I DD'd a Classic Car and Found My Nirvana

"SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O)" (sammauri) 03/03/2015 at 20:07 • Filed to: BMW 2002

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This long winded rambling is in response to Raph's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the Front Page. It became too long for an FP comment, so I'm posting it here.

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Daily driving a classic is a magical experience, Oppo. Sure, new cars are great with their fancy touch screens and sound deadening and safety features, but a classic car gives you a sense of nostalgia than nothing else can really give you. Driving a classic car is the best decision I have ever made, and is something I think everyone here should experience. I drove my 1976 BMW 2002 every day for two and a half years, and loved every minute of it, and I hope to get her back to DD status over the summer. Now, my first car was a 2001 Nissan xTerra, and it was an amazing truck. I mean, as far as first cars go, I hit the lottery. It was reliable as all hell, an absolute tank in the snow, fit 5 people plus however many were willing to sit in the trunk, came with a full first aid kit for when your drunken friend inevitably sliced his hand open at a party, was relatively safe, looked awesome, had more than enough room in the back for activities with the seats folded down, physically would not let me go faster than 95mph (I tried, it had a limiter), and had no traction control so I could do sick drifts and donuts. As far as first cars go, it was the best of the best.

And then one day I decided I wanted something older. My hunt started off with the VW Karman Ghia. It was a stunning little car that looked like a lot of fun, and my grandfather had a spare 914 engine that he said he'd be more than happy to shove under the hood. I quickly realized that a rust free example was slightly above my budget, so I began looking at E30s. I test drove a few, and almost bought a beautiful red 1991 325is but the day after I drove it something happened.

My uncle let me drive his 2002 Turbo.

That was it. I was sold. I needed a 2002. I needed one.

Shockingly, my parents were quite excited. They had both owned 2002s in the past, and my mom actually had a maroon 2002tii when I was born. Until this point I had never been sure if they were one-hundred percent on board with me driving something old, tiny, and airbagless, but the minute I mentioned a 2002 my dad actually offered to pitch in. If you knew my dad, you would be picking your jaw off of your desk right about.... now.

I scoured Craigslist and found a few that were in okay condition, but I wanted something ready to go and a lot of what I was finding needed some mechanical work. Then, one day as I sat in class, I got an email from my dad. No subject. No text. Just a link. One week and a bunch of phone calls later, he went to go check it out. I got the okay, and purchased my pastellblau 1976 BMW 2002 for $4,000 and one miniature highlander cow.

Yes, my dad's contribution was a cow. I wish I was making this up. For those who don't know what a miniature highlander cow looks like, its hysterical. How my dad found someone who was willing to partially trade a 2002 for a miniature highlander is still a mystery. Why my dad even had miniature highlander cows is a mystery.

The next weekend, my new car pulled up in front of my house with a color-matching Prius behind it. As it turns out, the very nice gay hipster farmer couple who I bought the car from loves the color so much, that when it was time for them to get a daily driver they specifically chose a car to match the paint color of the 2002. My mom was enthralled by the fact that they lived on a farm and, most importantly, that they had goats. My mom loves goats. So much so that she asked them if she could come to their farm at some point and pet their goats. She pet the goats two weeks later.

I swear this is a true story.

So now I had an old car. I was the proud owner of a 36 year old BMW that ran surprisingly well and had not a single molecule of clear coat anywhere on the body. I drove it whith pride, and quickly fell in love. But while I loved all the quirks of my car, I still felt the need to make it my own. Back on Craigslist, I found a set of silver BBS RSs for an impossibly low price, picked them up the next day, and proceeded to spend WAY too much time and money painting the centers gold and polishing the lips. This is around the time in which my 02 got her name. Alice.

For those wondering, the name is actually a reference to the very same Alice who chased a rabbit, fell down a hole, and explored the wonderful land of Wonderland.

For the next two years, Alice and I were together every day. We went through a lot together, and she went through a lot of parts. One transmission, one differential, god knows how many fuses, a window actuator, a brake fluid reservoir... The list goes on. She taught me a lot in those year. I had no mechanical experience at all when I first started this adventure, and yet here I was driving a car with the temperament of a passive aggressive girlfriend who suspects you may have forgotten her birthday for the 4th year in a row. There were many roadside fixes along our travels, and I have since learned my lesson and signed up for AAA.

