Do you remember your first ?

[RussTii]

My girlfriend's family bought a new 76 Automatic which was probably the first BMW I had ever noticed or certainly ridden in. The most memorable thing about it had to do with it failing to start when we were somewhere and my being afraid to touch her Dad's new toy as it was still under warranty. The dealer got it running and her brother later ran over a sizable rock, necessitating floor repairs. As I recall the car was later stolen (borrowed) for a month as they had the habit of leaving the keys in the ignition while in their driveway. Got it back after Spring Break full of beer bottles. Apparently the BMW virus took as I've had my '73 Tii since '89 and numerous parts cars and other BMWs ever since.

[beast02er]

I was nutts for a mini (the real mini, not these new ones) when I was about 14 and looked non stop for one. When I was 16 at a British car show, we nearly bought one (my parents for me) but it smoked a little on start up, and supposedly there were coke vials on the floor!

The next weekend my dad was looking at the car classifieds in the paper (back when cars were sold in the paper) and said, hey, we should go check out this 73' Red 2002, Sparco seats, Panasport wheels etc. I had remembered my Dad talking about his black 74' he bought new and how much he liked it, but I had always wanted the mini. Well we went and saw the car, as I walked up the driveway and saw it in the garage, it was love at first sight, I knew I needed that car! It had boy racer written all over it, which at the time i looooved. We drove home the car the next day and I have owned it ever since (11 years this July). Lately my infatuation has been with Cortina's, but I still love my 2002 and would probably get another if my wife would let me have more than 3 cars =)

Bryan

red73

[JLENHAM]

oh yeah, in the late 70's or early 80's Road and Track ran and article "10 best cars under $x,xxx" I know there was a Camaro, probably a FIAT, maybe a 510, and then a golf tii, round tail light model, I was hooked. Later I found out that my high school chorus teacher had a 73 that he had purchased in Europe, he and I struck a deal when he traded up to an e30 318 (he said he regretted it...)

Ran that car through high school and college, deferring repairs until I could not afford to fix it up after graduating and needed something (I perceived) to be more reliable and traded it on a Scirocco. Yawn...

So about 4 years ago I come across the old cars twin on e-bay and won it. You can go home again.

Still have that R&T article.

[Lars]

1994, my parents and my older brother were out shopping for cars while I was at school (start of my senior year). He was in the Air Force on leave between tech school and his first base and needed a vehicle. When I got home from school there was a little red BMW sitting in the driveway. My brother had mentioned that he was looking at a BMW. It was so cool. They said they got it for $1900 the same place that he was getting his 1980 320i. My parents had bought it for me!! It was a 1975 and looked great. It had its issues that took some time to figure out, but it really got me into them and after the really major service jobs that it needed, I decided to start working on it myself.

I could only do so much at the time and when the engine blew it was done for. It became a parts car, although with the other 2 we had bought for $600. At 74tii (minus most of the tii stuff) and a 76 with a blown engine, but lots of parts. Now all 3 of them are in my current 74, built over 8 years from a shell.

[M3M3]

in 73 i was 15 and looking forward to driving my mom's fiat 124 spyder when i got my license. how cool would that be? well, my mom traded that fiat in on new car...a hideous boxy sedan i had never heard of. argh! i was so pissed. then i got my lic and drove the new 1973 blue bmw 2002 that i was so mad about. instantly hooked. have owned a steady stream of bmw's since then. it is all mom's fault!

[Mike Self]

saw my first 1600...cool except it was 6v...after 6v VWs and Renaults that wouldn't start in the cold, no more 6V.

Spring 68, upstate NY--fellow Lt bought one of the first 2002s in the country...watched it for 8 months--if it stood up to his "enthusiastic" driving one would last me a lifetime. It did....

And I bought mine on 3 May 1969 in Queens NY. Named it Wolfgang. Still have it. Added a '73 in 1978; that's Ludwig.

mike

[victirt7402]

It all started about 5 years back. I was online looking at vintage racing videos. I came across this little BMW called a "2002", I thought it was a funny name and a cool car but never thought much of it after. Fast forward to late March 2009, my mom takes me to work with her and on the way she says "oh vic, you gotta see this little car for sale. you'll love it!" Golf yellow 1974 '02. Ive seen this car years ago driving around by a lady with big hair and a little Jack Russel. I thought it was hideously awful then but... The second we pulled into the driveway I knew, it was mine. We clicked. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen and I needed it. All that week I begged her to just consider it, "mom, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" eventually she caved in and we went back and talked to the ladies husband. Mom offered 900 and he says "well, i'll take 800 but you gotta promise you'll take care of her" must've seen the enthusiasm. By the end of the week, I was in that car with mom at the wheel. Fumes gassing us out, rear end louder than the radio, drivers seat never stayed in place, but i could give an eff. It was mine and no one else had anything like it. It was history, it was a 2002. It was Pohtice, my love. April 3rd, 2009 was a day to remember and now a year later, I can almost drive her(license coming up in a couple days). I'm now known as the kid with the little yellow car in my neighborhood. I doubt ill ever get rid of my 2002.

