A round taillight restoration
In 2004, Ghafouri acquired a modified Porsche 930 to use as a fun weekend car and occasional daily driver alongside the 2002. As the 930 came to consume more of his attention, he realized it was a good time to treat the BMW to a full restoration. Deciding to turn the ’02 into a lightweight, high-performance homage to the 2002 Turbo while retaining the naturally aspirated engine, he delivered the car to SoCal restorer and technician Jeff Tighe.
At Tighe’s shop, the BMW was stripped down to its rolling chassis and the fender openings trimmed in preparation for the fitment of fiberglass Turbo fender flares. Since Ghafouri wanted to use wider-than-stock wheels at the rear, the fender wells were tubbed for added clearance. To reduce weight, the 2002’s original steel hood and trunk lid were replaced with lighter fiberglass panels that are held in place with metal pins. Some minor rust spots were repaired and the fender flares installed before the entire body received several coats of Inka Orange, an original ’02 paint color.
Tighe built the car’s M10 four-cylinder with a stock but balanced crankshaft actuating stock but balanced connecting rods. These attach to a set of Mahle pistons with a 0.50 overbore and a more performance-oriented 10.5:1 compression ratio instead of the stock 9.5:1. The stock 264° camshaft was replaced by a 300° camshaft from BMW Motorsport.
To keep the motor cool, the radiator was upgraded to the same type found on the 2002 Turbo, here with a lighter four-blade fan from an earlier 2002 in place of the original Turbo fan to free up revs and power. The same doctrine was applied to the gearbox, where both the flywheel and clutch were lightened to reduce mass.
A single 38/38 DGAV Weber carb supplies the engine with the correct air-fuel mixture. Since this 2002 is for street use only and Ghafouri wanted to keep sound levels relatively civilized, he went for the conservative combination of a Stahl header backed by an Original BMW exhaust.
