Stargazers 73 resurrection

[stargazer]

I thought I'd start a blog here for my own benefit as much as anything. Sort of a diary of my adventure, because I know it's going to be a long journey before this car lives up to the hopes I had when I bought it.

As I said in another thread, I'm one of those idiots that got all caught up in an eBay auction for a car thousands of miles away, and bought it based entirely on a few photos/videos. Of course I was hoping to get this tricked out 2002 ready to take out the track. What showed up was a car that barely starts (now doesn't start) and is a pretty weak driver as well. At first I was mad, but as I've spent more time with it, and been taken in by those little round tail lights, I've quickly become attached to it and am slowly embracing the idea of taking advantage of the situation to gain a better understanding of cars in general, get my hands dirty, learn some new skills (with help of the good folks of bmw2002faq.com too!).

The list of updates on the car is pretty substantial:

-momo suede steering wheel

-leather racing seats w/4pt racing belts

-newer racing pedal assembly

-new 4spd boot and knob

-oil temp, oil pressure, and battery voltage vdo guages

-H&R springs

-front and rear racing sway bar kits from Ireland Engineering

-front and rear race strut braces

-big brake kit upgrade: slotted rotors, upgraded calipers, upgraded brake lines from IE (although brakes are really soft, need work)

-battery relocated to the rear center w/ a battery cutoff lever under the hood

-all front and rear bushings, tranny and engine mounts, replaced with urethane

-bilstein shocks

-billet IE 292 camshaft

-two DCOE 40 weber carbs

-upgraded fuel pressure regulator with wet engine compartment gauge

-low pressure fuel pump, and complete new fuel tank

-purportedly re-built engine

-polished/coated performance headers and downpipe from IE

-IE manifold gasket with built on spark plug heat shield

-upgraded distributor and wires

-all new hoses

-ansa sport exhaust and borla center muffler

-lightened flywheel

-'upgraded rear axles'

The body is pretty rough, lots of fiberglass repairs, more apparent in person than in photos... spray paint like finish, nice dent in the drivers side door. The body is actually the last of my concerns at the moment though, eventually I hope to celebrate with a thorough going over of the body.

The frame is a bit holey though, and concerns me somewhat. I've read a few threads here to suggest that I may be able to patch it with some angle iron and welding. I guess that'll be another skill I'll eventually pick up.

So the adventure begins.

[stargazer]

Here's my first goal: Get the car to the sheriff's local inspection office to allow it to be accepted into the state/validate title.

Just one problem with that... I haven't been able to start it since shortly after having received it. After some diagnosis... help of folks here... I'm leaning towards the starter being a bit weak... preparing to order a recommended SR441X starter. I suspect there's probably a number of issues with the engine/carbs as well, but I'd really like to just get it started before researching further.

I really need to get the inspection done here, and if I can't get the car started, I'll probably have to resort to the humiliation of having it towed in.

Not sure if I really shared this in my first post, but I would characterize myself as a novice mechanic. I am 46 years old, and while I managed to replace a clutch in a Toyota 4x4 back in my early 20's, that is about the extent of the mechanical work I've done, maybe a starter replacement here, a fuel pump there, oh yeah, did a brake job once, that worked out okay, lots of oil changes, that's about it. I am highly motivated, have the resources to buy tools, etc... and am embracing this opportunity to become more adept at a hobby I have always wanted to become more active in (I also of a BMW Z4 which I autocross, so the whole car interest thing has really taken off again in my 'old age', largely coinciding with the last of my kids leaving the nest).

[stargazer]

So you guys will probably get a kick out of this... things are starting out as I would have imagined, in keystone cop fashion.

In the course of looking for the starter, I guess I decided to jack the car up to get a look for it underneath (all my experience came from starters under the transmission bell housing I guess).

Anyway, after I jacked it up... looked around, I eventually ended up looking at the old Haynes manual the previous owner sent, and found it... up top.

Looks like it should be pretty easy to swap that thing out once I get my hands on a new one.

This is just the start of the story though... the keystone cop part is still coming.

So, I lower the car. Thought I'd do some more attempts starting it up.

I take a seat behind the wheel, and BAM!... it feels like the whole driver side of the car dropped a few inches.

After looking at the holey frame, I thought the WORST. Without looking, told the wife this may have become a much more expensive project.

I breathed a slight sigh of relief when I realized the FREAKING spring became unseated on the drivers front end.

It was getting late, I jacked it up and have left it sitting in the garage. Since coming in, I read a thread on here suggesting that H&R springs tended to not extend when jacking up and could move around. I HOPE that is the case... and all I have to do is jack it all the way up to re-position it... re-seat it. I have no experience with springs... really hope I don't have to get a spring compressor to get this thing back together.

That's the first keystone cop scene... the next one is my discovery that the previous owner doesn't appear to have sent me the key to the locking lug nuts! (he DID send me a gazillion spare lug nuts, but no key). I really hope the solution here isn't going to be forcing on a smaller socket... EVERY single lug is a locking one! Guess I'll try to contact the previous owner... on the outside shot he still has it in his possession.

Things not going well thus far.

[AceAndrew]

Hi stargazer, it certainly looks good on paper (just perhaps not well sorted in person) once you get everything functioning the way it should you should have a pretty fun car.

Without a larger brake master cylinder the larger brakes up front won't be very confidence inspiring.

If you haven't already, get yourself a copy of "BMW 02 restoration guide".

[stargazer]

This one? http://www.amazon.com/BMW-02-Restoration-Guide-Brooklyns/dp/1855204517

Thanks, I'll get it... anyone have recommendations on Weber carb books?

Also, in theory this was purportedly a Tii model, according to the previous owner, but nothing would shock me at this point. I'm reading perhaps that the brake master cylinder on the Tii's may suffice for that 4 piston IE brake kit.

