Hello All, I’ve been a BMW enthusiast since 1998, when I drove my first BMW. An E36 325is. I’ve been a member of the club since 2009. Here is my first post. I’m fnall ready to pull the trigger on my favorite BMW; the 2002 . I’m looking for some advice on what to look for. I’m looking for a non tii roundie. Thank you
Welcome to the club & forums! Generally (presumably echoed in the links below), be wary of the temptation of bargain-priced finds - given the age of '02's, anything priced cheaply is suspect as a hopeless rustbucket - the old adage of too-good-be-true... and, unless you do nearly everything yourself, including welding, bodywork, painting, never mind mechanical, restoration costs can go astronomical in a big hurry. Be patient & sure to have someone who really knows what to look for inspect any candidates. It begs the obvious, but getting the cleanest one you can afford saves money & effort later. Research the market so you can be realistic about what you want & how that aligns with prospective budgets. I googled BMW 2002 buyer's guide and a lot came up, so here's some places to start - bmw2002faq has many with lots of expertise, you may also want to search those forums for others with the same questions as you & see what comes up. https://www.bmw2002faq.com/articles.../2002-buying-tips-how-to-find-a-good-one-r65/ https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hmn/2008/02/1968-1976-BMW-2002/1579127.html https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/104875/bmw-2002-buying-guide-and-review-1966-1976 http://www.bimmers.com/02/intro/buyer_guide.html http://laudeman.com/bmw_checklist.html https://www.bmw2002.co.uk/buying-guides/ https://www.bmw2002.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/02-Buying-Guide.pdf https://www.02restoration.com/category/bmw-2002-buying-tips/ https://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-to-stay-classy-in-a-bmw-2002-without-breaking-the-b-1511678843
Thank you @MGarrison. Good advice. I had checked some of the links, and appreciate the ones that are new to me. So a few specific questions: I’m considering a 73 car for sale at a dealership for special interest cars. 1. If the car has had rust repair of the spare tire well, is there any way to check if the repair was quality work. 2. Car has already had a 5 speed swap, but no mention of what transmission was used, are all 5 speed transmission equal. 3. The car has EFI installed, is that a positive or a negative.
I'm not an expert on bodywork, I recall hearing in the past about using magnets to check body panels for bondo filler, but that's a better question for others than me. That's the type of stuff where having a pre-purchase inspection done by someone knowledgeable might be very informative. I think the common route for 5-spd swaps were 320i 5-spds (E21 3er, which I think later ones had 5 spds) & possibly E21 driveshafts. BMW2002Faq presumably would have info/details on 5-spd swaps, diy's, etc. Perhaps it could be something else, but my recollection was E21 transmissions were the common choice since they could be done relatively easily. Whether fuel injection is a plus or minus might depend on your preference or opinion - if your priority were originality, then maybe not so much a plus. US 320i's apparently had Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection, and apparently electronic fuel injection on the M10 4-cyl got stateside in the first E30's. So if it's EFI, presumably it's one of those retrofitted, or maybe just a whole engine and fuel injection swap from an early E30. In any case, I never had a carbureted car to deal with, but if everything was properly swapped/retrofitted, the advantages of EFI should be, presumably from what I know of it, more consistent running across hot and cold running conditions/temps, better efficiency & fuel economy, and better cold-starting performance compared to running carbs. Test drives I'd guess would presumably show how well the fuel-delivery system works. So, if you're not worried about originality, I'd have to guess properly done fuel injection should net you a vechicle that's easier to live with and drive in all conditions.
