E30 M3 Powered 1972 BMW 2002 Tii for Sale

Last week I posted a wonderful soft top and right hand drive 1973 BMW 2002 Tii.  After some furious bidding it topped out at $16k and the reserve was not met.  Here is another take on a 2002 Tii, this one hailing from 1972.  The twist here is this one has the power plant from an e30 M3.

BMW 2002 tii “M2″ for Sale on eBay

From the seller -

“I bought the car last fall from a retired mechanical engineer in eastern Pennsylvania who did the S14/5-speed drivetrain swap in his garage after completing a top-quality, bar metal re-spray in the cars original Malaga red color. He said after the drivetrain swap was complete his wife wouldn’t ride in the car with him anymore since it was too loud! He also wanted to make room in the garage for a pickup truck hot rod that he was hoping to get of eBay. The drivetrain swap is well done, albeit a bit home crafted. The car is fast! Speed per age, I’d imagine it’s one of the fastest cars I’ve driven.

It’s a sleeper now and it was even more of a sleeper when I first got it with 14″ bottlecap wheels and stock springs! Since owning it, I’ve addressed a few suspension maintenance issues, added a set of 15″ Alpina replica wheels, Ireland Engineering Stage I lowering springs and a rebuilt LSD to get the car handling and looking good without losing it’s traditional feel and great highway ride. It has a great exhaust note and makes an unexpected sound from a clean traditional looking 2002

We do drive the car, so it’s not concours, but a bit of detailing it easily could be.

Here are the details:

Body

Rust free body, with beautiful Malaga Red paint. Paint is excellent quality, shines and even feels great. There is a chip in the roof and one slight impression in one of the rear fenders where we had to widen the arches for the larger tires (all shown in the pictures). There are also a few nicks in the chrome, but nothing that detracts from it’s overall look. All rubber seals are fresh and with the windows up there is virtually no whistling while driving down the highway. Grilles are in good shape, with only minor scratches, bumper chrome is excellent.

Drivetrain

Chipped, 2.3L S14 (from E30 M3) with an open intake and exhaust estimated to be 200HP+. 5-Speed Gearbox. 3:91 LSD, bought freshly rebuilt from Aardvark racing. The engine was believed to have 60K miles on it before the conversion and has probably done 8-10K miles since then. While it does have some minor oil leaks that are characteristic to the S14 motor, it’s only a drop or two and nothing major. (read more about S14 oil leaks here, about 1/2 way down the page is a good description of what these motors are prone to ) With the S14, this car really moves and with it’s original styling it always catches people off guard as it blasts away from a stoplight. With electronic fuel injection the car also runs smooth and reliably, I’d be comfortable driving it anywhere.

Suspension and Steering

Upgraded sway bar and poly bushings. Ireland Engineering Stage I Sport Springs and Bilsteins Sport Shocks, brakes recently serviced with new shoes, front rotors, pads and calipers. Handling is competent and predictable without sacrificing highway ride. 15″x6″ Alpina replica wheels with new 195/50/15 Kuhmo Tires. No rattles what so-ever, the car feels very tight and fresh.

Interior

Clean and original Tabacco / Black interior with Coco Matts and Nardi Wood steering wheel. Early crack-free dash (just two cracks near fasten seatbelt sign). Some of the foil has peeled on the door panels, but overall the interior looks great. Added oil pressure and volt gauges to center console. (Previously I had noted that there was a split in the driver’s seat cover. That is now fixed, see last picture in the Flickr Album)

Electrics

With the exception of the odometer, everything works! For some reason the odometer has gone completely random… it still turns, but each digit has a mind of it’s own.”

This car has to be a hoot to drive.  All of that power in that light and nimble of a package would make for quite the sleeper indeed.  While not as clean as last week’s example this 2002 more than makes up for it in the driver experience department.  I encourage you to click through as the link has more detail and lots of high resolution photos.

This car has a buy it now of $21.5k which is a bit on the high side.  Knowing that last week’s car stalled at $16 where do you plot the value of this one?  How much does the transplant add to the value knowing that it is not in show condition?  I think $18k seems fair, that number would likely edge higher after a turn behind the wheel.  The smile to horsepower ratio in this car would have a way of doing that.

~Aaron.