new member 1600 build thread

[earmenau]

Thanks!

I like my cars on the low end of drivable. After looking at many pictures, I decided that cutting a coil off the front would be a nice compromise between being slammed and being practical. I'm a little concerned with the affect on the rates and handling, but it seems like the general consensus around here is that it's relatively safe and acceptable(?).

Not sure if it would be best to cut a coil off the rear as well to balance the rates...

[earmenau]

Some more progress over the weekend:

 

Received some miscellaneous parts for pedal box and booster.

 

Then was able to install the clutch MC; pedal box ready to go.

 

pedal box installed, was a pain getting all the pedals in. Should have taken it apart.

 

from the bottom

pretty nasty down there, going to need a good power washing.

 

With the box in, we were able to install the bracket for the booster, had to drill out the existing holes where the steering rack was screwed in to put bolts in.

 

brake booster and mc installed: was pretty tough getting the z linkage and everything hooked up properly. I don't know how people get their builds installed so clean, I got everything properly scratched up trying to finagle everything together. 

felt good to get the supporting brake parts in.. now, the fact that we have to get the lines sorted is stressing me out. I'll skip that for now.

 

Next up, subframe assembly. Installed all the steering bits. It was a pain getting the steering box on because I put the paint on so thick.

(warning: do not use this photo as reference when putting your steering back together. More on that in a bit)

 

Getting the subframe hooked up

There's sam (oil pan gasket on order)

 

Subframe in!

(should have installed the rods that go on the front of the subframe first)

 

went to connect everything, but alas... disaster!

Checked the steering lock to lock, and wasn't getting the full amount of steering... Wasn't sure what was wrong at this point; I was afraid I was going to have to take everything apart, but we realized that the steering arms were on upside down(going back to the earlier pic)... On top of that, the control arms are on backwards... sigh. & on that bombshell: rage quit..

 

Hopefully next week, we can get the front suspsension set up properly, maybe do a test fit of some rims, and start plumbing new lines for the brake system. 

Edited April 14, 2015 by earmenau

[earmenau]

A little update: Got the front brakes situated. It's a little half ass, but hopefully it works. We completely replaced the front driver side line, but left the original brake lines for the passenger side and rear brakes. Bent up a few smaller pieces of line to extend the original lines enough to get to the new MC.

(Here you can see where the new lines meet the originals)

 

(This line was a little too long)

 

(Got the arms flipped around in the correct position)

 

Still having problems with the steering. The passenger side steering arm is making contact with the exhaust manifold, limiting movement. Can anyone tell if there are obvious errors?

[earmenau]

The center link was on backwards, just had to flip it around. Still minor contact with the exhaust manifold, but it turns now.

The brakes and the front suspension are hooked up now  The only problem is that I didn't get the drop center version of the IE sway bar and it's not clearing the m42 oil pan, bummer.

Still need to torque everything down, but I'm very happy to have the front end back together.

 

Tried some wheels on

Those are actually both 16" wheels. Tires too small on the work equips, tires too big on the hartges. The works are 7" and the hartges are 7.5" up front. I forget the offsets, but the adapters are 18mm front and rear.

 

I dropped off the rear hubs at a machine shop last week to get "filled and drilled" since the adapters require bolts instead of studs. Ended up spending a stupid amount of money to just put adapters on the car when I should have just looked into doing a legitimate 5 lug swap, but I actually ordered the adapters before realizing that the rear hubs have studs... rookie mistake(kind of the theme of this build), but the upside is that I have tons of options now when it comes to wheel selection, and boy do I love wheels.

 

I won't be working on the car this week, midterms are coming up and I'll be visiting the girlfriend in Sacramento this weekend. Hopefully the following weekend, the car will be sitting on the ground.

 

Things that still need to be done:

Oil pan gasket

replace alternator

vacuum lines

rear brakes and hubs

change the blinker fluid

find a reservoir for the brake fluid

install the airdam and fender flares

 

There's still a lot of work to be done before I can take her out for a drive, but I'm starting to feel like I can see some light at the end of the tunnel. I might even be able to take this jalopy out to bimmerfest this year!(but I've been saying that for three years now)

 

Am I turning this into my diary? until next time, cheers.

Edited April 20, 2015 by earmenau

[earmenau]

Did a tour de socal today.

 

Left work this morning at 7:30am took a drive down to duarte, over to IE. Andrew, was nice enough to swap out the sway bar for me and show me some bitchin' race cars 

 

Then headed over to North Hollywood to check out Top End Performance. They didn't show me any race cars, or even want to talk 02's for that matter   but I did pick up their strut brace/ battery mount kit with kill switch. Just mocking up the brace, I can tell I'm going to have a lot of issues getting it to fit up front. Over all the quality looks okay; I do like the design.

 

Then I headed back to orange county, to pick up the hubs from the machine shop. The new alternator and oil pan gasket are here as well, so hopefully this car will be running soon.

Edited April 28, 2015 by earmenau

[earmenau]

My buddy sam was nice enough to get some work done while I was out of town.

 

rear brakes all hooked up

(forgot to mention the full exhaust I had done a year ago: nothing special, just had one custom made at a exhaust shop)

 

New alternator in.

