'71 2002 M20 Conversion

[powelli]

I rebuilt mine as well.

I had a beat up short console. I traced that out on some MDF and extended it about 3 inches to bring it out to the relocated shifter. That is how I made room for those cupholders in the console.

Thanks go to slackey, Harrison and Bill Williams for guidance on how to build and recover the console.

[cjreents]

Ah-ha! You increased my blog to 2 pages!

Yes, thanks do go to Slackey, Bill, and Harrison. Since, I only had the A/C console I had to start from scratch w/o much of a template. The pics posted by Harrison helped me out the most and I actually found an e36 clock similar to his that I'm going to use. Hope he doesn't mind...

I know there is contention with some on the cupholder idea. But I love what you did. I take my coffee to work every morning (which has enabled me to spend my $ on the car and not at Starbucks). I'm trying to integrate two cupholders on top of the tunnel behind the e-brake along with a spot for my iPhone.

Stay tuned to see how it turns out...

[cjreents]

Installed the new driveshaft, the steering linkage, the drop sway bar and set her on the ground. Couldn't resist - with only a back seat bottom the whole family went for a maiden voyage to the end of the driveway and back, about 200 yards.

[canadamatt]

Congrats man! I remember my first ride in my 02m20 like it was yesterday, nearly filled my pants!

Matt

[cjreents]

Thanks Matt! Appreciate all the questions you answered for me during this project!

[roundieryan]

Looks really great!

I probably will be asking you some questions when I find an m20 to drop in.

[cjreents]

I recently installed some 3-point rear seat belts that I removed from an E30 325i. This will work great for hauling around our twin boys! Also in the pics, you can see the third brake light - also from an E30.

Credit for this mod goes to this posting:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,269825/highlight,e30+seatbelts/

Cut out sheetmetal:

Fit seat belt:

Make some mounting brackets:

Install brackets and seat belts:

Finished product:

[cjreents]

Since I had an A/C console but no longer had A/C along with the fact that I had to move the shifter back a few inches, I needed to rebuild the center console. Based on some previous posts by Slackey and HKrix, this is how it turned out:

BTW: I was originally going to have my wife cover it in vinyl, but after reading about how dubois repaired a dash using Truck Bed Liner, I decided to try that - and it turned out great!

Coming together w/ the ECU mounted behind the console:

[cjreents]

A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided that we should take the car on a road trip for our wedding anniversary. Since then, I've been scrambling to get everything tightened-up and finished on the car. We were down to crunch time this last Friday... the car was still registered out of state and also needed a seam seal on one of the wheels. My wonderful wife said she would take car to the DMV and the local tire place while I was at work.

Before leaving for the office, I strapped in the car seats with the 3-point seat-belts that I installed into the '02 - and wished the wifey good luck! She (and the boys) made it to DMV with no problems. They also made it to the tire place where the wheel was sealed successfully. About 1/2 mile from our driveway, the shifter linkage (that I welded) snapped and "womp" there goes the tranny. The car was towed home...

After I got off the phone with my wife, I knew exactly what the problem was w/o even seeing it. It was at this point in time, that I realized how well I've gotten to know the car and how far I've come from knowing very little about these cars to successfully completing a M20 conversion (which involved way more than I originally planned). This feat would not have been feasible w/o the internet and especially this forum. Many thanks to all those who have answered my posts and special thanks to the M20 guys who have lead the way to an amazing powerplant in our little 2002's.

To continue the story... when I arrived home on Friday, I pulled the shift linkage and re-welded it then headed to Autobahn Sport in Sellwood, Oregon. Joe found me another gearshift linkage (that attaches to the trans) since the bushing in my old one was destroyed. Side note: Autobahn Sport is closing it's doors the end of May, if you need a part give Joe (the Funkmasta) a call! http://autobahnsport.com/

The car was now ready for it's first road trip - wine tasting in Hood River, Oregon! We left Saturday morning, what a great day - sunny and beautiful. While heading out the Columbia River Gorge, I was amazed by all the "thumbs ups" we were getting. 70 miles later, we had arrived and nothing (that I know of) had fallen off the car!

After checking in, we headed out to wine country. We were driving out this country road looking for a particular winery that is on our map. We came around a bend in the corner and there are all these cars parked along side of the road. I say to my wife, “Is there some event at this winery today?”. We keep driving and notice that everyone has a mountain bike, and there are GIANT potholes in the road – but we keep moving forward whilst dodging the craters and the stares from on-lookers. We get passed the last car and start heading up this hill that heads into the forest. “Uhhh, Charrisse? There ain’t no winery out this way!” We turn around and come back down the hill, to find even more stares and mountain bikes zipping by us in the opposite direction. At this point, I realize that we just took a lowered 1971 BMW up an old logging road that is now a mountain bike trail! I could not stop laughing about this for days – still chuckling at what everyone must have been thinking… I can still picture the blank stares and dropped jaws.

A few pics from the trip are posted below (sorry, no pics of the mountain bike trail):

[canadamatt]

Awesome, congrats Chris! Car is looking great. Whats this about bedliner...I must have missed that, haven't been on here much the last few months. I want that console!

Matt

[cjreents]

Hey, thanks again Matt. Would love to get together with your turbo for a long drive - too bad we're on opposite ends of the country (countries, I should say!)

Here's the post on dash repair:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/89/33/

I used that same dupli-color truck bed liner which I actually found at Harbor Freight while strolling through the isles. I'm sure any car parts place would carry it. I know you moved your shifter back as well, if you need a template let me know and I'll send my cardboard one's.

[cjreents]

Stripped the paint off the front grills using Acetone and my son's Go Diego electric toothbrush.

[cjreents]

After the first full tank of gas with the M20, I averaged 28 MPG... double what my 1999 Tahoe gets!

[canadamatt]

So whats the overall thoughts after the first couple weeks? I know my first thought was "what can I mod next" . I have a disease!

[cjreents]

Funny you should ask because I thought for sure that the stock 168hp would be plenty. But, I think it is a bit under-powered . I may be contacting you in a couple months for more info on your turbo build...