Europe may not be as rich as America when it comes to the number of car models of old that get a boost in value after being modified, and subsequently, there are not many shops in this business over there either. But this isn’t stopping people from having their way with cars in their own garages, and at times interesting results come to light.
We’re told that’s what the previous owner of this 1972 BMW 2002 did. Having grown tired of the vehicle’s original engine, he at one point decided to swap it. The hardware of choice: a 2.3-liter S14 inline-four sourced from a 1987 BMW M3 E30.
The swap was made in the early 2000s, and included the installation of the matching five-speed manual transmission. We are not being told how much power the engine now develops, but back in its day it cranked out 192 horsepower.
Back in 2017, the man who made the swap got tired of the car altogether, so he sold it. The 2002 now sits in the Netherlands, from where it was looking for another owner on Bring a Trailer last week.
The car is far from being perfect, but that’s probably what adds to its appeal. Aside for the engine swap, it also comes with seats taken from an E21, which got reupholstered about six year ago. The body was painted at one point in Verona Red, and then two-tone gray now seen on it was partially sprayed over it.
The bumpers and fenders are no longer the original ones, and one of the 15-inch wheels, the one on the front passenger side, is damaged. There are 48,000 miles (77,000 km) shown on the odometer, but that’s probably not the true mileage.
Despite all this, this particular 2002 got quite a lot of interest during the online auction, as it ended up going for $54,000.
The swap was made in the early 2000s, and included the installation of the matching five-speed manual transmission. We are not being told how much power the engine now develops, but back in its day it cranked out 192 horsepower.
Back in 2017, the man who made the swap got tired of the car altogether, so he sold it. The 2002 now sits in the Netherlands, from where it was looking for another owner on Bring a Trailer last week.
The car is far from being perfect, but that’s probably what adds to its appeal. Aside for the engine swap, it also comes with seats taken from an E21, which got reupholstered about six year ago. The body was painted at one point in Verona Red, and then two-tone gray now seen on it was partially sprayed over it.
The bumpers and fenders are no longer the original ones, and one of the 15-inch wheels, the one on the front passenger side, is damaged. There are 48,000 miles (77,000 km) shown on the odometer, but that’s probably not the true mileage.
Despite all this, this particular 2002 got quite a lot of interest during the online auction, as it ended up going for $54,000.