Marc West’s Round Rear Light Black Tii

Fell in love with 02′s as a kid when my bothers mate steve took me for a 100mph blast in his black 02. roundie affectionaly known as “Hank” thought it was the coolest car ever, i knew i’d have to get one, one day!

This is my 2nd 02, the 1st being a 73 tii which the insurance took away after it was shunted outside my house (pleased to say, its back on the road, saw it on ebay a few times a while back, have you come across it RLM 162L?? ) it was blue with bbs wheels an a webasto roof, loved it!

HGN196K  a 1972 tii came to me about 8yrs ago with the plan of building my dream car, she came with a book of receipts for an engine rebuild at jaymics only a few yrs previous, fell in love an started work. the more i stripped and probed the more rot i found, floors, sills, arches,  front chassis rails front panel, bulkhead etc etc found a local welder who was going to cut out all rot and weld in fresh metal. well, what a mess…

All the work he did  was piss poor to say the least!! at this point i started to look for another shell but couldnt find anything suitable, so in for a penny! at least i’d know all the rot was gone, ended up having the whole shell blasted back to metal and found some ford guys down in somerset to do a proper job. front floors were replaced, inner and outer sills, rear quater repairs, literally have to be made up due to lack of original metal! At the same time i had strengthening added to the refabricated chasis rails at the bulkhead, all waist trim holes welded up and rear arches extended using a new set of arches with some extra metal let in.

Rear arches then lead loaded, the old fashion way! want this car to last. waxoyld everywhere,

Car has had spax springs and shocks fitted all round, lowered a couple of inches,all suspension bushes polybushed. brake system refurbed, rebuilt servos, callipers, cylinders, new pipes, braided hoses etc stainless jaymic exhaust, k+n filter .

all seals. rubber replaced , tinted glass, battery re/sited to boot. original bumper welded and re chromed with early short corners(no rubbers)

She sits on genuine ronal alpina alloys from an e21, staggered 15×6 front and 15×7 rear.took me 2 years to find and got them from Germany, requiring refurb!  ouch!!

She has bmw recaros again i believe from an e21. the car is soon to have a 5 speed e21 box fitted when i get round to it as current box is dying, the car is an ongoing project and probably will never be finished………  leather retrim . m3 engine conversion.. who knows?

I would describe my 02 as a custom, its not to the purists tastes, i’ll admit.

but i built this car for me, the way i like it anyway, taken me 8yrs so far, but  thats nothing compared to how long ive been planning it!  she is a hoot to drive and gets nods everywhere and i love it!

Cheers for your interest and keep 02′ing.

Marc West.

Enjoy;

March 2013

Alpina Works Car – Barn Find 

I had to re-run this feature for the March COTM. I found a genuine Alpina Works car in the UK, it’s a 2002 Ti 1969 and been standing for 40 years.

The story goes Alpina brought it to the UK and raced it at Silverstone, the car broke down after 3 laps, Alpina didn’t want to take it back to Germany and sold it to a guy called John Stanton of North London, there’s press cuttings and written history about it’s history from Alpina even with a letter from Burkard Bovensiepen stating it’s genuine complete with chassis numbers. It still has the scructineering tags tied to the gear lever.

It has the original close ratio steering box and original 200 Bhp engine (not currently located with the car), as you can see it has the correct extra dash gauges (VDO) with red needles and correct Alpina 3-spoke steering wheel. Rear half roll cage, several long leg diff’s of different ratios, vended discs (front) and twin 45 carbs. The car was dismantled and looks solid, loads of parts are boxed and scattered around the owners garage, mostly ceased and rusting of course. As it’s an early car it’s got rear drums and not discs, its been back to Alpina in 1970 for an engine rebuild, but sadly not moved in the last 40 years.

Originally I was notified of this car well over ten years ago when a guy approached me at the Ally Pally classic car show and told me he had an Alpina. Obviously I was skeptical, and it took him over ten years to contact me again, I’m amazed he kept my details and an odd call out the blue invited me round to see his “02” at first I didn’t even realise who or what it was, until I turned up one evening, and didn’t sleep for days.

