Mike Self

IIRC beginning with the 1968 model year on US spec cars, the silver rings around the instruments and the perimeter of the housing were not shiny silver from the factory due to the Federal safety rules that went into effect in 1968. Those rules required all trim items in the driver's line of vision be non-reflective--thus the elimination of the chrome on the dash, the chrome surround on the instruments and matte finished windshield wiper arms and blades on US cars, but not on Euro versions. When I refurbished the cluster on my '69, I painted the instrument bezels with spray can dull silver, and hand painted the housing perimeter with a dull silver model airplane paint. Turned out very nice. I'll wager that sometime in the car's life the original 3 piece dash was either damaged or cracked badly, and was swapped out for a two or one piece dash. Happened a lot before folks started trying to keep their cars original. mike

Your 1600 is an early US spec '68 (model year, regardless of the year it was actually assembled). So the housing that holds the instruments should be painted black, not all chrome like the '67s and non US cars for several more years after '67. A 1600 would have come with a clock instead of a tach but most 1600s have acquired a tach over the years. The tach you pictured with the red needle and a 5000 rpm red line is from Something Else. In your first picture, the cluster on the right has the correct tach--it matches the speedo and gas/temp gauges. In your second to the last picture, showing the bakelite panel with wiring connections, there are two, three-pin connectors. One has a three socket, three wire harness connected to it; the other has a rubber plug covering it. One is for the clock; the other, for the tach. The attached picture shows which one goes where. It's from a tii, which has both a clock and a tach, so you only need to pay attention to the tach wiring. In your last picture, you show a housing with long studs, like the ones pictured above. It appears someone cut the original studs on your clusters off--dunno why. But that piece with the studs is only the outer housing for the speedo, so simply remove the large nut that surrounds the speedo cable threads, and swap the short stud piece for the long stud piece in your last picture. Hope that helps. mike

The tail light bulbs in both roundies and squarelights are the smaller sized bulbs, #5007--a 5-6 watt bulb . DO NOT use the larger, brighter 1156 bulbs that are meant for your brake lights, turn signals and backup lights. They will melt your expensive-to-replace tail light lenses in short order. mike

And if the pot metal pin that holds the center of the spring in place is broken or hopelessly worn, PM me for a copy of the column I did on repairing those regulators... mike

Interesting...I know for a fact that my '69 never had one, as I remember looking down the timing ball hole shortly after buying the car new. I had read the owners manual (!) which had a picture of the hole and the timing ball, and having never seen such a setup, had to see it for myself. Since I bought my '73 when it was 5 years old, I can't vouch that it didn't come with one from the factory, but it sure wasn't on the car when I bought it from the original owner. But it has a part number: 23 11 1 200 477. Learn something new every day on these cars! mike

Yep, that's the sighting hole to locate TDC and the timing mark (ball) set in the flywheel. It's possible that a cap was installed on Euro cars, but I've never seen one on a US spec 02. mike

Hard to tell from the picture, but does the plug cover the hole that you sight through to see the timing mark ball on the flywheel? If so, I'll have to admit I've never seen a plug in that hole, and that's after seeing a bunch of 2002s, including the one I bought new. I suspect someone added it --unless that's covering another hole. mike

Did you spot those cars in Ft Lauderdale (I noticed the Broward county license plate, then the beach club stickers) That Bavaria has been all over--South Carolina, Colorado and now Florida (?). Nostalgia for my hometown...When I was in high school, I lived about three blocks from the Lago Mar Hotel...and earlier was friends with the son of the hotel's general manager. We had lots of fun playing all around the hotel, running our model boats in the swimming pool and walking up the beach to the Port Everglades inlet, where we jumped from rock to rock on the breakwater all the way out to the end. mike

Sorry--I have an old rusty grille but never used it. My radios are fastened beneath the ashtray holder on the '69, and in the Frigiking A/C housing on my 73. But I can take a picture of my rusty speaker grille if you need one. mike

Try replacing the mounting screws for the front turn signal housings with stainless steel screws--as those screws are the only grounds for the front turn signals and parking lights. If that doesn't work, run a ground wire from the bulb housing bracket down through the wire grommet in the fender and fasten the wire to a good ground in the engine compartment. But I'll bet new mounting screws will do the trick; I've never had to run a separate ground for either of my cars in 50+ years--and lots of road salt and rust. mike

Remembering that US cars came with no radio and not even an apparent way to mount one, and our consoles--long or short--came with a wood (or later plastic) crosspiece at the top (where the speaker is in your picture) containing an ashtray. So most owners or dealers hung their radio from the bottom of the ashtray-containing crosspiece, and then filled the space below the radio--and out to the front edge of the console with that speaker cover--which on the once I've seen (and that lurk in my parts stash) are actually rectangular. So, I guess that may be a difference between Euro radio installations and those here in the States. Very cool Euro multiband Blaupunkt radio, BTW... mike

And to answer an earlier question about when US 02s got ribs on the dashboard's "package shelf", it occurred sometime in March or April 1969. My Feb 69 (1664801) car doesn't have the ribs, but I've seen cars with VINs only a few hundred higher than mine with ribs. Anyone out there with a 1665XXX car with either a ribbed or plain dash shelf? The changeover doesn't show in the parts book. An early automatic (2531485) does have ribs,but then the first US automatics didn't hit the US until sometime in May-June 69... mike

Keep in mind that at least in the US, there was no "installed by the factory" radio for '02s. So either the dealer or the first owner installed what they wanted. The speaker grille in your picture appears to be the correct, as it originally filled in the lower portion of the center console, between the bottom edge of the radio chassis and the trailing edge of the console, just ahead of the shift boot (at least on short console cars). It takes a 4x6" speaker. I've no seen the other three pieces; the center one appears to support the radio, but I don't see how the side pieces are used with either a long or short console. mike

