I've been a BMW owner for a very short while now –9 months to be exact. And in that short amount of time, I've found myself becoming a rather big devotee of anything that leaves the Bavarian Motor Werks factory floor. BMWs somehow balance the fine line of everyday functionality and performance drivability in one complete package.
Early last month, I went to the E30 Motorwerks Show and Shine meet at the shop in Huntington Beach. There, I was greeted with all sorts of E30s. But one car stood out from the rest and it wasn't even an E30.
It was a 1973 BMW 2002 in white Chamonix and is owned by Ray Chau.
The 2002's rather lower than usual ride height is thanks to the pair of Ground Control front coil overs with Koni double adjustable shocks…
…and a GC Adjustable camber plate. Ray has also improved the overall handling with a set of Ireland Engineering 22/22 hollow adjustable sway bars and an elefant Supply Co. front strut bar.
It's hard to find a BMW 2002 with this low of a ride height. But finding one this low on a set of BBS RM 15×7 front…
…15×8 rear wrapped with a 195/45/15 Toyo T1R is a whole different story. The BBS adds a nice modern touch to the overall period correct look Ray achieved.
The end result is nothing short of amazing.
But what makes this aesthetically pleasing 2002 even more special is what lurks under the hood.
In the depths of the engine bay, you'll find a 2.3L S14 which produces 192 HP and originally came out of an E30 M3.
It's hard to argue about anything that is powered by the Bavarian M…
…especially when it comes from the factory with four individual throttle bodies.
Ray coupled the engine to an E21 5 Speed Transmission and 3.90 LSD for the rear end. Since the car saw a rather large upgrade in horsepower, a big brake kit was also installed.
The interior is just as clean as the car's exterior. Ray added a few odds and ends to spice things up but he has also kept it as factory as possible.
When you put in an M powered motor, stock 2002 seats just won't do. Ray found a pair of reclinable aftermarket Recaros made for Porsches to replace the stock front seats.
The rear seats were left stock as they're still in pristine condition. It's surprising to sit in the back seat to find out just how roomy the back seats are for such a small coupe.
Back in the front, Ray swapped out the stock steering wheel for a Momo Prototipo Steering Wheel. A gorgeous Alpina logo also adorns the horn button…
…as it also adorns the gear lever with an Alpina Shift Knob that replaces the factory knob.
It was surprising to also find out that the heater still…
…and air conditioning still work in the car! How's that for a 38 year old car?
Ray and his brother, Harlan, run a small side business together, the elefant Supply Company. They create the various BMW skateboards as seen here and other BMW odds and ends.
In the trunk is also rear strut bar which serves more as a visually appealing piece than for chassis stiffening.
Ray also added a period correct roof rack. No Yakima or Thule here!
During the photo shoot, we took the roof rack off temporarily for a few snaps as the car looks cleaner and looks even lower without it.
In this day and age, it's hard to find really clean cars. Especially older cars like a BMW 2002. More and more people are finding that it is much more rewarding to find a car that is slightly beat up and reworking it to factory specifications from there. Ray Chau's 2002 is one of those people. Except that his definition of factory specification is slightly different than that of BMW's….
-Linhbergh