I made a substantial offer for it, but sadly so has someone else he knows and I was out-bid. It needs to be correctly restored and shown, this is not a car for concours and I suspect will end up at Auction if I don’t get it – what a shame as I’d give me right arm (left in this case) for it. I’ll keep you posted as I know who now owns it, but in the meantime it was a very welcome surprise and what a find!

Extended Key and controls as drivers seat is further back than usual

More images here;

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q256/richstern/Alpina%20Works%20Car/

What can I say, but a fantastic show packed every day, bigger and better than before and I heard it is to increase next year to compete with the top German show Essen (April).

We arrived on the Thursday to set-up the stand, parked and polished the cars. BMW lent us their CSL Batmobile, a pre-war 328 and their newly acquired Isetta from the TV show Wheeler Dealers.

Visitors to the stand were real enthusiast and we had a lot of Irish friends visit as a cheap and quick flight from Ireland could be had. It was great to see some old 02 faces and every year I can catch up with them, which is great.

Several motoring personalities appeared including Mike Brewer, John Bentley, and a guest appearance from the Stig who made Steve’s weekend (see cover photo).

The stand was packed all weekend and what was amusing was we had approx. a ½ million pound pre-war 328 on the stand and guess what caused the most interest? “You got it” – the Isetta, and the times I had to answer the question “is this from Wheeler Dealers?”.

The Stig in Isetta

The M3 E30 also was one of the most popular and sadly the 328 was often over-looked, yes people didn’t know it, but they all know an E30 and the Isetta.

We had new Club clothing on show for pre-orders and 40 new members and 14 renewals  joined the club.

My M3

Park Lane Classic were with us and generated a lot of interested in their E21 320 and parts they can now source for the more mature BMW.

They were some other stunning cars there including Bugatti’s, Several Isetta’s, a lovely 700 CS (yellow and white) on the Micro-car stand, Maserati’s, Ford’s, Jaguar’s, McLaren and just about every make and model – a fantastic show enjoyed by all.

A big thank you to everyone and a very enjoyable show you must not missed next year, maybe I’ll have my 2002 Tii finished by then as well?

Car owners;

Ross Harris, Richard Stern, John Castle, and of course BMW GB Ltd

Over 109,000 visitors to this year’s Classic Le Mans it is the World’s top classic car event. Over 400 car entries with the most amazing cross-section of classic and sports racing cars anywhere. Grids included rare exotica like Bentleys, Talbots, Jaguar, Maserati’s, Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo T33, Aston Martins. Lotus, Porsche 356s Ferrari 250 GTs, GT40s, Cobras, Iso Bizzarinis, Ferrari 275 GTBs. D-type, 300SL Mercedes, 1959 Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR1, Lola T70s, Porsche 906, 907 and 917, Chevrons, Corvettes, Porsche 935s, BMW M1s and Lola T298s.

Traditional Le Mans starts with drivers sprinting to their cars across the track and all races include a mandatory pit stop and driver change-over.

The Elva-BMW 1600 GT was quick all weekend and another rarity was the Porsche 907 coupé. A collection of 18 Ferrari GTO’s gathered and performed parade laps, and for the record they cost around $4M each, although Sterling Moss’s one recently sold for $35M, therefore averaging $20M each. Millionaire Brandon Wang was there in his dark blue example on the concours stand and joining in on the parade.

Prototypes Gulf Mirage and Lola T286, with a Porsche 936 and a raft of 935s fighting for position with BMW M1s. And 911 Carrera RS. Hundreds of Renualt Alpines and the new concept that was actually doing laps

Between races there were marque parades, with club members out on track in 800 different cars. Derek Bell driving a Porsche 962 from the Zuffenhausen museum.

A brass band on the start-finish straight and a race for children the Little Le Mans piloting electric scale model cars and classic Le Mans start amused the cheered crowds.

Static displays – 18 (of the original 39) Ferrari 250 GTOs (one crashed on the way to Le Mans, £2,000,000 insurance claim) – and trade stalls, while a galaxy of vintage buses and army vehicles did taxi duties.

BMW displays included the club Horizon 2002 (French 02 club) with everything from 02’s, 1 turbo, Neue Klasse, a gorgeous 700 Convertible, CSL’s, M535i E12, M1, the South Africa designed 2000 saloon, to a multitude of Glas cars. Brit’s included Paul and John Hill, Russell Crawford, John Hudson, Hilaire O’Shea and from the Netherlands Guido and Shirley in their 2002 Targa.

