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Steve73tii

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  1. Steve73tii
    I just got my painted body shell back this weekend, then today the engine arrived at the freight terminal... Eric Kerman Stage I/"precision factory" rebuild on original block and '73 e12 tii casting... Now how do I put all this stuff together... ;-) Steve
  2. Steve73tii
    My '73 came without rear glass, but my '72 (late '71 spec) has clear glass with de-mister/fogger/icer/whatever. I was told by the PO that the glass was brand new, but the wiring appears stock, so I think the car probably came with a clear heated rear window. BTW, If this is a hard to find piece for someone, I would be more than willing to trade for a tinted one in similar condition. Steve
  3. Steve73tii
    (nt)
  4. Steve73tii
    A question about this... (Sorry if it's a hijack, but same topic & not sure it warrants its own thread.) Did your bushings install directly into the idler arm housing on the subframe or is there something in between? After pulling a 'top hat' shaped bushing from each end, I have a striated plastic sleeve still in the housing and I'm wondering if that comes out as well. The new bushings are in the mail so I can't compare, but it would be good to know ahead of time in case if I need another part. Steve
  5. Steve73tii
    I got mine from Coupeking for $30. It's an extra $15 for stamping, though the total came out to be less because I spent some $$ there. Steve http://www.coupeking.com/product_main.php?product_id=330
  6. Steve73tii
    Maybe I'm a little jealous of everyone who's not here 'cause they're out driving, but I got my car back Friday night and I'm psyched! It's not perfect, but it's pretty good and it's here. I put in a couple hours Saturday dropping the front subframe and taking everything apart so I can clean up the green overspray and paint it black today. (Thanks to Wegweiser and SteveJ for posting on this and convincing me I didn't need to put it off until I have my own compressor and spray gun.) Man, I forgot how much I love just being under the car and learning how it's put together! Prolly why I haven't had a ride for any shows or driving schools yet... Steve
  7. Steve73tii
    Terrible, terrible news. Condolences to the deceased's family. Personally speaking, that is just way too close to home -- not only the car, but I lived 500 feet from there for several years and those images are familiar and surreal at the same time. And talk about adding insult to injury... KTVU news interviewed a dude (wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt) talking about how the white BEE EM DOUBLEYOU slammed into the parked cars. God, the driver of that car was minding his own business and was killed... I just shouldn't get started on that tangent. Steve
  8. Steve73tii
    Here's my "li'l money pit", '73 tii VIN 2763558. I purchased it July 10, 2005, and it's just now rounding the corner to reassembly (April 2006). I didn't set out to document the project from the beginning, but with 20/20 hindsight, I probably should have. Anyway... I bought the car on ebay after it had been on bimmers.com for a while. I've had mixed experiences with ebay cars and have never bought a car without checking it out in person, but the seller was a well-known restorer ('Coupeking') and he helped a lot with an honest description and lots of photos (the early pics are his -- Peter, please contact me if this is not ok). This car was an abandoned Coupeking project. It was in pretty good shape -- minimal rust, matching-VIN motor (not running), but non-tii nose panel. Interior and lots of other parts missing, but many of these I had. I didn't read this board much at the time or I would have asked then, but out of curiosity, do any SoCal people here remember checking this car out last year or know anything about its previous history?
  9. Steve73tii
    I have an '88, which is the 1st year for the US: two-door only, with big bumpers and no ski bag, but also with the Recaro-style seats, M steering wheel, and some other options as standard. I'm not committed to parting with it, but I'll email you. Steve
  10. Steve73tii
    I 'fabricated' (read: jury-rigged) one of my webbing clips out of the handle from a gallon paint can. It's about the right gauge and I got the shape right, but it's softer metal than the Recaro clips, so I'm bench testing it (watching TV while sitting in the seat). Go ahead and laugh -- I deserve it. And NO, I'm not planning any redneck mechanic mods for my tii. The Recaros were an experiment, reupholstered with brown tweed centers on the cheap. I'll post pics when I get around to it.
  11. Steve73tii
    Ok, not really Photoshopped, unless he did a Gaussian blur or something, but here is one on a friend's car. The green beast is mine before bodywork started a couple months ago. (Apologies, N for borrowing the pic). Steve
  12. Steve73tii
    Wrong forum... j/k, check your email -- Steve A.
  13. Steve73tii
    Ha ha -- Good point, prolly wouldn't be running so well otherwise! I should have stressed my "properly adjusted" comment. I'll defer to Curt's experience and clear explanation here. Steve
  14. Steve73tii
    In my shadetree mechanic recollection, I think that properly adjusted, the choke should *work* without the hoses hooked up. By that I mean that the choke is closed mechanically by flooring the accelerator once before starting; the heating of the bimetalic coil by engine coolant is what makes the choke open, or *stop* working (that, or pressing the accelerator again). That said, if you test the rest of the mechanism for proper functioning, you might be able to decide whether you want to persue reconnecting the hoses or look at a manual choke conversion. Make sure that the free end of the coil in the water choke housing is attached to the lever on the choke plate, then dial in the spring tension by aligning the mark on the cover with one of the marks on the housing and test the mechanical linkage that holds the choke closed by working the throttle. If that doesn't work, or the bimetalic doesn't work when heated, then consider a manual choke.
