Master list for rebuild: would love your help!

[rjd2]

Hi all. So, I come here with some photos to offer, and some help to request. You guys have been extremely helpful to me in the past on my '76, and for that, I thank you. The aggregate knowledge pool here is astounding. So, with that said, here goes:

 

After a 1.5 year process of stripping the entire car down to a shell, amalgamating parts, swapping shells!!, blasting, sending to body work, sending to paint, my $1000 complete '72 E10 with a blown head gasket basket case has gone from this to this:

 

The body work is arrow straight. Trim holes welded shut. All rust gone. Complete interior and undercarriage has been coated. 3.0CSL factory color metallic turquoise, cause, turquoise. 

 

And now, here's where I need help. I have searched the forums for a "master rebuild thread" to no avail. Tons of issue-specific threads here, but what I am looking for is as close to a "master checklist" and order of operations, as I start the rebuild. 

 

Here's what I already have in my possession, and at my disposal:

-M10 lower block, out with the local rebuilders for tanking/planing/assessment. should be done within 2 months.

-completely rebuilt head

-fully rebuilt getrag 245 trans, spare driveshaft for chopping

-all glass, mostly in good to fair condition(no chips, but some of it is cloudy/scratchy)

-most trim, all of it ragged AF

-complete interior, also ragged AF

-a shop with a lift, compressors, tools, etc that I can work out of

 

So, what I'm really hoping to do here, is to A) get a solid order of operations going, and b) try to look out 3-6-12 months on what part of this process might have an unexpectedly long lead time, and get on it NOW, so a 2 year rebuild isn't a 5 year rebuild. So, please, I urge you reader, chime in-what am I overlooking? What should I consider? Pitfalls, easy misses, etc-you've been there, I haven't. I wanna know!!! Throw me your thoughts.

 

And now, a little "positive venting". I'm really jazzed. The bodywork is the best I've ever seen on an E10 restoration. All gapping is PERFECT. The damn striker plates are perfectly powder coated in black. The interior that will be covered in carpet is gorgeously done in spray-in bedliner. In person, it's shockingly good.TMK, I have never seen an E10 in this particular CSL color. While I set out to just get the car on the road, the project has shifted scope to this being a "homologation E10" of sorts, with color, transmission, steering wheel, rims, and maybe more coming from period accurate BMW sources, but not model accurate. All as best as I can get it.

 

I am under no deadline. Knowing how much I am into the car for already, my target budget is going to be to keep it under 8k if possible. I'll be doing most of the work myself. Obviously, new upholstery, exhaust, and suspension upgrades are at the top of my list. Likely brake upgrade, leaning toward Wilwood discs, as I know they make a bolt-on equivalent. 

 

Thanks for your thoughts and assistance!

[AustrianVespaGuy]

Ok, I'll offer some help!  Firstly, seems like you already have the hardest part (body) over will, so congrats and good job!

I'll start with probably the most important piece of advice: the FIRST thing you need to do now is a new headliner, as it needs to go in before the glass does!

Unfortunately, I think you missed the opportunity to get the front struts out before painting, so just be VERY careful whenever you do this job to avoid scratching up you nice fresh fenders.  Make sure and do the lower ball joints while the struts are out. Aside from that though, the suspension stuff is easy enough to do independently of all other body/driveline work, so you can just fit that in whenever you want.

No some more subjective recommendations:

Sounds like you already have the driveline out for refreshment, so my suggestion would be to start putting the interior back together while that work is getting done.  Obviously get new carpet from Esty here on the forums.  Seats are kinda up to you, as there are hundreds than can be fit into the 2002.

Consider doing any electrical/wiring work that is needed/wanted while the engine is out of the way.

As far as brakes go, I would suggest you first rebuild the stock brakes and try them out before committing to upgrading them.  For a street car the stock brakes are extremely good when properly refreshed and adjusted.  This doesn't look like it's going to be on the track much, so Wilwoods won't really give you much return on investment in my opinion.  Hand on heart, my stock brakes are the best feeling brakes on any car I've ever owned, including my E39 M5!  Yes with the solid rotors I can get the fronts to fade some, but it takes some pretty serious driving on very long descents to get there.  What I'm saying is try stock first for awhile, then decide later if the upgrade is still warranted.  Last thing on brakes, brand new SS brake hard-line kits are available, which would be easiest to install while all the other 'stuff' is out of the way under the car.

If you can get one, a limited-slip differential on the other hand is definitely worthwhile upgrade from the get-go, and I didn't see that one on your list already!

 

[rjd2]

Thanks! I have seen talk of LSD upgrades here. That's a good one that definitely was not on my radar. Oh, and I did the headliner last on my '76, so it looks exactly as you'd expect. Horrible. Thanks for that tip! That job sucked, I'd definitely prefer to hire that out to get it right.