The weather played a significant part, dispensing showers and sunshine all weekend. That made life interesting for drivers, especially on the damp track, with plenty of spinners exiting the corners, and a few offs across the board, we even saw a gorgeous Aston Martin DB4 ruin by an idiot in a Sagris. Big crowds watched the racing which was every bit as entertaining. Le Mans Classic only happens every other year, which enhances its exclusivity, and is a must for your 2014 diary!

Some of the images I took here;

Why Modern Cars are rubbish!

Our relationship with cars is a strange one. Take our obsession with classics for instance. Do you know anyone who, out of choice, watches TV on a crackly old black and white set with a miniscule screen? Probably not. Have you ever thought, “this computer is all very well but typewriters are so fun and retro”?

But put anyone with an interest in cars in an old classic and they’ll come over all misty eyed and endure all sorts of miseries in the name of retro cool.

Being a tyre or chassis engineer is a thankless task. Just consider this: thanks to both cars now handle better (read, more securely), hold the road far more tenaciously and are therefore safer, more comfortable and faster than ever. And yet, you’ll hear in some circles how the triumph of grip over handling has robbed us of something. Cars now hold on so hard there’s very little sensation of how they actually handle, other than in extremis. Meanwhile an old car with lower grip levels actually tells you a lot more about what’s going on, involving you in the process of driving in a way no modern car can.

Gadget overload

Drive a typical car of even 15 years vintage and you’ll be surprised at just how spartan the interior looks. So accustomed are we to our massaging seats, multi-mode gearboxes and adjustable suspension set ups we wonder how we coped without. The thing is, we did. And what’s more, we weren’t anything like as distracted – many modern cars requiring fighter pilot levels of dexterity and multi-tasking just to adjust the windscreen de-mist. Lotus is among a small number of modern manufacturers bucking the trend and concentrating on making the driving as fun as possible – removing the need for distractions.

Poor visibility

What is it with modern cars and their lack of visibility? The intention is good – namely beefing up the structure to give more crash protection. But the result has been massive blind spots, especially at the base of the A-pillar. Combine this with the huge wing mirrors many new cars have and you end up with a whole corner of the front window obscured, blocking your view at junctions and roundabouts. High dashboards are another problem, preventing you from being able to place the car accurately. Get in an older car and you’ll be amazed at what a difference this makes.

Too heavy

Laden with gadgets and gizmos, bigger and carrying more metal around to satisfy crash regulations modern cars are heavier than ever. Which means they need bigger engines – adding weight – which then demand bigger brakes and beefed up transmissions – adding weight – and the whole thing goes round in a vicious circle. The classic example is the Golf GTI. The Mk1 weighed just 840kg. The current one tips the scales at a staggering 1,347kg. Reason enough for it to need almost double the original’s power to provide a suitably thrilling drive. Hats off then to Mazda, one of the few mainstream manufacturers successfully cutting weight from its new models.

No character

Many of the issues in this list are interlinked and the added weight and complexity of modern cars, plus the much improved roadholding, has dulled character to the point where the driving experience is interchangeable between brands. And with so many modern cars sharing platforms and engines – even across apparently rival manufacturers – they become even more homogenised. There are exceptions – Subaru’s defiant quirkiness, BMW’s marvellous straight-six engines and Honda’s super slick gearchange spring to mind – but there is no escaping the fact that older cars are much more characterful. Of course, such a euphemism hides a multitude of sins but if you like driving character equals fun.

Smaller boots

Cars may be getting bigger on the whole but why are boots getting smaller? Back in the day when you lifted the boot lid of a typical saloon car the car’s outer skin marked the extremities of the boot space and you’d need a torch to find the deepest recesses. And yet these days it seems a carpeted slot between the wheel-arches is all you get. Another issue is the apparent disappearance of properly folding rear seats; backrests flatten easily enough but for proper load lugging you need to lift the rear bench to make a proper level load floor. And for whatever reason fewer and fewer cars enable you to do this.

