After getting the exhaust squared away I took to figuring out why the headlights didn't work. Had to again sponge until it became apparent the turn signal column lever was bad.
Drove the car thru summer and into the fall while adding cosmetic items and learning what the Guibo is. Wish I had the photos but you know the story. Thumping in the trans tunnel when shifting (only subtly at first) lead to multiple crawls under the car until through researching I decided to order one and replace it.
Been dying to put these on. FedEx dropped the 4 CN36’s at the front door so tomorrow it’s off to have them mounted.
Yep, I know the centers aren’t painted period black…
I had hoped she wouldn’t need it but I will have to roll the rear fenders a little bit
Decided to put a few freeway miles on her and drove to work (60 miles) one morning. Motors broken in (1600+ miles) and I'm working on some small issues. One happens to be a gearbox leak so I have the output seal and shift rod seal with me today. Gonna drop by my local indy (Kruse-Lucas Imports) since they've taken care of a number of BMW's for me in the past 25+ years including a 635csi swap into my '76 Bavaria.
Coming down the on-ramp I hear the distinctive noise of meta
Completed some pre-start items yesterday
- fueled the tank / checked fuel pump operation by running a pint out of tank then connected fuel line to carbs
- connected starter then turned over motor till i saw oil from the spray bar and oil light out
- checked for spark with a plug attached to #1 wire then installed all the plugs (already gapped)
Got up and waited for another set of hands to show up then got to it.
Ran for 15 minutes after fiddling with idle
Got the sunroof back in with a bit of trial and error. Fit is ok just a slight passenger side height difference.
Also installed heater box and dash. Mocked in the gauge cluster to fill the hole. It will be removed before permanent installation.
Added H4's w/city lights and a relay/fuse harness. Will install the driving light brackets when they arrive. Thanks, Pierre.
Took this down to Buttonwillow so Ken Blasko could install and race today. My daughter went with and we really enjoyed looking over the cars and talking to everyone. The Salmon burgers weren't bad either. We got there at 11:30 or so and Ken quickly prepped it and got it installed prior to his heat at 3:00.
Ken's starting position was next to last but he quickly made his way thru the pack and finished 4th. I guess the gearbox held up.
http://vid1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah153/ro
Working out some details over the winter. Slow going...
Stared at this for a couple of days while putting on trim. It hasn’t installed itself yet so...
When the body work was done the 5 speed was already part of the plan so the BFH work was included. All relevant threads were studied and Parts gathered along with a transmission lift. Nothing left to chance so I thought. I even took a 5 minute drive to the local BMW dealership to talk to the foreman and came away feeling confident.
To be sure I hung out with my local independent shop manager and watched him prepare to install one in this
Again I left w
Before installing the headliner I laid down Dynamat. There have been many discussions regarding branding and I chose what was convenient for me. The shop completing my body work helped source what I needed. I decided to glue some EZ Kool to the roof and also use it for the engine bay and to cover the cabin Dynamat. Where i live it will help to reduce the interior temperature as much as possible. This car does not currently have an AC installed.
Before cutting out the sun
Started the harness re-taping and battery relocation. Using 1 inch cloth tape rather than attempting to cut down to 1/2 inch. The harness in the car was dry and flaky after 40+ years of heat. Used Simple Green to clean up the wiring as I went. The engine bay was taped using the cloth tape and I transitioned to flex-cover for the cabin and trunk harness which went on with a bit more ease. No concern for whether it is true to original just want it clean and simple. Mounted the AGM battery in the r
Saturday morning we rolled her out of the paint booth into the sun. Not much time in the sun since there was a musical chairs occurring In the shop bays. There were a few other projects needing some work on hand. Removed the paint stand and installed the subframes. I will decide whether to remove them again when I am working out a rebuilding sequence.
After a short break we rolled her up on a trailer, I drove her home and pushed her into the garage to begin the next phase.
Photos to update the paint process. Underneath was Epoxy - Wurth schutz - sealer - Glasurit color coat. Notice the VIN stamp was masked off.
8 coats later
Wet Sanding
Polishing
Polished...
Put together the front subframe components in prep for installation down the road.
Also refurbished, tested motor and added new cover to wiper mechanism
Slow going but nice to see some progress this winter. Fabrication now complete and essentially ready for prep work (filler, block sand process, etc) prior to paint. Photos don't do these guys any real justice...
Assembly of the motor has begun in earnest. I'm now gathering bits for completing the engine and a test stand startup. Photos below of previously cleaned block and semi complete motor build.
Some of the trim holes being filled and fab welding
Also, dropped off the low profile subwoofer and one of the amps so brackets can be fabricated for under seat mounting.
Powder coated and refurbished auxiliary high beams.
Picked up some Dellorto 45's from a Rally
Completed assembly of the E21 250 mm brakes. Also picked up the powder coated diff cover to close up my LSD.
And picked up some chrome work (7-10-15)
Checked out some of the welding going on (8-4-15)
Nothing happening but waiting, either for orders to come or chrome / polishing work to be completed. Since I'm waiting on the euro bumper to line up the new mounting holes, I haven't been motivated to progress. Tonight I broke down and assembled the rear subframe. I'm using urethane bushings, adjustable ST swaybar and stock subframe mounts. All hardware is new along with the stub axles bearings. I will be putting together the 250 mm brakes this coming week.
I've been trying to stay busy by tackling small items while waiting on the body work. There are quite a few metal work items to be completed before it will be prepped for paint so...
I reflocked the glove box
Reassembled the blasted and painted or powder coated headlight buckets
Refurbished the Roundeies (before on the left)
Got a closer look at the mixed media blasted body today. No touching allowed of the bare metal. All of the surface rust I found while stripping the car down is gone. There were a couple of areas of concern which were opened up so they could be completely cleaned by the blasting: turn signals, valence, left rear quarter above wheel well. One other small spot popped up during the blasting on the right rear panel near the bumper mount hole. Media used was crushed glass, walnuts and plastic beads.
