The Saga of Stanley, my 1972 2002

[jgerock]

Your under-car storage location reminds me of mine at one point.

[saaron]

Hi Morgan

Good for you - resurrecting Stanley.

You found some good guys in Jim G and Marshall.

Vintage is cool - I was a newbie last year and it was a great time. Here's an article I wrote about it for my local BMW CCA chapter: http://www.buckeyebmwcca.org/pdf/Driving%20Light%20Autumn%202012_web.pdf

Paul Wegweiser's car is on the cover (he's on this board).

Also, my buddy Eurotrash (real name Jason) rebuilt my entire front and rear suspension...so here's a good reference for doing that - shows you the steps and all the parts and pieces.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,356377/highlight,/

Good luck on the rebuild.

Scott

[morgieporgie]

Scott - Thanks, I have a couple different subframe/suspension rebuilds bookmarked, but it looks like I'll be adding another! You can never have enough references, imo. I've heard about Vintage, and that's another event I'll be adding to my "To Go To" list. Great article by the way!

Jim - your storage area looks a heck of a lot cleaner than mine!

So.... engine is out! In 2002 we had a hell of a time pulling that sucker out, but this time I discovered that it's a LOT easier if you don't have a nose on the car!

Circa 2002-ish. Lots of yelling and grunting and cursing was involved.

This time I pulled it straight out, no sweat.

I just slapped the wheels back on and put a jack under the engine/transmission, then pulled it out. However, I didn't raise the body

quite enough for the shifter to clear. My dad comes out, goes, "I'll just lift the body, no problem." It was SO light. I mean, I knew the body was light, but it's slightly disconcerting when you think about driving a car this light on the highway next to big trucks...

Anyway... engine came out, and I got covered in grossness.

The bad thing I discovered? Both of the inner rockers are rusted through. I cut part of where I was going to patch, just to see what I was dealing with in terms of where the subframe mounts go... only to find copious amounts of rust. *sigh* Put it on my tab.

I also got some more of the PlastiDip finished along the rear. I looks good, but not as good as yellow!

My next major step, other than welding, is trying to build a body support that doesn't attach to the rear where the subframe mounts go.

[jgerock]

Wow - great work, but your car has a ton more rust that may be hiding behind you have already found. You might want to consider finding another shell that isn't so rusty.

I applaud you for getting dirty and pulling the entire engine and subframe at the same time. Not an easy task.

Jim

[M3M3]

yes, nice work!

LOL....classic understatement after working on old car...

"Anyway... engine came out, and I got covered in grossness."

Jim and i cut the noses off of two cars to get the engines out....MUCH easier. but then, we didn't have to put the noses back on those cars later!

[Johnson]

I`ll be keeping an eye on your car. Mine was yellow when I started, but I don`t think it will be going back(at least not soon anyway). Keep up the good work, I need the inspiration to help fix my rust.

-Jake

[morgieporgie]

If only I had known how easy it was to pull the engine without a nose on the car! I've also heard it's easy to drop in straight out, but I didn't have a lift.

So, here is my current update, a lot of which is copied from my blog. When do you know when there's too much rust? When is it time to say screw it, and get a clean shell?

I've been doing some thinking, and have come to a difficult conclusion. Stanley may be too far gone for me to save. In order to make Stanley safe, and get rid of all the major rust, I will need to patch/replace both front frame rails, all 4 wheel arches, rear shock towers, both inner rockers, various places in the trunk, both front floor pans, and both places where the subframe mounts go. It's not that it can't be done, but it will take a lot of time, energy, and ultimately, it may NOT be able to be done. So, I've been tentatively looking for a shell, preferably mostly rust free. I found one nearby that I will be going to look at next week, so we will see how that goes. It looks pretty clean from the pictures, but obviously I can't really tell until I see it in person. If I do end up getting a clean shell, I will most likely transplant what is salvageable from Stanley into the shell, and part out what is left from Stanley's shell. I guess that means Stanley will have to be renamed?

I honestly don't know how I'm feeling about this. Part of me is happy that I will likely be able to be on the road a bit quicker, and that I will have to deal with a hell of a lot less rust. But most of me is... sad. I wish there wasn't this much rust!

Oh, and to lighten the mood a bit, look what I saw in one of my magazines!

[/img]

[jgerock]

Morgan - you will be better off with a different shell. Wonder where it is? I would be happy to look at it if you need any second opinions.

Did you catch these ads from the Land's End catalog

Jim

[M3M3]

agree with Jim, and happy to help if you need another set of eyes on the new prospect....SOS? (son-of-stanley).

[Conserv]

As much as I salute your tremendous efforts to save Stanley, I expect you will be far happier -- in the long term -- working from a less-rusted shell. I'm sure this has been a difficult decision but, in the end, a good one.

Having owned a 1958 Mercedes 220S sedan in the early '70s, I "fell in love with" a particular 1959 Mercedes 220SE sedan during that period. The latter car was especially attractive to me because it was a rare fuel-injected model, with uber-rare factory steel sunroof, European specs, and was black with red leather. Although a well-worn example, it was perfect in my eyes; but the owners wouldn't consider selling their beloved Benz. I chased that car until 1993, when the long-time owners moved to a condo where they could not keep the car (which had not been driven in 5 years by 1993). I bought it and prepared for it's restoration! But the more I disassembled the car, the more rust I discovered. Despite the 20+ year sentimental attachment I had to that car, one of the best decisions I ever made was to pass it on, to someone who would part the car. Once rust gets ahead of you, it's hard to catch up!

Good luck with your project!

Steve

[rover1]

to bad you dont live closer i wouldnt mind working with you on that project

[ray_]

Yeah, really it looks like the best best is to source a much cleaner shell. But the soul of Stanley can live on, even if it's only the ash tray that you save and stick in the new shell! ;-)

Good luck with it!

Cheers,

[achman]

The heart of Stanley is the engine, so as long as you can transplant it into a new body, he will live on and be mush happier. Good luck

[jhenard]

Put Stanley's vin tags in a frame in the garage or on a key chain

[jhenard]

Put Stanley's vin tags in a frame in the garage or on a key chain