All look the same

Is that the new Lexus? No, hang on, it’s a Mazda. Or is the new Jag? No, wait, it’s a Mondeo. Try as they might to integrate unique styling into their cars, modern designers are tied to the constraints of aerodynamics and crash regulations. And as a result cars all look the same, the more eccentric flourishes of talented designers never making the final cut. An old Mercedes could only have been a Mercedes, and ditto Jaguars, Saabs and Citroens – all had their own distinctive looks and characters. But now? Without the badges you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart.

No sensation of speed

Faster, safer and more refined than ever, modern cars leave their older cousins for dead when it comes to performance. Which would be great, but we’re stuck with speed limits designed for when vehicles were way less capable. The result? Drive at 70mph on a motorway and you’ll feel like you’re dawdling, while on country roads it’s all too easy to carry speeds in excess of what the visibility and conditions really should dictate. Drive an older car and all of a sudden relatively low speeds become exciting again, providing thrills drivers of more sophisticated machinery can only achieve outside the law.

No handbrakes

Just what was so bad about mechanical handbrakes? OK, so they take up a bit of space in the centre console needed for gadgets and gizmos (see above) but when you want to stop a car from moving a good yank on a lever actually attached to the braking mechanism is far more reassuring than pushing an anonymous button. And what if your car starts rolling back on a hill? Do you want to be hunting the dashboard for a small switch or making a grab for that unmissable big lever between the seats?

Driver alienation

Ever felt surplus to requirements? Modern cars seem able to do everything themselves, from switching on the headlights and wipers to regulating speed and deciding on the perfect interior temperature. Hell, with radar cruise control they’ll even match their speed to the vehicle in front and bring you to halt in a traffic jam. Which leaves what exactly for the driver? Not much more than holding onto the steering wheel and pointing the front end in the intended direction of travel. For those of us who actually enjoy driving demotion to a mere supporting role in the whole process is soul destroying, and yet another reason for choosing an old timer.

Always carry your driving licence, vehicle registration document (V5), and certificate of motor insurance. If your licence does not incorporate a photograph ensure you carry your passport to validate the licence. If the vehicle is not registered in your name, carry a letter from the registered owner giving you permission to drive.

Drinking and Driving

Don’t do it! Over 0.05 per cent and you could face anything up to imprisonment.

Fines

On the spot fines are issued across Europe. Ensure an official receipt is issued by the officer collecting the fine.

First-aid Kit

Carrying a kit is advised. It’s also compulsory in Germany and Austria.

Fuel

All grades of unleaded petrol and diesel are available. As in the UK, LPG is only available at some stations. Leaded no longer exists. It is allowed to carry petrol in a can. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted, although they probably won’t work at automatic pumps, which are often the only pumps in rural areas open out-of-hours, which also means lunch-time from noon to 3pm. It’s a good idea to let your card issuer know you will be travelling abroad. This ensures they don’t suspend your card if they spot it being used in unfamiliar places, which they sometimes do as an anti-fraud measure.

GB Sticker

Compulsory for all UK registered vehicles, cars displaying Euro-plates (circle of 12 stars above the national identifier on blue background) no longer need a separate GB sticker when driving in European Union countries.

Lights

Dipped headlights must be used in poor daytime visibility. Motorcycles over 125cc must use dipped headlights during the day at all times.

Headlamp converters are compulsory.

Minimum age for driving

Provided you hold a full UK licence, is 18 for a car and a motorcycle over 125cc and 15 for a motorcycle under 125cc.

Motor Insurance

Third-party insurance is compulsory. A green card is not required but your insurer should be advised of your trip.

Supermarkets

Most supermarkets are closed on Sunday.

Safety

Visibility Vests are compulsory in France from July 1st 2008, and in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Spain (and likely to become compulsory throughout the EU). The rules vary from country to country concerning number of vests required and whether they should be carried in the car or boot. Common sense suggests that there should be a vest for every occupant, and that the vests should be carried in the car. Do this and you will not have a problem.

Replacement bulb set recommended.

Seat belts are compulsory for front and rear seat occupants, if fitted.

Snow chains are recommended to be carried everywhere in Austria during winter, and if you do not carry and fit them when conditions demand the police can prevent you continuing your journey.

