engine and drivetrain Just got my first 2002!

[Lost2002Angel]

Hi everyone! I just got my first 1974 2002 yesterday afternoon! Ive never owned a BMW before, but i have done lots of work on other cars.

I was so happy when i finally found a 2002 in my price range and in really great shape. It needs the engine rebuilt, so its not going to be on the road for a little while, and it needs a sincro in the tranny replaced. It runs and drives as is right now, but it skips and stutters and i just dont really trust it. it has 113k on it right now, and its starting to blow out a little blue smoke when you start it, so its getting new piston rings anyway. Hopefully it doesnt need to be bored, because im going to try to escape getting new pistons right now.

Its not a Tii, its just the regular baseline one. Its dark blue, and all orig. except for some person put a new recaro racing seat in place of the stock drivers seat. I wish i had the stock seat, but it may have been trashed. There isnt a crack or hole in the rest of the interior though, which im thrilled about.

My plans for my new car are to rebuild the engine and transmission, fix a hole in the trunk, and repaint it. Im not sure yet if im going to rebuild it totally and keep it as a classic car, or if im going to rebuild it and flip it yet. I purchased it to rebuild and flip, but the more i look at it the more i think i cant part with it.

I will get pics up as soon as i have the car in the driveway, its going to take a few days to get it delivered, as the orig. owner tries to find a new daily driver.

I will keep you all informed as to its progress. I hope to glean fun, valuble info from this site, and hopefully meet some people in my area who share my interest in the 2002!

[mcmil]

Welcome aboard!

White smoke out the tailpipe usually indicates worn valve guides, rather than piston rings.

If your trans is on it's way out, consider doing the popular 5 speed swap that is often discussed on this board.

I strongly recommend going over the brakes before anything else. No forward motionis irritating, crashing way more irritaing and expensive.

[robspeed]

Hi everyone! I just got my first 1974 2002 yesterday afternoon! Ive never owned a BMW before, but i have done lots of work on other cars.

I was so happy when i finally found a 2002 in my price range and in really great shape. It needs the engine rebuilt, so its not going to be on the road for a little while, and it needs a sincro in the tranny replaced. It runs and drives as is right now, but it skips and stutters and i just dont really trust it. it has 113k on it right now, and its starting to blow out a little blue smoke when you start it, so its getting new piston rings anyway. Hopefully it doesnt need to be bored, because im going to try to escape getting new pistons right now.

Its not a Tii, its just the regular baseline one. Its dark blue, and all orig. except for some person put a new recaro racing seat in place of the stock drivers seat. I wish i had the stock seat, but it may have been trashed. There isnt a crack or hole in the rest of the interior though, which im thrilled about.

My plans for my new car are to rebuild the engine and transmission, fix a hole in the trunk, and repaint it. Im not sure yet if im going to rebuild it totally and keep it as a classic car, or if im going to rebuild it and flip it yet. I purchased it to rebuild and flip, but the more i look at it the more i think i cant part with it.

I will get pics up as soon as i have the car in the driveway, its going to take a few days to get it delivered, as the orig. owner tries to find a new daily driver.

I will keep you all informed as to its progress. I hope to glean fun, valuble info from this site, and hopefully meet some people in my area who share my interest in the 2002!

CONGRATS on your purchase... and, no, you wont want to part with it, not after DRIVING it... Good luck on the resto!!

[Jim_75Sahara]

Hey Lost: Congrats on your "new" 74 2002. How did you find yours? Was it on Ebay or in the newspaper? You will find this site is fun and helpful. Where is Delmar? I passed through northern NY state on our vacation recently. Anyhow, good luck!

[Lost2002Angel]

It blows blue smoke, not white. Its burning oil. Im going to shoot the piston rings as well as every other fairly easy to replace things i can find in the engine.

Im thinking about the 5 speed conversion, but i kinda want to keep it stock as possible, because its a numbers matching car, and in really great collectors condition, and my insurance company is for the vehicle as historic. If i modify it any from stock it wont let me have it for 100 a year on the road.

Thanks for the advice. I cant wait to get started!

[SteveJ]

There ~are~ some modifications you can make and still have it look stock to the untrained eye.

I would concentrate on getting it sorted out so everything works the way it should and the car is reliable.

Start with the brakes as they are a real safety item. Just use new/or known good condition stock parts. The braking system is capable enough for these cars. Upgrade the brake lines to stainless steel braided ones. Not a lot of money, but it will make the brake pedal feel stiffer.

Rebuild the suspension using new rubber bushings and new bearings. The car will feel infinitley better. Subtle changes you can do from there are Bilstein shocks, slightly lower springs(nothing too radical), and poly urethane sway bar bushings.

If you have the 5" wide stock wheels, you could run 185/70-13 tires.

It is fun to build a sleeper of a car. To everybody else it just looks like an old car.

[Lost2002Angel]

I found the 2002 on the local want ad digest.

As far as replacing stock parts for ones that are a little higher quality, i plan on it. I need new springs for the rear anyway, so i was looking to get some fairly inexpensive ones, maybe tokico or eibach if they make them for this application. I dont want to lower it much at all, just cheaper than OEM replacement. Any suggestions?

I will put in the poly bushings, and id like to stiffen it up some. I hope that i get the car before i go on vacation this week!!

[Harv]

For springs I have heard good things about Ireland Enginering's stage 1 springs.

John

http://www.bmw2002.com/