1969 BMW 2002 - Summer Of '69

What do you remember from 1969? If you're like me, you probably weren't even born yet! But for those who can recall, you might remember such milestones as Richard Nixon's presidential inauguration, or the Apollo 11 mission putting the first man on the moon. If you're a music fan, you can't forget the first-annual Woodstock festival, where Jimi Hendrix mesmerized the crowd.

Back then, European car manufacturers were still trying to tap into the US market. And for BMW, that meant gaining recognition of the 2002, the forerunner to the 3-Series. Although over 800,000 were built, only 80,000 made it to the USA, including this vintage'69 masterpiece rebuilt by Groma Race Fabrications in Irwindale, CA.

"We bought the car and sold it to a friend of mine," explained Ed Haroutonian, owner and chief fabricator at Groma. "All the bodywork and painting was done before we sold it, including the 2002 Turbo fenders and front air dam. We had already installed a high-compression M10 motor from an E30 318i. After a few months, another friend sent us motor mounts to swap in an M20 motor. So, we decided to buy the car back and finish the project."

Ed had already taken the car a long way by ditching the original '69 2.0 twin carburetor engine for a 318i motor. Swapping in a six cylinder 12v M20 motor would prove to be a harder task, but he was determined to give the car more power.

The 3.2 liter M20 stroker engine gives 250hp in the lightweight 02'

The M20 displacement ranged from 2.0 to 2.7 liters, so Ed sourced an S52 crankshaft from an E36 M3 to lengthen the stroke. He also added larger 85mm JE pistons to increase the bore, resulting in a new 3.2 liter displacement. For more top-end power, Ed reground a 272 cam to keep the intake valves open longer. Finally, forged connecting rods ensured the new power would be reliable.

"When it came time to drop the motor into the car, none of the mounts lined up," Ed recalled. "Since we're fabricators, we made new motor and transmission mounts, shortened the driveshaft and balanced it. We also got the motor to sit lower in the car to help with its center of gravity. We pushed the motor back to the firewall and removed the front core support so we could fit an oversized aluminum radiator with electric fan."

The new stroker motor improved power to 250hp and 200 lb/ft of torque, which would be more than enough for this 2225 lb car.

While Ed and his team labored under the hood, they also swapped in a five-speed manual transmission and rebuilt the differential from an E21 3-Series with a 3.45:1 final drive. Most naturally-aspirated motors are geared for more advanced acceleration, but the lightweight 2002 had enough low-end power so the gearing could be increased.

The next upgrade was the suspension. Since this was going to be a regular track car, Ed used parts from Ireland Engineering to rebuild the front suspension. Coilover bodies, camber plates, plus sway and strut bars were installed without problems. Ed then fabricated a four-point strut brace and radiator support to increase rigidity.

Inverted Pro-Shocks lie inside the trunk

Ed crafted a setup for the rear using inverted Pro-Shocks for the track. Then, polyurethane bushings were added all-around for longevity.

Braking power would also be an important characteristic, especially since the old system was designed for 100hp. To update the front brakes, Ed sourced parts from a Volvo 240 consisting of four-piston calipers with larger rotors. The rear featured the bulletproof trailing arms and disc brakes from a European E21.

Since keeping the 2002 in contact with the pavement would be a difficult, Ed opted for sticky 225/50-15 Toyo T1R tires. The 15x8" Axis Oldskool wheels were then painted gold.

Ed also mentioned there was a set of BBS for the track matched to race tires, but the '02 is typically setup for daily driving.