Warning triangle is compulsory in Europe.

Radar Detectors are illegally in France even not in use.

LEZ Cities more European Cities are now becoming Low Emission Zones.

English Speaking Call Centres both the AA and RAC have central English speaking call centres as often the roadside assistance telephones the operators do not speak English. You need to upgrade your standard UK policy to cover trips abroad.

What spares should I carry?

As Murphy’s law states, you are bound not to have the one thing you need when you breakdown on a long trip, but you can lower the odds by carrying the following recommendations (including above items). Obviously make sure your car is road-worthy as possible including good tyres, lights and wipers. We also recommend:

• Fan belt
• Spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor arm, plug leads, points and condensor (where fitted)
• Tools and torch
• Spare wheel, jack and wheel brace designed for your car (don’t forget locking wheel nut key too)
• Oil, Water, and brake fluid
• Water hoses (where possible) could save hours of heartache
• Duck tape
• Full can of petrol
• Sat Nav (or maps) and mobile phone with car charger
• Blanket

After intensive searching and with the help of other club members, I found out that Heidegger still exists and is situated in Liechtenstein. First to have been in contact to Heidegger jr., Mr. Max Heidegger called me. Nice anecdotes and a report of the race were the results. I was allowed to write him, asking for more information.

Because, as he said, there is nothing in paper, but everything was in his mind. After a nice day on the circuit in Zandvoort, late september 2004, the DTM went back into the garage. It would not see any sunlight again for a long time, the project could start. We stripped the car totally and put all parts into boxes.

Slowly the bald body became visible and with that also the bad parts and pieces. There was a lot of work to be done. The mountain of boxes grew, while it left a bit of steel with a piece of polyester attached. Maurice did show me that the polyester was also damaged and at several places also needed to be repaired.

The front spoiler was damaged, but that could luckily be repaired. The trunk cover with integrated rear spoiler needed to make place for a normal cover. The doors had stand the test of time well, while the hood needed to be replaced. Luckily Wilbert still had a nice sample.

When the doors, hood and trunk cover were ready, it was time to work on the body. The bad marks were ground out of the build out set. After that it could be repaired with new polyester.

Some spots where the build out set was attached to the body, appeared to be bad. Little cracks became visible. So also here it was ground and repaired. After that it was ready to be smoothed.

There were already many hours of labour in this project, but Maurice was still positive and enthusiastic, while I sometimes wondered “where did I start with?”

To build a replica, you need a lot of information about the original.

But because Heidegger in the mid 70ties didn’t do anything about PR, this is a big problem. With the information we gathered until then, it seemed that the fuel filling opening should be not on the right, but in the middle of the trunk cover.

However this gave so much problems, that we decided to just move it to the rear panel. The own made rear side was needed to be replaced by an original one. So I did put an advert in the BMW 02 club. Henk was just stripping a Sienna brown 02 parts and we were lucky. The rear side was in pretty good shape and was cut out nice.

The car stood, in relation to the original car, too high on its feet. So we lowered the car about 3 cm and widened it 20 cm. Rally driving on forest lanes will probably not be possible anymore in the future. The front spoiler was now pretty low to the ground. I just hope that it won’t go wrong.

Front and spoiler were made exactly tight fit to each other, so the brutal looks came out again. Because lately the car has been used for daily purposes, there was in several places rust again. Bits and pieces needed to be cut out. Probably caused because of using a not well attaching coating. I let myself be persuaded by a salesman to buy this coating, but this wont stay flexible. It turned hard and solid. So the coating cracked in some places and humidity could enter between the coating and the metal. A car will not look nicer with that, I can assure you.

During the work, that Maurice and me did on the future Heidegger, I was busy trying hard to get the needed stickers. Fortunately I received from various sides nice tips and even authentic material. It was nice to see that the “Heidegger-project” began to make people interested and that feel with you. For the both of us this was so stimulating, that it became nicer and nicer.

Beginning January I was called by Mr. Max Heidegger and a nice conversation followed. This conversation went very smooth, so we decided to travel to Liechtenstein to meet the “Big Boss” himself. One month later we went travelling by camper to bring a visit to Liechtenstein. Somewhat nervous on Monday morning, we entered the showroom where they offered us a cup of coffee while waiting for “father”. Within 5 minutes he arrived and came towards us with his hand stretched out and a big smile on his face.