That said, the brakes seem to be the next 'weak link' I need to investigate. That would certainly explain it (if it's NOT a Tii).

Is there a VIN interpreter somewhere which could verify what I have? or maybe simply investigating the brake master cylinder might provide the answer.

[AceAndrew]

I'm not sure if there's a way to tell if it's a Tii master unless you measure the inside bore diameter.

As for the vin, the book you linked to is the right one, it should also cover vins (in the last chapter I think). What is the Vin #?

Other simple (but not vin accurate) ways to tell if your car was originally a Tii without the removal of your wheels would be to measure the dust caps on your front hubs, and check if the rear trailing arms have been boxed in. The spacing between the front caliper mounting bolts would also suffice.

[stargazer]

Actually, I discovered on Wikipedia what you probably all know here... my 259 prefix VIN suggests this was not a Tii (another claim by the previous owner)... I guess I'll need to ID the brake master cylinder.

Newbie mistake... 'locking' lug(s) are merely spline drive lug nuts. I guess I just need to find the right socket.

Finally, the spring looks serious enough... I guess I'll probably want to get a pair of spring compressors.

So, get socket to get lugs off, remove wheel, assess spring situation, hopefully re-seat uneventfully, then get back to starting the car... possibly getting replacement starter.

[stargazer]

Actually there is no socket for these spline lugs apparently... but as luck would have it... I found an entirely new set of splined lug nuts which matched it. So, $32 dropped to get the lugs off.

So, I'm figuring out that getting the unseated coil spring back on is going to be a first pretty decent challenge for novice me.

As silly as it sounds, my first obstacle was the caliper bolts. I guess I need to supplement my hex keys with hex sockets... which I can apply a bit more torque to. They are on there good. I did pull out the pads to reveal 4 piston calipers. Still have yet to figure out if I have a Tii brake master cylinder to power these things.

As soon as I get to the store and get the proper tools to get these hex bolts off, and assuming I get past pulling the hub... I guess the next big obstacle may be the end link.

Reading around... it sounds like this might be a bear to separate (all to get the coil back on which became unseated while jacking the car up high... oh brother... is that unusual?? I definitely won't be taking this thing out rally crossing).

[stargazer]

Finally got back to this.. .discovered I could disconnect the sway bar... and the control arm drops enough, I was able to get the spring out... re-seated.

Is this unusual? It is a shorter H&R spring.

I discovered this before jumping into pulling off the tie rod/ball joint/etc. So hopefully I've saved some work.

After I bleed the brakes (waiting for a nifty brake bleeder kit).. I'll be back to focusing on getting it to start up. I'm hoping the warmer weather helps the situation a little. Spring is almost here.

[kronus]

It's very common for aggressive aftermarket springs to not fully extend when the strut's extended. (because if they did they wouldn't drop the car enough for how stiff they need to be)

You just have to make sure they go back in when dropping the car down. I typically drop it to the point where the spring will just about stay in, and verify that it's positioned correctly.

[Collinster742002]

...If the car was a tii it'd have no fuel pump port on the side of the head, and a big brake booster vs. a normal 2002's tiny one. It'd also have boxed trailing arms.

[stargazer]

Several months of busy work keeping me from the garage, I finally got the car running. It was nothing really... fouled the plugs up so bad from all the starting attempts in the winter (have to learn how to cold start it some day). After putting a new set of plugs in, it started right up after a couple of attempts.

The brakes are still a problem (mushy from the time I took delivery). It has the Ireland Engineering 'big brake' kit... but the rotors are in pretty ugly shape, pads wearing down. I think one of the calipers has a leak. I tried bleeding the brakes and stiffened them up a bit, but I think the front driver side caliper might be leaking a tiny bit. I'm wondering if it would be easiest to just order another new 'big brake' kit. What caliper re-build kit would I even order for those IE calipers? Are they identical to the tii's ? I guess I will call IE and ask. Now, just by virtue of my having the 4 pistons in the calipers, would that not imply that I've got a tii booster in this car? It does have a 'dual circuit'. Sorry, I don't know how to distinguish the stock non-tii brake system from that of the tii (or maybe this is some hybrid).

The timing SOUNDS like it's off. I suppose I'll invest in a timing light and see what I can glean there. The engine generally sounds pretty good, I imagine a compression test is probably something I should be doing as well. The car supposedly has a Schrick 292 degree cam. Is there anyway I can verify this? How does one differentiate cams?

The 4-speed transmission whines a bit when it's coasting. Is that indicative of wear that can only be corrected with a re-build? Or can the situation improve at all with a fluid change? Perhaps some minor maintenance? Otherwise, I guess I'll just put up with it until I can consider the popular 5-speed swap.

I'm talking with a body shop in town to possibly perform a frame rail patch using angle iron, which I saw demonstrated in a thread here. Have no experience tack welding.

Otherwise, so far I love my old 2002... sorry to ramble.

A few photos

[stargazer]

One other question... is there a trick/order to bleeding these dual circuit calipers? with three nipples on each caliper.

[kronus]

not really. Make sure your calipers are installed correctly left/right - there should be one bleed valve per "side" and then also a fill valve at the top of each caliper. You should not need to touch the fill valve if the calipers have fluid in them (it's only useful for initial filling, in my experience), the bleed valves should take care of everything. Bleed as normal, one side at a time.

[VonTrapp]

Howdy,

I saw in the 2002AD thread that you were looking for a differential. I have an E21 open dif and an E21 3.91 LSD (both used with the 5 speed swaps). Is one of those the dif you're looking for?

I figured I'd message you through this thread since I didn't see an "Email" option for you and didn't want to clog up the 2002AD thread. Feel free to use the email tab to message me back.