Intro
This is a numbers matching 1973 BMW 2002tii painted in Baikal exterior over black vinyl interior with mechanical sunroof. It was acquired by the seller in 2016 from Coupe King, Long Beach, California who commissioned a very comprehensive nut and bolt restoration. This 2002tii was completely disassembled, and media blasted. It retains all the original body panels, hood, and floor pans and was restored to emulate a European BMW model. Everything from the motor to the suspension, coach work and trim was restored. The result is an unparalleled 2002tii that critics would agree is of a higher quality than new. It has a clear title and is in Washington.
Suspension/Drive Train
The front subframe and rear trailing arms were bead blasted and powder coated. The rear half shafts were rebuilt. New Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks provide a slightly lowered stance. The front sway bar measures 22mm, the rear 19mm. The struts were bead blasted and powder coated and have Bilstein heavy duty shock inserts. All suspension rubber has been replaced. New suspension parts include control arms, tie rods and ends, ball joints, wheel bearings (front and rear), sway bar links, brake rotors, front and rear brake backing plates are new. All brake fluid hard lines and soft lines are new. It has 5 alloy (tii wheels) wrapped in (4) Vredestein Tyres sourced from Longstone Tyres in the UK. Tire jack and tool roll are included.
A Getrag 245 5-speed transmission has been swapped for the more standard issue 4 speed. The drive shaft was shortened and balanced with new hardware and flex discs. This swap requires a customized shift platform and linkage provided by Aardvark Racing.
Front and rear bumper components are new or rechromed and include all new stainless steel mounting hardware. Rear bumper brackets are new with original rubber coverings. The rear bumper, unique to 73 cars, sits away from the body by about 1 ½”.
Interior
The seats were reupholstered by All City Convertibles and Custom, Kirkland WA. They also installed German Wool carpet sourced from Jaymic in the UK and a new headliner sourced from BMW. Prior to carpet install two layers of sound deadening material was added to the floor structure. All four floor mats are German square weave wool Coco mats. Front and rear glass was replaced along with all new seals from BMW. Door seals were provided by Jaymic. Rear ¼ window seals have been replaced with new B pillar "hinges", new rubber seals and new anodized aluminum covering trim. There are three layers of trim that wrap the car - belt line with anodized aluminum around the hood, boot and doors, black and chrome knee trim at the doors and 1/4 panels and stainless rocker covers. All trim is new with new mounting hardware. The rear panel aluminum full width piece just above the license plate and between the taillights is also new. All trim is new sourced from Walloth Nesch in Germany.
Some minor rust repair was needed in typical areas, under the front windshield rubber, for example. During this miscellaneous repair the rear seat support bulkhead was strenghtened by adding skip welds along the panel base to the monocoque to help stiffen the car from rolling forces.
The car has new interior door panels with new felt strips. The door handles and locks have been re-chromed. The door locks are keyed to match the ignition. The interior door handles and window cranks are new with new plastic inserts. Rear ¼ widow latches are new. The front US light buckets have been powder coated and have new Hella H4 lights. The entire rear taillight assemblies are new including license plate lights within the European bumper. The rear bumper has a new rubber strip that wraps all three bumper components. Both turn signal/wiper stalk and high beam stalk have been replaced with new old stock (NOS). The car has a black leather Nardi steering wheel.
Mechanicals
The matching numbers engine was rebuilt by Bavarian Independent, Costa Mesa, CA. Once the (date stamp 1984) E12 head was machined and valves ground, cylinder volumes were measured, custom 10:1 forged pistons from CP pistons were installed. The head was pocket ported and has a 284-degree cam, and all new springs, rockers, tapered guides and stock valves. The intake manifold, runners, air plenum, front timing cover, oil filter mount (tii specific) and distributor housing were media blasted and ceramic coated clear to maintain the vintage aluminum look. All connecting hardware and linkage was cad plated or replaced with new plated hardware. The exhaust manifold and down pipe were thoroughly cleaned, and ceramic coated for better exhaust “scavenging” performance. The motor retains its original crank shaft. The flywheel was surfaced and balanced. A new Sachs 228mm clutch, clutch slave and pipe have been installed. The pedal box was cleaned, and powder coated with all new pedal actuating hardware, pedals and covering pads. The Bosch mechanical advance distributor was rebuilt and the car has a new coil, cap, rotor and ignition wires proving spark to Bosch WR8DC plugs.
Additional new parts include radiator, water pump, hoses, thermostat, starter (S14 smaller version), fuel injection thermo time switches, temperature sensor, oil pressure sensor, oil pump, alternator, brake master cylinder, and clutch slave cylinder. The brake servo booster was cleaned rebuilt and painted. The heater box was rebuilt with new Bosch fan, cad plated internals and a reinforced valve mount. The window washing system includes new stainless squirters and mounting hardware, braided clear hoses and new fluid storage bottle. Wiper linkage was cleaned and painted and includes new end spindles and original stainless wiper arms (made in England). The Kuglefischer Pump was rebuilt by Gus Pfister of Pacific Fuel Injection with new fuel lines delivering fuel to spray tested rebuilt injectors. All throttle linkage pieces have been cad plated. The final set up of the pump and motor tuning was done by Vintage Motor Racing, Redmond, WA.
Summary
This car was built to emulate a European model. This includes new front “flush” blinkers, new rear bumper with license plate lights in the bumper, new front and rear bumper rubber, European license plate mount, deletion of US side markers, recovered European one-piece dash without seat belt warning, deletion of control panel switch nomenclature. All switches have symbology as was used in Europe to suit any language of vehicle delivery. The tii clock works, although it doesn’t keep perfect time.
The car does not have an antennae mounted as many people use Bluetooth technology. The rear trunk panels have been recovered with original “elephant skin”. Trunk interior side skirts are included but not shown. This extensive restoration took over four years to complete. The car is licensed in Washington State as a historic vehicle and as such has only been driven to CCA sanctioned car events. The car has never been driven in the rain and has been driven less that 750 miles after the restoration.
