Scruffy Daily: 1974 BMW 2002
A rough but drivable BMW 2002 is one of the few vintage classics that you might want to both own and drive. What do I mean by that? There are some classics cars that you really want to own, but not drive — mint condition classics come to mind (can’t let the kids get gummy snacks in the classic honey, let’s take your minivan on our coastal road trip), or something Italian that’ll leave you stranded the first chance it gets or anything with an aircooled VW engine. And then there are classic cars that you really want to drive, but don’t feel the urge to own — something with a high strung engine and 5-figure repair bills waiting to bite ya (like a Ferrari) or a Mazda Miata with super low miles on the odometer. But within the world of classic cars there is this sweetspot of cars that you want to own because of the upsides of appreciation and ease of maintenance, AND you want to drive because they are fun. This scruffy looking BMW is the thing. Find this 1974 BMW 2002 offered for $8000 in Austin, TX via craigslist. Tip from Ramjet.
From the seller:
1974 Bmw 2002
condition: good
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 46000
paint color: custom
title status: clean
transmission: manual
Looking to sell my 74 bmw 2002, it is an all original car with numbers matching engine and everything. It was sitting since 1986 before I acquired it and did the work necessary to make the car drive.
Here’s a list of parts replaced by me brand new
Clutch master cylinder
clutch slave cylinder
driveshaft center support bearing
driveshaft flex disc
trans mount
water pump
all new Radiator and water pump hoses
alternator bushing
fuel filter + fuel hoses
Petronix ignition system + new cap and rotor
transmission flush
differential flush
oil change
alternator belt
shifter bushings
Possibly missing stuff, the car runs and drives but is not inspected or registered. Will be working on that next. Text me to come see it.
Would be a great car to be restored. The body is straight with hardly any dents and the floor pans have almost zero rust, just one small spot in the spare tire well
See a better way to drive a fun classic? tips@dailyturismo.com
Yikes. Even if the mileage is bogus, that car is in GREAT shape, considering its age (almost 50 years old).
I bought my ’70 2002 for $400 back in 1983. Guy had parked it in the backyard and, one day, his kids discovered it was like a trampoline. They bounced up and down on the hood, roof and rear trunk lid.
Metal on the car was an absolute mess, but ran like a top. Revved like a son of a gun… loved blowing Trans Ams off on 0 to 55 mph runs.
2002s did have one really big design flaw, though: The brake master cylinder also fed the clutch. So when the master cylinder leaked (like mine did), both the brakes AND the clutch failed at the same time.
Fun times…🙄
-Stan (…the *other* Stan…)
I’m a big fan of BMW but I feel like at this point owning one of these would be a let down. Almost like meeting your hero and finding out he’s really only 5’4″ and wears platform shoes.
So you’ve MET Tom Cruise?!?
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000129/mediaviewer/rm3938159104
-Stan (…who else…?)
Jefe (Vince)— how can we imbed pix?
-The technically challenged Stan…
Stan — yes, that Stan, not the other one that we shall never talk about — this is indeed a shortcoming of the new WordPress platform. No images in the comments. We can embed links and stuff, but no pics at this time. If the people who make the comments ever upgrade to allow pics, I will certainly turn them on — but I’m happy with the way the comments embed and work, so I don’t want to try another comment widget and find it doesn’t allow comments on Tuesdays. Arrrg.
A few years ago, when I first started building websites (from scratch with HTML 2.0), the internet was like a sand castle. You had to know what you wanted and then spend the time to mold the sand together and take your time, or else the bridge would fall down. Now the internet is like Legos (with WordPress) — yes, it is easier to make things like wheels, planes, and windmills, but you can’t get the castle shape to look EXACTLY like you want and everything looks like Legos.
-Vince
So I’ve had two….sunroofs and one with dealer air, and a slushbox that I yanked out and put in a Getrag 5 speed in its place. They were both cherry……..of course this was the early nineties. Shouldn’t have sold either. You moron! But I’m a serial car guy. More than two sitting around and I feel guilty. All that lovely irrelevant reminiscing aside, no sunrood , no bueno. Beige. Square tailights bigass bumpers. Wait and find a small bumper long on the side ’72 or ’73.