SELF-TAUGHT RESTORER'S '72 BMW COMING BACK TO LIFE
After spending his life working hard on the farm and in the oilfield, Thane Walton retired about three years ago. Except, he's not retired. He has a serious hobby that keeps him occupied for many hours, every day.
“I've probably got about 1,000 hours in this car right now,” Walton says from his home just outside Peace River.
The car is a rather rare 1972 BMW 2002tii. Though severely rusted out when Walton found it, it deserved to be done because only about 4,500 of the cars were delivered to North America in 1972-73.
Willi Raunest of Calgary bought the BMW used in 1974. Late in 2020, I wrote a column about Raunest and his 1969 Austin Mini Mark II Cooper S. When Raunest sold the Mini to a Calgary collector, the BMW was discovered parked outside the garage, slowly rusting away. The BMW was purchased, but was soon sold to an enthusiast in Regina. He kept it for a year, and in the fall of 2021, listed it for sale on Kijiji.
“I happened to see the listing for the BMW,” Walton says, “and phoned the guy and made him an offer. I didn't hear from him for a month, but he finally called me back and accepted the deal. I drove to Saskatchewan to pick it up and found it was in really rough shape.”
He says, laughing: “You'd think after some of the things I've bought I'd learn, but you just have to work harder to get the project done.”
Walton is completely selftaught. Working in his 30-by-30foot shop, he takes on all aspects of restoration, from welding to painting to engine rebuilding.
The only chore he doesn't do is seat upholstery. Vehicle restoration is a hobby he started 10 years ago. Walton began with the complete overhaul of a John Deere tractor his grandfather had purchased new in 1953. That was just the tip of the iceberg.
After the John Deere, Walton bought a 1965 Volkswagen bus, and when that restoration was completed, he tackled a Toyota Land Cruiser and a 1956 VW Beetle.
“Then I found a 1959 VW bus,” Walton says. “A guy saw my '65, and says he'd driven an old bus back into the bush and left it there. I got that and fixed it all up. Everything in it was original, and I kept it that way, but I had to paint the exterior.”
Walton says he can only keep so many vehicles, and many of his restorations have been sold.
When Walton got the BMW 2002tii home, he started by spending a few days tinkering with the mechanical fuel injection system. He got it running, then tore the BMW completely apart. The body shell needed most of Walton's attention. BMWS of this era are prone to rust. Common trouble spots include inner fender wells, rear shock towers, the spare tire well and gas tank area, rocker panels and inner structural steel. Walton's car was rusted in all of these locations, as well as on the wheel arches and quarter panels.
Undaunted, he cut out and welded in fresh steel to ensure the BMW had a solid platform. Surprisingly, the floors were in good condition and they were left alone.
“The engine wasn't in too bad condition, either,” Walton says of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder power plant that makes 130 horsepower. “But I took it apart and put in new rod bearings, honed the cylinders and installed new piston rings, and ground in the valves. The four-speed transmission was in good shape too, but new seals and rubber mounts were required.”
Walton is equipped to do much of his own powder coating and uses an old household oven to cure the powder finish. Front and rear suspension have been treated to this process, and Walton has installed new Bilstein shocks to complete the assemblies.
Walton just finished painting the car in its original colour, BMW'S Fjord blue. He has pressed pause on the restoration for the summer but will begin bolting it back together this fall.