Rusty But Trusty

Here’s an interesting car… I can see the tagline now: The practicality of the Bavaria, with the sportiness of the 2002! Who could resist? It also seems like this could be a good competitor to an Alfa Giulia TI/Super, or the later Berlina… sporty, four doors, and the powerplant of its sportier sibling. Maybe some adventurous person could even drop in an engine from a 2002tii and a later five speed, so you’d have nearly the powertrain specs of the equivalent Alfa sedans, barring the more costly aluminum head/block and the twin cams.

But anyway, enough of my convoluted automotive fantasies. This 1969 2000 tilux is the final iteration of the Neue Klasse sedan as it was available in the US market. It’s got the wider taillights, and the rectangular Euro-market headlights. One interesting design feature on this model is how the clamshell-style trunk lid extends all the way forward to the trailing edge of the rear door. This Chamonix white car (along with a blue parts car with front-end damage) is listed for $2500 in Huntington Beach, CA, near Los Angeles.

The picture is a little overexposed, but the shutlines you can see are straight, and there aren’t any dark spots that would indicate rust perforation. The hubcaps and other trim all seem to be there, and the owner says the bumpers go with the car. He also says the body is remarkably straight aside from some minor damage, and that the title is clean. The square-light front end and lack of side markers suggest this might be a gray market import.

For a car in this price range, the listing seems to be well-written by a knowledgeable seller. The grilles are also included in the sale, and the car is said to run well and go through all the gears. Expect some maintenance catch up to be needed on this car at the very least, though, since it’s probably been sitting for a while. To his credit, the seller calls the car “restorable”.

The engine compartment looks pretty complete. The twin-carb four is complete with two Solexes, and is good for about 120hp, making it competitive with Alfa sedans of the period. In 1967, Road & Track gave it a very favorable review, citing its performance and comfort. With the wood dash the seller mentions, along with some of the other equipment, there is a good chance this is an original 2000 tilux.

The rear end looks pretty clean, with the exception of a minor bump above where the rear bumper would be. Make sure the bumper is reasonably straight, or that the parts car has a clean one. Unfortunately, a shot of the interior is not available, but the seller mentions the interior is serviceable, if worn. All in all, this sounds like a good basis for a rolling project. With 2002s stepping out of the used car market into collectible, there’s a good chance you might even get some money back out of the effort. If you’ve driven both this and a 2002, let me know if there are differences in the comments.

Tags: 2000, BMW, e-09, Feature, german, neue klasse, tilux

This entry was posted on May 4, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.