1971 BMW 2002 ~ DIY Rally Racer

via Petrolicious ~ Elina Lipilina claims she “didn’t have any real exposure to racing or rallying,” while growing up, but then she went to see the 2010 Formula Drift event at Sonoma Raceway in California, and seeing the precision and beauty of the tandem slides set her on a mission towards motorsport, albeit of a different variety.

This 1971 BMW 2002 had been more or less static since the mid-1990s when Elina found it on Craigslist, and it was being sold without wheels to make things even easier to get rolling again…

After shorting the engine with some copper wire to hear it turning over, and then discovering the purported five-speed gearbox was in fact only a four, Elina still went through with the sale and set about stripping back the years of neglect, and building the car up in a rally-spec in time to complete driver’s school and qualifying for her first rally, an activity she now regularly partakes in. Built not bought, Elina has fostered a bond with her BMW few others can boast to have.

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