  15. Steve73tii
    If these are the e21 Recaros like mine, you'll need 8mm flat socket head screws with a 1.25mm thread pitch. The ones in the base of the seat are 30mm long and the ones in the back rest 20mm (8 ea. and 4 ea. respectively). You can get them at a local fastener specialist for a couple bucks. I have some in 10.9 alloy steel if you could use them, but they're all 30mm. (If the length on the back rest matters, I suppose you could cut them, though they're pretty hard and appear to be plated.)
  16. Steve73tii
    I'm worried they'll find out how vulnerable these cars are and start doing it on purpose... at least up here it wouldn't suprise me. I still held out some faith in the human race that the "magnetic shopping cart" effect was a coincidence until I saw a young kid who was old enough to know better shove a cart right into my door with her mother watching. Still, that's minor compared to nose and grill damage. I feel your pain...
  17. Steve73tii
    Hi-larious! I've been wishing for a while that our own favorite marque would lighten up a little in their advertising -- a little more "Freude am Fahren" maybe? But if their "upscale" marketing and sales are keeping Mobile Tradition in business, I guess I shouldn't complain.
  18. Steve73tii
    I can personally recommend Mighty Motors. The fan clutch went out on my e30 on a trip to Cambridge last month and I decided not to risk the drive up to Bavarian Auto in Portsmouth to pick up the part myself. BMWCCA put me in touch with Mighty Motors and they confirmed my guess/diagnosis in about 1 minute, had the fan clutch in the shop, and worked with me on parts & labor after we price-checked the part on the Bavauto website. They not only had me up and running in about an hour, but while I waited they pointed me toward a Portugese restaurant around the corner where I had an excellent full lunch for under $10. They seem to know older Bimmers; the owner's '68 2000 coupe was on a lift as were an e30 and a 635. Just an unsolicited testimonial -- I think they deserve our business. Steve
  19. Steve73tii
    John, I have the brackets you need to bring your rear bumper in closer (you'll still need to move the holes in the quarters, I believe) and would be willing to trade for your oblong brackets. Email me if you're interested. Steve
  20. Steve73tii
    I'll have to add a "me too" here along with my tale of woe. Don't lift and do take the BMWCCA car control clinic. Last spring, I braked way too little and too late for a notoriously dangerous decreasing-radius onramp. The car pushed badly, but I feathered the accelerator and got it to turn in somewhat before I ran out of road and clipped a Jersey barrier. Not a happy ending, but I really believe I could have been killed -- either swapped ends if I had lifted or locked up all 4 wheels and slammed head on into the barrier if I had braked. I'm not sure about the effect of limited slip, either. I had ~200 miles on the car after going to LS, and I feel like it understeered a lot worse leading up to that crash. Steve
  21. Steve73tii
    Thanks everybody for the suggestions -- a good substitute for the steelies if I can find 'em (Mike, I hope the Opel wheels don't suffer the Ebay effect because of your tip) and the Minilite-style which is one of the best-looking alternatives, IMO. (Delia, Senna27, your cars look awesome!) Steve
  22. Steve73tii
    OK, I’m stuck with 3 early tii steel wheels with the full covers and one later steelie and I’m not sure whether to try and complete the set, go to factory alloys, or something else entirely. My parts man at the dealer quoted me $60 for the steel wheel, but I think he was looking at the non-tii rim in the MT catalog. Is the tii wheel still available? Or… will any other factory steel wheel fit over the tii calipers and fit the full hubcaps? Or… should I just order the factory alloys from Walloth U. Nesch? They’re less than half what most places are asking stateside, but after shipping it’s still going to be the better part of $1K, less center caps and lug nuts. I should mention I’m trying to stay close to stock and I don’t want to break the bank. The car is in my friend’s body shop and the motor is at Eric Kerman’s so until they’re back, I’m kind of obsessing over spare parts and details. I have a feeling I’m going to be pulling my hair out over the injection system a month from now, so any perspective would be appreciated. I guess talk of actual buying should go to email or maybe I’ll post a “WTB” once I get a better idea. Thanks, Steve
  23. Steve73tii
    Maybe a little off-topic, but does anyone know if the horsehair seat pads from any Beetle (Type 1) seats can be modified to fit in '02 factory seats? I ask because repro horsehair pads seem to be available in several styles for about 1/5th the price of '02 seat pads (and some of those you have to cut anyway). I don't know about the quality, but for 20-30 bucks...
  24. Steve73tii
    If I recall, there is a rubber buffer between the two parts of the shifter that is compressed when the circlip is in place. If you replace that or stick some kind of shim in there, the shifter should generally stay put and only turn under friction. It may not be completely immobile that way, but it's stock and I think drilling might be a headache, what with the ball shape of the inner piece and the chromed surfaces (at least on my shifter). Just my $.02.
  25. Steve73tii
    I don't post here much, but I lurk fairly often and I'm just now starting to warm up the redesigned site. We'll, maybe not to the logo, which reminds me of those typo-squatting "what you need, when you need it" sites... :-) Anyway, the search screen could use some cleaning up. I used the search probably 50 times before I realized the second text box is for "search by author". The "Keyword" and "Author" labels should be somewhere near their boxes so this is more apparent and the help text should be separated for legibility. Also, the "Forum search" button is kind of hidden down in the lower left. I usually just hit the enter key, but sometimes you might need to click the button... There are other nitpicks, so maybe I should just say the screen needs a general going-over. I don't mean to sound all negative. The search works fine, once you figure out the little quirks. I see a lot of the issues are being resolved -- keep up the good work! Steve
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