]

No help to your question, but that car was on Ebay in Aug '04 and was in Stuart, FL.

edit: it was White then too.

[JimH]

Hey, thanks very much! That's great information...

Do you know if it sold or for how much?

[02Les]

Sorry, in those days I didn't keep that info.

Where is it now? Not looking for it, just interested.

[Richard]

Sounds like a cool car BUT they did not have lemon laws then. Good chance it went back to the fatherland with a business person and was resold to military personnel. The red to white is a huge color shift and is usually done to cover up damage. The work for sheet metal could easily go 5-10K. Thats without paint.The fact it was just on Ebay is another warning sign. You mention collectible...Look for a california,nevada or arizona car. See if someone here will check it out....Probably $700 to have it trucked back or fly out and drive it back.... And to be specific about the white car. RUN>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[JimH]

It's still in Dixie....

[JimH]

Thank you for your candid reply Richard. I was thinking that the body of this car would have been more like the '73 Riviera Blau '02 I bought some years ago from a NC guy but it sure doesn't sound like it. I had a friend drop in and take some pictures... the old fashioned way. These are on their way to me now so I will have something to look at.

[02Les]

Sounds like a cool car BUT they did not have lemon laws then. Good chance it went back to the fatherland with a business person and was resold to military personnel. The red to white is a huge color shift and is usually done to cover up damage. The work for sheet metal could easily go 5-10K. Thats without paint.The fact it was just on Ebay is another warning sign. You mention collectible...Look for a california,nevada or arizona car. See if someone here will check it out....Probably $700 to have it trucked back or fly out and drive it back.... And to be specific about the white car. RUN>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As I stated, it was on Ebay in Aug '04 (over 5 yrs ago). Ebay, like it or not, is probably up there when it comes to selling to a big audience.

The fact that it is an early VIN will have pulling power to some people. Any roundie tii has that, and the earlier the better it seems.

What it costs to put back to its former glory, is going to be a labour of love and not recuperable in the short term.

I laud anyone wishing to take on a task as this may be, I just wish I had the cash to it to at least one of my '02s.

[tjones02]

I have worked on 2760048 Atlantic blue and still know the car is in the Oakland CA area.

I have nothing to add to the mystery, it is a curious one as BMW hardly kept any more info on US bound cars beyond being delivered to Hoffman until BMW NA was formed in '75.

Cool to hear of another very early Colorado colored Tii as my parents still own 2760007 that they bought new.

I have also worked on 2760011, 2760018 and may get to be a consultant/technician on the restoration of 2760001. So If you do buy 2760051 I may have some knowledge that'll help.

[JimH]

I thought this thread would be fun to start

Thanks for following up Tom. Wow, you and your family sure have some great cars.... I've had an '02 in my driveway all but two years from '82 until '09. One of these days I'll have another cool '02... but this time around injection is in my future

[JimH]

...also Tom... thanks for the offer!! Sounds like you ARE THE tech to consult!!

[tjones02]

I thought this thread would be fun to start

Thanks for following up Tom. Wow, you and your family sure have some great cars....

Ha, that's just scratching the surface of the Bimmers in my family.

The parent's BMWs...

'65 1800 TiSA

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/tjones02_bucket/995183_1800TiSA/

'70 2800 sedan

http://www.bmw2002registry.com/imageHosting/images/tjones02/DSCF0067.JPG

'72 2002 Tii

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/tjones02_bucket/Tii%20The%200007/

'87 535is

'03 325iT

Cousin Matt's '74 2002Tii...

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/tjones02_bucket/Matt%20Tii/?action=view&current=HPIM3300.jpg

My "Red"...

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/tjones02_bucket/My%20Red/

Cheers,

Tom

[JimH]

You guys are my heroes...

[tjones02]

There is a vast amount of Tii information at the 2002 Tii Register...

http://tiiregister.com/

[JimH]

Thanks again Tom.... I'll definitely spend some more time over at the Register.

Anyone else have any theories or thoughts for me? Were there any known problems with those early Tiis that the engineers in Munich had to address?