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BMW 1600 or the BMW 02 series
The other night Bobby and I were watching a re-run of the BBC serial Primevil, think you would call it a sci-fi serial, very gripping stuff, one of the scenes was filmed in a Car Breakers yard, I nearly had tears in my eyes watching BMW’s being dropped into the crusher, they appeared to have so many useable parts, boot lids, doors, bonnets wheels, there seemed to be no obvious dismantling, once they have gone that is it.
As a company BMW went through some difficult financial periods, having survived the second world war, with much of the factory taken by the Allies, apparently the little 700 was the saviour of the company despite BMW’s management being embarrassed by the car.
The other saviour of sorts was the Bubble Car, if you are not old enough to remember they were great fun, quirky, easy to park, just ideal for city life, BMW used their four stroke engine, naturally it was a cut above the other offerings who in the main had two stroke smokers, it also looked the business.
Unfortunately for BMW the bubble didn’t last long, I was tempted to write the bubble burst in a short time, people had more money and wanted proper cars. BMW didn’t actually have a small car other than the 700, and there was very little money left in the pot to develop anything.
However two brothers Harald and Herbert Quandt wealthy industrialists came to the rescue and placed a considerable amount of money into the firm. It did not take the company long to get itself on the right track.
BMW commissioned our old friend Giovani Micholotti who did so much for Triumph, to design a new car, known as the Neue Klasse.
In 1965 Bayerische Moteren Werke unveiled the 1600-2, there was both two and four door versions, so it says, but I have never seen a four door version and to be honest I would not think the body lends itself to having another door, later on a three door was on offer, not a full estate more of a hatchback. it was of course fitted out to the immaculate style of all BMW’s, a company renown for it’s engineering prowess, though in truth it was meant to be a down market BMW to encourage the masses to become addicted to the marque.
BMW didn’t quite get it right, because the 1600-2 was such a potent vehicle it actually went in the opposite direction in one sense, just look at the variants that eminated from it, for the technically minded the 1600 has a four cylinder Overhead Cam of 1573cc, with a claimed 96 brake horse power, which pushed the car along at the magic 100 miles per hour, I guess petrol consumption of around 29 to the gallon was respectable, the crankshaft has five bearings and inclined valves
Suspension was Macpherson struts at the front end and coil springs with semi trailing arms at the rear, brakes were front discs and drums at the back. This combination almost guaranteed safe handling and superb cornering.
There was various options available, the 1600 needed something and as a result of the chief engineer, Alex von Faulkenhausen putting a two litre engine into his own 1600 the mold was set, however Falkenhausen then discovered that one of the directors of BMW Helmut Werner Bonsch had done exactly the same thing, they of course pushed for a 2 litre version, in addition the Americans wanted one as the 1600 had failed the emission/safety tests, so we had a 2002 and a 2002ti and then a 2002tii.
At this point there is a word of warning, apparently there is a vast difference in the current price of a 2002 and a 2002tii, naturally some of the scumbags of this world have done the inevitable and stuck 2002tii engines into the bog standard car and the unsuspecting have forked out a lot more cash than they should have done, according to the people who know there is not a lot of difference visually, however the tii has larger wheels and larger front discs, there are a few other modifications but essentially it is up to you to make sure you are not ripped off.
The standard 1600 has 6.00×13 tyres and 6 volt electrics, one would have thought BMW would have moved to 12 volt electrics, which they did by 1969.
By the way sometimes one wonders about initials, well Tii stands for Touring international injection and in 1971 a Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection system was fitted. Naturally with all this power people were using the 2002 for saloon car racing and very successfully, so much so BMW developed a pair of 16 valve motors under no lesser person than Ludwig Apfelbeck, the valves were positioned radially and 16 individual ports, this monster developed 260bhp.
A production version of the racing turbo followed in 1973 its KKK Turbo blowing through the Tii’s Kugelfischer injection developing 170 bhp, the turbo didn’t come in until around 4000 rev’s, it has been said due to the turbo lag driving this beauty was challenging, make what you will of that.
I have neglected to give you info on the Tii, a 1900cc 4 cylinder OHC motor, with fuel injection giving a top speed of 120mph and 0-50 in 6.2 secs, you also get a twin circuit braking system, servo assisted, however there is still the disc drum arrangements, Mpg is quoted as 32 and the tyres are radial 165HRx13.
The 2002 with a carb will let you toddle along at 107mph. One of the great problems is variations of speeds, acceleration and petrol consumption, though invariably they are close enough.
Whilst researching the 1600 I came across a review by one of Britain’s well known tester’s, the review was actually a disgrace to the profession, he must have been in the pay of a major manufacturer, as he spent most of the review encouraging people to buy British.
I personally do not think anyone can write a critical review of the 1600/2002 it was and still is one of those iconic cars and a car that spawned a whole family of BMW’s which no doubt will be reviewed in due course.
Thanks regards Ted teday@gmail.com
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