Jim_75Sahara

Give me a call. I will have time to do things on Wednesday. Phone: 937-479-9794....

Spend some time in the Over the Rhine neighborhood (OTR for short), visit Findlay Market, check out Mt. Adams, Eden Park, Oh, and go to FUEL on a Saturday morning for Cars & Coffee (and meet my friend, Jason Gipson, the guy who runs it!), try some BBQ at Eli's BBQ, Eat at Skyline Chili, Try some Graeter's ice cream, visit Jungle Jim's Grocery in Fairfield or Batavia, etc. Across the river from Cincinnati, there is the Hofbrau Haus in Newport, KY. For a German experience in Zincinnati, head to Mecklenburg Gardens in the Univ. of Cincinnati area.... If you're near Dayton, OH, check out the Packard Museum and the USAF museum. There is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Springfield, OH that I still need to see, but I hear that it has been nicely restored. GoFaSSter: Let me know when you're in the area, maybe I can be your guide.... BTW, Jason G. is AKA Eurotrash on this site. He's a hardcore 2002 fan.

Last January we got together at Mecklenburg Gardens Restaurant near the University of Cincinnati campus. This event will be repeated due to popular demand. In one form or another, MG has been around since Deutsch was the most common language in Zinzinnati.... If you'd like to talk BMWs, dine on German food and have a beer or three, you should join us on January 7th, 2017 at 6:30 PM. The address is: 302 E. University Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219. We had great luck last year, the weather was unseasonably warm that evening.

It happened and once again it was great fun. Feel free to add photos and text to this thread.... Thanks, Jason!!

$3500 was my entry fee in 2003. Good luck and have fun with your new toy.

It's coming up very soon, our annual get-together at Sabbathsong Farm in the picturesque countryside of northern Kentucky. Each Fall, we convene for tire-kicking, socializing, great food/drink, beautiful scenery, bonfires, English Mastiffs, and an unforgettable driving experience led by our renowned 02 expert, Jason Gipson. We welcome other 2002 owners (and owners of other BMWs...) to come join us over the September 23rd-25th weekend. Details can be found on our RGB Facebook page. We stay two nights at the Sabbathsong Farm B&B with wonderful food provided by Carolyn Boatman. Typically, we end up at Blue Licks State Park for lunch midway through our Saturday drive for a smorgasbord of country cuisine. The roads in this area were mostly laid out before the automobile was commonplace. That means there are tight curves, sudden dips, hill hops, off-camber sweeping turns, etc. We have to watch out for dogs, turtles and snakes in the road, plus the occasional tractor or combine. (part of the fun) We are very lucky to have this splendid event ------ so we'd like to share it with y'all.

I stopped there for an overnight stay en route to Vintage at Saratoga this Summer. A large contingent of 2002 owners (including me, Mary and our son, Alec) attended the 2007 Vintage Grand Prix in Watkins Glen. BMW was the featured marque that year. It was a great time. Beautiful place.

My father owned a 1972 Golf 2002 from March, 1973 through December, 1977. I don't know the VIN, but it had a long console and the Klippan seat belts. I figure it was built in the latter part of 1971.

