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About this blog

The many ups and downs of my  40 year resurrection journey

Entries in this blog

"Der liebe Gott steckt im detail"

For those who do not speak or understand  German (me included) it translates to "God is in the details". Who knew. It happens to be an  old German proverb that dates back a few hundred years although sometimes misattributed to a gent named Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe a German/American modern day architect who appears took the liberty to replace one word, no doubt to  express his level of frustration in dealing what ever he was working on at the time. Quite possibly his own BMW    Wikipedi
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Kick Panel Makeover

As the final piece of the interior make-over, I decided to try my hand in coming up with something that would house a pair of Alpine SPR-60's. I went into this project somewhat blind, not knowing if what I had planned would work. I did not want to place the speakers in the doors. I had made that mistake long time ago having the door hacked up to drop in a couple of 5" speakers. I had seen a few projects on the site that used prefab moulded kick panel but few had used a panel type install rather
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Interior Part II - My Headliner Install

I wish to start out by saying this part of the build, replacing the headliner,  I wanted no part in doing. For those who have done their own,  I remain in awe of your ability to do so. In my case, I am somewhat limited with space to do the work but more importantly had no confidence nor trust I could do the job justice. So I decided to have it done by someone with more experience. After seeing his work I was more than happy to hand off another part of the build to him.   The next confe
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My Engine Build

For me this was probably the most important part of the build. It marked the first time in 38 years the original engine was finally back together. You see, shortly after I had bought the car I blew out the transmission. Being a newly wed at the time, a rookie firefighter and a first time home owner all within the short time I had the car.......something had to give. So to make a long story short as it were, the car got mothballed for a winter due to a lack of funds for the repairs..... and to sa
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GETTING CLOSER

On the eve of the 44th anniversary of my car's build date,  I add this post to my blog chronicling the journey of its resurrection. Now after some 38 years, I am now for the first time  able to move the car under its own power. Pretty exciting.........this is how it sounds now!   I should also add,  that despite my excitement I did however have to wait a few more months for the remaining mechanical and electrical work  to be completed. The wait was frustrating to say the least, but tha
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My Weekend Flock-ups

Like most, I am sure your glove box looks like mine and needs  some sort of refresh.  I decided to take advantage of new found  time while I am waiting for the mechanicals  to be completed, to  take on this project. I was also somewhat hesitant to start it as I have never attempted such an undertaking. There was a number of tutorials out there that at least gave me a an idea how to tackle the issue., so with that limited knowledge  it began.   The main issue was to remove all the
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My Build Sheet

With the all the mechanical and electrical elements of my build expected to be completed in a couple of weeks,  all that remains is adding all the shinny bits and dressing up the interior. I thought this would be an opportune time to add this information to the list of posts.  I was always curious to what extent other 'o2 enthusists had gone with respect to their projects,  but was always somewhat reluctant to ask. So I hope some find this helpful or at the very least some what interesting.
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A Door Card Makeover

As the title suggests, I thought the door and rear cards would need some sort of attention to fit with essentially, a custom interior.  Although my door panels and rear cards were in excellent condition I was  reluctant to use them in this build for a couple of reasons. One,  they would simply not work with the colour scheme I planned on using. Secondly and more importantly, I just did not have the heart to start ripping them apart or altering them, so I decided to send them off along with the s
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My Custom Parcel Shelf

When I started this portion of the project I thought the parcel shelf or hat tray would be one of the easier and less time consuming jobs of the build. It was going to be pretty straight forward, or so I thought.  After all, it was only going to require me to make the tray to fit around the new seats, cut a couple of holes for the new  speakers, and possibly add in a third brake light. You see, I still was not sure what I was going to use or where the best location for it would be. I had seen a
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My Custom Console Part II

I first would like to preface my entry with a brief comment. I was going to describe in some detail the steps I took to  complete this project. However, I thought it would be rather self indulgent and frankly too time consuming for the reader. I know pictures would have worked better  to illustrate  the work, unfortunately they are floating around  in cyber space,  lost forever. So for anyone wishing more detail, I will  happy to share and info or answer any questions should you have any.  
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My Custom Console(s) Part 1

Now with the all the Dyna-Mat in place it was time to tackle the console.  Here again I struggled with a plan that would work with the rear seats. My thinking was since I was  adding essentially rear bucket seats, I saw no reason not to design the center console so it would run through to the rear seats. After all, who was going to be crawling over the tunnel to get in the other seat. Certainly not me, my flexibility and physical dexterity have  long since left me and child seats will be banned
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MY INTERIOR - Traditional or Custom

First some background...   From the day I committed to this project and  up until just a few months ago, close to some 4 years now,  I struggled with a clear plan or direction when it came to the interior and what I wanted it to be.   I remember receiving a message from a member of the FAQ shortly after introducing my car the the site saying “what ever you do to it, do not paint it...leave it as a survivor. Your car is more valuable without any fancy upgrades.”  At the time I
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11

