BMW 2002 `CONVERTED' TO A TI MODEL OVER YEARS
Car an exercise in evolution, writes Greg Williams.
Bob Johnston's story about his 1970 BMW 2002Ti “conversion” is an evolutionary one. Since the car was purchased in 1978, it's been through a number of transformations, and with the exception of three years in the late 1990s, it has never gone a summer without being driven.
Johnston, born and raised in Vernon, B.C., learned to work on cars after he bought his first vehicle, a 1965 Cooper S.
“When you own an English car,” he notes, “you lift the hood to see what fell off overnight. With a BMW, you get in, turn the key, and away you go.”
He discovered this 1970 BMW 2002 sitting in the parking lot of a Vernon autobody shop that was going out of business. Several vehicles were heading to the crusher, and the BMW was one of them. The car had been abandoned at the shop by its first owner, a Mormon minister who'd bought the BMW new in September 1971. The minister drove it every weekend from Vernon to Calgary, but in 1975, his wife crashed the BMW into a fence post. That's how it wound up at the body shop.
“When I saw it, the body shop owner told me I could have the car for $200, or else it was headed to the crusher,” Johnston says. “I was familiar with 2002s, as I'd helped racer Lew Nielson work on his BMW race car in the mid-seventies. I didn't want to see this one go to waste, so I bought it.”
As purchased in 1978, Johnston's 2002 had just 127,000 kilometres on the odometer, but the car was in sad shape. The hood was missing, the rear window was gone, and many cans of leftover paint had been unceremoniously dumped inside. Not too concerned about its overall state, Johnston put a battery and a replacement radiator in the BMW and got it to run. With confirmation of life, he went on to find a wrecked 1974 BMW 2002 with major front-end damage that had only been driven 32,000 kilometres. That car gave up its
interior for Johnston's project. With a new hood and rear window, Johnston's 2002 became a regular driver.
Built from 1968 to 1976, the 2002 helped BMW establish its credentials in North America. Equipped with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission, the car made 101 horsepower with its single Solex carburetor. Macpherson strut front suspension and fully independent rear suspension coupled with drum brakes out back and discs up front meant the 2002 offered a dynamic driving experience. Another version of the car was the “Ti,” for “touring international.” It featured twin carburetors, and produced 119 hp.
Changes over the years included an optional three-speed automatic transmission, a twin-barrel Solex carburetor, beefier front-brake calipers and a new rear-axle design. Early cars, from 1968 to 1973, have the famous “roundie” tail lights. In 1974, the 2002 got rectangular tail lights and larger, impact-absorbing bumpers. The most desirable of the 2002 models is the “Tii,” for “touring international injection.” Introduced in 1972, these cars were equipped with mechanical fuel injection, bigger brakes, and improved suspension and clutch assemblies.
Johnston notes his car is a base 2002 model, but he's made every modification possible to bring it up to Ti specification — and beyond. He has improved the
car with larger sway bars and suspension components from a 1968 2002Ti, later brakes and a rebuilt engine from a 1975 2002 equipped with a 1984 BMW 318i cylinder head, and a five-speed transmission from a 1983 318i.
The list of upgrades is extensive and includes a Becker Grand Prix stereo, a BMW accessory locking gas cap, mud flaps, steering wheel and clock.
Between late 1995 and early 1999 Johnston had the car restored and painted but has never stopped searching for and adding rare parts. He has bought and dismantled several wrecked 2002s, and even restored one or two others. His 2002Ti “conversion,” however, is a car he would never sell.
“It's great fun to drive,” Johnston says. “We go everywhere in this car — to the west coast,
Spokane, Calgary, or just around Vernon. I've taken the car apart and put it back together four times now. It's really not that hard to do.”