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Just In Time For Summer - 1971 Bmw 1600


danco_

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i would reorient that front exhaust pipe clamp so it was not pointing down.  that is asking to get caught on a speed bump.

 

will you be adding a bracket to secure the header/exhuast to the back of the tranny as stock does?  it is needed.

 

looks from pics like exhaust place did not have a mandrel bender and welded together a bunch of premade bends for the system?  not a criticism, just a question.

 

muffler looks a bit close to the fuel tank.  i would have oriented the muffler straight down the tunnel there vice the angle used.

 

that combo of resonator and muffler should be good and loud!

 

if you used ultra black gasket goo on the oil pan, it works better than cork or paper gaskets.  it is all I use.

Edited by mlytle

2xM3

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i would reorient that front exhaust pipe clamp so it was not pointing down.  that is asking to get caught on a speed bump.

 

will you be adding a bracket to secure the header/exhuast to the back of the tranny as stock does?  it is needed.

 

looks from pics like exhaust place did not have a mandrel bender and welded together a bunch of premade bends for the system?  not a criticism, just a question.

 

muffler looks a bit close to the fuel tank.  i would have oriented the muffler straight down the tunnel there vice the angle used.

 

that combo of resonator and muffler should be good and loud!

 

if you used ultra black gasket goo on the oil pan, it works better than cork or paper gaskets.  it is all I use.

 

Good advice on the front clamp. I will readjust tomorrow, along with installation of the two new rear clamps. I also intend on running the exhaust-to-tranny bracket, though I didn't have it at the time the exhaust was built. And you are also correct, a "mandrel" bender wasn't used, simply the welding of 2" stainless tube together to create a nice, straight through, non crush-bent system. 

 

I also hope you're wrong about it being loud. I was going for a "quiet" exhaust tone. And duly noted on the rear muffler placement. Good news is that all these things can be fixed. But for how little I paid for the whole system, I can't complain just yet. 

 

I did use the ultra black gasket goo, but I used it with the cork gasket in place. This might have been a poor choice, but I will know for sure very soon here. No better way to learn that to fix my mistakes, right? 

Edited by Danc02

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Also looks like you still have the retaining band on the guibo..

 

I was actually waiting for someone to pipe up and mention that. 

I'll remove it tomorrow. 

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Decided to take some time and finish up the little jobs that I didn't want to do at the beginning. 

 

First, rebuild the shifter using the Blunttech Kit. This required removing the driveshaft, the exhaust, and pretty much everything attached to the tranny (from the rear).

 

Here is a naked photo. Notice the metal sheath still on the guibo: 

RamA0so.jpg?1

 

 

Surgery and bushing removal/install: 

vPMeXtW.jpg?1

 

And here is everything, back together. I don't expect that sticker to last more than three revolutions. 

AYXU47h.jpg?1

 

 

And here is the interior side of things, all buttoned up: 

cQabXhf.jpg?1

 

 

I will likely address the sound system (there currently isn't one) after I work most of the mechanical kinks out. I've learned with my silver car that if you try to do everything at once, you end up doing nothing at all. I can't make that mistake twice. 

 

 

I noticed a small puddle of coolant underneath the car. I pinpointed it to this general area. I'm not sure if it's from this stud, or its coming from the water neck, directly to the left of this stud. Either way, I'll probably find out tomorrow. 

XhcbjND.jpg?1

 

 

 

Soon, this engine will come to life. 

 

 

Oh and I installed the throttle cable, made a cable ground that attaches the block to the frame, and put the driver's seat back in. I forgot to take photos.

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More stuff today.

 

 

Today was the day I decided I would fire up the engine. In order to do so, I would need to install the fuel pump, distributor, make sure the timing was correct and valves properly spec'd. Oh and check for oil pressure. Shouldn't be too hard. Note, I couldn't have done it without my mechanic friend. 

 

 

First, here is a shot of what I managed to do sometime last week: I replaced the original hose from the heater core to the heater valve. A little rough, but no leaks so far! 

a6r8TS4.jpg?1

 

 

Next up was the fuel pump. I wanted to mount it in the back by the gas tank, but given the length of wire I would have to run to the front, I decided against it. I mounted it right below where the original battery would have been. It's not sleek by any means, but it works well for a low-pressure fuel pump. I will clean up the install in the coming weeks, in an effort to keep the engine bay clean and tidy.

rAxv844.jpg?1

 

 

After I got that squared away, I followed IE's instructions on installing their distributor with electronic ignitors. No more points. I have no review of this unit yet, but it does run as of now. Seems like a good unit overall. Yellow wire goes to the positive side of the coil, and black wire goes to negative side of the coil.

 jscxD9I.jpg?1

 

 

A shot of the surgery. Multimeters, test lights, timing lights, remote starters, etc. It all came in handy: 

Fzs4vI0.jpg?1

 

 

 

My good friend Mike Pelly also had an extra antenna holder thing, which he gave to me. I installed it and now my antenna isn't flopping all over the place. 

 bkhhxAQ.jpg?1

 

 

 

 

I also installed the Paul Cain E-Brake kit using thrust bearings. Its a great piece and removed slop in my e-brake handle. 

xqChGTk.jpg?1

 

 

 

And then I snapped a quick video of the second start up, after we tinkered and played with the idle for a little bit. Seems to run pretty good. Not perfect, but definitely ok.

