engine and drivetrain New to the 2002, First Post!

[burner]

Hi everyone,

Long time BMW fan (I've owned several, and currently own a Z4 roadster). I recently picked up a '75 2002 project car to work on in my spare time. I'm located in Austin, Texas. I've always loved the looks and history of the car and this one fell into my lap so I picked it up and am very excited to jump into it. The car I picked up needs lots of work (and I already have a ton of questions), so I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time on here. Looks like a great community. Here are some pictures of the car (I've already gutted the interior and started taking things apart in the engine bay). It ran pretty good before I started taking things apart, and I'm just looking to get it looking decent enough to drive around but not win any car shows. The biggest things right now are the floor boards (they are pretty rusty), the turn signals not working, e-brake doesn't work and theres no brake fluid in the brake fluid container....and its very dirty. What do you guys think?

[josh72ooh2]

Welcome to the cult!

Pretty much every question can be answered by the smart folks who know these cars inside and out... and thankfully contribute to this forum.

Learn how to use the search tool and you'll find that most of your questions have been asked and answered already.

Most sellers are trustworthy but beware, there are a few shady sharks out there.

And post some photos of your new ride! Ugly or not, we all like looking at these.

-josh

[FunElan]

Congrats! You scored getting those wheels on the car. Those look great.

[bills2002]

+1 on the wheels. Looks really great...but the first thing you gotta do is git rid of that steering wheel. Send it to me

[justinevert]

Welcome to the madness.

Looks like you did well, wheels exterior etc.

The floor boards looks rusty yes, but is it surface rust or pitted. If the later it might be best to cut and replace, not too terribly hard to do.

Biggest caution I can recommend (and I think everyone is guilty of this) is the "while I am at it, might as well do this" scope creep. Especially with all the thing one can do to make it even more fun. I would getting it to pass state inspection and then start going at it. Brake fluid and parking brake is easy to fix. If you are too busy enjoying the Z4, Terry Sather Auto off of 290 there in Austin can get it done, very good place to take it there, check his website. Get it drivable and start doing tweaks.

There is a ton of useful stuff here, allthough the search capability can be finicky.

Please note that there is a TX2002 group here also on the FAQ for locals.

HTH,

Justin

[c.d.iesel]

HI and WELCOME!

EXCELLENT RIMS! hope they're straight?

fix all the spliced/lousy wiring with single unbroken wires

and proper connection ends - soldered

!FIRE! is very bad

remove the front strut spacers and relocate to neighbors pool

or on top of the inner fender

the Dreaded Sunroof: investigate if modified sunroof

water drain tubes were installed to keep water

out of the interior

your front and back window seals are the other main

reason for floor and side rocker boxes rotting out

remove the 'vent filter' and install a long breather hose to a catch

bottle, or run the long hose to under the car to keep the motor

fumes out of your interior which it's doing now

BODY RUST SEARCH AND EVALUATION:

YOU HAVE FLOOR, ROCKERS, FENDER, FRONT VALANCE,

AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE that needs a thoughtful

estimate of repair cost first before any time and money spent mechanically.

THEN YOUR MECHANICAL EVALUATION ESTIMATE

BRAKES - TOTAL REPAIR

MOTOR AND DRIVE TRAIN FLUID FLUSHES

STEERING AND SUSPENSION OLD LOOSE PARTS REPLACEMENT

MOTOR MECHANICAL EVALUATION - COMPRESSION TEST !FIRST!

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

BODY AND COSMETICS !LAST!

you should not have removed any cosmetic parts untill the above was addressed first

[JsnPpp]

Another newbie in Austin, outstanding!

Ok, we need to have a get together for sure. Hows October 15th or 16th look?

Shoot me an email if you are interested...

~Jason

[burner]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

Apparently the wheels are rare? I just assumed they were period correct 13" wheels and didn't really think anything of it. They say "ATS" and "Made in W. Germany" on them, Not sure of the model.

The rust appears to have been remedied sometime in the past and the entire underbody and wheel wells have a thick black coating of some kind of rust-proof sound deadening stuff. The subframe is fine, and so are the rear shock towers. Drivers side rear rocker has some rust, the spare tire area has a little, and there are rust bubbles here and there all over the car. I'm just looking to get the car driveable and looking somewhat decent, so as long as its safe to drive I'll be happy. I don't have the time or extra money to do a full restoration, so its going to be DIY on the cheap. I'll probably weld in some new floorboards, put in some sound deadening and new carpet. I have a brand new interior (seats, carpet, et) to put in so that won't be an issue.

I'm also going to re-do all the wiring...alot of it is using cheap 18 gauge with Radioshack connectors...that has to go. I pulled the alternator and it needs new bushings really bad. All the tubing for the brake fluid and brake booster needs to be replaced too. Not sure if it needs a new master cylinder yet...the rubber gaskets on it are looking a little old. Also need to do the headliner (which I heard is a PITA) so I may get some vinyl paint and just go that route.

Someone above said:

"remove the 'vent filter' and install a long breather hose to a catch

bottle, or run the long hose to under the car to keep the motor

fumes out of your interior which it's doing now "

Can someone elaborate on this? Where is the vent filter?

Jason - that would be great. I'd like to chat with someone who really knows these cars to get a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I work a full time IT position at UT and own/manage a small car lot so time is limited, but I could definitely make it work.

[Cyclone101]

Nice car there! Welcome.

Those wheels are not super rare, but sought after none the less. They are ATS Classics. Very nice by the way.

With a little effort this car can be a blast to drive. And listen to C.D.iesel. He knows his 2002's.

Have fun.

Regards

Jacques