Car of the Month

November 2009

Mike Milbourne's Fjord Blue 2002 Tii

Want to see your 02 featured here (any condition as long as there's a story)?

Email me any 02, any condition richstern@hotmail.com

JRG 25P was one of the last of the very successful “02” series cars that were produced between 1966 and 1975. They were succeeded by the modern “3” series cars but are agreed by many to be the car that made BMW !

This model was produced between 1971 and 1975 and there were a total of 38,703 tiis manufactured. This particular car was one of the last production runs and is equipped with rectangular rear lights and alloy wheels that were, at the time of purchase, an optional extra introduced with the 3 series which slightly overlapped in production. The 02 was the Gti of the 70’s and was rarely beaten either on or off the race track.

JRG 25P is an exceptional example of the ‘02 series and has had only 3 owners from new. The car was originally purchased by Mr G.E. Marshal of Newcastle upon Tyne and owned afterwards by Mr Alan Wynn-Williams of Fawdingtons in Newcastle. When I purchased the car in 1981 the car had only done a meagre 4,500 miles and by 1983 the total mileage was still only 17,200. Over the years the car has been used as both daily transport in times of hardship and for various shows and displays. It has had work done from time to time, but has never had a full restoration in the true sense of the word. I can still show you some original paint! It still has the original spare wheel!
The car is the "lux" pack with the cloth and velour trim and the absurdly difficult to get at analog clock..... This packed up several years ago but I found a company in the US who fitted a quartz mechanism into the original housing and now it keeps perfect time.
I run the car on V-Power whenever possible and this gives anything up to 35mpg on a long run..... on the urban cycle this drops to about 25mpg but it uses almost no oil and has proved a very reliable piece of transport over the years.

When I first acquired the car it had suffered from "lack of use" and as the only place I could find to keep it was in what tuned out to be a damp rented council garage while I worked abroad for a number of years, the rust had started to get a hold. David Royle carried out some remedial work on the chassis and fitted new wings..... in the 90's the lacquer on the car finally started to breakdown on some panels so it was time to get more paintwork done. The car was back to almost show condition when some pratt in Bury overtook a group of cars on the wrong side of the road who were letting me out of a junction and piled into the passenger door. I was actually stationary in the road at the time but his insurance company wanted to tell me it was my fault....... MG Kerry did the repairs for me which required a new door and wing and sorted out a few other scabs and blemishes that had crept in over the years of daily use. The car came back as good as new. Peter Bradley at Spot on Tuning continued to handle the mechanical side and after an ongoing problem with slow running a donor injection pump was fitted the car now runs and goes like a train. Overheating at times was cured by a re-cored radiator and electric fans.

Now after 34 years JRG25P has finally come home again as I have moved back to Northumberland.
It is in a sort of retirement and over the past year I have endeavoured to do a bit of renovation work while parts are still available, they are getting scarcer these days! Amongst the jobs on the list were a worn drivers seat squab and after some help from the 2002tii register I managed to get some original cord material from BMW Mobile tradition. I now have enough to recover all the seats and the rear set back will need doing when time and funds permit as it has suffered the ravages of UV over the years and is starting to crumble on the top shoulders. I have also renewed some trim and seals and I have reworked the suspension again, fitting a Jaymic kit which is 30% uprated springs with Bilstein dampers and a full set of poly bushes and new rubbers etc. I also replaced the roll bars with a matched set rather than the mix originally fitted The Spax kit fitted back in the 90's when we were all track day mad was just too hard and the car sat too low at the back. Now she looks "right" again and the balance between comfort and handling has been restored making it a lovely car to drive. You will see the difference in the shot taken at Blickling hall a few years ago and the latest photos..... its just 10mm but it's amazing the difference it makes.
Recent mechanical bits needing replacement, apart from the fuel injection pump which Peter at Spot On Tuning donated, have been the brake calipers (Jaymic reconditioned) and recently the fuel tank which began to suffer from what I am told might have been a fungus which clogged up the pick up fuel filter with a sticky black gunge every few hundred miles . I also had to get a new exhaust manifold as this had cracked..... A replacement was again sourced from Jaymic and now she has runs like a sewing machine again.

There are still some things I'd like to do, like renew some of the rear chrome work but I put a new set of front chrome bumpers on about 6 years ago and these BMW "new" parts have already started pitting !! They haven't lasted half as long as the originals...... so I'm not inclined to shell out for another set..... If anyone knows a good chroming company who can refurbish these parts then let me know. I've managed to find a gem of a body-shop on my doorstep who can help keep the ravages of time at bay on the metalwork and Robert Baron and his team at Autobahn in Hexham look after the mechanicals...... He was the mechanic at Fawdingtons when the car was sold back in 1975 so we are keeping it in the family so as to speak. !!

Keeping the car in good condition has not been solely down to me, so I wish to thank the various people who have been involved over the years
Thanks must go to David Royle & Co in Staindrop Fawdington's of Newcastle, Peter Bradley of Spot On Tuning, Mike Macartney from Jaymic, Danny Scarfe from Coopers of Ipswich who has sourced parts for me over the years, and M.G Kerry, who all have helped keep the car in top condition.
More recently, having now moved back to Northumberland, Autobahn of Hexham for all their mechanical expertise and Mel Horn Bodyworks of Cramlington who has done a brilliant job of eliminating some annoying nibbling from the metal mice around door seams and lower wings.

With still just 75,000 on the clock JRG 25P remains one of the best “original” ‘02s in the United Kingdom and has a number of awards and trophies to show for it.
It turns heads everywhere and people still stop me and ask about it. It really was way ahead of its time in 1975 and despite the lack of power steering, antilock brakes and all the modern comforts it a still a brilliant drive. Over the past 28 years I have thought about selling the car a few times, when either cash was short or time did not allow much TLC, but these thoughts were quickly dismissed after a wash and polish and a short drive to keep things working. So in case you were wondering… No! It is not for sale.

Oh and by the way if anyone knows where to locate a front pair of the original BMW Coco Floor mats in blue and black....... let me know how much!!...... and a set of the original Hella spotlights would also be good.....mike@thepolishingcompany.com