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About this blog

This blog will cover the restoration of my 1968 1600-2, VIN: 1561262, purchased in December of 2017.  Got a little something different planned for this car than what I've seen done around here... ;)   

 

 

 

Entries in this blog

Measure twice...

So I thought I was well on my way to completing my 4th battery for my 1968 1600-2 restoversion.  Unfortunately, on closer investigation using the foam core mock-up I had built, we realized that the freshly installed rebuilt brake booster and master cylinder created a not-so-insignificant interference.  The photos below show the basic idea of the front battery pack sitting under the hood, above the motor and transmission.  When we previously checked this position, the brake booster was not instal
WisDesign

WisDesign

2

Battery Management

While the battery shown below looks identical to the other I posted, it is, in fact, a newly built battery.  As a reminder, I need 4 of these in the car to get to my full pack and roughly 32kWh of capacity, which should be good for over 100 miles of real-world driving range.  They will be configured with 2 in series and 2 in parallel to reach the desired voltage and capacity.  Lithium-ion batteries are amazing in a lot of ways, but require careful management to ensure the best performance, safet
WisDesign

WisDesign

2

Instrument Cluster Refresh

A small, but significant milestone was made in the refreshing of the instrument cluster for my 1968 1600 restoversion (electric conversion).  Here's what we started with... older model cluster with all black gauges and cloudy glass... the plastic surround and bezel rings were in pretty good shape though.       I've always been a fan of the earlier model "silver dollar" gauges and even the late model "cross-hairs" gauges, so these were my least favorite option.  I did some hu
WisDesign

WisDesign

6

Battery Build.

Now that the motor is mounted (see below), it was time to get serious about the batteries.    I have known which battery modules I was going to run for awhile, but not exactly how I was going to mount them or position them in the car.  The battery modules themselves are 59Vdc lithium-ion "blocks" built by LG for the Chyrsler Pacifica Hybrid.  I chose these for a number of reasons, but mainly because being from a hybrid means they offer good power and the voltage/capacity of each
WisDesign

WisDesign

7

Motor Meets Transmission.

Progress has been slow.  (I promise not to start every blog post that way!)  However, I now have the electric motor (Parker GVM 210-150) mated to the 4-speed transmission with a coupler from Hayes to mount the clutch assembly and a custom aluminum bell housing adapter.  That motorcycle in the background of the photo below is one of the reasons why progress has been so slow, but I'll save that for a separate post...          So what does it look like in the former engine bay?
WisDesign

WisDesign

3

A little inspiration.

Last year, through a friend, I had the pleasure of meeting Robert Egger, the creative genius behind Specialized Bicycles.  He was an awesome guy, and I think this article describes him perfectly... https://rouleur.cc/editorial/egger-specialized-fun-creative-director/   Besides us both having an industrial design background, there was another common thread between us... BMW 02 ownership!  Robert had recently completed his project car and I got the chance to get a look at it up close. 
WisDesign

WisDesign

0

Recaro Refurb

I've had a couple of questions about the seat upholstery on my project car, so I'll provide some additional details...    First of all, the car came to me with a set of VW GTI Mk2 Recaros installed. I immediately loved the size and support of the seats, but the blue velvet just wasn't quite the look I had in mind.  ?  Given all the work ahead, it seemed kind of silly to target the seats as one of the first pieces to complete, but it really helped me "anchor" the rest of my choices.  I
WisDesign

WisDesign

5

Other Parts for the build.

Some of the other parts I've collected for my "restoversion" of my 1968 1600-2.    Picked up these custom 15" MIM wheels from the buy/sell section of the forum as the owner was upgrading to BBS basketweaves.  I think the gunmetal centers and polished lips will work well with the Etna blue and provide a slightly more modern look as this is certainly not going to be a "period" correct restoration.  I got a chance to check them out on chargin's car in the BMW corral at the historics at La
WisDesign

WisDesign

4

Elektro - MG?

As reported in my first post, I intend to build my 1968 1600 into a full electric conversion while retaining the character of the car that we've all come to know and love.  It's a great idea, and one that I owe much credit to my father for planting.  My Dad has always been into British cars.  He owned Triumphs, MG's, and even a XKE Jaguar when I was young.  There were always projects in the garage and you always knew where to find Dad...   Fast forward 20+ years, and he's still at it. 
WisDesign

WisDesign

0

Elektro - Antrieb

Hello, 2002FAQers!  I've been lurking on the site for some time now since acquiring a 1968 1600-2 (VIN 1561262) about a year and a half ago.  I've decided to start a blog based on the belief that someone out there might find my project somewhat interesting.  Here goes... I'm converting the car to full electric.  The 1602e was the first true BMW electric car, built in 1972 for support of the Munich Olympic games.  These electric 1602s were the precursor to BMW's "i" division.  So... you might cal
WisDesign

WisDesign

10

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