Wallace

[ray_]

The screws securing your brake fluid reservoir are too long. 

 

 

And missing the caps. 

 

;-)

[majdomo]

10 minutes ago, ray_ said:

The screws securing your brake fluid reservoir are too long. 

 

 

And missing the caps. 

 

?

This bugs me too, actually. Plus they are unsafe! I think I need what, 4 of the caps total? It’s not a restoration, per se, but damn while we’re here…

[ray_]

Heheh, I'm sure you can find appropriate replacements!

 

The caps are available as well I think. The screws securing the relay on the right cowl need those also.

 

I'm not @Conserv . He should chime in!

Edited November 29, 2021 by ray_

[bavariaboy]

Second on that ac unit. Here in bucolic Bucks County, PA where the Quakers used to escape to avoid the hot humid Philadelphia summers we are having, like you, record breakers!  Heat wave after heat wave, start early, end late. Along with the heat is the humidity.

 

So ac was a must when we went 2002 hunting. Ended up with Lilli, our 2002, 1976, 82,000 original miles.  And a Behr unit that freezes the knuckles off.  Drove all spring, summer, fall in air conditioned splendor. 

 

Stay cool, great build thread.

 

Steve

[majdomo]

6 hours ago, ray_ said:

Heheh, I'm sure you can find appropriate replacements!

 

The caps are available as well I think. The screws securing the relay on the right cowl need those also.

 

I'm not @Conserv . He should chime in!

 

Brake reservoir and relay screw caps, p/n 51135676199 at ~$6.00 each. Maybe if I need to up an order to hit free shipping

[majdomo]

Turbo lock strips still on the way from Blunt. OEM windshield gaskets have arrived along with a new lock strip tool that doesn't look like it will rip up the rubber or gouge the lock strip. That Lisle tool ruined a lock strip for me, not recommended.

 

I'm really close to test firing the engine. Ran the starter for a minute to build up oil pressure, but that killed the battery which has been sitting around most of the last year. I also tried filling the cooling system with distilled water (just for the short run-in period) and was greeted with the steady drip-drip of water from the weep hole on the water pump. Awesome. New Graf water pump with metal impeller should arrive today / tomorrow and have that to look forward to installing. Tii exhaust manifold and new ANSA stock exhaust all installed, trans support bracket is all that's missing for now.

 

Also, some of the glue on the windshield side of the headliner started to come off, so it's back on with the binder clips and more glue to make sure that doesn't come all undone while waiting for parts. Re-stretching it without much to grab on to is a pain. I'd recommend only doing the headliner when you're really, really ready to install that windshield with OEM seals. I'll post up a side by side of OEM vs URO later and you'll see why - OEM has nice corners all molded into the seals, URO is just one big loop without much other structure.

 

Other stuff - I carved up the URO door seals, so that the doors actually close nicely. Took about 1/4 inch out of the backside of the seals right at the top of the door where it meets the A and B pillars, which are particularly tight. Doors close with a nice thunk now, expect this to be better once the car is on the ground. I'm figuring if this doesn't work, they'll get replaced with OEM, so no downside to trying to make them work with some modifications. I'll take some pictures of this later for posterity.

 

[MurphinDC]

16 minutes ago, majdomo said:

 

Other stuff - I carved up the URO door seals, so that the doors actually close nicely. Took about 1/4 inch out of the backside of the seals right at the top of the door where it meets the A and B pillars, which are particularly tight. Doors close with a nice thunk now, expect this to be better once the car is on the ground. I'm figuring if this doesn't work, they'll get replaced with OEM, so no downside to trying to make them work with some modifications. I'll take some pictures of this later for posterity.

 

+ on the pictures...would like to see where you did the trimming.  Thanks

[ray_]

Let me know if you find an M10 water pump with a plastic impeller.

 

Cheers,

[majdomo]

5 minutes ago, ray_ said:

Let me know if you find an M10 water pump with a plastic impeller.

 

Cheers,

 

Well it looked plastic...

 

BMW Engine Water Pump - Graf PA053 | FCP Euro

WWW.FCPEURO.COM

---

BMW Engine Water Pump - Graf PA053

 

[majdomo]

On 12/7/2021 at 10:47 AM, MurphinDC said:

+ on the pictures...would like to see where you did the trimming.  Thanks

 

Finally had a minute to do this - here is where I trimmed it at on the B-pillar side, I will be pulling this off and re-gluing so that it looks a little cleaner...

 

 

Here it is on the A-pillar side. Not quite as hacked up. Some overspray left to clean up as well.

 

 

And here is the difference between OEM and URO windshield gaskets. OEM is first, still in the bag. You can see how the corner is molded into the gasket directly even though it's still in the bag.