Have you considered a compromise on rim diameter by using a 14 x 6 (6 1/2?) basketweave from an E30? Proper offset, easy to find, not terribly expensive and period looking. mike

I was under the impression that the fuel gauge circuit was basically governed by resistance vs voltage. As the float in the sender unit moves up and down the two resistance wires, it changes the resistance in the circuit from around 80 ohms when the tank is empty to 5-6 when it's full. If you connect an ohmeter to your sender unit (out of the car) you should see the ohms go up or down as you (carefully!) move the float up and down its wires. BTW, if you can find some resistance wire that measures 6 ohms/inch you can repair the broken wire on your old sender. mike

+1 on Steven's suggestions. Get every brake line threaded on a couple of turns, then bolt to the brake booster. Installing it dry and forcing air out as you tighten lines seems like the best way to go; less wandering fluid. Regardless of whether you install the M/C dry or wet, put a LOT of rags underneath to catch the inevitable brake fluid drips. Otherwise be prepared to touch up paint on the fender sides and frame rail under the MC as brake fluid is an excellent paint remover! mike

The following presupposes you have all incandescent bulbs in both outside and inside sockets... If you look carefully at the flasher relay, there are actually two sets of points (or on some, three contact points--two fixed ones and a movable one in the middle. When activated, the outside lights should flash in opposition to the dash light--i.e. outside lights on; inside light off, then the opposite. If they're all going on simultaneously, there's something wrong with either the flasher or the wiring. With flasher relay connected and dangling down so you can see it, and the cover off, select a left or right turn signal and observe the center relay point (the movable one). It should oscillate back and forth between the two fixed points, illuminating the outside, then the inside lights. If the movable point isn't making good contact with either of the fixed points, either the inside or outside light isn't gonna work. One more thing....with the ignition off, turn on your emergency flashers and see if inside and outside lights function properly... Let us know whatcha find... mike

In summary...exhaust fumes find their way into the passenger compartment via the following ways: poor/missing/loose trunk lid perimeter seal speaker holes cut in the package shelf missing sponge rubber plugs behind the back seat where the package shelf, C pillar quarter panel reinforcement and trunk/pax compartment separator all meet holes in the "real"--i.e. the steel trunk floor/spare tire well Engine fumes get into the passenger compartment via poor perimeter seals around the heater plenum chamber (heater air intake) missing or rotted "duck bills/elephant trunks"--plenum chamber drains unplugged holes in the firewall or missing/rotted grommets around cables and wires that pass through the firewall (hood release is the largest). That's all I can think of/gather from above... mike

Really dumb question, but do you have the spark plug wires in the correct order: 1-3-4-2? Is the rotor aligned to the mark on the dizzy rim when the #1 cylinder valves are both closed? And did you check those bakelite spark plug terminals to insure they're tight on their wires aren't cracked or pieces chipped away from the spark plug end that might allow the spark to jump from the terminal to the head mike

Check your local vocational high schools and colleges to see if they offer evening classes in welding and auto body. I took both--welding first so I wouldn't hurt myself, then several years of auto body. I learned more in one semester than I had taught myself in 15 years of body working. I even learned how to lead seams--on vertical surfaces! mike

The flasher relay might be affected by a change in the cluster ground, or even if you displaced or loosened the plug where the relay joins the car's wiring. The fact that the blinker doesn't work either when selecting a turn signal or emergency flashers points to the relay, or, less likely the emergency flasher switch, which has contacts for both the emergency flashers (work with ign off) and another set for the turn signals (work only with ign on). Those pushbutton emergency switches are fiendishly complicated inside, but the fact that your outside flashers work in both turn signal and emergency mode points to the flasher relay--presuming, of course that the repeater bulb is good and seated properly in its socket. mike

Sounds like the problem is in the flasher relay, especially since the interior repeater doesn't work with either turn signals or emergency flashers. Inside the relay you'll find two sets of points--one for the exterior lamps and a smaller one for the interior one. Carefully remove the cover from the relay, then plug it back in and select a left or right turn (ign on). Observe the two relay point sets; they work in opposition--outside lights blink, then the repeater. Some relays have two separate sets of points, while others have a single moving contact that alternates between two fixed contacts. Check to insure the contacts are clean. If so... You may have to carefully bend the fixed point for the repeater that isn't making contact until the movable point contact touches it. mike

Somehow that juxtaposition just begs for a joke or pithy remark...like, "Save a buck--and potentially much more--by purchasing the first item..." Although 99 cent condoms might not be a wise choice...

Couldn't tell for sure, but the car sure looks like a 53-55/6 Studebaker coupe....but that doesn't sound like a Studebaker 259 engine!

Is this an OEM BMW cam, or a quality aftermarket like Schrick or Alpina? Or is it a re-grind? Hardening quality on regrinds can be chancy, but OEM and good aftermarket cams should be good for a long time, presuming good oil pressure and no oil starvation to the head. M30 engines (basically an M10 with two more cylinders) have a reputation for worn cams, but I've never seen a good explanation as to why. M10s, on the other hand seem to have very long-lived cams. Can you feel wear with your fingernail between the portion of the cam lobe that's wiped by the rocker arm pad and the un-wiped section? If you can't, the wear probably isn't enough to worry about. If there's galling (pitting) that could be from a number of causes--bad oil, oil starvation, poor cam lobe heat treating etc. mike PS--when adjusting your valves, check the adjuster disks for flat spots. They do that...and you can buy oversize adjusters if you run out of adjustment.