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Nomad's 2002 Resto-mod

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Cool upgrades - Electric Fan and Silicone Hoses

1 Peter 3:15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;     I had these items hanging around collecting dust for the past few years. I set aside some time to get them finally installed. Electric Fan and Silicone radiator hoses from Ireland Engineering. The fan is wired in with a relay attached to switched power from the horn

theNomad

theNomad in Cooling

Center Console and E30 Speakers - BMW Parts Bin Upgrade

"He made from one blood every nation of men..." Acts 17:26   The center console had been hacked into for some sort of speaker install and was looking a bit worn. The face of the console was an interesting design I'd not seen anywhere, with two holes for gauges in the bottom and a center pocket. I decided to refinish it as opposed to making my own. The sides were cut out, and covered in vinyl, center was painted wrinkle black, and the shifter surround was also recovered and I

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theNomad in Console

70A Alternator on E21 Low Bracket - BMW Parts Bin upgrade

In all toil there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23 Low mounted using the E21 Alt bracket, and the smaller alt.   With the E21 bracket, '89 Toyota alt has 'nearly' correct mounts   .......................... Update - FYI, don't try this at home unless you like doing things the hard way. I had to modify the alternator tab to

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theNomad in Alternator

Gas Pedal Fabrication, No more Nubs! Full pedal set

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9     Pedal set I fabricated, with hinged gas pedal       I just wanted to record the effort and maybe it can help someone else looking for ideas on how to do it way better than my hack version.   The stock gas pedal is held on by little metal ball studs or "nubs" and they fail over time. I had to replace the s

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theNomad in Gas Pedal nubs

E30 Door Brake in E10 - BMW Parts Bin Upgrade

"If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 I was in the process of redoing interior door panels so it was the perfect time to A. fix door brakes, B. clean and grease mechanisms, C. eliminate door speakers, seal up doors, add sound deadening material I

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theNomad in Door Brake

Easy Floppy Handbrake Fix - $10

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31       Sloppy Handbrake The stock handbrake on the 2002 may have been adequate when the car was brand new but after 44 years it's a bit worn out (I feel the same!). The side to side play is the main issue. The handle wiggles side to side quite easily from wear at the pivot/hinge p

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theNomad in handbrake

E28 Sunvisors on the E10 - Parts bin upgrade

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. Proverbs 13:4   Stock BMW 2002 sunvisors are notorious for degrading into floppy plastic bags filled with foam dust. Mine were no different. Stock visors did not last 40 years! Stock visors are a wire frame, with sheets of foam taped on and a plastic heat sealed cover applied and they don't fare

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theNomad in sunvisor

DIY - New Door Card Panels front and rear

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" Colossians 3:23 (UPDATE - Next time I will spring for DAP High Temp sprayable upholstery cement, in blue and white can, as the version I chose couldn't handle the 110 degree heat of the summer with windows rolled up.)    The door panels on my 2002, like many 45 year old cars by now wee starting to break down. The vinyl looked decent and had minimal fading and no rips but the previous owner had cut into them to insta

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theNomad in Door Panels

Buckets of fun... E24 rear bucket seats and center console

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13         I'd seen a few E24 rear seat installs in the 2002 and liked the way they look. I'd actually prefer a carpeted rear seat delete but I may occasionally take my kids to school with this car. After 4 years of not finding anything in the local parts yards I had all but forgotten about it.  As luck

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theNomad in Seats

Early Rear Bumper Install on Late Model BMW 2002

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com   Yes, it's been done before, but not by me, so why not toss up some info on it.  Removing the rear bumper leaves some large holes that will need addressing. The previous owner had Maaco paint it but they didn't bother to remove anything before spraying. Here's a hint: If you decide to get a cheap paint job on your car, the least you can do is remove as many trim items as you possibly can! Possibly sand it a little as well!

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theNomad

Louder is faster right? ANSA Sport center exit exhaust

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com     The exhaust on the 2002 was a bit of a hackjob when I bought the car. The center resonator had been removed and a straight pipe welded in. The rear muffler lasted all of two spirited drives before entropy had the final word and a hole appeared in the body. After a twisty road run I found a 4 foot trail of flowing blonde "hair" trailing out of the muffler as the fiberglass blew out. Old st

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theNomad

Duckface Selfie? Camaro duckbill front spoiler DIY

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com   I got a package with a little test item: 1967 Camaro "duckbill" front spoiler. It's just wide enough and has the right shape to be close to fitting. It's also only $40!       Test fitting it shows how the center has an edge that mimics the 2002. The width is correct and it fits under the stock body line in the center. However, as you can see the angle needs adjusting and the outside 7 inche

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theNomad

The $2 Oil Breather DIY

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com In the category of "made not bought" I decided to fabricate an oil catch can for the valve cover breather hose. The earliest valve cover breather setups simply directed a hose from the cam cover down towards the ground. This allowed crankcase pressure to vent off but oil vapors went straight into the atmosphere. Later setups, due to smog requirements, routed this breather hose to the air filter so that oil vapors could move through the carb

