Car of the Month

August 2008

Liz Moody-Stuart's 2002

Want to see your 02 featured here? Email me any 02, any condition richstern@hotmail.com.

About two years ago I moved out of London - after 14 years in the big smoke, I packed myself up and went south - and I bought myself my very first car!

Now, I'm 35, I've driven since I was 17, but I never needed to own a car of my own - I used tubes, trains and borrowed and hired one when necessary. So when I decided to invest in a car, it had to be the one I'd always wanted.

Have you ever played "What car would they be?" when bored on a long motorway journey? You think of the people you know and love the best and then find a car that represents them in one of the six lanes surrounding you. My brother and his wife were playing this on the way to Cornwall one year and saw an 02. "That's Liz!" they cried.

I began looking on the web. My first stop was eBay and there was 2 hours left to bid on what looked like my perfect car…My hand was poised over my mouse but common sense got the better of me. I had to do some more research.

I found Jaymic, the BMW website and www.bmw2002.co.uk. To be honest, I didn't know much about the BMW 2002 other than that I loved the style and look. So I began asking everyone I knew about them. I collected numbers from sound engineers, chefs and sailors with secret classic car passions. Eventually I rang Jaymic to ask if I could come and drive one around. They told me the man I should speak to was Richard Stern. And that was the beginning of a very lucky friendship.

Rich was incredibly informative and friendly. He sent me a buyers guide as a PDF, didn't call me foolish for being passionate about a car I knew so little about - in fact he complimented me on my good taste! And best of all, he said that if I found what looked like a bargain online, and it was not too far from him, he'd go with me to have a look at it and check that I wasn't being ripped off.

The one I found was a 1976 Lux, resprayed an original 02 mint green – not a colour you see around much. It’d been done up by a mechanic nearing 80 years old who luckily lived in a village just round the corner from Rich. The car was in good condition, the brakes were excellent but there were some corners cut in the restoration that made Rich wince – underlay under the bonnet and boot, over-spraying when a bit of masking tape would have kept the rubber sharp and black.

I was smitten as soon as I got in the driver’s seat – Rich laughed at me as I pushed the pedal down with the 2L engine on the country roads – ‘You’re not afraid of this car are you?!’

He warned me what was likely to go wrong – the rust on the doors, advised me to Kurust the spots on the chassis and get her waxoiled immediately and we both admired the restorer’s cunning use of a Volvic bottle top on the windscreen fluid!

I stuck on the price that my 02 guru recommended, not a penny more – and after some nail biting negotiation I became the proud owner of my first and best car.

I found myself a good garage in Brighton – Safe n’ Sound in Rock Place HYPERLINK "http://www.snsbrighton.co.uk/" http://www.snsbrighton.co.uk/. Noel, Larry, Graeme and Mark have been vital to my life ever since. They put electronic ignition in and a good stereo connected to my iPod, with stealth speakers under the back shelf.

Since that time all manner of things have fallen off/worn out/seized up:
The exhaust (I put it in the boot and drove on)
One windscreen wiper in a thunderstorm
The steering bush (luckily just as I was reversing into my parking space, there had been some ominous noises before)
The accelerator pedal (so humiliating to not access the power you know you have while tinny modern bubbles pass you patronisingly)
The oil pump (it was just before Christmas and I was hoping the knocking I heard on the A13 was a present rattling around in the boot)

Rich’s recommendation of Equity Red Star Specialist Car Division insurance has never let me down – they’ve towed me home a couple of times and dealt with the aftermath of a too bold 3 point turn.

Ron Walmsley has couriered me a reconditioned engine block (the seized up oil pump ruined the last one).

Pete and Faye at Jaymic have been stalwart in sending me new and reconditioned parts the day I phone them.

This car is my only means of transport and I don’t garage her so she is prey to the salty air and seagull shit – both very corrosive. I have light nephews and I often put one or two of them on the roof of the car to scrub off persistent poos. I try and keep her waxed for protection. I always need to keep the front tyres on their top pressure or my steering suffers.

She always attracts attention – if I don’t have someone admiring her every time I drive her, I feel a bit slighted. I once returned to find a note and a phone number under her wiper. ‘I love your car. Please if you ever find that you have to part with her please call me. I can’t drive but I would learn for this car.’

However, other people have also run into her and not left a note – luckily Safe n’ Sound have Mark who has been spraying cars since he was 13?! You couldn’t tell the difference now.

She’s an ongoing project and a bottomless pit for money – but I love driving her. The alternative would be a hybrid car – but this 02 is very reused and a semi-electric car just does not give me the same thrill, or turn the same heads.

The 02 register and forum is vital – Richard deserves some kind of medal for his tireless chairmanship of it but I guess I’ll just buy him some pints instead.

I love reading the emails and exchanges, I just wish I could make it to more 02 events, but I’ll be at Gaydon. I’ll have a few things in my boot – and I’ll be looking for some particular pieces:
1. A new badge for my boot…Tipsy teenagers prised it off for a momento very early on a Sunday morning.
2. Chrome for my bonnet after my other half ran her into a gate. He swears it was because he was in a state of shock after buying me an engagement ring, which is either true or a very crafty lie….