Another very nice conversation started in which he explained how he did things back then. I listened closely and made notes of the technical information he gave me. The modifications to the cooling system, the fuel system, moving the dynamo, everything was told. In the real car there was a formula 2 engine, but he advised not to put that now. “Believe me, Tim”, he said “That engine is too expensive and not worth your hobby” He advised me to have a normal 8 valve, 2 litre motor and then he told me how to modify that.

From 1969 till 1990 Heidegger, next to the dealership of BMW and Alpina, also kept busy tuning BMW engines. Aside of that he was for many years active in auto sports and the results were very good. At the end Hiedegger took us with him to admire his private collection. Because in a few years Heidegger will celebrate their 50th anniversary, he started to collect cars that will be displayed then.

In the two meetings we had with mr. Max Heidegger, I already learned so many things. When we left he gave me a letter. Here he wrote down everything he just told me. He also gave some unique pictures from his private photo album about the victory on Le Mans. It was a great honour for us to meet this man.

After we got back from this vacation and not being able to work on the project for 2 Saturday, there waited me a big surprise. Maurice had been working like an ox and he already had the car finished with the polyester. I didn’t believe what I saw. The rear side, that was still heavily damaged when we left, was already been replaced and smoothed. On the outside the car was already as we wanted it. It really began to look like something now.

Because the car was already in a far state, Maurice asked me with urge to get the stickers a.s.a.p. He first wanted to paint the car with the base colour, then put the stickers and then provide it with several layers of transparent paint.

Meanwhile we searched the internet for the parts we needed to rebuild the replica as good as possible. After a long time of searching for the original ATS wheels we found out that it was still possible to order them new. It took some time for delivery, but it was worth waiting for.

One thing that was high placed on my “list of the presents” was a rollbar. One with four mounting points, later versions had six of them. This one was only for the backside. On internet I contacted a man who bought a 02 with a rollbar and didn’t want that thing in his car. I was able to buy the thing, scoured it, repainted it and at last mounted it into the car.

Finally the time was arrived to show what we had done for the last month. Time to go to spray the first colour. Alpineweiss with as a finishing off a robust clear lacquer. After months of preparation, this would become a beautiful crown on all the work we had done.

The last small unevenness’s were smoothed yet even by Maurice smooth. After that the future Heidegger was ridden in the sprayer cabin and prepared to be sprayed. The painting could begin. The temperature in the cabin was pretty warm. After a few hours it was finished, the BMW was shiny and brand new. It looked as if it was reborn.

Now was the time to paint the lying parts in the colour black. It took quit some time to smooth the parts before painting. After that the parts could be mounted on the car. It was a hell of a job to fit the parts on the car but Maurice was a prof and knew exactly what he was doing.

In the letter that Mr.Max Heidegger wrote me, he told me a big surprise. He promised me a full reprint of the “Heidegger-stickerset” because, as he wrote down, the project was worthwhile supporting. After a few weeks a little box arrived in Holland within a full set of stickers and the original Heidegger Rev. counter! What a honour that this was realised by Mr. Heidegger himself.

The only thing that was missing were 6 stickers of Kléber. This was not a big problem because Tanco Reclame from Naaldwijk Holland could take care of this. Thanks to Cees and his men my stickers were complete at the last moment.

The last part of painting the car could start. It was again a lot of work to do the striping on the car but the result was more then good. Now it was time to place the stickers onto the car.

Finally the car was ready to be sprayed with the clear lacquer. But because it was late in the afternoon we decided to wait with this to next week. It was quite a surprise for me when I opened my email the next day and found some photos of the Heidegger shiny and brand new. Maurice went back the next day to give the car his last protection! I can not tell you how grateful I am to have such a good friend with so many passions for rebuilding this project.

Now the last part of painting was done, it was time for the replica to be moved to the garage. After 10 month of restoring and painting, we could finally start with rebuilding.

