How to make a DD on a budget?

[autobon7]

Car is a 75 automatic, trans rebuilt (with papers) 2 years ago. Appears to have no sig rust to the naked eye (we all no better don't we). It cranks but doesn't fire, has been sitting for a year. Was driven as a weekend/grocery getter for 3 years prior. No pics but have checked it out twice and seems like a decent find for $1000. Paint is a 6, interior a 7-8, has ac and sunroof + good tires.

Aside from the tune up, brakes, etc what else needs to be addressed to turn it into a DD on a budget? I had a 70 that I had to unload (a couple years ago) as it had too much rust to deal with and looking forward to having a much more solid platform to start with this time. It's been a long time since I have posted here and starting to get excited....again.

Any help/guidance/advise/words of wisdom is certainly appreciated.

[KFunk]

Pay for registration, insurance, and a tank of gas (not cheap!)?

[autobon7]

Pay for registration, insurance, and a tank of gas (not cheap!)?

Amen about gas prices !!! I am basically a newb when it comes to 2002s and just looking for ideas in regards to things to look for or do on a machine coming from an unknown. Say for instance should you do a valve adjustment? Not knowing how it was cared for, just trying to stay ahead of potential problems. It really looks the part but who really knows.

I'm just looking for something reliable (as much as a 36 year old car can be) and get better mpg than my Landcruiser (13-14mpg). Even if it can get me 3 days a week on my commute (50 miles round trip a day).

[SteveJ]

Have a back up for when it decides to be tempermental.

Bike Nashbar has some OK commuter bicycles for cheap.

Seriously, before you rely on the car as a daily driver, go through all the systems that would leave you stranded. Comfy seats, a stereo, even heat or windsheild wipers won't leave you stranded. Look at the three 'S's --starting, stopping, steering.

Battery, alternator, wiring for motor- both high and low tension.

Brakes, pads, hoses especially. A brick works just fine as a parking brake in most instances.

Tires, tie rod ends, suspension rubber bits.

[autobon7]

Have a back up for when it decides to be tempermental.

Bike Nashbar has some OK commuter bicycles for cheap.

Seriously, before you rely on the car as a daily driver, go through all the systems that would leave you stranded. Comfy seats, a stereo, even heat or windsheild wipers won't leave you stranded. Look at the three 'S's --starting, stopping, steering.

Battery, alternator, wiring for motor- both high and low tension.

Brakes, pads, hoses especially. A brick works just fine as a parking brake in most instances.

Tires, tie rod ends, suspension rubber bits.

I have a couple of older Cannondales I'm pretty fond of so I'm good in that department. As far as the high and low tension you mentioned, forgive my ignorance but what are you refering to?

[SteveJ]

High tension = high voltage. This would be the coil, coil wires, rotor, distributor, plug wires, and plugs.

The low tension would be all the other stuff. Alternator, voltage regulator, battery, etc... Pay extra attention to any grounds- on the block, on the body, from the alternator, from the battery, from the guages, from the lights- They get corroded and cause all kinds of weird issues on these cars.

[TobyB]

I would get serious with the brakes- if you're halfway handy, you can do

the work yourself, and the parts are cheap. I put new seals in

calipers myself- the rebuilds are usually OK, but I've had one or

2 fail prematurely. Replace the hoses and the rear wheel cylinders

(they're super- cheap) and check to make sure the master

isn't filling the booster with fluid.

And then change the fluid every 2 years.

On a budget? Look for parts online, but start with Blunt, as he's usually

as cheap as anyone out there...

Then go through the FAQ and see what keeps coming up,

like the driver's side motor mount (they fail) getting a pertronix into it

(they don't fail) maybe cleaning out the carb and setting the float

level on it. Maybe a 320 alt- they seem to hold up better than

the 2002 ones, and also don't need an external regulator.

After that, it's just a matter of fixing things that start to go marginal.

Before they go completely.