Sub Frame Install and update

Almost two years after the car was stripped down it was a pretty rewarding to be finally putting some of the major components back on the car. The extra storage space I was gonna recoup was a bonus too. It has been a challenge constantly moving stuff around while the subframes were put back together, not mention trying to keep them from any damage.   So the rear frame once put together was the first piece set in place and ready to go back in. With a little help from a platform lift,  t
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Paint vs. Powder Coat

After what seems to have been years it was nice to set my ratchets to the "ON" position  for a change. With that I started to add the new and refurbished bits to the car after spending a serious amount of time, degreasing, cleaning, media blasting, power coating and  and yes,  some painting. After trying a number of products I found that a citrus based cleaner worked great to cut thru the grease quickly and without much mesh. A  good power wash to get rid of the stubborn bits followed.  
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The Wet North West

During the time and leading up to the day the car  returned from paint, much of my free time was dealing with and assembling the front and rear suspension. Along with that was the tedious job of tracking down the parts needed for the build. Many of  which came from a few cars that were parted along the way, but as fate would have it many needed to be purchased. Living north of the border has proved to be a bit of a drawback with respect to finding quality used parts. Our climate plays a major pa
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Where has the time gone?

That is the question I have had to ask myself as I look at my blog and its last entry. Some 18 months, Wow, was it really that long ago? A lot has transpired since then, some good, some not so much. None the less I am closer to finishing the car than I was when the last entry appeared but again, there were  a number of reasons why I had lost the desire and probably more importantly,  the dedication to maintain the entries. I have learned that life sometimes gets in the ways of our plans and drea
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16,060 days later.....A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

It has been 44 years to the day since my car rolled off the line in Munich. Yesterday, it got the final coat of paint to mark the special occasion. So happy birthday to my lil German beauty. Unlike the assembly line, it will take me more than a day to put it all back together but, I can't wait to get started. Here is just a few pics of what was a 16 month process.
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Another Step Closer To Paint....update #2

Well a few weeks have now past since my last entry and not a lot to report progress-wise, none the less I am happy to say some headway has been made. I was getting pretty pumped to see all the metal work has been completed and now since the car is now completely sanded, I'm starting to get a lil' giddy. Currently, most of the garnett has been blown and vacummed from the car and they have started to lay down the sealer, we will soon be ready for the epoxy primer. This should be happenin
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Bodywork Update....

Well my project has been in the shop for about a month now just after a short sleepover with the media blaster. Things are starting to progress and it is exciting to see the car getting some much needed professional attention. On the flip side, I realize now the 35 years of neglect did not come without a price. My guy tells me the many years this car sat idle, forced to sub as a coatrack/storeage shelf, has cost me more than a few days of metal work....bashing out a "few" imperfections in t
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1 Year Later....well Almost

Some 334 days have now elapsed since I committed to document my journey as I attempted to resurrect my 02 from 35 years of neglect. I must admit, I have been less than diligent in documenting my progress over the past 7 months. Truth be told, tearing apart cars got pretty tired very quickly. The upside of the exercise is the knowledge I managed to gain in the process which I should add, has translated into a new found confidence when it comes to mechanical end of things. In addition and now this
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My First Tii.....a Picture Of Rust

Well..... its not what you think. It is certainly not what I hoped for being my "first". But now, it is just another "parts" car that hopefully gets me closer to completeing my parts journey. Never the less it is a shame to see a classic in this condition. It is amazing what a few years sitting idle and neglected will do to a car here in the PNW. To coin a phrase from Neil Young "rust never sleeps". In this case that is a bit of an understatement ..... I think it partied pretty hard on this
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Resurection ....update

Well it has been over a month since my last entry. Needless to say this process is a long tedious one but enjoyable none the less. I have learned a lot and spent far too much time researching the many questions that I needed answered, but it has been well worth the time. I have little doubt I am repeating myself here but again, I would like to express my many thanks to FAQ for the endless resources that are provided here. This site is truly a god send. I would be lost without it! I have now
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The First Step...

Well the journey has began in earnest with my first "parts"purchase of what appears to be many. In doing so it would appear that I have stirred up a hornets nest with a few family members, including my wife in the process. After some 35 years she has heard as many of my excuses why I haven't done anything to my baby as my many promises to start working on what she affectionally refers to as "THAT piece of sh^t sitting in our garage". Now after finally taking that first step to get it back o
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While I Am Waiting....

Finally, I have taken some meaningful steps on this long journey. I have found a donor car with some of the right stuff. (I think) to help with the transformation but will not be able to close that deal for a few more days yet. Also have found some other parts on the FAQ board. ( I can not believe how much helpful info this site and its members can provide, so many thanks.) Got a plan now on where to start but still searchin for a good mechanic and body guy. In the meantime I have continued wit
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