1976 BMW 2002 - First Drive Impressions and questions?

[Santawillis]

Hello!

 

After 6 months, countless hours of sweat, and mostly tears I finally took the 2002 for a drive! I have named her Frida, and she did a great job braking, shifting, and turns extremely well into corners. But she is SLOW, and I mean shift into second, and struggles up a small hill in Illinois, is this normal? My tach is not working and I have a sizeable hole in my exhaust that will get sorted, I also had some smoke coming from the front calipers but am marking that as maybe brake bedding and break-in. I am afraid of overshooting the redline and am short shifting; I did come from the world of E30s which may be a tad different, any input is appreciated   

 

I am extremely excited and happy to get this one back on the road and am looking forward to many many miles together.

[Dudeland]

Timing is the first thing that you should look at.  Pics are your friend.

 

send pics of the the engine.  Close up of carb plug wires and dizzy.  
 

 

 

[John76]

12 minutes ago, Santawillis said:

I also had some smoke coming from the front calipers

Smoke?

Check that your calipers and/or master cylinder are not sticking.

Is your clutch slipping?  May also be a source of "smoke".

'76  cars should have NO problem zipping up hills.... even in San Francisco!

[Santawillis]

@Dudeland attached fresh photos of the engine bay! The history of the car is... non-existent but I made sure to refresh everything I could financially do lol, Carb is a Weber 32/26, and I do have twin side-draft 45s coming eventually!

 

@John76 I know! It would NOT move in 3rd gear, 2nd gear was a major struggle so maybe my calipers are sticking? 

[Son of Marty]

Have someone in the car with the engine off press the gas pedal to the floor check to see if the butterfly is all the way open. 

[John76]

Well ... your '76 is a California car.

You have lots of things to clean-up in the engine bay (smog wise). At lease you don't have the thermal reactor, EGR plumbing or air pump. Looks like you have an electronic ignition module, but no vacuum advance.

Where does that Black vacuum line from the #1 intake runner go? If it is connected to the Black electro-valve next to the distributor,

disconnect and plug. It is the source of a vacuum leak as it is.

 

1 hour ago, Santawillis said:

NOT move in 3rd gear, 2nd gear was a major struggle so maybe my calipers are sticking? 

 

Yep, sounds like some frozen calipers, rear brake cylinders, master cylinder ... or even stuck E-brake cables.

 

I would seriously suggest spending time making your car safe to drive before dumping $$$ into performance parts.

 

John

[Santawillis]

Hi @John76,

 

Great suggestions, I had a hunch this was a California 2002. Calipers were purchased used but the pistons were checked before installation to see if they moved freely, I did replace the rear brake cylinders, shoes, and drums, it has a brand new master cylinder, pads, rotors, and braided lines. The E-Brake is fully loosened and all four wheels moved freely prior to the drive, so I was not sure if the front calipers are all that seized, it could be my return spring on my brake pedal. The clutch seemed fine on the drive but the release point is very high. I think you assumed that I am spending money on performance parts, most of my spending on bare basics! Finally got some fresh tires on all four corners, new engine and transmission mounts, new hoses, a radiator, and a fluid change in the transmission, differential, and engine. 

 

I will check timing, I really appreciate all of the suggestions on getting my lil junkyard rescue back on the road!  

[2002iii]

I don't think it's a California car, it doesn't have the thermal reactor or advance and retard distributor that California requires.

 

I would suggest a compression and leakdown check if you haven't already done them.

[John76]

1 hour ago, 2002iii said:

it doesn't have the thermal reactor or advance and retard distributor

Right...and it does not have the EGR or Air injection, but I'll bet it did originally.

Any "normal" '76 would not have the 3 electro-valves (Black, White and Red) on the bulkhead.

That was only a '75 and CA '76 trademark.

[2002iii]

13 hours ago, John76 said:

Right...and it does not have the EGR or Air injection, but I'll bet it did originally.

Any "normal" '76 would not have the 3 electro-valves (Black, White and Red) on the bulkhead.

That was only a '75 and CA '76 trademark.

I think you mean the red electro valve is unique to the California 76 cars. The white and black valves do appear on federal 76 cars.

Edited March 20, 2023 by 2002iii
Corrected information

[Conserv]

6 hours ago, 2002iii said:

I think you mean the black electro valve is unique to the California 76 cars. The white and red valves are for the egr and do appear on federal 76 cars.

I agree with John: 49-states versions, like mine, have the black and white electro valves, but not the red one.

 

The intake manifold, however, is not that of the California version — like the exhaust manifold, which is obviously not the thermal reactor type. Things have happened to this car since it left the factory! Maybe it was a California version car which acquired a ‘76 49-states, or even an earlier engine, post-factory… 

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[MarcD]

13 hours ago, Santawillis said:

But she is SLOW, and I mean shift into second, and struggles up a small hill in Illinois, is this normal?

 

Have you confirmed compression and correct fueling? Check that fuel pump and all the jets. Also that linkage looks like pretty rough business. 

[popovm]

Hello fellow rescued (and repainted) '76 owner! Was your car originally from Chicago? Mine was purchased there originally and made it out west over time. I'd need to look at the manual but I think the dealer was called something like "Inner Loop Motors" or something.  

 

Can confirm what everyone else is saying, 2nd is plenty strong enough to pull me (and a 100 lbs of tools and uninstalled parts in the trunk) up steep hills here in Seattle. Well, that's assuming you know how to drive stick and aren't lugging the shit outta that car.  Let us know what you find after researching everything listed above. 

 

 

 

[Santawillis]

@popovm She is originally a west coast car! Only indication is the little paperwork I have and the "San Diego Yatch Club" sticker on the front windshield. This was a shakedown drive, obviously I have found some sort of larger issues. Compression seems fine, I did notice the fuel filter is not filling with fuel anymore, it could be that I have a clogged line or the pump is on its way out, the more I drove the slower she went. Plugs and cables are brand spanking new, I have not chaced any vacumn issues because I am not very familiar with it, I have to do some more research to see what I can plug and what NEEDS to be connected so it runs okay. 

 

So my order of operations right now is as follows!

 

1- Check tank sender for any debris on the screen, I will replace the lines to the filter as they are a bit....sad.

2- If I am still not getting sufficient fuel, I will replace the pump and or sender and see if that solves the issues with the fuel

3- Vacumn lines have to be cleaned up and routed correctly, I am terrible at that and as a newbie I need to get some literature

4- Calipers will be triple checked for sticking, the car is slowing down considerably when I depress the clutch and I am pretty sure I am not in one pedal driving mode

5- If I am missing anything, please let me know! You guys have been AWESOME so far with helping me with this project, and I appreciate all of the input!

 

Rafael

[John76]

12 hours ago, 2002iii said:

I think you mean the black electro valve is unique to the California 76 cars.

The Black valve is common to all '75-'76 models. This controls the vacuum advance/retard (advance only on '76 49-state).

The White valve started showing up on the '73 cars and continued through all the '76s. This controls the dashpot via the speed relay and tach signal from the coil (-). This prevents the high vacuum on overrun from sucking raw gas out of the carb (i.e. HC).

The Red valve reared its ugly head in 1974 and continued through '76 .... except for the '76 49-state cars which were fitted with the #5 camshaft. This cam is also a 264 degree but has a higher lift on the intake valve and a longer duration. This allows more exhaust valve overlap on the intake stroke to "dilute and cool " the intake charge therefore reducing the NOx. This was a more advanced EGR system with no external parts (EGR valve, control valve, relay, filter, Red electro valve, etc.).

This only applies to carb cars.  Fuel injected cars are much easier to control (emissions wise).

 

John