Car of the Month

October 2009

Ian Powell's modified M20 Engined 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

My entry in BMW ownership began in 2003 with the purchase of an e46 330i for my wife. Soon after, I found myself searching for a BMW for myself.
Some might say that I really caught the disease. Over the course of the next 2 years, I went through 2 e30’s, 1 e30 M3 and an e34 M5 with the e34 M5 (with only 78K miles) being sold to accommodate the 2002.
E34 M5 Pic
How did I end up in a ’02? Well, there are a couple reasons. First, I had a classmate in HS whose father owned a Fjord Tii. During the course of HS, I had multiple occasions to ride in it and came away really impressed with the cars performance and handling. Second and probably most influencing was my exposure to two 2002’s after moving into my current neighborhood in 2004.
You see, I had the luck to move in down the street from (at the time) the acting National Capital Chapter BMWCCA Concours Chairman (Richard Pineda). Richard has since moved, but during his time as my neighbor, he possessed an s14 powered Cinnabar Red 2002 which he used to compete in autocrosses. He later sold this and purchased Gary Bossert’s s14 powered Agave 2002 which had been featured in Roundel.

After seeing these cars, I knew that I needed to get one and the hunt was on.
In the fall of 2005, I came across an ad for an m20 swapped 2002 on Roadfly. Now, a swapped car was not a priority, but was intriguing. I decided to go forward with the purchase after reading about how much fun CanadaMatt was having with his recently m20 swapped car.

Soon after arrival, I dropped the car off at Road Race Technologies http://www.roadracetech.com/) to get the mechanicals reviewed/sorted. After sorting the mechanics I began looking for a bodyshop to have turbo flares, a turbo airdam installed, rockers replaced and respray done.
In April 2006, the car was sent off to Artisan Autobody. They were chosen because the owner (Kevin O’Grince) showed a sincere interest and an enthusiasm for job. Plus, he was a product of McPherson College (known for its auto restoration program – http://www.mcpherson.edu/technology/). Though he didn’t have direct experience with 2002’s, he had restored older VW’s (ghia’s,bug, etc) and was familiar with old German metal.

While the car was at the shop, I fell victim to requirements creep. You know, the “while we are in there, why don’t we take care of this”. The first deviation from the bid job was the removal of the engine to allow the shop to paint the engine bay. While expensive, this was not what sent me tumbling down the slippery slope.
It was my next decision that sent me on my way. You see, upon grinding for flare fitment, the shop came across filler in each of the quarters. At that point, I should have stopped the job and started my hunt for a rust-free shell. Little did I know that it would have proved cheaper in the long run to ship one of those poor ‘76’s in from CA.
I didn’t and the car began its 2 year residence under the care of Kevin and his mechanic Billy. As they say hindsight is always 20/20.

In October 2007, it returned home and I began the reassembly process (glass, trim, carpet, seats, etc).

Summary of the work.

Body

New OEM rear quarter panels
New OEM right front fender
New OEM rockers
CA sourced rust free doors
Turbo Flares
Turbo Airdam
Turbo Spoiler
New OEM Seals
New Trim pieces
Rechromed shorty bumper (Aardvarc)
Hella rear foglight
Paint came in as well. PPG Concept 2K Urethane (DCC) – Imola

Interior

Crack free dash
Custom gauge cluster
Custom console w/cupholders :)
Parker Performance console insert
VDO vision gauges
New door panels (world up)
Recovered Front Recaros
e30 M3 Rear Seat
New charcoal grey german loop carpet (Seams Perfect)
New hat shelf
New seatbelts
Nakamichi head unit
MB Quart 6.5" Speakers
JL Audio AMP
Bill Williams Kick Panels
New Headliner
Rebuilt heater box
New heater fan
Aux fuse box

Mechanical

60K m20 Engine
New seals/gaskets/plugs/etc
New Injectors
New Timing Belt
New Water Pump & Thermostat
BeCool Radiator
BeCool Pusher Fan
Jim Conforti Chip
New Clutch
JB Racing LTW Flywheel
Mazda RX-7 Oil Cooler
Euro 323 5-spd Transmission
3.91 LSD
e36 M3 SSK
e30 318is in-tank fuel pump

Brakes/Suspension

Ground Control Coilovers
Camber Kit
Suspension Techniques Swaybars
Bilstein Sport Shocks
Ireland Engineering Stage 2 Rear Springs
Front Strut Brace
Rear battery holder/brace
e21 Hubs
Wilwood Superlite Calipers
7-Series Master Cylinder
Wilwood Bias Valve
Rear disc brakes (Aarvarc Kit)
Urethane Mounts
New OEM Tie Rods
New OEM Control Arms
New OEM Ball Joints