The Next Project? BMW 2002s and Similar 60s/70s BMWs

[Panici]

Hi All,


I'm always making a never-ending plan for the next project car.
Recently saw a running-but-rough 1975 BMW 2002 up for sale. I am going to follow along and see how much it ends up selling for.

Other project ideas are an E12 5-series (I've had a lovely green one as my desktop wallpaper for months).
The easier to find idea is a C5 Corvette.
Regardless of choice, it will take a few years of concerted saving to happen.


Anyone here have experience with the '02 chassis? I welcome your thoughts!

[AWDBOB]

I recently picked up a rough but solid 02 for a bit of a hoopty m20 swapped 02 build. Pretty excited. The cars are a lot different than e30s in that they're actually old, compared to an e30.

[82eye]

02's are harder to get into than a porsche here.

[Panici]

02's are harder to get into than a porsche here.

In terms of price, availability, or both?

[AWDBOB]

02's are harder to get into than a porsche here.

I don't find this to be true at all. I've seen several good deals on 02s over the past 6+mo. The perspective changes when you transition from window shopping to actually ready to pull the trigger, IMO. It's like saying the E30 market is blown out. It mostly is, but good deals pop up all the time if you're in an active position to move on a car immediately once a deal presents itself.

The only good thing about cars being advertised on FB, is that several fall through the cracks if they don't sell or get bumped past their first showing in the algorithm.

Edit: you both may be in Canadia, in which case the above may be slightly less valid

[82eye]

Edit: you both may be in Canadia, in which case the above may be slightly less valid

that's the issue. i can't remember the last time i saw a driving 02. i did see 2 e21's over the course of the last 4 months. only saw 1 e30 more in the same time. had to have counted at least 8 porsches. folk never winter drove porsches when new and available, they did all the others. makes a massive difference.

[Panici]

Edit: you both may be in Canadia, in which case the above may be slightly less valid

Yes, the market is distinctly different here.
It's the road salt which claims anything winter-driven for 10+ years.

And it's quite expensive to import a US vehicle. I looked into it once and IIRC it was pushing $10k by the time the shipping, storage, importers, and lawyers were finished.
Might be worth it for something rare, but not for anything I can afford.

that's the issue. i can't remember the last time i saw a driving 02.

I actually have seen a few this past summer. Mostly perfect cars but at least one rough/pre-restoration.

[82eye]

In terms of price, availability, or both?

pretty much both, due to availability. 02 won't get 80's air-cooled money, but it would get the same or more as a new brz or such. last 02 i saw for purchase was 10 yrs ago and needed extensive work.

[Panici]

pretty much both, due to availability. 02 won't get 80's air-cooled money, but it would get the same or more as a new brz or such.

Wow, so unless I can find something really rough or not running they're out of the question.
Deals still happen, doesn't hurt to keep my eyes open I guess.

[82eye]

Wow, so unless I can find something really rough or not running they're out of the question.
Deals still happen, doesn't hurt to keep my eyes open I guess.

it will depend on how much you are willing to take on. anything "affordable" is gonna need a rotisserie. not sure where you are, but a few pop up in bc every once in a while. there was a local board there with a semi- active 02 community, but it's gone dark. also troll CL on the island, surprising how many cool cars will show up there.

[Panici]

it will depend on how much you are willing to take on. anything "affordable" is gonna need a rotisserie. not sure where you are, but a few pop up in bc every once in a while. there was a local board there with a semi- active 02 community, but it's gone dark. also troll CL on the island, surprising how many cool cars will show up there.

Rotisserie isn't out of the question for a long-term build.
Have already done floors/structural rust repair a few times on other chassis.

In Ontario. Going out of province would be tough unless I could drive the car back.
Maybe in the future with a car hauler and tow ring.

[82eye]

Rotisserie isn't out of the question for a long-term build.
Have already done floors/structural rust repair a few times on other chassis.

In Ontario. Going out of province would be tough unless I could drive the car back.
Maybe in the future with a car hauler and tow ring.

it's not as bad of a trip as you think. easier for me as i am in sask. if you've done structural repair then an o2 is not out of the question. the rear shock towers are the critical fail, many examples have literally none left. they can be replaced, but it's super hard to keep the car square. after that rockers and a host of other stuff comes up. 02's were pretty light cars, and built single wall thin. they used good metal though.

i'd look everywhere of course, closer examples may be pricier, but have likely been restored / taken care of. you can find some original drivers on the coast / island, but you have to move quick when they come up.

my e30 was a bc car but i snagged it in the province, which is rare.

[2mAn]

Get a vette

[roguetoaster]

Get a lobotomy

[AceAndrew777]

^^lol

Well .... I'd be happy to help. However, I'm not sure %100 what you'd want to know. If you want to chat, I've got time on my commutes (shoot me a PM with your number). There are good deals that pop up, you just have to be ready to act. In fact, there's some fantastic deals if you know where to look.


-Andrew
(kinda sorta may know one or two useless things)