While the car was visiting Honour Car Repair for 10 month, I did a lot of pre-work. I prepared the 2-litre engine that would be build in for a while, during the time I needed building the Heidegger 2-litre engine. 11 years ago I bought a set of headlights and they were still waiting to be mounted on the car.

The electric wires were also 31 years old, so they had to be checked for damage. Some new plug were needed for a good electrical contact. The old tape was gone and had to be replaced for original new.

The front flasher lamps were no good anymore, but Jan, from the 02-club, had a pair of new ones for me. The outside door handle on the left side didn’t had the glory of 1974 anymore, so it had to be replaced as well. The inside of the locker was taken of the old one because we still could use the old key. On a show in Essen (Germany) we had been able to buy a new set of stickers. This was the time to bring them on. And it looked very nice. Shiny and brand new!

He told me the amount of his budget and which companies sponsored him, included the French tyre brand Cleber-Colombes (Kleber) and Esso for the fuel.

Because his budget was not very high, I asked him to give me sometime to weigh all possibilities to fulfil his dream.

Pretty soon we found out that it was impossible to compete the cars of the fabric teams of BMW and Ford.

BMW’s CLS and the Ford Capri’s were not within our reach.

The budget was too low and it was not a good idea to buy an other car than BMW.

No other factory will approved when you go against their rules.

And after all for several years we are already BMW dealer.

But the factory team of BMW race their bets so high that we couldn’t follow.

That is why I suggested Mr.Brillat to build a car that was on one side pretty fast but on the other side was also very relaible.

Because we had a lot of experience in 2002 racing cars and because we are a company specialiazed in producing formula 2 engines, we thought of a combination of this 2. Our thought was “many roads lead to Rome”.

I explained to Mr.Brillat that a good BMW 2002 with an F2 engine was a racing car that was small, light, pretty fast and relaible. And one that he, and also us, could afford.

But our race could only be a good one if the big guys would get into trouble. I expected that the factory teams would fight each other til the bitter end.

The Heidegger in action passing the main tribunes

I had heard that BMW Motorsport GmbH had developed a prototype,

a 2002 with a F2 engine, but that the car was long forgotten.

So I called BMW Motorsport asking them if they would sell the car to me,

because we had plans to modify the car to race it in Le Mans.

I suspect they had very big laugh about it,

but the next morning we got the approval what we were waiting for.

Immediately I contacted mr.Brillat and told him this.

I also explained to him what kind of adjustments we would do on the car, because Le Mans has its own rules.

He agreed with our offer. Then he paid his first payment, so we could start our “Mission Impossible”.

On the way to victory

We got the BMW from Munchen. We stripped it totally and examined every part of it.

Next we made a list of all modifications we would do: brakes, fuel system, steering wheel house, dynamo driven by the cardan axel and of course modifications to the engine.

We bought all the needed parts and start building.

The winner of Le Mans during his second and last race

After everything was done and the car was rebuild, we went to France for the tire tests.

Cleber-Colombes, later bought by Michelin, had almost no experience with a small car like this,

but the tests went extremely well and everybody was very satisfied with the results.

To us the tests and the co-operation with Cleber-Colombes was totally new, because until then we needed to adjust the car to the tires.

Mr.Brillat was very satisfied with the car. According to him the car drove as like a go-kart, only a little faster…

I mean, a car from that time, provided with our 1000 kg engine with 260 hp at 8500 rpm was certainly not bad.

Heidegger groep 2 engine

One week before the actual race, to get everything in order and to be ready in time, two of our mechanics went to the circuit with the car. We wished them all the luck in the world.

Unfortunately I was not able to join them, because at that same time it was extremely busy in my own company.

This was my living, so my friend and my chief went along with the mechanics to France.

They were in charge over the whole operation.

Later they said that when they arrived at the circuit, people laughed at them and began to ask silly questions.

There was even one who asked us if we in Liechtenstein really knew what Le Mans was all about.

Of course we knew, but we had no choice than to race with the given budget.

Two double dellortos took care of some extras

Eventually the day of the race was there so we could finally start.

The longer the race, the more my predictions came true.

The speed of the BMW’s and Ford’s was much to high for us.

But when the night fell, all 4 factory cars were already disappeared from the arena,

while our little flying machine was stil screaming over the circuit.