 

 

And here's the URO one, which I pulled off the car after wasting about half a day trying to install (and trashing a lock strip in the process). These are not my favorite but evidently some people have had some luck with them.

 

 

I also heard that there were some Ford Focus seals that could work on the doors. I did have the thought of maybe cutting the bottom half off the door seals and using something less stiff than the rubber on the URO door seals. (Maybe an opportunity recycle that windshield seal?) If they were all made of the same material as the top section they would probably be fine, but the rubber they used for the bottom sections is just really tough, one step softer than a hockey puck.

 

 

[majdomo]

Some exciting progress today. But first, checking TDC:

 

 

And here…

 

 

And then here. Which explains the farty backfiring I got yesterday.

 

 

Fixed this, threw some starting fluid in the carb, and hang on to your butts:

 

 

 

I drove it into the garage for the first time in almost a year. I need to obviously time and torque the head and all that, but it was a huge deal to get it to start. Now, on to window seals!

Edited December 12, 2021 by majdomo

[majdomo]

Glass guy coming Friday morning to install front and rear windows. Last quarter window will go in shortly thereafter. Hooked up the fan motor, and replaced the ducting underneath to the defrosters. Painters ripped those out too without bothering to loosen the hose clamps on the dash end. $20 on Amazon for some 2” ID engine heater ducting was all it took, similar build to original (paper over aluminum hoses).

 

After that, its straight on with buttoning up little stuff and finishing the run-in on the head. It won’t be completely done, but aiming to go for a drive on Christmas Day.

[Marsattacks]

Looks awesome.  You are going to really know that car well (you already do).  What are your plans for music, if any?  I ask only because you are at a stage where it would be pretty easy to do the install.  Can always be done later but more fiddly.  Or perhaps you are content to listen to the sound of the engine.  Notwithstanding the noise these cars generate, it is nice to have some music once in a while (for me) when I’m not at highway speeds.  Either way great work and perseverance!

[majdomo]

5 minutes ago, Marsattacks said:

Looks awesome.  You are going to really know that car well (you already do).  What are your plans for music, if any?  I ask only because you are at a stage where it would be pretty easy to do the install.  Can always be done later but more fiddly.  Or perhaps you are content to listen to the sound of the engine.  Notwithstanding the noise these cars generate, it is nice to have some music once in a while (for me) when I’m not at highway speeds.  Either way great work and perseverance!

 

Thank you! Why yes - and I totally forgot to mention it! I have a Kenwood head unit in a shorty console waiting to be reinstalled, hopefully on Friday after I get the glass done. That feeds a couple of 5.25” Rockford Fosgates in the front, installed into cutouts in the cardboard panels just above both footwells. They sounded fine around town at lower speeds, but on the freeway they were useless because I had zero sound deadening, my seals were all shot, and I was running Stahl headers and DCOEs, which I’m now kinda missing. (They are on the shelf waiting for my wallet to recover, as I’d like to get a new IE / Cannon manifold and top mount linkage for them.) Now, I have a Tii manifold feeding a new Ansa stock exhaust, along with all new seals, plenty of sound deadening and a 5-speed, all in an effort to make this way more comfortable on long trips.

 

To upgrade, for the rear I have a pair of new 6.5” shallow mount Infinity References, that will be sitting in a pair of stacked 1” spacers screwed into a replacement parcel shelf that I’ll build. The big experiment is to see if the spacers will sit slightly offset stacked on top of another, while holding the speaker and still clearing the rear window and top of the rear seat without looking weird. (Photos to come once I get it built, if it’s not embarrassing!) I’m really trying hard to not cut that metal on the rear parcel shelf, if I can help it.

 

This isn’t exactly a big install with a big amp and lots of power, but it should get things started. I liked the Infinity References in my E30, they sounded great without breaking the bank on a solid Alpine head unit. The Fosgates are fine but my prior setup didn’t help them much.

[Marsattacks]

Sounds like a great plan.  I went with a head unit in the glove compartment and then bolt on bliss products:  (1) kick panel extensions (no cut) for the fronts; (2) sub woofer enclosure that fits under one side of the rear seat (my amp is on the other side); and (3) a parcel shelf enclosure for the rear speakers covered in vinyl that matches my seats.  The parcel shelf enclosure is very nice and worth considering if your rig doesn’t please you. I have multiple sound deadening layers (i.e., the vibration dampening + isolation layer) but with DCOEs, a tii exhaust manifold/IE exhaust with a glass pack to replace the horrible resonator, and a 4-speed, it is too much noise.  Air pod pros work sort of ok but I’m not wild about the sound cancellation safety consequences (even through they don’t block all sound).  I’ll PM you a photo of the speakers so as not to cause confusion in your thread because we have the same Esty carpet.