engine and drivetrain Newbie here, 1969 1600-bone stock!!!

[gruizer]

Hey everyone, my name is Rudy and I just bought myself a 1969 1600 chamonix. I was looking through some paper work and found that the original owner bought the car in 1969 and owned it until he passed in 2005. The car has some rust but it's mostly on the trunk lid. It's virtually unmolested. I've owned a couple 2002's in the past and was wondering if anyone recomends any upgrades that I can do to give the little 1.6 liter some more hps. My plan for the car is to repaint it (original of course) and maybe put some lowering springs and supe up the engine a little so that I can use it as my daily driver. Other than that I want to leave it alone. I'm open to any coments, suggestions. Thanks.

Rudy

[PSloan]

I've always wanted a bone stock 1600.

[dubois]

knowing what I know now, I would personally leave it bone stock. I would refreshen everything, tune it and keep the original engine - maybe upgrade to a 2 liter but never get rid of the original motor. (ie store it your garage). You are now the curator of a time capsule, congratulations!

[Jim_75Sahara]

I agree w/the time capsule idea. When a stock 1600-2 turns up, people are quite interested in it & less interested in a modified/molested one. When we had a gtg at Shaker Village in KY, the 67 1600-2 with us was a true museum piece. We all loved it! That one had been a Calif. car almost all of its life. During our drive with freaky cold (& snowy) late April weather, the heater would not engage since the slider control was frozen in the off position due to lack of use --- ever. It was still 6 volt and there were many little idiosyncratic differences that the esteemed Mike Self was noting for us. It would have been a good seminar at Techfest even. How about a project blog on your 1600?

[DukeRimmer]

Modify another one that has been molested.

[winstontj]

Modify another one that has been molested.

Is that for sale? Is it clean? Where is it located?

[Delia]

Congrats, Rudy!

A newbie, Huh?

Must be beginners luck.

Wow!

What's the VIN?

One owner?

All paperwork?

The stock 1600-2 of 1966 is the "first-ever" of the '02 series beginning in 1966. An unmodded one may in the long run be worth more than later '02s cars of any stripe.

Before you rush into changing things all around, spend some time getting to know the car. Maybe get it running and see what is there and what it really needs. A properly tuned 1600 is lively and the chassis is well balanced. Clean it up a bit. You might be surprised what can happpen with a bit of elbowgrease on that original paint. It will cost little

Find out what it's worth. Check out the auctions, ebay, etc.

If you then feel the need to mod it, then do.

Personally, I'd do as little as possible to change it from stock. In fact, I'd make every effort possible to get it back to original.

Cheers!

Delia

[NickVyse]

Best kept stock IMHO - for the sake of value, for the sake of purity and I think you'll enjoy her more. There's plenty of poke in the 1600 for the weight it has to push around, and it's a happy little revver.

[HarryPR]

You can always buy yourself a squarie non-tii and modify it to your heart's content.

Stock early cars should be left as is for the benefit of future generations of '02ers.

[Mike Self]

before deciding on any mods. You'll find the early cars like yours sit on shorter springs than the 73 and later ones anyway, and that the 1600 engine coupled with a 4.11 final drive has plenty of get up and go.

As has been pointed out, early (pre 70) '02s and 1600s that haven't been messed with are few and far between because (1) not that many were sold compared to the later cars and (2) they got cheaper sooner than the later cars so were messed with. Also their lighter weight meant a higher percentage were made into race/track cars.

And '02s outsold 1600s 4 or 5 to one in the US...

BTW, if you supply the VIN to Mobile Tradition, they can tell you the exact build date of your car.

cheers, and welcome to the '02 fraternity/sorority

mike

[gruizer]

WOW, you guys are amazing. Thanks soo much for all the feedback. I will start a project thread. I will update with a VIN# and some more pics when I go home for lunch. Another note, I found that this car has not only been a California car it's whole life, it's been a Berkeley/Oakland car the whole time. I'm thinking I will end up trying to do a restore instead of doing mods now (thanks for setting me straight).

Rudy

[albawhore]

Check out azee's project blog. I think he is in oaktown or alameda he can probably give you advice and or inspiration. Seems to be a good cat too.

Welcome to the affliction.

Justin

[Paul7002]

the old parts. Having said that and since you want to use it regularly, I'd consider a slightly bigger carb, ie a webber 32/36 and convert to a crane or pertonix ignition in order to get rid of the points. Maybe a tii exhaust manifold. Other than that, I'd just go with all new bushings and and other wear parts in the suspension and set of fresh shocks, may bilstein HDs. I beleive the 1600 came without sway bars, so you might want to add a set of stock bars from an '02. I think they can be bolted right up with no other mods, thus retaining the reversability of the mod. bleed and adjust the brakes and add fresh pads/shoes and new tires and that'd be about it.

[Timmer]

I've also liked the 1600 as is, so I have to agree with most of the others here, keep her original. My 1969 2000 is in original shape as well, can't beat the one barrel Solex carburettor for one thing.

Tim

'69 2000

[gruizer]

Paul, that's exactly what I had in mind. I just didn't know if doing some of that stuff would kill the originality of the car. But I guess if I keep the OG stuff I'll be ok. Thanks