 


 

 

 

 

Here is how the engine bay looks right now. So far, everything works like it should, except for a red light on the cluster, which I think has to do with the e-brake handle. 

HGwj6NN.jpg?1

 

 

And that red light on the cluster. Can anyone confirm that this is the emergency brake light? Where can I find this switch? I want to get this taken care of.

6Qh6J0X.jpg?1

 

 

 

Oh yeah, and these exhaust clamps aren't doing a very good job and clamping the exhaust down. I can feel air coming from all three clamp locations. Will have to find a different solution. 

L9IB6P4.jpg?1

Edited by Danc02

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red light is ebrake or brake fluid level.  from the pic of your ebrake, you don't even have an ebrake switch mounted in place....the wire goes through that little notch in the back left of the ebrake surround.  the wire might be gounding somewhere under the carpet.  or you have no brake fluid in the reservoir.

2xM3

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exhaust is not the clamp.  looks like the outer pipe is too big for the inner pipe.  the clamp has the "slit" in the outer pipe closed all the way, so there is no more "clamping" available.  fit should be snug between the pipes and there should still be a gap in that slit.

2xM3

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Marshall, you're right about there not being a e-brake switch in this car. It could be a 1600 thing, or it could be as you suggest, and the wire may be under the carpet. Will check in the next few days and report back with my findings. As for the brake fluid being low, you are also correct. I should have put two and two together considering there is little to no fluid in the reservoir, after completing the bbk upgrades. I should probably do that tomorrow. 

 

As for the exhaust, they do make products that stop leaks (think exhaust putty), but I'm hesitant to go down that road just yet. I'd like to fix it correctly, if possible. 

 

Thanks for your inputs. 

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Don't forget to put that little bobber back in the brake reservoir.  It will cause the brake light to come on.  I've forgotten twice, both times it took me about an hour to figure it out.   :ph34r:

Ryan

'75 Pastellblau "ol blue"

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Don't forget to put that little bobber back in the brake reservoir.  It will cause the brake light to come on.  I've forgotten twice, both times it took me about an hour to figure it out.   :ph34r:

You and Marshall were right! 

 

 

 

 

 

Updates: 
 
 
With the help of my mechanic, I bled the brakes and clutch and took her for a spin (maiden voyage).
 
I did squats yesterday so my legs and butt is on fire. Pressing the brake pedal 4000 times wasn't all that helpful either.
TehJswv.jpg?1
 
I did the brakes while the car was in the air. Much easier to access the bleeder valves this way. 
7Gkp8ou.jpg?1
 
This process took entirely too long, and I will likely have to do it one more time. I'm not satisfied with the brakes yet...unless the rotors and pads have to break-in. 
 
 
Then I took the car for a drive. I don't have any photos, but it was productive overall. The carb needs tuning, and the throttle linkage needs adjusting/lighting on fire. Around 50% throttle and higher, the carb sounds like its getting starved of gas and begins bogging. The car doesn't like this. I'm going to have this carb tuned next week hopefully.
 
And you guys were right about the red light on the cluster... It had everything to do with low brake fluid. Cleared that right up. 
 
While driving, I noticed a few drops of coolant on the center console under the heater core. I parked the car back in the shop, and immediately found the leak and repositioned/tightened one of the clamps that goes to the heater core.. that took care of that leak.
 
Now I need to dial in the carb and take it in for an alignment/figure out how to make the front end lower. I may be able to get a set of camber plates in there. This should eliminate the fixed camber plates (that add precious mm of ride height), as well as the spacer between the strut and the strut bearing, along with the bearing itself. I don't expect an inch drop, but it will help. I'll do some more research into this avenue. 
 
Overall the car handles much tighter now. Very go-cart like and fun! I didn't get to enjoy it fully, but I know that this will be a fun car. I also ordered a set of DOT3 spring pads for the rear. This should raise the car up about 2/3", helping out the "stance" of the car. It's currently bad. The rear tires tuck with the front tires have 2-3" of gap. 
 
 
While fixing the coolant leak at the heater core, I first found a few drips: 
heaIW2z.jpg?1
 
I can't stand seeing all of those radio wires (or the radio itself), so out it all came, and in the trash it went:
RGgIH9U.jpg?1
 
 
Look how nice the carpet under the shorty console is:
qEuTyhJ.jpg?1
 
 
and there it is, reassembled and in position: 
f9AzKhs.jpg?1
 
 
 
Also decided to throw on a spare bumper I had laying around. The old bumper had both corner pieces that were damaged, but the center section was pretty nice. The new bumper had nice corner pieces, but a center pieces with three big holes on the bottom side. I hope this doesn't bother me, else I'll mix and match parts until it's nice. 
 