Pro tip: if you drive an old car, or any car for that matter, get AAA. Hopefully you'll never need it, but you'll be glad you have it when you do.

Even though I had been treating Alice as my daily for a few months, I still had the xTerra. We used it occasionally, though mainly in poor weather or snow. I used it a number of times to haul my friend's band equipment into New York City and for its yearly Christmas tree hauling duty, but it mostly sat in the driveway. One day, perhaps of a broken heart, the xTerra died. The costs outweighed the value of the truck, and even though I had so many memories of my early days of ass-hattery, we had to let it go. That meant my mom and I had two cars that were, to put it bluntly, absolute shit in the snow.

As luck would have it, we should have kept the xTerra another year. The 2002 and mom's JCW Mini Cooper S were not prepared for winter storm Nemo. Even with the best snow tires money can buy and all the sandbags in the world loaded into the trunk, we were not going anywhere.

But once the snow was plowed, we were back to normal.

Yes, I drove a nearly 40 year old car through a New England winter.

No, the floor did not immediately rust out and turn my car into a Flintstones-mobile. I did, however, spend a fair amount of money on weekly (and sometimes twice weekly) car washes.

But it was not until the following spring that I truly understood what driving a classic was all about. Cars today are wonderful, and fast, and efficient. They are comfortable and quiet, and can do hundreds of things that classics simply cannot do. But driving a classic car is an altogether different thing. Driving down main street in a classic car, with the windows down and some old Grateful Dead tunes coming from the tape deck, is... well, it's everything. You're surrounded by people in their isolated bubbles on wheels, pissed off at the world and at the Toyota that's going a tad to slow, and only concerned with their destinations. You cannot be that person in a classic car. In something old, your drive is its own destination. You feel inclined to take the back roads, or the long way home from work or school. You go on automotive adventures every chance you get, even if its just to pick up groceries. Your car becomes a part of who you are, and driving it, and I mean really driving it, becomes a spiritual experience. I cannot tell you how many times I went on drives during times other people may go to church or pray.

Adam Kaslikowski, a writer for Petrolicious, drove a BMW 2002 and found God. While I can certainly relate to Adam, I think you can find "God" in many forms and in any kind of classic car. I found my automotive nirvana in Alice. Go find yours.

(The following are not my photos, but I felt were worth sharing)

AthomSfere > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:29

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Brilliant! Love it, and... cows.

Great writing, great car, great story.

RallyWrench > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:29

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YES!! I hope this gets FP'd.

My grandpa had a '76 in the same color. It and my dads' '72 Bavaria are the cars that hooked me on BMWs, and are why I found a rusty but running '68 1600-2 as my first car and DD'd it in high school. My current '68 02 has been off the road since about '04. Gotta get on that.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > AthomSfere 03/03/2015 at 20:39

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Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

The cow is actually my favorite part of the story. I still don't get it. We don't have the highlanders anymore, but we do have peacocks. My dad and his weird animals...

Opposite Locksmith > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:43

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one day I will have a 2002 with a f20c under the hood. I swear

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > RallyWrench 03/03/2015 at 20:47

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Thanks! I certainly wouldn't mind that.

I think the blue is my favorite 2002 color. I was considering painting it Porsche Meteor Grey for a while, but I've decided to keep the original color. It just works so perfectly on the 2002. Your dad and grandpa have an awesome taste in cars. I need a Bavaria and/or a 3.0 at some point in my life. If I could manage to own all three at the same time, my life would be complete. I would have accomplished everything I needed to accomplish in life. Ahaha

And get her on the road! I was just talking to Chuck about that. It's never soon enough to get it back on the road. My plan is to have her road worthy by the spring, and DD-able by the summer. That's the plan, at least. We'll see what actually happens.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:47

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That's an amazing story, I too shall join you in the future. My search for a Series IIa is on and I have a few interesting leads.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Opposite Locksmith 03/03/2015 at 20:48

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I wish I could give you more than one star. If my engine ever explodes, I might have to go that route. Have you seen Heist's f20c-ed 2002? That and the CATuned one are things to aspire to.

