Free Money Pit

[RClippa]

Well I have been eyeballing an '02 for years now. Every chance I had to buy one fell through. Last year a friend mentioned a free BMW that he found online and without knowing what it was I told him to set it up. Well after a couple headaches, the people backing out, and some persistance he got the deal worked out. We drove up into the mountains of NC and loaded a 1974 BMW onto my trailer with the intentions of a frame off rebuild. Since I have a 1953 willys wagon on my rotisery in the garage and an audi on jack stands in the other bay I decided we should try to get it running and see what it needed.

We started by testing the electronics while some marvel's mystery oil soaked in the cylinders. Everything except the ignition seemed to be in working order. Did I mention that she hadn't been started in over 18 years!! The following morning I couldn't wait to get started. The engine turned free. With some bleeding the clutch worked but the pedal box was locked up so it had to be rebuilt. But that would come later. Well after lunch it was time to jumper the starter and see what happened. The motor spun up without any problems. It didn't fire but that turned out to be a bad coil and I just happened to have an Acel super coil in the garage. So with a crappy clutch, no brakes, and a strong desire for a cold beer I took a leap and drove around the block. My roommate and my dog came along for the ride. Neither knew about the lack of brakes.

Here I am very happy with that cold one I was looking for. Notice that I already lost the front bumper. I am not sure it will stay that way but I couldn't help myself. So she drove around the block but the brakes were done. With some pricing and research I found that the big brake upgrade was much cheaper than rebuilding the stock system. So we took a trip to the local pull a part and got the brake parts. Finally today I found a set of wheels that I could borrow to try the new system. I also finished all the paperwork with the DMV and got her legal.

Well if you stuck with me this far, I commend you.

Total spent so far. -- $430 Not bad for a working, driving, '02

1974 BMW 2002 ---$40 of diesel

Big Brake Upgrade -- $200

Pedal Box Rebuild -- Free

Driveshaft Rebuild -- $40

Rebuilt the entire rear subframe -- $10

New Coil -- Free

Racing wheels and Tires -- free for now.

Misc crap from the parts store -- $40

DMV Paperwork -- $100

[RClippa]

Up next is some tires that aren't R compound racing tires. Lots of rust repair, and of course rebuilding the interior. It is slowing down the other three project vehicles I have, but with school the budget is slowing down everything the most.

Let me know what you think and what else there is.

I am thinking about a nice bright metallic orange for paint. Ditch all the aluminum trim and rub strips. Loose the front bumper. Shave the rear and tuck it up nice and tight. Black interior. Then over the summer add a turbo, electric fuel injection, and a limited slip.

[ibjettin]

Right on! It's looking great and you really can't beat that price. It seems like you are enjoying it so far and have your list of to do's. Keep us posted!

We have Weimaraner (8yrs) but she doesn't have the H4 upgrade your pup has

[MrNvgtr]

Damn, doing better than me about 3 years and $13k later.

[RClippa]

Well she got some new shoes this weekend. I found a set of 15" 6 spokes wrapped in yokahama tires for a great deal so they are now on there. They rub a little on the speed bumps but I should be able to sort that out when I roll the fenders. I was also hunting a limited slip but every 320i diff kept comming up open.

Currently I am driving her everyday to make sure the reliability is there before I sink in too much money. I am slowing filling in the rub stip holes with some weld and patching rust in an effort to get ready for paint. I was really shooting for painting at the end of the month, but I got a new transmission for my other toy so I want to get that installed right away.

Plus I can't make up my mind on paint. Deep metallic green or bright metallic orange? I am sure that one will keep me busy up until they start mixing the paint at the store.

The wiem is crazy. Her eyes glow like that with even a faint light. But she also changes color throughout the day. Starts out brown in the morning and fades to a grey in the afternoon. It is really weird.

[H_Krix]

Looking good man, you're braver than I am to go on a trip around the block with no brakes!

You still planning on doing the MS conversion? whats it got in there right now, a 32/36?

[RClippa]

I have driven worse things around my block. I actually live on a really dead street so after 7pm there is no one outside. I drive my jeep around it all the time and it is no where near safe for the street but I don't want to tow it for several hours just to realize that I missed a bolt or something. Plus everything was so rusted from sitting for 19 years that I could let off the gas and it would come to a stop pretty quickly, just not under my control.

MS is on my desk and being tested. Next time I am ordering it put together. I have two turbos at the house and an intercooler. I just haven't decided which one I want to run. Then I have to add the intake and throttle body but I am not sure what to do yet.

[THE1ST3]

Awesome! Keep at it, man. I always say these kinds of posts keep me motivated. I have a Weim, too. German engineering at its best: he sleeps while I wrench...actually, he sleeps MORE than I wrench.

[RClippa]

We she took her first trip today (I have been daily driving her though). I went up to Clemson SC, around 90 miles round trip with no problems. Earlier in the day I removed the AC since I don't have a compressor and the heater core in an attempt to rebuild it. Unfortunatly the fan is toast. The brushes had heated up and melted out of place. I priced the new motor and it looks like I will have to retrofit something. Possible just replace with a better box since mine is cracked in several places. I might even try and mill out something that will let me use some of those harbor frieght grinder brushes that I have in the tool box. I did get the rear bumper french up closer. I will get some pics of that when I finish it. I basically cut 2 inches out of the bumper itself to match the curves of the body and then pushed it up 1/8 inch from the sheetmetal.

The weim in the pic is totally nuts. She is a rescue and has huge problems with seperation anxiety. I am working on that to, but she is more stubborn than me. She does sleep while I wrench. The only thing that is hard to remember is to kick her out of the garage while I grind and weld. She is so quiet in the coner on her bed that I tend to forget until I strike the first arc. I would love to get her a boyfriend but I am going to be heading to Germany soon and shipping one will be tough enough.[/i]

[RClippa]

Well I must apologize for slacking off on updates. I have been daily driving the BMW while diesel is high. Unfortunatly I had a small lapse in judgement and I backed the truck into the BMW. Basically punched the trailer hitch through the drivers grill and took out the turn signal. Pretty crappy way to start a day. I am currently building the molds for the new turn signal lenses, the grill is on the floor, and the new sheetmetal is in the garage waiting to be molded to replace the damaged sections. With the turn signals I am going to try to get a euro lens look but with a clear lens and LED lights.

Paint is coming up soon. I have started installing megasquirt in my audi project so I should get an open garage bay soon.