Although the car was missing all front end panels, the previous owner had collected various parts that could potentially be used to put it back together and as part of the sale he offered to include any of those parts that could be used. That included a pair of front fenders, hood and nose panel. They certainly weren't in perfect condition, but I took them anyhow and last weekend spent a bit of time cleaning them up and took a closer look.
The nose panel is likely in the best shape w
I spotted it through a gate when driving by. I saw it had a flat tire, so figured I'd ask about it. Turned out it was a late production `74 tii with the original engine. The car was in a front end collision in 1992 where it dove under a larger vehicle. This resulted in damage to the hood and top of the front fenders and nose. The owner had planned to repair it himself, but other priorities kept getting in the way and unfortunately it never got done. Most of the last 30 years it spent in a garage
I took several large boxes to the local plating shop last month and what I got back was shocking. I could kiss these parts, they are so beautiful. I think my wife is getting a little jealous. Most advice I saw was to bead blast and polish prior to taking to the plater. When I called the shop they said to bring it the way it is and I would be happy with the result. So I loaded up the car with boxes of rusty, crusty, oldy, moldy, dirty, greasy bits and pieces... Pretty much every bare metal piece
I needed to solve the one problem with using the engine block from a '75 2002 (carbureted) in a '74 Tii (Mechanical Fuel Injection).
There are only 2 unique differences between the engine block of a 2002tii and a regular carbureted 2002. First, the Tii specific block has a port next to the driver side engine mount for the oil return line from the Kugelfischer injection pump back to the engine block. Second, the Tii engine block has a plug in place off the port for the water choke.
The donor block and crank checked out great by the machine shop. I had taken the cylinder head to the machine shop after stripping it of all of the moving parts except for the valves and springs. They completed the valve job, installing new valves, valve springs, valve seals and guides. They also shaved the head and block. In the process, I had them media blast all of the engine components including the intake and throttle body parts. They all look beautiful...fresh aluminum parts.
Well, after trying to determine how to attack the engine rebuild, I am now able to move forward. In my last entry I detailed how horrible the Tii engine block and crank were. I decided to start over with a standard bore block and standard grind crankshaft. This way, if the engine ever needs to be bored or crank ground again in the future, I still have room to go. I really didn't want my new rebuilt engine to start at max measurements.
As mentioned before, when I bought Conrad,
With so many of the remaining tasks fighting me at the moment, it is nice to have one project go exactly as I planned it. Although I don't have a radio plan in place for the 1600, I did have the issue of what to do with the 4 holes in the passenger side "A" pillar that supported the original radio antenna. I figured I'd just find a old school antenna and install it in the existing holes and be done with it. Turns out, there doesn't appear to be a universal mounting standard for 1970 radio ant
One of the first projects I knew I had to tackled when I got this 1971 seven months ago was getting the heater box out, to replace or renovate it. While I knew I would have to live without cooling in the summer, it was clear that the heater would have to work to make the car drivable in three other seasons.
The fan didn't operate, and I figured the motor was probably seized or broken, but I was a bit intimidated as a first-time restorer to deal with anything under the dash. But with
After the rust restoration got completed with Bart at The Resto Shop the car got transported down to Costa Mesa, California to Paul Lefevre the master mind behind The Son Of Cobra. A lot of you have seen Paul's mostly carbon fiber build. His car is a really special build and if you haven't seen it you can check out the specs HERE.
For my build I opt for the following from Paul:
-Carbon Fiber Hood w/ Aluminum Hood Pins
-Carbon Fiber Trunk w/ Aluminum Hinges
-Carb
I took Phaedrus around the block today, presumably one last time before I dive into the real work ahead. I want to get started pulling the engine and getting the front subframe off, but also realize that I need to step back and think through this big next step. It feels a bit like putting my baby into an induced coma, so I just want to feel it running and rolling one last time, for now. It also feels like standing on a 10-meter diving board and working up the courage to step off, with your min
I am on an airplane headed to the motherland. I will attend a flea market and probably only look for BMW parts.
I am supposed to be working too.