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theNomad

Los Zapatos Negros - E30 Basketweave Resurrection

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com       The 13x5.5 alloy "Turbine" wheels from an E21 are an easy upgrade to the stock steel 13x5 wheels. However, the offset is ET18 and places the wheels further outboard. They will "work fine" however this does affect the scrub radius, adds steering effort, increases wheel bearing stress and possible fender rubbing when lowered or trying to fit wide sticky rubber (basically only one or two non-street options). The other issu

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theNomad

DIY - Original Raised Roundel Repaint

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com DIY Original BMW 2002 Roundel Restored When I got the car it had been repainted. The hood roundel emblem had been replaced with the more modern style (made of plastic) but the curved trunk roundel was still the original. The original roundel is aluminum with raised lettering and panels. The lettering is the earlier BMW font and I believe the color is even a lighter blue so it is nice to have

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theNomad

38 Weber and Intake Manifold Mod - DIY

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com Intake Manifold DIY I'm frugal. It is more accurate than what my wife calls me: "cheap". It means that I don't like to spend money, but when I do I want a good return on my investment. I went ahead and purchased a used Weber 38/38 carburetor as an upgrade. While I have a stock cam and compression I may upgrade in the future. The Weber has larger throttle plates so it will not fit on my stock two-hole intake manifold. What foll

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theNomad in Intake

"Are you done yet?"

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com "Are you done yet?" It is a question with a lot of weight behind it. "Are you done yet?" My kids ask me when they see me working on the car. Usually means that they want a snack or want my attention for a while. I have to resist my natural urge to work until completion, stopping only for basic sustenance and minimal sleep. I have a 9 and 5 year old, a wife, and all the demands of work and home life that I take seriously. For this, I'll

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theNomad

Miata seats in the 2002

Posted from nomads2002.blogspot.com The finished product: After having a Mazda Miata I campaigned in autocross on the East Coast I knew I liked the feel of the seats. I got a pair of seats in decent enough shape from the wrecker. I completely disassembled, sanded and painted the steel pans, and then fully reupholstered them with a decent vinyl kit from online. The next thing to do was to mount them. The brackets are very different on the Miata seats, so a little

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theNomad in Seats

"New" old seats

The stocks seats have seen better days. They are dried and cracked and their only "grip" seems to be tiny fibers from the "horsehair" stuffing poking through your clothing. Even when reupholstered they don't do a great job of holding you in place during "spirited driving". With this not being far from a show car restoration I decided to swap the seats with something completely different. Ebay has basic "racing seats" that would work but they tend to be cheaply made and don't last. I opted fo

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theNomad

Quick rear bumper tuck

I took a little time today and removed the rear bumper. Just take out three large bolts and 6 small nuts for the rubber accordians. A quick drill through the shocks released the pressure to compress the shocks. I drilled through a tupperware bowl and it caught the spray of oil very easily and cleanly. I removed the black rubber spacer/cover and reinstalled my now shorter bumper shocks. Unfortunately the rear bumper doesn't follow the contour of the rear exactly but it'll do for now. Quic

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theNomad

Small improvements - Rearview mirror upgrade

BMW 2002's have great visibility. Many call it the "fishbowl". The stock rear view mirror is a bit small however and doesn't allow you see out of the entire back window. Most modern cars have larger rear mirrors than these so you really notice the small mirror in this car. Easy fix. Find any later model BMW and you should find a mirror that will pop right on the stock ball socket of the 2002. Here are a few I picked up in my search, from bottom to top: 1. E28? 2. '82 320i 3. '77 320i 4. St

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theNomad

Safety Third! Shoulder-belts all around!

The front belts (shoulder belts on the '74) had seen better days. The driver belt was frayed and didn't retract and the clip was "sensitive" in that it may come unclipped... just because. The rear seats only came with lap belts and while this was good enough for me as a kid in the back of a buick I decided (as did my wife) that shoulder belts were a priority if our kids were to ride with me to the store. I went searching for some replacements in the junkyard. While that may seem counterintuiti

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theNomad

New steering wheel with "patina" included free

Steering wheel - patina included free I wanted to get rid of the stock steering wheel and get something with black leather and a thicker grip. I looked around at wheel types and found out that while Grant has some decent budget wheel options the BMW 2002 Grant steering hub is no longer available. This left Momo as the main option. With most wheels starting at $150 and up they don't fit in my budget. I then discovered that there is an adapter plate #4008 for a Grant wheel to Momo hub. The Mo

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theNomad

Shift knob DIY fun

The "BMW" knob had released itself from its threaded insert so unless you had a gentle touch the knob would come off in your hand while rowing through the gears. While this can be amusing, especially for passengers, it can be a bit distracting. I've had a dense plastic ball sitting around, much like a cueball, but slightly smaller. Around 1.75" I drilled into it and used a dremel to hog out the hole to the same size as the insert. A little JB Weld later, a nice shift knob. It's not too

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theNomad

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