Imagine the sound of that 4 cylinder engine!

The factory teams closed their pits-boxes and went to their hotels.

To them the 24 hours of Le Mans was over.

Not to us…

Op maat gemaakte inlaatspruitstukken

After about 20 hours, the gentlemen of BMW saw that our little car was still in the race with the chance to win the race. They opened up their pits-boxes again and after 23 hours they cooled up the champagne and the beer, just in case…

Spruitstukken geprepareerd om het mengsel zonder weerstand te laten vloeien

In the end we won the race and our dream came true.

The team of Mr.Brillat, his friends and our mechanics were extremely happy.

I can’t describe the feeling. When I heard this fantastic news, for minutes I couldn’t believe it.

Looking back this probably is the most important victory in our racing history.

We arrived in Le Mans as the little David, but we came home as the incredible happy Goliath.

Max Heidegger

The only 02 that ever rode and won Le Mans

February 2013

Starting with Geoff’s lovely 2002, also For Sale

1974 2002 (tii badge is a ruse! Not my idea, must have been previous owner)

2L four pot with dual weber carbs and a stainless abarth exhaust. There is also an extra oil cooler in the front. It goes like stink, can’t remember the BHP but think 135 on one piece of paper I have in the file.

Bought it from Schaefer BMW in Idstein in Germany when I used to live over there who are also a McLaren specialist so it was in good hands. Car was originally Swiss and at some point got a new motor back in ‘84 I believe.

E21 cross spoke alloys were my addition with Continental tyres.

It’s a left hooker which I would not like in a modern car, but it is so narrow and there is so much glass in it, it has never been a problem and I can lean across to the other side or middle of cockpit for perfect vision.

Has been maintained in London by George at TECHNOSPORT whose other hobby is a ground-up built racing M3 E46, so it has been in good hands… http://www.technosport.co.uk/racing/e46.html

Blue vinyl interior, nice carpets rust free throughout. When I bought it they recoated the underside with the black stuff (not Guinness).

Insurance for a left hand drive never been a problem, got classic insurance through RH Classic for about 130 quid a year!

Serious enquiries contact: +44 789 425 7759 or Email: gmccave@expedia.com

The Spicup is both a spider and a coupe, the prototype made by Bertone and Marcello Gandini was specially commissioned for BMW. The highlight of the design is the three-piece sliding top made of stainless steel. However, BMW deemed it was totally out of place with its current model line and was therefore dropped from production.

Using a BMW 2500 as a backbone, the designers at Bertone shortened the chassis to fit a new body and interior. Inside, only the gauges and pedals remained stock (from an E3 again). Bertone fitted a new dashboard, seats and carpet with two-tone, green on green upholstery.

Bertone described the car: “The considerable dimensions of the mechanical components were handled by creating almost excessively fluid vertical lines. At the same time, the relatively important tail and wings become the car’s focal point. The rollbars had to satisfy a combination safety needs and design criteria, and Bertone solved the problem with an automatic mechanism which also contained the elements for the transformation from spider to coupé and back again.

For the Spicup, Bertone used the larger inline-6 cylinder engine from the BMW 2800. This capable 2.8 litre, six-cylinder engine produced 170bhp and drove the rear wheels through a 4-speed manual transmission. These components made the prototype fully functional.

It was revealed at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show, the Spicup had a great resemblance to the Alfa Romeo Montreal prototype released at the 1967 Montreal Expo. This was especially true of the semi-hidden headlights with motorized flaps. However at the front Bertone kept BMW’s ‘double kidney’ motif, but with obscure padded inserts.

Having little to do with past or future BMWs, the company quickly sold the Spicup to an enthusiastic owner that racked up over 60,000 miles (100,000 kms) travelling constantly from the Netherlands to Germany. This was largely possible due to the BMW 2500 underpinnings. At some point the body was painted orange and the engine cover was attached in unit with the bonnet.

In recent times the Spicup was found by Paul Koot in the Netherlands along with an Intermeccanica Indra. It was complete and a subsequent restoration was completed for Roland D’Ieteren in Belgium. Painted its original hue of green with triple-tone interior, the Spicup made its debut at the 2009 Villa d’Este Concours with BMW as the acting sponsor.