Preventitave things like new rad and heater hoses if they look

questionable. Grease the front wheel bearings, stuff like that.

I've dailied a 2002 for the better part of 10 years, never been towed

home. Got a 318, and 4 months later, it's on the tow truck...

drove the 2002 again!

t

[autobon7]

I would get serious with the brakes- if you're halfway handy, you can do

the work yourself, and the parts are cheap. I put new seals in

calipers myself- the rebuilds are usually OK, but I've had one or

2 fail prematurely. Replace the hoses and the rear wheel cylinders

(they're super- cheap) and check to make sure the master

isn't filling the booster with fluid.

And then change the fluid every 2 years.

On a budget? Look for parts online, but start with Blunt, as he's usually

as cheap as anyone out there...

Then go through the FAQ and see what keeps coming up,

like the driver's side motor mount (they fail) getting a pertronix into it

(they don't fail) maybe cleaning out the carb and setting the float

level on it. Maybe a 320 alt- they seem to hold up better than

the 2002 ones, and also don't need an external regulator.

After that, it's just a matter of fixing things that start to go marginal.

Before they go completely.

Preventitave things like new rad and heater hoses if they look

questionable. Grease the front wheel bearings, stuff like that.

I've dailied a 2002 for the better part of 10 years, never been towed

home. Got a 318, and 4 months later, it's on the tow truck...

drove the 2002 again!

t

When you say the rebuilds are ok are you refering to remans from parts stores? I'd like to do most of the work myself but I'm a 1-2 banana (out of 5) guy. Electrical is by far my weakest link as I have never done anything electrical. With that being said can you all put into layman's terms the easiest way to check grounds? Are shop manuals easy/relatively inexpensive to come by and where is the best place to purchase? Thanks to all for chiming in.

[SteveJ]

For checking grounds, just follow the wire to where it is bolted or screwed to something metal, usually the body of the car. Take the screw out, use a wire brush to clean up all the corrosion you will probably see there. Put it back together and you've probably solved an electrical issue you were having.

Basically, all electrical connectors need to be clean and tight. Electgricity needs a complete loop for things to work. Battery-wire-gizmo or light-wire-switch-wire-back to the battery. Usually the wire back to the battery is the body of the car, which is why we say to check grounds.

ProsperosGarage on ebay usually has laminated, color coded wiring diagrams. They don't have all the detail that some of us need, but they will be easy to read for someone new to it. The color codes will be the main color of the wire insulation, like brown or green, and then the tracer or thin colored line on the same wire. So, you may call the wire a brown/red or a green/brown. The nice thing is that BMW standardized on many of these color codes and you'll see the same color wires on a 2002tii fuel pump as you will on an E30 fuel pump.

[autobon7]

Are there any shop manuals available? I'm sure they will pop up on ebay from time to time. Are the Haynes manuals availble for the 02s? Most of the Landcruiser guys don't care for them. Thanks for tips on grounds. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.

[TobyB]

The Haynes and Chiltons for the 2002 aren't terrible-

if you have both, you've got a good start.

Add the 'Autobook' (Bill Ball, I think, from England)

and you'll have 3 opinions to choose from!

The factory 'blue books' are more thorough, but

hard to follow in places, and read like the '60's Japanese

manuals- they make sense, but you have to translate in your head a bit.

They are kicking around in electronic form... somewhere...

And yes, over the last (20) years, I've had 2 bad experiences

with reman auto parts calipers- one had the wrong seals in it

(and was replaced immediately with one that then lasted forever)

and one that started seeping after about a year.

But that's out of quite a few, so if you don't feel confident

taking calipers apart, the odds are good that they'll work.

hth

t

[Adamha]

It's a 76 and doesn't run. Get $500 cash, roll up with a trailer, offer $200 and see what happens. A guy with cash and a trailer is serious and maybe they just want it gone.

Now, does this mean that your new found bargain is qualified to be a DD? Only you can answer that after getting it running and seeing what needs sorting.