Over the July 29 - 31st weekend, we were entertained/hosted/led by Jake & Liz Metz of Louisville, KY. This was their first time hosting an RGB event, so they were most eager to provide us with a fine weekend of BMWs, friends, food, adult beverages, car talk and challenging, yet scenic driving. Mary and I were the first to join them early Friday evening. We immediately dashed off in their Nissan Leaf (an electric car - interesting!) for dinner at the Bluegrass Brewing Co. With only four of us there, the conversation was boisterous, personal and definitely great fun. The beer and the food were quite good too. We later went back to their house to await the arrival of Wil and Jonathan Tinker. We busied ourselves with their two dogs and two cats. (Arlo, a gigantic brindle mastiff, Gage, a huge chocolate brown Labrador Retriever, Rupert, a friendly pale male kitty and Pandora, a shy black female cat.) A few beers later and then the Tinkers arrived. More conversation, beer and rough-housing with the dogs followed. In the morning, we were treated to a breakfast casserole, donuts, coffee and orange juice. There was some light wrenching on the Tinkers' cars (an Agave roundie and a bronzeit beige metallic E21) and Jake's automatic roundie (Frogger) that stubbornly refused to start up right away. Later on, we had lunch with more of the RGB crew at a local diner. We were met there by Jason Gipson (and his son, Henry), John Blake (& his son, Joe), Ben and Lyndsay Younce (and their son, Rowan & their daughter, Marin), and Farshid Alai (& his two sons: Hajir & Beijan - sp? - sorry!). After lunch, we embarked on a 93.7 mile route through the Bluegrass countryside. It started out very hot and humid, but over time it cooled off some, then it rained and cooled things off even more. By the end of our drive, it was hot and sunny once again. Everyone's BMW performed well and we had no mishaps. Thankfully, we did not collide with a giant snapping turtle sunning itself in the roadway. There were plenty of tight turns and changes in elevation to keep us happy. We even managed to pass through the parking lot of the local Homearama which was sort of special, too. We returned to the Metz home for drinks, snacks and conversation. Eventually, we drove out to the German-American Club for Wiener Schnitzel, Jaeger Schnitzel, brats, red cabbage, sauerkraut, green beans, sauerkraut balls, giant pretzels --- and BEER. Good food and a festive atmosphere - no problems with that. Some of us danced to the live music under the shelter. The weather was great by this time, so that dining outdoors was enjoyable. Some of our RGB members bought beer steins as mementos. Much later, we made our way back to the Metz household for more conversation, quality time with their dogs and more? adult beverages. Some lingered until 3 AM, but not me... Zzzzzz. Anyhow, it was a super weekend that was well planned - it proceeded without any complications. The focus was on friends, fun, relaxation and BMWs - - as it should be.

Not sure any more!

2002 visors are white on both sides unless I wasn't paying attention somewhere along the way.

Here in Ohio, we are no longer required to have our cars pass an E-check inspection (environmental/pollution level check). Even then, the state was not inspecting cars for rust or serious body damage. Lars, you'd be shocked by what passes for a usable vehicle here in my part of the world.

I'm up for another drive/gtg, especially since you have 2 of them eager to go now!

There are a lot of people who know nothing about the states of Iowa and Ohio. Many confuse the states or conclude that they are purely agricultural, fly-over states...

Karl Hendrickson of Yellow Springs, OH is putting his 1973 Malaga tii up for sale. Earlier I had mentioned this on the Facebook RGB page. Soon, he will be placing an ad in the FAQ classifieds as well. So, the VIN is 2762709. It was built in October of 1972. It was purchased by Karl in 2000. This tii is a four-speed manual with a numbers-matching engine. It is a non-a/c, non-sunroof car. It came from the factory in Sahara with a tobacco interior. A previous owner had it repainted in Malaga and swapped in a black interior. Karl has a spare tobacco interior to go with this car, btw. Mechanically it is quite sound and has received very good care with Karl. He has always kept it garaged. The paint job is showing its age, however. The paint is cracking, though I could not detect any obvious rust spots. It has its original wheels and wheel covers. Asking price: $23K. Karl can be contacted at #937-610-8287 or at email: a54atii@gmail.com.

I was asked by my friend, Farshid ("Buckeye" - owner of a '76 Siennabraun '02), why the various models weren't separated at this year's Vintage. I told him that we had done that in the past. I see advantages & disadvantages with separate areas vs a random mix of models. It is great to be with your group of like-minded folks. However, some people won't bother to look at the grouped models that they're less interested in. We could end up with an unintentional sense of rivalry between "my group" (the BEST!) vs other groups of BMW owners ("not the best!"). I have owned an '02, an E46 and an E30 - - I lust for others that I'm yet to own, so I'm flexible. Pros and cons either way.

I went through your project blog once again, Jake. I am more impressed than ever with all the work that you've accomplished on this '66. That work certainly paid off for you: the unforgettable times at Vintage, not to mention getting to and from the event with this rare specimen. I certainly had fun being a small part of it all. (including tail-gating you on the twisties after we left Hot Springs on Saturday afternoon) Well done, sir!

We are proud of our newbies: Nick and Jessica Mavridoglou, Eric and Sarah King, Farshid, Kathy Resler, Larry Gray and Zach Matson. The 2016 event attracted many first-time attendees. We always need new fans of the marque. Welcome them and roll out the red carpet.