[AustrianVespaGuy]

I regretfully didn't do the headliner when I had my car painted, and still haven't worked up the gumption to dive back in and do that one yet.  Maybe I'll finally get around to it. . . one day. . . maybe. . . ?

[Schnellvintage]

Well, this what I did. Engine on stand and had all the driveline and exhaust ready and standing by. I dropped front and rear subframes and suspensions. Chassis on stands or lift. Sent out seats. Disassembled brakes and suspension, bead blasted all arms subframes. Paint or powder coat those items. Renew bushings and reassemble, in order to get car back on ground. Plan your wiring and auxiliary components and battery location. Wire and layout accordingly. Set engine and trans and position. Exterior lights and bumpers/ trim. When seat come back, install carpet, dash, headliner, weather stripping, and glass. Interior panels are almost last for the inside. Think about speaker in rear deck before rear glass install. Set up brake master and caliper matching. Plumb lines. Then install driveshaft, diff and align appropriately, exhaust. Radiator and wire up engine and fuel lines. This is only one way to do this, I’m sure others have had a different order and timelines. Just make sure when installing exterior bits. To use extreme caution with finished paint. Soft towels, rags and use blue/ green paint tape help secure parts as you attach them. If the body needs to go back to body / paint shop, delay delay delay. Assembly goes quickly when you have the parts ready before you get to the step to install them.. Plan it out ahead of time and it will go smoothly.
FWIW.
Matt


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[Simeon]

14 minutes ago, Schnellvintage said:

Assembly goes quickly when you have the parts ready before you get to the step to install them.. Plan it out ahead of time and it will go smoothly.

 

Remember, when assembled on the production line, this would have taken about a day in total. Have fun!

[NYNick]

Car looks gorgeous. I just went through a similar process with my 74. The thing that jumped out at me in your post was....$8K!

Headliner

Carpet

Seats?

Suspension? Full refresh is $2500 in parts alone

Brakes?

Rubber seals? they're expensive

Trim? whoa expensive

Plating and powder coating?

Wheels?

Tires?

Steering wheel

Pedal box refresh

Brake lines

Lighting

door cards, visors etc

 

yada yada yada it just keeps going

 

You get the idea. This stuff adds up quickly, So quickly in fact, that a lot of guys stop keeping track. My problem was attempting to put crappy old parts on a brand new shiny car. They just look terrible. Just getting the engine running and looking the part was thousands.

 

I'll take a stab at this for you. At least double your budget. I would guess you staring at $20K, not $8. Good luck!

[2002#3]

rjd2,

I sent you a To Do List / I Done Did This List.  

 

NYNick,

Superb advice.  You ain't wrong...your key words being "thousands" and"...$20k...".

 

Larry

[rjd2]

Thanks guys! Awesome info. Yes, it's a target budget. I may blow thru it. Luckily, many things have been already been purchased-Nardi steering wheel, bottlecap rims, rubber, headliner, interior carpet, actual seats(not reupholstered), pedal box rebuild. With that said, I am aware I may be ambitious on the budget side, haha! About to find out...Hopefully hanging out in the classifieds will save me some coin.

[Mike Self]

Love the color--looks very much like Turkis, a regular 2002 color that was shared with the contemporary CS coupes.  Only offered in 72, 73 and very early 74 and not common at all.  

 

Since you are obviously very organized on this project, suggest you might want to create a Gant chart to flow all the tasks and parts needed for the tasks.  That way you'll know what parts to order as you approach the next task, and you'll do the work in the proper order (don't install the bumpers before rubbing out the paint as a dumb example).  I did that when re-doing my '69--and not nearly as thorough a job as yours--and the flow chart/necessary materials came in handy.  Avoided having to do the same job twice.  

 

Keep us posted--and hope to see it at one of the '02 gatherings one of these days...

 

mike

[rjd2]

Thanks Mike! Give it a year or so. She'll be road ready eventually. The '76 is done, so maybe an Ohio meetup is in order this year.....

[Mike Self]

17 hours ago, rjd2 said:

The '76 is done, so maybe an Ohio meetup is in order this year.....

If you're planning to attend Mid America, we have a caravan departing from Dayton on 24 April bound for Eureka Springs, with meet-up points en route at Cincinnati, Louisville and our overnight stop in Paragould AR.  PM me if you want to be added to the e-mailing list for more info.

 

There's also a caravan gathering in Lexington KY for the drive to Asheville for Vintage in May...

 

mike

[rjd2]

Thanks Mike! 2019 probably isn't my year, but maybe 2020...