Since wifi is not that good I figure I will put the chapter headings down here to catch up and re-engage in my blog. I have been busy with the car since September when I got the painted shell back from G&M Autobody in San Bruno. Agave and OK folks - the critics say its not true Agave. But then one assessor said yeah rig
Now in theory, living in California I could have just re-installed the original heater box and prayed it didn't leak. But this wasn't going to work in the anal retentive world I live in. So time to crack open that box and get it right. Chris Blumenthal documented this process in a beautifully illustrated article in 2006 and Auto Dynamik in San Francisco has assembled a restoration kit with all the parts you need to get this job done. Now the Blumenthal article outlines the process on a later
My goal is to build a fun street car, and I recently had a completely new/upgraded drive train installed in my 2002. I set things in motion in August 2020, when I bought a used 1972 2002 motor from Kim in Herdon, VA.
In September 2020 I dropped the motor off with Bruce Shelton (Automotive Enterprises in Winchester, VA) and asked him to rebuild it. I was in no hurry, and Bruce worked on the motor over the next year. He had the block machined, provided an E12 cylinder head, instal
While in Asheville NC, Photographer Greg Banek, scheduled a photo shoot on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here are a few of the outtakes.
The rolling shot is by Mike Bevels on 81 north in Virginia, Sunday May 22, 2022.
I couldn't make it to Vintage this year. I really miss going, so to beat the blues I decided to do some 02 related work on Saturday.
The '67 was missing a large portion of the rear bulkhead. I guess the original owner wanted more room for hauling things, or maybe he wanted to lighten up the chassis! ?
I find the technique YouTuber Fitzee demonstrates on his channel works very well. In his video he uses an angle grinder with a cutting disc; however, I'm not as experienced
I've taken Phaedrus for a final test drive -- with my two semi-terrified teenage sons riding along as witnesses -- before pushing ahead to rebuild the front and rear subframes, detailing the engine bay (with the motor out) and then taking on the interior and ultimately getting the body, trim and paint done over the next year or so. The brakes are still imperfect, but I did get the clutch slave cylinder bled and the transmission shifting better.
In my post on the First Clean back in M
So I didn't have a stock radiator, but I did have one out of a BMW 320i that I bought on the FAQ several years before. After reading some posts on the FAQ about how people install this radiator, I came up with a plan. The mounting tabs/ears are slightly wider than the stock radiator. I decided to use the top mounts and then add brackets to the bottom to hold the radiator in place. I used the existing mounting hole on the top passenger side and drilled a single hole on the driver's side for t
May 10th 2010, I bought Vern on ebay, sight unseen. I did my due diligence, talking with the seller Steve Pallamar for an hour & his mechanic in Norwood Colorado for 3 hours.
This is more of the story: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2OHBtIGLqBlhwOqx7MRM3n
My adventure into this 2002 restoration traces back more than two years now. My wife's work colleague, Felipe, brought his 1965 Corvair Convertible over to store in our garage for the winter -- the ragtop seams were splitting and Felipe didn't have a garage to keep his brown beauty out of the elements.
Just weeks after the Corvair rolled into our lives, Felipe was gone, an early Covid casualty. The 1971 2002 I've been reviving -- with a first start, first clean and most recently a f
Vern ran smoothly & quietly for the 3500 mile round trip to Eureka Springs Arkansas. 4 days to get there, & 3 days back home. Great '02 Fest from the Friday drive to all the advice & '02-centric workshops. Bo Black received the Friends of the BMW CCA Award. Caravanned with Mike Self, Larry Gray & Walter Ingram both ways.
Hi everyone!
Just here to give an update about my car. The car was mediablasted and primered and I found a replacement passenger door which I needed! Here are some updated photos! Coming up I will be doing some metal work (new nose piece, rocker replacements, anything else we find), and then paint! Looking forward to summer in the garage ?
One of my biggest fears on disassembling this car for paint was pulling out the wiring harness. So many connectors and wires, how was I ever going to re-install it correctly. Well, here's how I did it...
First off, this car was missing a "shit-ton" of parts (like turn signals) when it arrived on my driveway and the PO had it set up for extras (electric fan, electric fuel pump, etc.) so I spent a lot of time sorting things out. Before I pulled the wiring harness out, I labeled most
So, as many of you know, a restoration of a car is a collection of small projects with the whole of them leading up to a greater end.
At least that's how I describe it to myself.
I haven't been doing a lot of posting about the work because it's a bit tedious. That is if you only look at the one task. But when you step back and notice that that one task lead into another then another, then you really have something you can share.
For example:
The headlight assembily has been
