Saving a 1970 1602....

[Johnson]

I hope.

I`ll start with the story that leads up to how it sits now. I was looking for a second car for my girlfriend, low prices on craigslist. I see a listing "1970 BMW for parts - $500". I check it out, looks fixable. Call the guy, go check it out in person. Paid $430 for it, put a tire on it, bent the fender/core support out some, and drove it an hour home.

A little on my automotive background: I`m 21, had quite a few cars in my time on the roads though. I prefer older cars, can`t stand how newer ones feel when you drive them. I had a `76 Triumph Spitfire that I absolutely loved. My current driver is an `87 Chevy Chevette, which will now go to my girlfriend(no way she gets the BMW).

Here are the pictures from the ad:

[Johnson]

So, on the way home I formed my initial impression of the car. Had some issues/learning curves:

-Bottom hinged pedals=Weird.

-Turn signal on the right of column=Weird, but they didn`t work, so no problem.

-Brake lights didn`t work=PROBLEM!!!

-Power brakes=not a problem, but I had to get used to them again.

-Dash=Nothing worked. At all....

-No heat=Made it a bit cold, working on getting that fixed now.

-No radio=Fine by me, but it will get one.

-Door locks don`t work, trunk does.

-Fuses were rather poorly converted to standard size blade fuses=Have to fix that later.

-Wind noise sounds like you`re driving through a hurricane.

-Gearstick has enough play that all the gears feel like neutral=Took some getting used to.

But the good outweighed the bad. It has a fairly new stainless exhaust, a Weber 32/36, new starting/charging system, new radiator, a sunroof(with no rust in the channel), AND it moves itself forward and back. It`s PERFECT!

The actual feel of driving it was about what I expected. Felt like my Spitfire(quick steering, good in the corners), but with some more umph. The steering is surprisingly tight, and the brakes feel decent. Clutch took some time to get to know, but it feels OK. What I didn`t expect(and was totally different from the Triumph), was how effortless it was to go fast. I got a phone call from my friend who was following me home. He said "slow down, I`m going 75, and you`re pulling away!". Keep in mind I have no speedo or tach at this point.

So, here`s the pictures the next day after this trip home:

[Johnson]

I got some time later and played with the electrical system. Two fuses were blown. Replaced those and the wiper(only one) worked, as did the turn signals. Traced the brakelights back to the switch. Called work(Autozone), can`t get one. Took the switch itself apart and cleaned it out, works fine now. Tried to fix the blower motor, no such luck. I have an ongoing saga with that thing.

Changed the oil/filter, bought some spark plugs(still not in yet). Cleaned and recharged the fancy air filter on the weber. Removed that chrome pinstripe that BMW calls a front bumper. Tried to troubleshoot the tach/speedo, no luck. The input on the back of the speedometer is rounded. The tach wouldn`t work.

So I moved onto some really productive stuff. Trying on wheels

Then after I installed them on one side:

[Johnson]

The wheels are Konig`s, 15x8(pretty sure anyway). No idea what they actually fit, I got them off a friend of mine for dirt cheap. The did drub just a bit, hence the small spacers in the last pic. The tires on them are 185/65r15`s on the front, and 195/60r15`s on the back. They will need new ones soon.

So, I took my dash apart with the help of an ancient Haynes manual that was included with the car. Got the blower out, still would not work. I ended up taking it to an auto electric shop here in Chillicothe after pricing a new one! He has been fighting it. There was no saving the old motor, and he can`t even get a direct replacement. He is now doing it to prove he can, and I told him that as long as it worked, I didn`t really care what he had to do.

On a lighter note, while the dash was/is apart, I figured I would take the cluster out and work with my tach. Wouldn`t you know it, I broke the tach glass taking it out....

But, never fear, for I had this 3 3/8" Sunpro tach leftover from my `79 Monte Carlo that I had. So, I put it into the factory spot(fit like a glove, doesn`t even need anything trimmed). I hooked it into the factory wiring for the light, and the positive and negative. The factory signal wire was bad, but I found a wire that had been added years ago that ran in the direction I needed, and wasn`t being used. So with that as my new signal, I put the dash back together. Can`t properly test it until the heater box goes back in and I can run the car again.(I also have a 3 3/8" Autometer speedo that almost found it`s way in. The cable fit, but the nut that holds it on is a little too big)

[Johnson]

That is all the pictures I have thus far. If you guys haven`t figured it out yet, I`m trying to make this thing a cheap driver that will look cool, and I won`t really have to worry about. The girlfriend loves it(but then she is weird like me, loves old off-the-wall cars). Plan for it as of now is as follows:

-Get the heat fixed.

-Get the other matching wheels on the car.

