I’ve known Bill Williams for nearly four years now. We met at a BMW Car Club of America tech event in Washington, DC and have been car buddies ever since. We share a passion for BMW 2002s, the car generally known as the model that brought BMW to America. While the Munich firm had imported a handful of cars to the U.S. prior to its 1968 introduction, it was the one nicknamed Whispering Bomb that really took hold and began to find a market as the “first sport sedan."
The cars were produced from 1968 through 1976 with the first generation 3 series taking over in 1977. The 2 liter inline 4 cylinder equipped 2002 is the most popular but BMW produced 1.5 and 1.6 liter versions as well, known as the 1502 and 1600/1602 respectively. Starting in 1972 BMW introduced a mechanically fuel injected option designated the 2002tii or touring international injected. They famously kept the “i” designation on all subsequent sedans.

The 02, as it is known by enthusiasts, is a very capable car despite being over 30 years old. Many can still be spotted at BMW Club races and autocrosses as well as vintage car shows, concours or just out on the road for the daily commute. Our group of 02ers rarely sits still for very long. Like many model–specific clubs ours is a tightly knit group and we spend several weekends each year driving our old bimmers on the back roads of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. Our 02s come in many shapes and colors (yes, rust is a color) but amongst our group there is one that always stands out.

When I first saw Bill’s Dakar yellow 1972 2002tii I was stunned. Having only been into the 02 scene for a little over a year my personal exposure (outside of my pair of rusty beauties) had been limited to a handful of cars. Bill’s was different. Polished brass radiator tank, ridiculously clean fuel lines, a valve cover you could eat lunch off of. And if that wasn’t enough it sported an ultra-rare Alpina injection system and close-ratio steering box as well as a 2.3 liter stroked power plant. This was a thing of beauty and came to signify, in my mind, Bill’s signature style: clean 02 restorations. For the last few years I’ve become accustomed to seeing Bill’s “Pikachu” 02 at most of our gatherings but lately he has added another to the stable.

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