good luck mate!! once again, im quite amazed at how many 02's are floating around australia, look forward to seeing some photos!
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Brent May - Engineering Student, Monash University
1974 BMW 2002 Sahara restoration
1990 Hyundai Excel/Pony (375,000kms and still counting) the ghetto car

So here's what's happened so far:

THE MECHANIC'S
Took the little gem to the mechanic's a couple of months ago and had it up on the hoist for a few hours. After a lengthy look, the mechanic found the following things:

Tyres - rotated them, front ones were balding inside because of the wheels towing in. Will need to get the wheels aligned. Needed to get one of the tyres patched because of a nail.

Brakes - lines and pads had been replaced recently. Lines have since been bled as the brakes were VERY spongey!

Shock absorbers - had been replaced recently.

Engine - isn't blowing any smoke, head has been off recently and head gasket is probably very new.

Chasis - is straight! Thank God given that I bought the car at auction because it had been involved in a front-ender. Some evidence that the car had hit a speed hump pretty hard at some stage.

Steering rods - both bent, will need to replace eventually, but not a priority.

Hoses - all are fine.

Exhaust - pipe was starting to come away under the car, had to have it re-welded.

Auto transmission - had new fluid put in.

Handbrake - wasn't working, was fixed.

Horn - I thought it wasn't working, but apparently it wasn't working because the metallic ring inside the mechanism had worn out where the wheel was at neutral. When the wheel is in any other position, it works just fine. I'll need to get this fixed somehow before rego.

According to the mechanic, everything is fine mecahnically, just need to work on some rust spots before I can get it registered.

Seems that the car was heavily serviced just before it was involved in the light front end accident. Not bad for a cheapo car bought at auction!

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THEN:
Since then, I have bought two second hand doors off David in Canberra (thanks David!) because both of my existing doors had quite a bit of rust.

The car itself has rust in many of the usual places, behind the rear wheels, behind the front guards, the seam of the bonnet.

The bonnet was an absolute disaster! SO much rust all through the front, it would never get through rego.

After months and months of looking for a decent bonnet (I didn't have room to buy a parts car) I finally came across one about a month ago thanks to David in Canberra.

David knew I was on the lookout for a bonnet and emailed me one that he had seen on eBay. Unfortunately I hadn't been checking my emails and missed the auction *DAMN*!! I took a punt and emailed the seller. Turned out the bonnet hadn't sold at auction and was still available. Even better, Neil (the seller) lived only 10 minutes from my place! PERFECT!

Thank you David and thank you Neil!

Three weeks ago, I spent about 10 hours one day ginding out all the rust from the car (none structural) with my dad, changing the doors over and putting the new bonnet on.

Last weekend, we spent another 7 hours bogging up an holes left from rust removal and putting the bumper back on after my front brackets arrived courtesy of Jaymic. com.

The bumper looks awesome, two new pieces were put in thanks to Chris from Mt Kuringgai.

We then spent the rest of the day undercoating/priming any spots of bare metal or bog.

NEXT STEPS:
We're waiting for the door liners to come back from the upholsterers where they're getting new masonite backing.

Once they're back, I'll get the car registered, then it's off to the panel beaters. Not sure who I'm going to take it to yet, so if anyone knows a good panel beater in Sydney, let me know.

Once the car is straight, my mate Chris will be respraying the whole car Chamonix (at the moment the bonnet is green, not a good look).

Then I'll be removing the rear luggage shelf to install speakers for a new stereo.

The big question now is, what should I do with the car and the vinyl upholstry?! Replace it or make do?

I'll keep you posted, photos to come.

Don't rush the bog...

I checked out my handiwork on my bodywork from a few days ago yesterday - not a great sight!

The bog that I used (Kahfill) said that it was ready to sand within 20 minutes and paint in an hour. Whilst that was true, clearly it took a few days longer for the bog to completely set and expand. My beautifully smooth surfaces are now raised...

Will have to do all the sanding and priming all over again this weekend!

devilspace wrote:

Will have to do all the sanding and priming all over again this weekend!

