jscaptura1

+1 to Toby! I have driven a 97 318ti for years in upstate NY in the snow. Studded snow tires and traction control made it go ANYWHERE! And it is the closest thing to driving my 1600 than any other BMW I have driven. As a matter of fact I am thinking about ditching my e39 winter beater for another 318ti. Just so much more fun to drive than the e39! 5 speed and LSD are all things you should be looking for. My autoX car is a 318ti and is SO much fun to drive! Good Luck!

In upstate New York, I wait until the end of April-beginning of May, and sometimes by then there is still some residual salt on the roads. Wait until you are sure! The salt is out there even if you don't see it (or smell it!).

Living in & Around Watkins Glen, one usually sees some pretty interesting stuff. That being said, I have seen relatively few '02's and even less of the 1600's. I do get honks, waves & thumbs up when driving the 1600 around. 2 of the best comments I have ever heard though were at the track during vintage weekends. I had the 1600 sitting behind the esses grandstand and overheard 2 younger couples taking about it: "What is that?" "It's an MG" (I almost fell over laughing but kept quiet so I could hear the rest of the conversation). The guy from the 2nd couple said "No, that's not an MG, its British, That's what BMW stands for, British Motor Works". At that point I just kept walking by, not really believing what I had heard. Later that same day, I was opening the door and a guy came up to me and said "Is that Granada?" Still with the previous thoughts in my head from the MG comment, I thought he said, "Is that A Granada?" (thinking he meant a Ford Granada), I replied , "No, its not a Granada, its a BMW 1600". He kind of chuckled and said "no, I mean is the color Granada?" I laughed and told him the story of the previous comments about it. We chatted a bit about the car and he was very nice. Even at this years Vintage, there were very few '02's there and I had a lot of positive comments & conversations about it. I do get the comments as listed a lot in previous posts: "I used to have one, my dad/brother/uncle/neighbor etc. had one, wish I/they still had it". A few years ago, I was driving home to Horseheads from a race, it was dark and someone was following me pretty close. I knew it was a BMW by the headlights and wondered what the person was doing. Didn't matter how much I sped up or slowed down, he kept right on my tail. So I pulled into a gas station looking like I was going to put gas in the 1600, and this car follows me right in. At this point I'm thinking "oh great, what is this all going to be about". Turns out it was an E46 with a 20 something kid driving it. He gets out and says to me, "is that really a 1600? I've never seen one before, I've only heard of them, Wow! That is cool, can I please take a picture of it? I want to prove to my buddies that I actually saw a 1600!" So he took his picture and we chatted for a few minutes. If he thanked me once he thanked me a dozen times. I guess the 1600 really made his day!

This is my current 99 ti. AutoX ready and hopefully taking it on the track at the Glen in the spring with the GVC BMW CCA. Now has Kosei K1 Lightweight wheels (8# lighter per wheel than the Moda's that were on there). Upgrading to Ground control camber plates over the winter to go with the coilover kit from GC that is already on there. As stated in previous posts, E36 up front, E30 in back. When ordering the Koni Yellows I had to order the front 2 for an E36 and the rears for an E30, very confusing to the guys at ECS tuning where I bought them from. Usually have to educate parts suppliers about the uniqueness of these ti's. It also sometimes goes by the designation of an E36/5 Compact. Is a Blast to drive! You will love it!

I have had 2 ti's and my current one is a 99 AutoX car. Both have had M44's. My, first, a 97 Automatic was driven for 4 winters in Upstate NY snow. I had an open diff with DSC, and studded Cooper Snow tires. I had little to no problems with snow or slippery roads. Of course if the snow was too deep, then it became a problem, but not because of traction. So with the combination of the DSC and snow tires, it did fine. +1 on Toby B's comments about the stock MAF, you will not do much better, if at all, on MPG than the stock setup. On my 99, I have the airbox "fogged" (DIY on 318ti.org), the computer flashed by Barrie at Midnight tuning(really do recommend this, info also on 318ti.org). I also have the center resonator removed, plus all of the suspension goodies I could get. P245/40 x 17 Bridgestone's, and while highway driving, I can still get 35+ MPG with the stock ignition and MAF. www.318ti.org can be inconsistent at times, but just like the FAQ, the search is your friend. Almost every scenario for a ti is covered there one way or another. Hope your car is a 5 speed, hated the auto on my first one, LOVE the 5 speed (with LSD) on the current one. My favorite car to drive next to the 1600! Keep us posted and feel free to ask any questions at any time. I will keep an eye out on the org as well. Good luck! PS: I would keep the rear seats in for added weight over the rear wheels if you are concerned about traction. Joe

There is also VAC Motorsports in Philly. When my son was there he had some work done by them on his E46. When we were there they took us for a tour of the shop & they had several 2002 race cars they were working on. Not sure they could, or would want to, do the headliner. Cant hurt to ask. And if nothing else, they usually have some really cool stuff hanging around there!