Opposite Locksmith > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:50

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excuse me? Do you know who I am?? (Jk)

9k rpm buzzing in that little chassis

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 03/03/2015 at 20:51

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Now that would be something worth writing about. I've always loved old Land Rovers, as has everyone on Oppositelock. Best of luck on your search! I would definitely be interested in an Oppo review once you find one.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Opposite Locksmith 03/03/2015 at 20:52

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Nope! Sure don't. But we have similar taste, so I like you. I don't have it offhand, but that one video of the CATuned 2002 doing a flyby is my favorite exhaust clip in the history of the internet.

Opposite Locksmith > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:56

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it will be hard to ever get rid of my impreza, it will always be the best daily for me, but the second I can afford a car to wrench and enjoy thoroughly, it'll be a 2002 with whatever ice I can get in it.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 20:59

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Thanks! My dad has two, I keep trying to convince him to let me have one but no dice.

I do get the 88' whenever I want but it's off limits as my DD as it stays at his house.

CallMeTURBO > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 21:21

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I fell in love with a 2002 badly in need of a resto about a year ago when I was looking for the car, I told the owner id take it off his hands but he would have none of it. I settled for an e36

I still want one someday though

AM3R shamefully returns > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/03/2015 at 21:41

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Yes!! Love the 2002, if I had a garage I would certainly be on eBay looking for one all day.

And an f20c swapped 2002 sounds amazing..

Your boy, BJR > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/04/2015 at 10:53

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Even though 2002s are less "cars" and more "a good source of $250 from the scrappers" to me, I loved this read. Seriously man, this is awesome. BUT.....when you mention the Greatful Dead....fuck that band. Fuck them so much. Ruined an awesome post with one sentience.

Jk. The post was still awesome.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Your boy, BJR 03/04/2015 at 11:02

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Yeah BUT a 2002 could have been a source of like $1500 from me if your neighbors didn't suck.

And in my family, I didn't have the option not to like the Grateful Dead. I guess that's good considering their tape is stuck in my tape deck. I don't have a whole lot of variety unless I bring separate speakers, which I did for a while. I had this exact boombox sitting in the back seat with a wire running onto the passenger seat so I could plug my phone in. It worked pretty well, actually.

Your boy, BJR > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/04/2015 at 11:17

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.......fuck

(That's $200 more than I payed for it)

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Your boy, BJR 03/04/2015 at 12:54

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And I still would've save a few hundo from all the parts I've had to buy recently... The car stuff makes no sense, Ben. No sense at all. I could buy a whole car for a grand, yet they want to charge me $900 for a hood. Fuck that. Fuck that very hard.

(I didn't end up paying anywhere near $900 for one, but the fact that that's the going price for a mint one is absurd)

Your boy, BJR > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/04/2015 at 13:25

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Yeah you coulda done an auto trans swap! :-P

Seriously though even if you offered me $2k I wouldn't have sold it. The car was more rust than anything else, in ways that pictures could never show (Everytime I closed the doors, hood, or trunk, about 2 ounces of rust flaked off). But I agree. That's why I've made the switch to domestics, more likely than not parts are often shared, making them common, making them cheap. Hell, most shit is a trip to NAPA away.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Your boy, BJR 03/04/2015 at 13:34

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Yeah, when I had my Lincoln I could walk into NAPA with a picture of whatever I needed and say "I don't know what it is, but I need it," give them the the year, make, and model, and I could pretty much walk out with whatever I needed in hand if it was something minor. Anything else was either a special order that would get there the next day or trip to the junkyard.

Now I have to order some stuff from California, some stuff from Atlanta, and everything else from Germany. Aye.

Your boy, BJR > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/04/2015 at 14:32

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A Lincoln?

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Your boy, BJR 03/04/2015 at 14:47

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Don't shake your head at me, Mr. Honda Pilot (I kid). It was free! So was my AMC Rambler, actually. Kept them each for about a month and sold them to fund more German ventures.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/04/2015 at 20:45

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So, I finally read this. And, at this point, you are probably tired of getting notifications from me. First response, the cow thing is pretty damn funny. Like, how. Some people offer cash and a trade for a rusty wrangler. I can't imagine this not starting off as a joke. Say, would you take $4000 and a cow? I need clarification. That itself is priceless. You could have bought a PT Bruiser and it still would be a great story.

