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I just acquired at 76 2002, what should I do first?


2002kid

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7 hours ago, 2002kid said:

Good point, do you have any recommendations as to painting these cars? Is it something I can do in my driveway or should I pay a shop to do it?

 

I painted my car myself, and here are some things I learned.

 

- If you are going to paint the car, you should aim to do it once and do it right. The best way to do it right is to strip the entire car down to the shell and do a full paint job.

- Understand that by doing it yourself there is a tradeoff. I have the satisfaction of knowing I did it. I learned a lot of the skills needed to do it, but my paint job is not as good of quality that you would get from a paint shop. I'm cool with that though, cause its my car.

- Time... It took me about 2 months to do the paint process. And probably a year or more of body work to get up to being ready to paint. I don't know what a shop would do it in but I know its less than that, by a lot.

-Doing the mechanical work on the car is discrete, pieces fit with pieces (for the most part). Body work and Paint start to become a learned art, and way more expensive (tooling and materials)

 

If the car is in sound shape, I would just enjoy it for little while. Go through college and get good at doing the mechanical work on it. When you get your first job, it will give you inspiration to make more money so you can keep dumping it in your car and learning the body work and painting.

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Fahrt Start

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7 hours ago, 2002kid said:

As for the carpet/interior (the headliner is pretty shot too) where can i get replacements for both? Also if you know, is it hard to do a "reskin" on these interiors, I really love this car in black with the chrome accents and was thinking of doing a black or darker brown interior to match(if I can, and my wallet won't hate me).  Thanks -Jaden

 

I wished my interior was black when I first bought my car, but now I am glad it is tan.  It is probably easier and much cheaper to change your mind, than it is to change the color.

 

The original carpet may be dirty and faded, but it's durable stuff and you might be surprised at how well it cleans up.  Once you pull it out, you can scrub it and rinse it and hang it to dry, while you go looking for rust underneath it.  

 

Be gentle with the interior.  It looks like it's been well taken care of over the years.  "Reskinning" the interior is very expensive. 

 

I'd embrace the originality and not try to make everything new.  Newness is overrated.  Especially when it comes to old cars.  Cleanliness is good though and cleaning is cheap fun.

 

Tom

 

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     DISCLAIMER 

I now disagree with some of the timing advice I have given in the past.  I misinterpreted the distributor curves in the Blue Book. 

I've switched from using ported-vacuum to manifold, with better results. 

I apologize for spreading misinformation.  

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13 minutes ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

 

I wished my interior was black when I first bought my car, but now I am glad it is tan.  It is probably easier and much cheaper to change your mind, than it is to change the color.

 

The original carpet may be dirty and faded, but it's durable stuff and you might be surprised at how well it cleans up.  Once you pull it out, you can scrub it and rinse it and hang it to dry, while you go looking for rust underneath it.  

 

Be gentle with the interior.  It looks like it's been well taken care of over the years.  "Reskinning" the interior is very expensive. 

 

I'd embrace the originality and not try to make everything new.  Newness is overrated.  Especially when it comes to old cars.  Cleanliness is good though and cleaning is cheap fun.

 

Tom

 


+1

 

And is the headliner torn? If it’s simply dirty, or even very very dirty, GOOP is a very effective cleaner, one area at a time. Replacing a headliner requires removing the windshield and rear window; even then, installing a new headliner well is a real challenge. If your car has a strength right now, it might be the interior.

 

Yes, the car needs a repaint. The original Sienabraun metallic is shot. Here are some views of Sienabraun ‘02’s

 

 

Painting a car is an art. If you paint your car in your driveway, it will look like... you painted your car in your driveway. ? How about trying a wrap to tide you over until you’re ready to paint it well?

 

Congrats and welcome!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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3 hours ago, BradInPA said:

What's the history with your dad's car? It looks like a 74 I had in PA back in the 80's. Good luck with your car. 

It was orignially from germany then imported to someone in new jersey, then my father bought it i believe. 

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If there is no longer emission testing for 1976 cars in your state (NY), you can gain some HP by ditching the smog pump, diverter valve, 2 magnetic valves on the firewall and replacing the exhaust manifold with a shorty header on your 1976 BMW 2002 49 State car.

 

Sell the parts on the FAQ to someone with a 76 in California to fund your other projects.

 

Mark92131

1970 BMW 1600 (Nevada)

 

 

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Lot of good advise here

Check everything on the brakes  Get some braided brake lines

Do a major tune up.  Learn how to adjust the valves Change the plugs points condenser rotor cap and plug wires

Move on to the fuel system next with perhaps with a Weber 32/36

Dive it  enjoy it  Worry about the cosmetics later  

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Voice of experience with old cars. Brakes, make them safe and functional, steering and wheel bearings should be inspected. Fuel lines! Nobody ever thinks they fail, but fuel leaks cause fires. Tune it up, check the cooling system and lastly buy a fire extinguisher, old cars that have been out of service usually get mice, mice love wiring and wiring shorting into mice nests equals fire.

take your time, pay attention to things and enjoy the ride!

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