I actually tried this once! My autoX car, a '99E36/5 was handling poorly with HUGE understeer, I had H & R race springs with Koni Yellows but the springs were way too soft. A guy I work with used to do suspension work and setup on a local circle track car said that when they needed to stiffen up a spring in a hurry, they would stuff tennis balls inside the spring. Well I tried it and sent my son out on his first run of the day without telling him what I had done. I asked if it felt any better after the run and he said "No, Why?" I showed him the springs and he just laughed at me and said: "Really..." and walked away. It didn't help that one of the tennis balls actually fell out during his run. I took them all out after that! Over the winter I replaced the springs with a Ground Control Coil Over conversion. 450# up front, 600# rear. Car handles much better now! Amazing what you will try in order to go a little faster!

I saw that on BAT a couple of days ago. Glad to see it went to someone on the FAQ that will make it right again!

Sold yesterday for $29,500.

Possible, my 1600 came with the holes for the sway bar pre drilled & I installed a 2002 sway bar when I bought the cat in '85. Mine has a build date of November 1969.

I am pretty sure mine did not come with the plastic covers. Build date of Nov 1969

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-bmw-1600-9/ Has anyone seen this auction yet? Up to over 26K with over 2 days left. Looks like a nice build. Would liked to have seen an original 1600 motor with the dual carbs. That is my goal someday. Rebuild my original 1600 motor (still In the car, over 175K) with dual carbs to make a 1600ti tribute. Not a big fan of putting the 2liter motors in the 1600's.

That's why I have kept the regular registrations on my old cars. I do have a set of period plater for the 1600 but have not decided to use them because you have to register every year. I guess New York gets you one way or another (they never met a fee they didn't like!) As far as Insurance, I have 3 insured with Condon & Skelly and have been with them for over 20 years with the 1600. When I added the Mustang & 633, they required photos and how much I wanted them insured for. I do have a restriction of around 2500 miles per year and they cant be used as daily drivers. Rates are lower if they are garaged year round. They are very reasonable with rates.

Steve was a great help to me when I was having difficulties getting an '82 633CSi I had just bought up & running! If you need it, he usually has it or can get it!

I'd say silver & blue (to go with the gold), It's the color of the sky I'm told.

Yes, I know I spelled it wrong! That's because I am so bad a typing I have to look at the keys and I didn't proofread before I sent.

https://jalopnik.com/dad-wins-car-halloween-with-this-fantastic-bmw-costume-1820048650 Anyone see this? Dad of the Year right there! Is he on the FAQ?

Anders, Congrats on 25 years! I am at 32 years & counting. Bought it from the original owner just before my 19th birthday in 1985. First car I ever owned & is still my favorite car to drive. Keep going for another 25! I will keep mine until it is time to pass it on to my son (He loves it too).

Better Pic of the 633.

Picked up the 633 about a year ago. Nice compliment to the 1600. Also shown is My E36 Auto X. Very quick! Daughters X3 DD. Sons Mini Cooper S DD. Wife's X5DD and my E39DD. AND..................The odd man out! 1968 Ford Mustang 289! There are some great cars here! And I love those E30 M3's! And yes I am still looking for an Alfa. My favorites were the GTV-6's.

Another East Coast 1600 says welcome to the madness!

Being born and raised in Watkins Glen and my father having attended the first race here in 1948 and then working for 20+ years for the now defunct Watkins Glen grand Prix corporation, I have been exposed to classic cars all my life. My dad always had some sort of euro toy to drive like Alfa's, Fiats, opels, bmw, etc. Problem was, he never kept any of them. That's why I have kept my 1600 for so long. My son,who is now 24, was hooked at an early age and enjoys the classic cars we have now: him in the 1600 just before leaving for Arizona to start his career as a pharmacist. 2nd pic is of him waiting to take parade laps at the Glen before the start of the 6 hour race in July in our 633. He is also an accomplished autocrosser in our 318ti. He will be looking to do some of that in his mini Cooper s in ne Arizona. Kind of a bummer for me now as he is no longer around! My daughter is also into classic cars but likes our 68 mustang more than the BMWs. My so is already trying to make plans for what his first interesting toy to buy will be!

Beautiful '02! Hope to see it at The Glen sometime!

Thanks for the offer, I will keep looking here & online, but if I strike out I will contact you! Thanks again!

Buckeye, I did notice that, In looking for a hypoid gear oil, traditional, non-synthetic in my area, I could find no oil that was both hypoid and non-limited slip. That was why I went to the BMW dealer. I still would like to put a traditional hypoid gear oil in the rear end like the old Kendall gear oil I used to use. Never had a problem with it but Kendall, as far as I know, is no longer sold. I even went to our local oil/lubricant distributor looking for the hypoid oil & they looked at me like I had two heads! Told me no such thing existed! Again, that's why I went straight to the dealer. I did look at your link again & thanks again for pointing it out, it was certainly helpful.