[NickVyse]

oh yea, vividly. The year was '76 or early '77 I was 12 or 13 and already way into cars. Our neighbor Mr. Darling traded in his mid '60's Mercedes sedan for a brand new '76 in the brightest green I had ever seen on a car. Not sure what they called the color. Tan interior. He said it was one of the safety colors. You know, everything seemed black and white back then until I saw this '02. All I know is that I've been hooked ever since. I'm not sure he ever gave me a ride!

Mint grun, same as my Touring.

Used to hoiday in Greece every summer as a kid through the seventies - lots of 02's there, mostly modified even then, and the bug was caught.

[Harv]

Like others here, I was aware of 2002's but to me they were real cars, not sports cars. The first one I remember being "awoken by" was a Cinebraun 74 that we worked on at my friends old shop, Quadrifoglio Performance. At the time I was into Midgets, Bug-eye's, Alfa's and an brief infatuation with Ford Fiestas. Anything that I thought was a "sports car" or at least light weight. I test drove that 74 and was shocked at how well it went. Hey! It'll chirp the tires in second!

Then I met my friend Jim.

Actually I re-met him as we knew each other in 5th grade. Jim was the kid that could ride the longest wheelie at school. He was working at Berkshire Foreign Car Parts delivering partsAnd rebuilding starters and alternators for Berkshire Racing Green. He had this nice Schwartz 72. We would run into each other at junkyards an such. We lost touch for a while but when my Mom bought her house in 86 I found he lived down the street with some friends in a rented house. The Schwartz was totaled and he was driving a 68 1600 parts car called the Roach that was tossed from 02 nut to 02 nut. He bought it for nothing and put his motor an stuff in it.

Now you have to picture Jim and the Roach. Jim looked like Frank Zappa. Mustache and all. The Roach was a rusted out hulk of a turd. It was dented in every panel the headlights didn't aim the right way, no bumpers. The hood latch was long gone. The bottoms of the front fenders were rusted out. No interior except for two front seats that had seen much better days. It was originally Colorado but someone a LONG time ago had painted all but the roof flat black. You get the idea.

Man was it fast! It had his good motor in it. Lanny (guy who built the white and green car) had given him a re jetted formula Ford 32/36 for it and he had an original Ansa Sport exhaust. I was driving a 79 Toyota Supra at the time and the Roach would pull away every time.

Then we had an idea. We were having this big party and we all painted the Roach with what ever spray cans we had. It said 1A-12 on the roof. Had teeth on the front. Corvette scallops on the side. Classic trash painted on the trunk just over urban assault vehicle. The wheels were painted with x's and the opposite triangles were filled in with safety orange paint. We added a tapestry as a headliner. It would just barely touch the top of your head.

One day we were driving up rt. 7 in Ma. coming from a junk yard in Gt. Barington when we spotted a 535i. We passed him in a fit of 02 furry never to be witnessed again. 100+ mph the hood was lifting up, the fenders were flapping, the suspension was listing from front right to left rear and the the steering wheel was violently shimmying as the motor belted out some hugely high rpm bellow as it pushed that 4:11 rear to infinity and beyond. The 535i guy had no chance.

We calmed down and a few miles later when we stoped at a light we pulled up behind a State Trooper. Jim's white reject inspection sticker in the windshield was too hard to miss despite the rest of the car.

We got pulled over. Ya gotta picture us. Jim looking like Zappa, me with a mullet, and both of us dirty from crawling around a country junk yard. Junk BMW stuff all over the inside the car.

Jim is doing his best and I'm watching from the right seat with my window up. I sit back in the seat and then almost jump out of my skin as the other cop is looking in my window, hands and face up on the glass. "Whats that?" he says. Let me see that. I say it's a fuel sending unit for a BMW. He needs to inspect it as he thinks it's a bong. I look at the window regulator (no door panels) and see a worn off nub where the crank would go. Jim hands me the vice grips from his window crank and I give it a go. One turn and the window goes down an inch. One more turn and nothing. Another and the window falls to the bottom of the door! Wham! "Give me that" the cop says. Ok. Here you go. Gas dribbled all over him as they tend to do! Ha.

We were released on our own recognizance.

John

[Harv]

Just wanted to bump this thread as it almost got lost after the hiccup we had yesterday.

John

[gwb72tii]

Just wanted to bump this thread as it almost got lost after the hiccup we had yesterday.

John

now that is a funny story harv

somedays i wonder in amazement i'm still here after all the bonehead stuff i did as a kid

[Harv]

Me- Jim, I need new tires.

Jim- why?

Me- Well there's cord showing on two of em.

Jim- Does it make noise yet when the belts slap on the road?

Me- No not that bad.

Jim- Then what's the problem?

John

[jgerock]

In early 1983, my next-door-neighbor brought home a 74 Schwarz '02 that he got for next to nothing on a mechanics' lien. He proceeded to repaint it, install Gotti wheels/Fulda tires, Kameii front spoiler, dual Webers, header, different camshaft and a Coustic brand stereo system (anyone remember them?).

I was hooked after taking a couple of rides in the car.

Here is a photo I took in August 1983

Here is the same car on the cover of the Sept/Oct. 1983 der Bayerische (NCC newsletter)

Years later, Keith Kreeger's tii started me on a search for one for myself.