BMW 2002 Track Day Car?

[n80]

I've only done one track day and it was in my daily driver. But it was fun and I'd like to continue to do this and I'm fine just puttering around the track in my daily driver.

 

However, my brother-in-law has a '76 BMW 2002 in one of his barns. It looks like heck from the outside because it is under tons of dust but there is very little rust. None in the wheel wheels, floor pan, trunk or under the hood. He says it was running, but misfiring a bit, when he parked it there in 1986. The dash looks decent, the seats are trash. The clutch will not depress. It has the 4 speed tranny. He says he would sell it to me "cheap". The meaning of "cheap" is yet to be determined.

 

I'm just wondering what this car's potential would be as a track day car. Can in run in vintage events, etc? What kinds of expenses I might expect. Resources for fixing it up. I'm not a mechanic. I can do basic stuff like brakes, headers, adjusting valves and timing. But I cannot rebuild an engine, tranny or differential.

 

Any thoughts or tips would be appreciated.

 

Edit: To clarify, I'm not really looking to race or do TT, I'm mostly just wondering if this car would be a fun, fairly inexpensive track day car.

[Lucid Moments]

I will preface my comments with the fact that I know very little about the 2002. I am basing my comments on the fact that I do not recall having seen a singe one in nearly 5 years of regular track days with NASA.

 

The problem I think you are going to run into with a car like that is parts. I suspect they will not be easy to come by, or they will be expensive, or both. Stuff like that is always an issue when you run a not common car.

 

My personal opinion if you are considering buying a track day car then buy one with lots of support. There are plenty of cars that have a ton of support from OEMs and the aftermarket. Miata, E30, E36, Civic, Mustangs, Corvettes. For that matter since IIRC you drive a Nissan (Infiniti) I've never understood why we don't see more 240s at track days. I guess they've all been used up by the drifters.

 

Anyway, my point is that while the initial purchase price may be very reasonable I suspect the cost of getting it trackable, and then the ongoing maintenance will not.

[n80]

Thanks. I've kind of come to the same conclusion. The 2002 was once an extremely popular track/race car, but that was probably 35-40 years ago. I think you can still easily get parts and aftermarket parts for the 2002. Not sure about typical prices but I'm sure they are more pricey than GM or Honda parts.

 

Its just that the car is there and in decent shape that made me think about it. I was looking at it this weekend and my B-I-L was ready to unload it. (He wants to keep it in the 'family').

 

I think for the amount that I would spend on the BMW I can (slowly) improve my G35 to the point where it goes from daily driver to track car over the next few years. The G is not an ideal track car but I like it and it will suit my purposes which will primarily be just HPDE fun.

[kbrew8991]

another issue would be - are you going to drive this 2002 to and from the track or tow it?

[n80]

I've been told that if I liked this track stuff I was going to end up with a trailer anyway.

[Spruill242]

I do know they where very popular and competitive in the SCCA ITB class. They're light little cars and very simplistic. Parts are available but you are correct to assume they are going to be a bit more expensive than any of the newer popular track cars. Engine stuff is probably going to be harder to find than the suspension and brake components which are very basic. However if it's something you're up for, I do know that there are quite a few drivetrain swaps for the car to put modern power and reliability under the hood. That may be more than you are looking to get into though.

 

Just remember that no matter what you end up with you'll NEVER stop at just a few upgrades. You're at the top of the slippery slope my friend.

[n80]

You're at the top of the slippery slope my friend.

 

It sure looks that way. I've got to get a lot more track time and find out where I really want to go with all this. That little BMW is just always in the back of my mind. He offered to sell it to me 10 years ago and I almost bought it to restore it (have it restored) to factory level then.

 

The funny thing is, I had the fellow who got me into this track stuff take a look at the car. He really thought it was cool and that I should get it. I had mentioned that you can do engine exchanges where you send them your old engine and they send you a rebuilt one. He says, oh no, you can't do that, you need both engines so that you have a back up! He has three engines for his 65 Mustang that he built from the ground up as a track car. He just assumed I'd be getting in that deep too.

 

I have got to resist the urge. I don't even have my own helmet yet!

[rigmaster]

2002's are great fun as daily drivers or track cars. If you get hung up on making it a very pretty/perfect street car, then you'll easily spend as much as a new M3 getting it there. Same thing with track prep- if you are obsessed with keeping up with the fast guys on the track, you will not be happy with it unless you stuff an E30 M3 engine under the hood and completely re-do the suspension.

 

 

But, if you are OK with a great handling car that's not expensive to run, and you are able to tinker with it on your own (i.e.- you don't have to pay a shop to do EVERYTHING), then it might be a good choice.

 

I say this as a long time 2002 owner. I have several of them, none of them are very "nice" cars, but they are fun. My current track toy is a 71 2002 that was built to SCCA (!) ITB specs. I bought this car after someone else spent the $$ prepping it, I've got less than $4k in it right now and it's a blast to drive, and so far very reliable. I doubt that I'll ever race it in IT, and probably won't race it in anything else any time soon.

 

That said, I can tell you from experience that ALL 2002's have rust, somewhere- even the pristine looking cars you see at car shows that have been $$$ restored and never get rained on- they've got rust somewhere. If you get on top of it and keep it in check, you should be OK. If you ignore it, or start out with a rust-bucket, you'll be in bad shape. Getting a car that has been sitting up to par for track days can be an expensive proposition. You should expect the brake + clutch hydraulics to need attention, probably needing to replace the clutch slave, rear wheel cylinders and maybe the front calipers + brake master cylinder. The clutch disc might be rusted to the pressure plate/flywheel- this can sometimes be knocked loose but often will require you to pull the transmission and manually knock it loose and/or replace. Assuming the engine is in OK shape, the fuel system will probably have gunk and/or rust in it. Count on a carb rebuild and a gas tank cleaning at minimum.

 

 

Parts are still readily available for these cars, and most of the consumables are not too expensive.

 

 

Feel free to post back if you have any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer.

 

 

Rig.

[n80]

Thanks Rig. I think I'm going to pass on the car. I think it would be one thing if I was into vintage BMWs or had some emotional attachment to it. But as it stands, it is just out there. And who knows, I may change my mind at some point. And it will still be there.