A chance meeting about 11 yrs. ago, has yielded the newest addition to our family, a 1976 BMW 2002.
11 yrs. ago, I was visiting my sister, who is a physician. At the time, she was collaborating with an elderly surgeon visiting from LA on a paper they jointly published. We all went out to dinner and eventually the conversation drifted to my passion and love for cars.
The doctor from LA said he understood, that he had an old Jaguar MkII Saloon which he cherished. I asked him if he had any other cars and he said not really, that most of his life he'd had very nice daily drivers such as Mercedes, Jags, Caddys, Lincolns,etc. but that the Jag was his only collector car. He did say that he had an old BMW which he'd bought as an anniversary present for his wife back in 1976 - a 2002. He said that his wife drove the car for about 3 yrs. until one day, she suddenly developed an aneurysm and unfortunately passed away on her way to the hospital in the ambulance. He said he was so dispondent that he just couldn't part with the car, so he put it in the corner of his garage, covered with a blanket.
I said that I understood, but if he were ever to think of selling it to please call me before ever putting it up for sale, that I would show the car the reverence it deserved, that I'd always wanted a 2002. He took my card and said he would call me, but doubted he'd ever sell it, and besides, he figured it wasn't worth any more than a couple thousand anyway. The rest of the evening passed in general conversation, but when he left, we shook hands and he assured me that if ever he sold the car he would indeed call me.
Fast-forward 11 yrs. - I had all but forgotten the dinner, but a month ago I got a call from the doctor's daughter in Colorado who called to tell me that her father had passed away in April and that his estate had just been probated. She told me that in his will, he had stipulated that she contact me and offer me the car for the agreed upon price of $2000. Imagine my thrill! She said they were getting ready to sell his house and wanted the car removed as soon as possible. I immediately said yes and in a leap of faith, sent her a cashiers check, sight unseen and arranged to have the car transported to my home. It arrived yesterday at 4pm.
I pushed it, along with the transport driver, into my garage and was amazed. The car is absolutely clean, not a speck of rust anywhere! The color is Saharra w/ tan interior. It is an automatique w/ AC. A one-owner California car with 53,000 original miles - backed up by the registrations and service records. In one sense, this is a 3 yr. old 2002!
I drained the oil, swapped the plugs and battery. Siphoned all the gas from the tank and added 3 gal. fresh. When I turned the key, the car started within 20 sec. and settled to a fairly smooth idle in under a minute. All the gauges and lights work, the interior, though dusty is immaculate. The body is in good shape with only a couple odd door dings and the glass and chrome is excellent. The paint is good but I'll do a thorough buffing and polishing. The car has all the service records, owners manual, even the window sales sticker! The spare has never seen the road, and the jack and tool roll don't seem to have ever been opened or used. Even the ashtray and cigarette lighter are unused.
Now it is a 34 yr. old car which hasn't seen regular service for 31 yrs., so I will do a very thorough sorting and updating before driving it on a regular basis. In fact, I have already ordered about $3500 in parts - all hoses, vac lines, belts, shocks, springs, all suspension bushings, brake pads/shoes, wheel bearings, waterpump, all new engine gaskets incl. headgasket, carb rebuild kit for the weber downdraft, Master Cylinder rebuild kit, fuses, all new bulbs, a new set of tires. I will swap the points for a Crane XR700 optical trigger system, I have ordered a complete stainless exhaust incl. a 4-into-1 header. I'm going with a suspension upgrade kit from Kormann Racing incl. Bilsteins, 1.5" lowering springs, larger front/rear sway bars, poly bushings. I am also doing a 5-speed conversion, also from Kormann which is bolt-in kit incl. a rebuilt 320i tranny (w/ 24mo./24k mi. warranty), clutch, flywheel, pedal box w/ master, shifter and linkage incl. boot, mounting brackets and custom made balanced drive shaft. For right now, I am keeping the rear drums but upgrading to Tii master and wheel cylinders, in the future, I may opt to add rear disc brakes, again 320i parts. I am on the hunt for a 320i Sport leather steering wheel as well as a set of 320i sport recaros, again in leather. The car will be ziebarted next week to protect it from future rust.
Been too busy going through and sorting the car to take any pics, and the next few days have rain forecast, but I promise to post some by the end of the week. I still love my Boxster, but who says you can't love two?
A BMW 2002 has long been on my short list of cars to own, and to have this surgeon whom I only met just the once remember me and want me to have the car is just incredible! I don't know if St. Peter is reading this, but if he is, all I can I say is: " let the guy in and treat him well!"
Hybrid Mode