Secondly, your car seems to have had many more problems that mine. And, for that, I am jealous. Yah, sounds foolish, but I love wrenching on my car, and you know so much more by doing all of that. I do have a great group of owners that know the schematics of the cars better than their own wives, but I digress. I too had zero, and I mean zero experience working on cars before I bought my 02. Before I bought the car I would probably fuck up an oil change. Now, even with my lack of problems, I run at the car with a wrench in hand ready to work. Though, I'm still scared of doing the 5-speed swap. Transmissions are confusing to me, but there's so much info and people willing to help, that it won't be anything but money.

Alice is a very appropriate name, if you saw my latest reply somewhere else to you, you would sit back, smile, then cry trying to figure out how we're going to pay for our drug addiction. I'm never owning a Ferrari if a 40 year old German economy car can cost this much. (Note: don't really want a Ferrari unless it's an F40, or made before 1972-74)

Also, I find it really interesting that we both had trucks as our 'unofficial' first vehicle. Had a 2000 Toyota Taco TuRD that ended up getting recalled and then taken from me because the frame was about to split in two. Toyota gave me 12,000 and I turned around an bought Jessica.

Next point, this is a really fucking long message. Driving an older car/fun car separates you from everyone else on the road. I fully enjoy the moment, I couldn't car less about where I'm actually going (most of the time). I'm already at my destination. I'm in my zen state. Everyone else is racing (while going slower than me) to get to some 'important' place. To me (us) that's not the point. And, unfortunately, modern cars make the driving experience that bonds driver and vehicle a thing of the past. I often take the long way home, mostly because there's always 'that one corner' or 'that one scenic stretch' that is made exponentially better when behind my 02. If I don't have a car that makes me feel and act this way, I'm practically dead. Which, brings me to my next point.

Driving my car is a religious experience. My mother, who is extremely (too) Christian, often gets mad at me, saying that 'I treat my car like a god'. I keep telling her no, but I really want to say yes. But seriously, I'm not getting ethical advice from a car. No, I'm getting peace of mind. When I go to church, I mostly admire the architecture and have time to think. When I drive, I'm smiling, and still have time to think. But, it's so much cooler to drive a 2002 and think, than sit uncomfortably in an hour-long awkward situation. Right now, I fucking hate the weather. Why? Because I can't drive my car. And, when I can't drive, I get antsy, and write really long replies on OPPO.

I think I'm done, for now. I don't know your take on the social media thing, but since I find myself talking to you more than anyone else on oppo, wanna link up on facebook. Yah that has to be the cheesiest line ever to ask to be friends on facebook. I just figure might make communication easier, and you seem like a nice person to get to know. And eventually meet. There has to be some event, between us that's worth going to.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 03/04/2015 at 21:36

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Ahahaha. Nope, certainly not tired of it. I've been meaning to reply to your other comment for the last couple of days but I've been slammed with midterms and papers so I haven't had a spare moment to think. It's actually open in another tab right now so I wouldn't forget.

Short version of my response to your other post:

I think the NK steelies are definitely a good call. They'll look sick stock, and even sicker once you widen them. As for that checklist, I feel your pain. I can't even begin to write everything I need to do down. Electrical gremlins are first, then I gotta make sure nothing else has gone wrong while its been sitting, change all the fluids, then suspension and other stuff I actually want to do. My food budget it likely going to be cut back so I can put extra money into Alice, and luckily the girlfriend is less expensive than I thought it would be. I would love to go to the Vintage. Timing kind of sucks. I was at school in South Carolina last year, and now I'm in Boston. If I had known about it the drive to NC would have been so much easier. Ahahaha. I do still have a bunch of friends down in that area though, so I will definitely look into it. I saw pictures from last year... Definitely something I need to go to soon.

I have to ge back to studying, unfortunately. My last midterm is tomorrow, but I will respond to this post as soon as I can! I could write an equally long response, but I am hella screwed for this political science exam. Anyways, definitely add me on facebook. This is my link https://www.facebook.com/sam.mauri

E92M3 > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/04/2015 at 23:53

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Awesome story man! A 2002 is on my car bucket list. I better get one sooner than later. I predict they will start appreciating significantly now that air-cooled 911's are out of most people's reach. Seems to be a similarly rewarding driving experience.

RustedSprinter > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 03/06/2015 at 17:16

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Great story dude! Wish my parents were that supportive.