BMW 2002
The Bavarian Motor Works was established in 1916. Originally building aircraft engines, at the end of World War I, they were forced by terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty to end production. They moved on to motorcycles. The first car from BMW was the Dixi based on the British Austin 7. World War II had them back in the aircraft engine business, with, in the end, not-so-great success.
1958 the automotive division was in a sad state. On the brink of insolvency, they decided to jump into the world of economy cars. They bought the rights to build the Italian Iso Isetta. The little car help BMW get back on its feet.
In 1962 The Neue Klasse series began. These were coupes and sedans with fully independent suspensions, MacPherson struts and disc brakes at the front. BMW widened their range in 1966 with the addition of the 02 series, 1602 and 2002 two door “Sports Sedans.” With these shortened versions of the Neue Klasse cars, BMW caught the eye of auto enthusiasts worldwide. These cars were the beginning of BMW’s reign as a leading manufacture of performance machines.
When you decide to get yourself a classic car, what do you choose? Something that was a poster on your wall, or something that you saw on the street or in a magazine as a kid, more than likely.
But what if you weren’t born at the time of your dream car? How does it get on your radar?
How about Playstation Gran Turismo 4? That’s where a 14 year old Carter Kelly Cramer first saw a BMW 2002. That funny, funky little car mesmerized him. At 16 a friend took him for a ride in a 1976 2002. He was hooked. No WRX Subaru or “Tuner Car” for Carter, he wanted the real thing—a vintage 2002.
A search of eBay found him his dream, but when it arrived it was more of a nightmare.
The car simply was not what it was stated to be; there were a lot of things wrong, but there were still a lot of things right… after all, it was a BMW 2002.
The first modification made by Carter was unintentional. 16 year old + dirt road + “wonder if I can drift this thing?” = straight into a wooden fence, with the stereo flying out of the dash, the hood ripping up, the windshield wipers shooting off into the woods like bullets, and steam jetting out of the radiator.
Very little money came from the insurance… what to do? This started Carter on a new road.
He jumped in the deep end and started learning auto mechanics. Interning every day after school at Dominck Foreign car repair in White Plains ,NY under the tutelage of Frank and Santo Spadaro, he learned about his funny, funky little car. The car became a runner again. With no more money, he did a rattle can paint job that didn’t look half bad.
College now loomed in the future. Carter sadly sold his dream Bimmer. He got an E30, OK but not vintage. He then got a 5 series. It had fog lights and a stick, but it just wasn’t him. Ultimately, he saved up and got his 2002 back. It was very tired-looking. Carter learned vinyl wrapping and covered the car. He went to numerous car shows and people were so happy to see that he had the car back. It was time, though, to make the car nice; he got an orbital sander, sanded through the wrap and a previous plasti-dip and the rattle can paint, down to bare metal. Then—he learned to paint.
He also learned engine work. Then he… dare I say it?… started to “Hot Rod!” his little friend. Under the hood went larger valves and a new cam, high compression pistons, a milled head,123 ignition, Dual 40 dcoe Weber sidedrafts, Ireland engineering equal length headers and for better cooling a radiator out of a 320i. New suspension has Bilstein sport shocks and Bavarian Autosport springs with poly bushings. Gluing it to the road are 15X8 rims shod with Toyo Proxes 205 tires in the front and 225s in the rear. To know how fast he is truly going, a Speedhut GPS speedo takes the place of the vague original. The body has been cleansed of all its chrome and impact bumpers and period-appropriate flares have been added. It has a very 70’s Trans-Am vibe. Inside, Corbeau buckets hold you firmly in place as you grab the Momo wheel and start going through the gears.
You definitely need something holding you tight as the output of this little beast is just about double what it originally came with. Also, with all the suspension work and tires, it’s running on the proverbial rails! The side pipe that dumps just in front of the left rear tire has a growl that grabs you by the guts and says “it’s time to play!” Its rough-and-ready; you want to go and empty a take of gas with it many times over.
Is it original? No.
Is it stock? No.
Is it fun as hell? A very big yes!
As Carter and his ride continue on their journey, more things will be done, more miles will be covered…
and I’m sure the folks back in Bavaria will dig it, big time.
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