 

Going to get some more work done this weekend hopefully, I want to drive this thing!

[earmenau]

This has been a big weekend so far, got a lot done!

On friday, I decided that I needed a new radiator. I didn't want to spend the money, but it just seemed silly to not do it. So I made another trip down to IE and picked one up.

Pretty nice looking, and a lot lighter than the original. Then we got the IE fan kit hooked up, I had this setup on the old radiator after doing the m42 swap.

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you.. zip ties
radiator in.
The rears done. Was a bitch to get the adapters on, but they look nice.

And that was it for Friday. The next day, things started to get interesting. Went to autozone to get fluids, vacuum lines, an air filter, water temp guage, and couple other things. Felt very ricer.

 

Check this out...

lmao! That's a brilliant piece of marketing right there.. 

 

Started things off by dropping the oil pan.

pretty nasty
all cleaned up!

With the oil pan back up, it was finally time to finish the front suspension.
wow, that looks awesome.

Then we spent the rest of the day trying to get all the lines sorted.
The fruits of our labor. Everything looking pretty janky, but together. Yes, that is the coolant bottle supporting the air filter, also working as a temporary overflow tank... (getting excited)

wow, got the car on the ground! Feels so good. The car isn't sitting as low as I would like, but I'm just going to rock it for now.
Air dam mocked up, looking pretty good!

We weren't able to take it out for a spin because we had trouble bleeding the brakes. Going to try to do a bench bleed today on the MC; but we did get her fired up!

Hopefully get the brakes figured out today and go for a cruise! Edited May 6, 2015 by earmenau

[earmenau]

After a full day of trying to sort out the gremlins, here she is outside of the garage & under her own power!

It really was a huge PITA, we had electrical issues with the ignition, had to do another round of bleeding on the clutch, the rubber hoses for the rear brakes ended up being clogged... I suspect that I was driving the car around with no rear brakes since I got it; but it felt amazing to take her around the block.

 

There are still a few things that need to be done:

-Install front and rear strut bars

-install over fenders and air dam

-figure out the chunky shifting

-bleed the brake lines again

-rear sway bar

 

Unfortunately, the car didn't have a rear sway bar, so I don't have the brackets which are now NLA... anyone have an extra pair?

 

Also picked up these e24 seats in LA today... Pretty crusty, but should look 'okay' with a little bit of tlc.

 Just got to figure out how to install them..

 

Also picking these up thursday

Feels like I'm getting pretty close to the finish line here..  well, kind of.. this is going to be a lifetime project, no plans for bodywork anytime soon. I just want to drive her around!

Edited May 6, 2015 by earmenau

[dasfrogger]

Awesome work! I love the look of those wheels too.

[earmenau]

Awesome work! I love the look of those wheels too.

Thanks, dude! Did you ever get your brake system figured out? I also found a couple old resevoirs that I now know I won't be using.. Not sure if any are the one you needed..

Edited May 13, 2015 by earmenau

[earmenau]

Hey guys, 

 

Not much to report... a couple things though.

 

The new(to me) grills didn't end up working out.. I guess the really early cars, or maybe just the 1600(?) had larger headlights; so unfortunately they don't fit into the buckets. So these are up for sale. Definitely not show quality pieces, but might look pretty good with a bit of restoration. The driver side is in better condition, the passenger seems to be a hair out of shape, but bolted up pretty nicely on my car. Selling these for what I picked them up for $200 (plus an hour drive).. 

I was told these are from a 73' car.

 

I haven't had much time to work on the car, but I did start on a bit of body work. I discovered a gaping hole, after knocking back what seemed to be a bit of surface rust on the rocker panels.

The carnage.

 

The repair

For shame.. Need to learn some w3lding skill$.

Hey this looks better than I thought!

Pretty good for the first time, I think.

With a bit of primer.

 

Just a band-aid repair, but I think this is better than letting it rot. Just cost 20 bucks for the 3m bondo; I used a spatula, regular old sand paper, and extra elbow grease. 

 

I also did some insurance shopping since the car is getting closer to seeing normal driving duties. I currently am with auto club and get a really nice rate for both my honda and my bmw; the only problem is that the 02 is only covered for chump change. Well long story short, Progressive was the only provider that would do a stated value for the coverage I wanted; about 8,000 dollars in the case of a total loss. The catch? SUPER DUPER EXPENSIVE. 275 a month! Over three grand a year... Considering I only pay a third of that at auto club, I guess I'll just take my chances and have to haggle with the insurance company in case of a loss. Anyone know the ballpark value of these cars in this shape, with the modifications I have?

 

I'll leave you with a shot of yours truly before driving off into the sunset. The next episode should include over fender and airdam content.

Till next time, cheers

Edited May 13, 2015 by earmenau

[ray_]

Nice work!

 

Someone will want the shallow grills...

 

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/165320-grills-shallow/?hl=%2Bshallow+%2Bgrills#entry1036773

 

Cheers,

[earmenau]

Hey, thanks Ray!

[ray_]

Where's my commission? :D

 

Cheers,

[earmenau]

Haha, send me your address and I'll mail you a beer