-Drive.

-Get the front corner back into the rough shape of a BMW.

-Drive.

-Put a full set of gauges in it.

-Drive.

-Paint it the orange and black Alpina(?) scheme I`ve seen pictures of.

-Drive.

-Put my four big rally lights on the front, making a mount for those, forgetting the bumper.

-Drive.

-Add some type of fender flare(like the turbo style), and real wheel spacers to fill them out.

-Drive.

-Lower it to match the flares.

-Drive.

-Get numbers for the doors, and some race decals.

-Drive it like a rally car.

I may have to actually run it in at least one rally if I go as far as the decals. I may have the numbers and such made in magnetic form so they can be removed easily and quickly. Here`s a picture of the paint scheme I like:

Oh, also; all of the work on this car is done at my buddies garage, so not all of the odd vehicles and parts are mine(like the big green dump truck). And the name`s Jake, by the way. Feel free to call me that, or Johnson. I`m known by both.

[eurotrash]

Karl's old car. He and I almost bought it from the guy who doinked the light pole.

[Johnson]

So, did get a halfway decent deal then? I`m really not all that far into it right now, and have no previous experience with BMW`s, let alone old 02`s.

Also, I`m gonna need some sheet metal, and probably a blower motor. Any idea where some of these parts might be locally for cheap?

[jdt10768]

Cool car, please try to make the orig tach work. Cringing at that aftermarket tach stuck into a nice silver dollar cluster. Yuck. Good find though!

[Johnson]

Cool car, please try to make the orig tach work. Cringing at that aftermarket tach stuck into a nice silver dollar cluster. Yuck. Good find though!

I`d like to refit one at some point, but it`s not high on my list right now. I already had the aftermarket one, and I need to know about how fast I`m going! The cluster isn`t perfect, but definitely workable. I didn`t have to hurt it to put in the tach. Been working 11-9 for like a week straight, so no progress yet.

Just as a heads up to everybody, I`m no purist. I like how the car is/was originally, but I`m not stuck on it. Especially if it makes the car a better daily driver.

[Collinster742002]

Sweet! Thank you for saving it

[Johnson]

Well, I ordered a fan like mnicktow used on his BMW. He said he likes it, and for $28 shipped to me, I really couldn`t say no. Here is a link to his:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,370198/highlight,/

Other than that, I put my new spark plugs in today. Went with NGK Platinums, we didn`t have any Bosch plugs to fit at work. These cars have a very small plug gap. Spent the rest of the afternoon working on my buddies cougar.

[Johnson]

So, I got the heater put back together, and straightened my front end out some. Now I can drive it until I actually fix(replace) the metal. I`ve got some pictures I`ll add later, but don`t get your hopes up. They`re just after, no progress pics.

Heater works pretty well!

[Johnson]

Ok, minor-ish progress. Been driving the car, but the heat isn`t great when I`m moving. Thinking maybe I need a new t-stat, or to block off some of my radiator.......

Today I got some time, and I replaced the stuck choke cable. I didn`t want a "bling" one, but the black one at work was real cheesy. So my choke knob says "Edelbrock Equipped", but it starts loads easier when it`s cold now. After this I went and spent some real money on the car. New back tires, and I do mean new. The tires on the rice rims were way huge for this car, the back ones were 195/60r15s.

Now, this was/is a big thing for me, since these are the first new tires I`ve bought. In the past I always got used tires, but I get tired of screwing around with them leaking, etc. So I shelled out(after wearing out the search function looking at tire threads) and bought new 205/50r15`s . $192 out the door mounted, balanced, with new valve stems, the whole works. I`m happy, and I haven`t gotten them to rub yet.

Older pics, from just after I straighten the fender out a hair. I had to paint around my back wheel wells black. They started losing paint really bad, and in an effort to keep them from going any worse I painted them. This car won`t be yellow long at this rate.....

[rover1]

i wouldnt bother fixing the heater blower motor they fail all the time witch was a problem that dates back to when the cars wear new. i have owned around 6 2002's over a 30 year period and non of the heater blower motors work. but then again iv never had the pleasure of an Ohio winter. i have a fender and the correct front grill for your car if your interested $300

[KFunk]

Whoa, crap. I knew that car was going downhill when I saw it around town in the winter time... plus he never waved back at me when I was driving my 02.

Sad that we're down to only two 02s on the road in Athens, now. But still, better than most towns.

Good to see somebody in Chillicothe is helping get it back together. I love wandering around Chillicothe, we usually shop downtown at least a couple times a year for fun. I was at the Old Canal Smokehouse Saturday night, and almost stopped by Autozone for a quick fan belt, but decided to wait.