Builds character, and your forearm muscles. :) Keep it up!
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-=Scott=-
My Short Bus

1971 2002 - "William Grover-Williams" - Track Car VIN 2579197
1998 740iL E38 - "Blau" - Daily Driver
http://gallery.xfiler.com

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The car has just had the go ahead from the mechanics to get registered!

Next steps:
Panel beating
Auto to manual conversion - I'm looking to bolt on a 5 speed Getrag
Spraying
Repair/replace upholstery as there as some tears in the driver's seat and severe fading across the top of the rear plus the usual sagging

I'm now toying up how original I want to keep it as currently it is 100% original.
-Obvious changes:
-Removal of the brightwork trim
-Addition of turbo flares
-Upgrade from steelies to Superlites
-Turbo airdam
-Central locking and alarm
-Stereo upgrade
-IE exhaust
-Recaros in the front

It's a work in progress, so happy to listen to suggestions!
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

devilspace wrote:

The car has just had the go ahead from the mechanics to get registered! Next steps: Panel beating Auto to manual conversion - I'm looking to bolt on a 5 speed Getrag Spraying Repair/replace upholstery as there as some tears in the driver's seat and severe fading across the top of the rear plus the usual sagging I'm now toying up how original I want to keep it as currently it is 100% original. -Obvious changes: -Removal of the brightwork trim -Addition of turbo flares -Upgrade from steelies to Superlites -Turbo airdam -Central locking and alarm -Stereo upgrade -IE exhaust -Recaros in the front It's a work in progress, so happy to listen to suggestions!

Id keep the brightwork - I think it keeps the 02's character better. Maybe just delete the kneeline trim and keep the beltline?

Turbo flares and airdam would look great if you had the Superlites to match (15" that filled the flares right out - lots of dish).

Id just find a shop in Oz to do your exhaust - i think shipping would kill you from the US on this piece. The stock 02 exhaust manifold is a very good flowing piece too which should save you needing a header, so until you want more power, you could probably get away with just a nice rear section and put the money into the Recaros (Good luck finding the e21 Recaros! - hens teeth these days and about $800 from a BM wrecker down here, un-restored)

Im itching to get working on my old mans new project car!

Tom
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72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky

I think the flares and deep dish wheels are definitely going onto the car.

The car's a joint effort between myself and my dad, and it will take a lot of convincing to get him around on the turbo airdam idea, he's not a fan.

I'm hoping a friend of mine can source a wrecked 320is for the recaros, but I'm certainly not holding my breath. Until then, I'm going to stick with stock.

I'm also holding off on the upgrade to a Webber until I drop in the 5 speed. I've heard it's not worth the effort on an auto.

You might have seen one of my other threads, I'm also deciding on paint. I'm going to keep the original Chamonix as it's really grown on me. Just deciding on 2pak or acrylic. Decisions decisions decisions...
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

Your going to have a hard time finding an e21 320is as i dont believe they were actually brought to Oz :-( ... Best bet is a JPS car or my set came out of a 320/6 that had a whole lot of Alpina bits which got stolen but they couldnt get the seats out and left them.

I wouldnt rule out a nice set of Scheels out of a RS2000 like what felix666 has. Very comfy seats.

Paint - 2pack. Most of my paint prep was done in the garage (however much it is not recommended) and the final was done in a booth by a pro. Personally, i think my father could have done a better job. All the bad spots on the car were done by the 'pro'... *sigh*
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72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky

Latest photos while the car as at the body shop getting plastic surgery.

She's certainly not looking her best at the moment, but whilst she's ugly, she's in much better condition than a few months ago.

DB, you'll notice your doors went to very good use.

The lovely green bonnett is not a great look, but it certainly serves it's purpose. The old one resembled Jarlsberg.

About the only decent looking thing on the car at the moment is the set of steelies I refurbished!!

The radiator's also been pulled out to fix some of the fins and replace the core.

Next steps -
Preparation for painting
PAINTING! Going to keep the original colour.
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

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Nice work mate...

Sorry, I've missed this thread for another Aussie! I've barely been around of late... but got the bug again!