7ZGJhGX.jpg?1
 
to this: 
Gd8YZGE.jpg?1
 
 
 
 
That's all for now. My list is getting shorter and shorter. An unexpected trip came up and I'm traveling to Sacramento for a few days. Maybe this will give me some time to wind down and pick up a few more parts.

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You and Marshall were right! 

 

 

 

 

 

Updates: 
 
 
With the help of my mechanic, I bled the brakes and clutch and took her for a spin (maiden voyage).
 
I did squats yesterday so my legs and butt is on fire. Pressing the brake pedal 4000 times wasn't all that helpful either.
TehJswv.jpg?1
 
I did the brakes while the car was in the air. Much easier to access the bleeder valves this way. 
7Gkp8ou.jpg?1
 
This process took entirely too long, and I will likely have to do it one more time. I'm not satisfied with the brakes yet...unless the rotors and pads have to break-in. 
 
 
Then I took the car for a drive. I don't have any photos, but it was productive overall. The carb needs tuning, and the throttle linkage needs adjusting/lighting on fire. Around 50% throttle and higher, the carb sounds like its getting starved of gas and begins bogging. The car doesn't like this. I'm going to have this carb tuned next week hopefully.
 
And you guys were right about the red light on the cluster... It had everything to do with low brake fluid. Cleared that right up. 
 
While driving, I noticed a few drops of coolant on the center console under the heater core. I parked the car back in the shop, and immediately found the leak and repositioned/tightened one of the clamps that goes to the heater core.. that took care of that leak.
 
Now I need to dial in the carb and take it in for an alignment/figure out how to make the front end lower. I may be able to get a set of camber plates in there. This should eliminate the fixed camber plates (that add precious mm of ride height), as well as the spacer between the strut and the strut bearing, along with the bearing itself. I don't expect an inch drop, but it will help. I'll do some more research into this avenue. 
 
Overall the car handles much tighter now. Very go-cart like and fun! I didn't get to enjoy it fully, but I know that this will be a fun car. I also ordered a set of DOT3 spring pads for the rear. This should raise the car up about 2/3", helping out the "stance" of the car. It's currently bad. The rear tires tuck with the front tires have 2-3" of gap. 
 
 
While fixing the coolant leak at the heater core, I first found a few drips: 
heaIW2z.jpg?1
 
I can't stand seeing all of those radio wires (or the radio itself), so out it all came, and in the trash it went:
RGgIH9U.jpg?1
 
 
Look how nice the carpet under the shorty console is:
qEuTyhJ.jpg?1
 
 
and there it is, reassembled and in position: 
f9AzKhs.jpg?1
 
 
 
Also decided to throw on a spare bumper I had laying around. The old bumper had both corner pieces that were damaged, but the center section was pretty nice. The new bumper had nice corner pieces, but a center pieces with three big holes on the bottom side. I hope this doesn't bother me, else I'll mix and match parts until it's nice. 
 
7ZGJhGX.jpg?1
 
to this: 
Gd8YZGE.jpg?1
 
 
 
 
That's all for now. My list is getting shorter and shorter. An unexpected trip came up and I'm traveling to Sacramento for a few days. Maybe this will give me some time to wind down and pick up a few more parts.

 

It's great to catch up on this build, congrats on getting the car on the road.  Can't wait to see it!

'73 2002tii Colorado

'71 1600 cabriolet

'69 1600 cabriolet

I sell floor pans for coupes and 2002's

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It's great to catch up on this build, congrats on getting the car on the road.  Can't wait to see it!

 

Thanks Mike! 

 

I went and bought another "parts" car today. Details below.

 

 

Update: 

 
I did a quick Craigslist search for possible 5-speed cars worthy of becoming a donor for the little blue 1600. I then found one and I bought it for the transmission swap. Good thing is that this is real 320iS with the lsd, recaros, and other iS bits that people like to buy/collect. I will part it out and keep and the cool stuff for myself. The recaros will definitely need work. 
 
wU3T9pz.png
 
I also negotiated with a local 02 shop (Ronin in Fullerton) to dial in the carb and suspension/alignment. This thing should be road-worthy in a matter of days.

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I called in a towing favor from our very own Archie's Towing (Archie's Ice Cream) to transport the white 320iS from Fullerton to Long Beach, and the blue 1600 from Long Beach to Fullerton, this morning. 

 

If went great, zero problems, would recommend to all. Archie's is good people. 

 

Pictures: 

 

Y3jyBTI.jpg?1

 

Interior is beat: 

FirXfzl.jpg?1

 

 

And here is the little blue car, being loaded up on Archie's flatbed tow truck. 

l9LX6Ui.jpg?1

 

 

 

Things I really want Ronin Autowerks to do: 

-Tinker with the carb, dial in the jetting and such. 

-Look at the linkage and recommend something better (for now) until I can implement a custom design. 

-Play with suspension and see what can be done to lower the front/raise the rear.

-Move the fuel pump from the engine bay, to the trunk.

 

 

And who knows what else they recommend.

 

I mostly want them to give the car a good "once-over" to look for any mistakes or problem areas that will need addressing. I'm not a master mechanic, I'm a college student who spends too much time reading things on the internet. I make mistakes all the time.

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