1970 2002Ti Original Owner!

[TonyHavana]

If any of you remember the posts of when I bought this Ti last fall, I had mentioned I had tracked down the original owner. Last week I took the car out of winter hibernation, so finally today I went to visit him. He owned the car from 1969 until 2000, but had stopped driving it in 1985, when he picked up a 3 series new in Germany and brought it back to Toronto.

He was thrilled! Here's a couple of shots.

[BillWilliams]

Tony, are you coming to Vintage at the Vineyards? If you are, bring the ol gent with you.

[RayC911]

Wow, you can almost feel his emotions, especially in the 4th pic.

[roadhog0]

Reminds me of when I let the Original owner of my car drive it at the end of the summer. He hadn't driven the car it about 20 years, instead he saw it in his garage for 20 years... Man did he ever get a kick out of that!

[02Les]

That's so neat. He must have been real pleased.

[HarryPR]

That is so great, Tony. I'm sure that the gentleman in the pic still has a smile on his face.

[TonyHavana]

No V & V for me, I work freelance and that is the wrong time for me to take time off. One day though, I hope.

On the 1970 Ti that is for sale right now in the cars section, Ray from Japan mentions that the square VDO bottle is incorrect. Mine has the same square bottle, and when I asked David (the original owner) about it, as far as he can remember, it is the original. So Ray, if you read this, you might be wrong.

The nice wooden, old script gear knob on the car was a gift from his girlfriend at the time. He mentioned that the flag mirror was a replacement, and the seats were not the originals, as when he bought it, it didn't have headrests. He also wondered what happened to the Becker radio and 8 track!

I asked him what he was driving now. A mini! Glad to see he hasn't lost his good taste in cars! I might see if he wants to go to a local meet sometime this summer.

[jgerock]

Now this is great stuff! Some emotions were running high during his visit. Did he have a name for the ti??

I have contacted (3) former PO's of my tii. The one in PA was surprised to hear from me and (unfortunately) told me about it being totalled and the nose had to be replaced, along with the front fenders. I'm still hoping to find the original owner.

[ray_]

Ha! I am reading this, Tony! I was waiting to be proven wrong, but I did think all the early cars came with round washer bottles. Not that it's a big deal at all in relation to the car for sale!

Cheers,

Ray

No V & V for me, I work freelance and that is the wrong time for me to take time off. One day though, I hope.

On the 1970 Ti that is for sale right now in the cars section, Ray from Japan mentions that the square VDO bottle is incorrect. Mine has the same square bottle, and when I asked David (the original owner) about it, as far as he can remember, it is the original. So Ray, if you read this, you might be wrong.

The nice wooden, old script gear knob on the car was a gift from his girlfriend at the time. He mentioned that the flag mirror was a replacement, and the seats were not the originals, as when he bought it, it didn't have headrests. He also wondered what happened to the Becker radio and 8 track!

I asked him what he was driving now. A mini! Glad to see he hasn't lost his good taste in cars! I might see if he wants to go to a local meet sometime this summer.

[vinceinIL]

Great story! Sounds like he really enjoyed seeing his old car too.

vince

[bmwmalcolm]

Its cool to hook up with the original owner. Tony, I wondered if this was the red ti I occasionally saw parked on Quebec Ave or Pinecrest road in High Park neighbourhood in the '79, 80. The background of the shots with the owner could be that area. I was never able to hook up with the owner of that car 'back in the day"(Wifey and I were newlyweds living in a triplex on Quebec Ave at the time. My Chamonix 71 2002 was always garaged behind our apt.)

2002 ti's were always a rare sight even then-reportedly only aprox 60 cars imported officially to Canada. Several of others like my Riviera #1690976 were privately imported.

[TonyHavana]

Hi Malcolm Not sure where he lived in the late 70's, but next time I talk to him, I will ask. These shots were taken yesterday in the Dupont/Bathurst area.

You will have to join us when the local 02'ers get together this year.

What happened to your Ti?

[kris]

Nice work Tony. Bring him to one of our drives or maybe TedFest.

Kris

[jrkoupe]

Wow, you can almost feel his emotions, especially in the 4th pic.

yup....great shot.

[bmwmalcolm]

Hi Tony,

I sold my ti to Vince in 2001. It was in sad, sad shape but complete and with interesting (at least to me) providence. It was a private import by a Cdn. military officer after his deployment in Laar W. Germany. He bought it new, and picked it up at the factory in June 1970, although it was titled as a '71. Interesting features - original Recaros with head rests, recovered in light blue velour by the PO (it was the 70's after all), Becker Mexico (I think) with separate Becker cassette player, no sunroof, 4 speed.

I bought it in 83 and the body had been crudely repaired and painted by the PO. I drove this car as my winter beater for years to keep my '71 Chamonix off the road.

I believe we've met at Mosport Vintage event a couple of times.