Todd
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devilspace wrote:

The lovely green bonnett is not a great look, but it certainly serves it's purpose.

I dunno... Its got a nice "Lotus Cortina" feel to it. I say put some 4-leaf clover decals on the fenders, paint the trunk to match, and rock it!
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click signature above for my resto blog

I thought similar :-P
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Glad the bug is back Todd! I'll be following your new project very closely. Looks like it's going to be a VERY expensive exercise though!

The "Lotus feel" wouldn't be quite so bad if it was intend and there wasn't so much primer all over the car! :)

Just found out that I've managed to track down a straight pair of bonnet hinges to attach to the car, the final thing that was holding it up from coming back from the body shop.

I'm toying with the idea of putting some Hella driving lights on, but certainly not thinking of drilling into my bumper!!
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

devilspace wrote:

Glad the bug is back Todd! I'll be following your new project very closely. Looks like it's going to be a VERY expensive exercise though! The "Lotus feel" wouldn't be quite so bad if it was intend and there wasn't so much primer all over the car! :) Just found out that I've managed to track down a straight pair of bonnet hinges to attach to the car, the final thing that was holding it up from coming back from the body shop. I'm toying with the idea of putting some Hella driving lights on, but certainly not thinking of drilling into my bumper!!

Todd may be able to help you out with those driving lights. I think he may have a set laying around...
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72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky

Todd, let me know if you do, I'd be interested.

After a visit to Chris's place this evening, I now have a pair of straight, yet incredibly dirty, hinges. He's got LOADS of parts, so I'm trying to convince him to list them on the FAQ. Watch this space...
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

Todd, let me know if you do, I'd be interested.

After a visit to Chris's place this evening, I now have a pair of straight, yet incredibly dirty, hinges. He's got LOADS of parts, so I'm trying to convince him to list them on the FAQ. Watch this space...
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

devilspace wrote:

Todd, let me know if you do, I'd be interested. After a visit to Chris's place this evening, I now have a pair of straight, yet incredibly dirty, hinges. He's got LOADS of parts, so I'm trying to convince him to list them on the FAQ. Watch this space...

Chris?? Whose Chris?!

Sounds like a degrease, wet sand and paint is in order for your hinges!
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72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky

It's going to take about 4 cans of degreaser and a wire wheel on a drill...

Chris is a guy I found locally that had a parts car that he stripped when he built up an 02. The 02's long gone, but loads of parts still around. He's based in Sydney, but apparently will ship to Vic (I already asked for you mate!).
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

i know of someone else based in syd that has about 3-5 spare parts cars and then some of parts!!! but not sure how much of it his willing to part with, his a crazy 02 fanatic.
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I dont understand the german gauges!

'75/74 2002 Golf Yellow running!

Now this is why we need the Aus 02 Register - To connect people like this!

Anyway, glad you can keep plugging away now.
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72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky

I confirmed today that 02 owners can join the Sprite Car Club...
They're a recognised club, allowing members to get historic plates etc.

$60 per year for membership.

I think we're slowly opening the door to getting together a register.
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

wow thats fairly cheap, are there some club race days?
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I dont understand the german gauges!

'75/74 2002 Golf Yellow running!

devilspace wrote:

I confirmed today that 02 owners can join the Sprite Car Club... They're a recognised club, allowing members to get historic plates etc. $60 per year for membership. I think we're slowly opening the door to getting together a register.

Damon,
Does the sprite car club operate in all states of Aus?

If this works out that would be tops!

Cheers,
Tom
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72tii - Whitey
74 - Blacky

Here's the good news... It's a national club, looks like they have race days and I'm pretty sure they participate in the Shannon's days around the country. You need a basic CAMS license for race days though.

Their website is www.spriteclub.com

Guys, I think we've found our new home!
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1973 Chamonix auto squarie

I have a set of Cibie Oscar's with a drilled front bumper piece and the rare 2002 fog light switch... you'd need to grab a few other things for it as well, but its all in excellent condition.

I have heaps of parts... a 5 speed box with tail shaft, etc.

I'll have a list and prices shortly.

Send me an email - contactme@toddknight.com.au
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