Specifications for a 1975 BMW Model 2002 Automatic
Wheelbase, inches: 98.4
Length, inches: 176.0 (1974-1976)
Weight, pounds: 2,150-2,450
Price, new: $5,500-$8,500 (U.S.)
Engine
Type....__....____.Size........__...___.Horsepower..__.Years

sohc I-4..__..1,990 cc (121 cid)..____.113-140.......1971-1976
.
TOTAL Automatics ever made 36,663.
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!...............................Page #3 has UPGRADES ---------------------------------

PAGE #6 HAS COOL OLD SCHOOL AD'S ON THE 2002

I bought my 1975 BMW 2002 Automatic from EBAY on March 23, 2006. It was a traded in at a dealership in Council Bluffs, Iowa. However, I had to fly into the airport in Nebraska.

I was going through a divorce at the time so I said what the hell. I flew from Houston with my dog to Nebraska to pick up my birthday present to myself. Here is the view from the plane as we flew into Nebraska. Well the dealership picked us up at the airport and I went to check out the car. The previous owner had taken good care of the car. So I signed the last of the papers, gave them their money and I got the keys.

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I had been looking for a 2002 for a few months. More for looking than anything else. I already had a classic car, a 1980 911SC Targa. But this little blue car really appealed to me. Well the EBAY auction had a reserve price so I just watched. But I got busy and missed the end of the auction. To my surprise the reserve price had not been met. I was sad because I thought I had missed buying this car. The final price had gotten up to $5000. Well, a few days later I check eBay and the car is back up for auction and this time without a reserve price. I bought the car in the last few seconds form the guy who lost it the first time. I asked the dealer what was the reserve price on the auction I had missed. He tells me that the last bidder had missed it by one dollar. The reserve was $5001. This car was meant for me.
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I put the pup in the car and we started our 1300 mile trip back to Houston. My first stop as soon as we left the dealership was to let the puppy out. She had flown and waited patiently all this time. She would not stop running in the snow the crazy dog. We finally got going and I got to feel how the car drove in this extreme weather. Extreme for someone from Houston, Texas that is.

The car drove great. Thank God the car had those Bosch driving lights. With the snow and ice it was hard to see at times.

We drove into the night and somewhere in Oklahoma I started to get sleepy. Here is a tip for everyone. Do not wait until you are sleepy to look for a hotel because you may not find one. Do to the winter storm power was knocked out in the smaller towns. So when I stopped at a town off the freeway I was surprised to find out that all the hotels were full. Those smaller towns had driving in to stay somewhere warm. The final hotel clerk thought that all the towns before Oklahoma City would have the same issue. The problem was that OK City was several hours away and I was beat. Well I drove 45 minutes to the next town and was blessed to find a room. WHOOP, because I was beat, and sleeping in the car was out of the question with the cold. This was half way so it was a good time to stop.

Got up in the morning and started driving. Stopped at a nice rest stop so that the puppy could walk around.

Drove into Dallas and stopped to have lunch with a friend. Then continued on to Houston.

This was a good drive with the car. It allowed me to get to know the car and noticed things that I need to fix, upgrade and restore. So this leads me to the next phase.

I felt that the brakes where a little long. I first had the brake fluid changed and replaced the lines with stainless steel ones. Cost for lines was $85 from ebay.

This helped but the braking power was still lacking. I then got some metal brake pads and slotted brake rotors. This did the trick. FYI the pic shows the rotor to be vented, they are solid for the 02. Cost for rotors was $37 per. Ordered from the tire rack.

I think if you are going to spend money on replacing stuff then its better to use items that take advantage of modern technology.

I had noticed that it was leaking oil. So I took the car into my local BMW dealership so they could check it out. The engine seals, rear, main (all of them)needed to be done. The price for that would be $3500. But that left me with an engine that I had no idea how much longer it may have. BMW tells me that for $5000 they will ship a new crated engine (long block) from BMW Germany and install it.

So instead of fixing an old engine, I got a complete new engine, not rebuilt but new from the factory engine.

Had the valve cover shined. As of June 29, 2008 I only have 1032 miles on the breakin.

I replaced the front turning lights with the sleek euro kind.

BMW Part #63138454102 Euro Turn Signal, LEFT & 63138454103 Euro Turn Signal, RIGHT

Remember that the ground for the euro lights is with the screw into the body of the car.

The tires on the car are great. Love the raised white letters circa 1980's. But now I find out that Goodyear no longer makes the Eagle ST. A search on the internet for my size P185/70R13 came up zero. That’s the fun with having a classic car. Luckily there is plenty of tread life.

Next was the doors. I noticed a lot of noise in the cabin so I pulled the door panels. When the previous owner (PO) had the car repainted they did not replace the plastic sheet that goes on the door between the door panel and the door. This let in road noise and water. I cleaned up the inside of the doors and painted some areas. Lubed the window regulators and then sprayed anti rust wax from Eastwood Heavy-Duty Anti Rust's spray-on brown wax film sticks to bare metal or painted surfaces and won't crack, flake, or peel. Will self-heal if scratched.

Replaced the door brakes with these new and improved types.

Now the doors stay open. Nice!

After all this it was time to seal up the doors. I used eDead UE from Elemental Design. This would act as a waterproof seal, sound proofing and help control temp. The doors sound great now when you shut them and no noise or water in the cabin.

Last week June 21, 2008 I removed the old carpet and started to clean up the floors. The rust was all surface rust. I cleaned it off and then painted the floors using Eastwoods Silver Rust Encapsulator. The rust on the floors came from an A/C hose that would drip condensation on the floor. I used A/C Tape, its that sticky, pliable stuff. Now, no more drip.

After the silver encapsulator; I then started on the sound proofing. I used a different product called eDead V3 from Elemental Design. It’s a Latex Polymer and I painted right on the body. You have to put it on thick or paint on multiple layers for it to work well. I used the whole 3 gallon can on the floors. I used the blue color. It comes in some other colors.

After that dried I then started to put the eDead UE I had used on the doors. Its only 122mm thick and has a silver radiant layer. Then topped it off with eDead v4 - TekLite. This stuff is .25" thick and is made out of Closed Cell Neoprene. It really made a difference in the road noise you can hear inside the cabin.

Then I started to put the new carpet set from World Upholstery & Trim. Also upgraded the Emergency Brake. This one just bolted in and is not all sloppy like the original. Also shorter. Bought in a group buy off the BMW 2002 FAQ board . Great place for information.

Check out the Restoration BMW did Last year on a 2002