1972 BMW 2002tii

The Turbo body kit and genuine magnesium Minilite alloy wheels hint at its performance potential but you need to lift the bonnet to understand just how quick this BMW 2002 is.

Because there’s a BMW M3 S14 engine from an E30 M3 under there, all 200-odd bhp of it. It’s mated to a proper M3 dog-leg gearbox too and because a lot of the work was done by folk like Cooks Ferry Engineering and Jaymic, you expect that it’s been done properly - and has had plenty of time to bed in.

Freshly repainted and restored three years ago, the rest of the car’s mechanical specification has been upgraded to meet the demands placed on it by all that power. In need of only gentle cosmetic refurbishment, this is your chance to get your hands on a very well fettled BMW 2002 that goes considerably better than any standard factory car ever has…

Originally white, the BMW was painted Cosmos Black back in the eighties. Resprayed again as part of its recent refresh/restoration, it is looking fabulous; black is a notoriously hard colour as it shows every dink, mark and stonechip but this one looks terrific.

This is in large part thanks to its ridiculously well documented bodywork restoration over the years, not least of which was a bill for well over £7,000 for body panels, labour and paint from marque experts Jaymic in 1998.

There’s Zender boot spoiler, which is in a decent condition, plus a genuine BMW 2002 Turbo body kit, which looks wonderful, especially in conjunction with the genuine Minilite alloy wheels. These are 16” in diameter and 7.5” in width and are the proper three-piece split-rims with a magnesium centre.

Costing £1,150 when they were purchased from Minilite itself back in 1993 (around £2,350 in today’s money…), they are in a good condition following a recent refurb by the only company in the UK prepared to work on magnesium wheels, a position that enables them to charge £900 for the work. The wheels themselves are fitted with matching high-performance Falken tyres.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Work to do is light: the chrome trim could do with being refurbished and the boot lid could do with adjusting to fit a bit better. The vendor also has some new, genuine & rare E10 door mirrors, which are included but need fitting. There are also some small stonechips and minor damage to the front spoiler, which doesn’t show up very well in the photos.

The Recaro interior comprises Porsche front seats, which are only slightly worn and still very supportive and comfortable. The vendor reports that they have 8 way electrical adjustment. The rear seat is apparently from an E24 BMW, the material is the original and while it is serviceable, we can see the new owner will almost certainly want to have it retrimmed to match the front.

There’s a well-patinated, black leather, three-spoke Momo steering wheel in there too, plus a very good headlining. It’s a pleasant place to be but given how nice the rest of the BMW is we can see the new owner will want to spend the winter refurbishing the interior.

What else needs doing? Well, the odometer isn’t working and there are a lot of scratches to the hard plastic of the steering column trim. The vendor has recently retrimmed the door cards, but they could do with matching to the seats. Still, given this is all easy work and parts are plentiful, that wouldn’t be the worst way to pass the coming second lockdown, would it?

The vendor thinks the engine is from an E30 M3 Evo 2 based on the serial number of the ECU. Nor can he find an engine number on the block, which his researches have led him to conclude means that the engine was supplied direct from the factory, something that was common at the time.

Regardless of provenance, he does know that the engine and dog-leg gearbox were fitted in the early-nineties, so it’s fair to say that any problems with the conversion would have shown themselves by now.

The brakes have been upgraded with a four-pot, big brake conversion, and the rear differential is a limited-slip. There’s a full custom stainless-steel exhaust - the centre section of which was replaced in August 2019 - plus new dampers and springs, a refurbished steering box and full service in the past six months. A new battery was fitted a year ago, with a new thermostat and waterpump having been fitted in the last few weeks.

Although he has not driven the car much, the vendor tells us that it has been completely reliable bar for an isolated problem with fuel starvation. He cured the problem by fitting a swirl pot plus both high- and low-pressure fuel pumps.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

Our test drive showed that the engine, brakes and gearbox are all very good. It starts well, ticks over nicely, and is as fast and responsive as you imagine. We did note that the front end needs a geometry check and adjustment to tighten up the turn-in and steering.

Faults? Well, the engine bay could do with detailing to bring it up to the same high standard as the rest of the car. The underside is good and solid too but some of the underseal is starting to peel away in places, so that could do with half-a-day of your time while you’ve got your overalls on.

With only seven owners across the past five decades, this is not a typical 2002 that’s been bumped from one enthusiast to another as it slowly accrues problem after problem; as you can see from the thick history file, it’s had plenty of money spent on it over the years courtesy of its smitten custodians.

The most recent of these is from marque experts BM Technika in September 2019 for £631-worth of servicing and fettling that included fresh synthetic differential oil and the labour to fit new springs and dampers.

It has a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years from the early ‘90s on. Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard. This is certainly the opinion of B M Technika, who the vendor assures us gave the car a clean bill of health only recently.

The BMW doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MoT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MoT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

Beautifully finished with a Turbo body kit in Cosmos Black and sitting on split-rim magnesium Minilite alloys, this E30 M3-engined 2002 has it all; looks and pace that are the envy of any of the factory cars – and it’s been well-proven over the past couple of decades.

With a slightly scruffy interior, we think this 2002 will fetch somewhere between £22,000 and £34,000, which is incredible value given the level of engineering and performance you’re getting for your money. (The engine and gearbox alone are worth a solid chunk of money…)

And what work it needs is minimal and easily done, and when you’ve finished you’ll have one of the best cars of its type anywhere.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and an array of regional providers for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Also, localised paint repairs are common with collectable and classic cars and if they have been professionally carried out then they may be impossible to detect, even if we see the car in person. So, unless we state otherwise, please assume that any vehicle could have had remedial bodywork at some point in its life.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.