Redtail

damn that guy in the ad is all

"yeah i'm da pimp"

yeah it's a bit heavy, probably about 30 or 40 pounds for the whole deal. This is my rainy day car so i'm much more concerned about comfort than weight. I never liked the stock boards, too flimsy for me. It's three pieces - one for the front part of the trunk and two in the back. You can see the seams if you look hard.

And don't worry about it pinching any wires, I spent a long time on the cuts so everything would fit up as it should.

The choke conversion was a HELP! one from Kragen (or Big Wheel Rossi to those in the midwest.) It was $10 compared to the weber conversion at about $50 so I figured it was worth a try. Fits pretty well actually but I still need to tweak it a bit. The carb is used too, so there might be some issue with the jets as well...

Not much - you can see the two holes in the second pic from the bottom.

There was no carpet on the shelf before, so holes with carpet + speakers = net improvement.

I'm sure as hell not going to cut my door panels though, I've learned that much at least!

nothing super exciting, but a good way to spend Easter for me.

Task #1 - electric to manual choke conversion. It sorta works, but not really. I'm going to have to fiddle with it some more this week.

Task #2 - replace rear shocks.

I think they were original Boge shocks on there. Totally blown.

Made in Western Germany - these must be freaking old. Is there any way to tell if they were original?

I don't think they're supposed to do that:

Task #3 - trunk floor

I cut a 1/2" ply floor for the trunk and covered it with automotive carpet. Not really very hard, but it took a while to get the cuts right. It fits super tight - I couldn't even get a piece of paper between the seams!

before:

After:

Task #4 - install 6x9 speakers in the parcel shelf

No radio in the car, but i'll put a deck in soon. I used the same carpet to finish off the shelf, and cut the holes with a dremel. It was loud.

before:

after:

Next up is front shocks, and a complete re-bush of the whole front end. then an alignment and radio install.

that is all.

great article, but that guy needs to clean his engine bay!

great article, but that guy needs to clean his engine bay!

yeah dude sell the camaro. classic is the way to go for sure!

The roadster's been super reliable lately. I just changed out the shocks, and boy did it make a huge differnece. Gave me the motivation to get that done on the BMW too. Then there's just a bunch of little things to fix on the 2002, and the roadster could always use a nice new top. Just $$$ and time man i'll get to it all.

we should get together for a brew one of these days...

MIKE!!

how'd ya know it was me man?

Haven't heard about bimmerfest, but i'm always up for a funrun and a show or somethin. What are the dates on this event?

How's your ride comin along?

no kidding.

you bought a classic car you don't know how to work on and it breaks down?

i'm shocked.

shocked and awed i tells ya!

thanks for the help guys. Looks like i'll put on the HDs then start in on all the bushings! should make quite the difference.

Hi all,

My 73 corners flat most of the time, but occasionally when rounding a sharp curve the car will suddenly "dive" or severely oversteer to the inside of the curve. It feels like the rear wheels are twisting to the outside of the corner, causing the nose of the car to dive in.

I know all my shocks are bad - I have a set of Bilstein HDs coming next week. My question is which bushings are the likely culprits? The big trailing arm bushings or the diff/subframe mounts? Could it just be severely worn shocks causing the problems?

The car is my daily driver, but i plan to go with poly replacement bushings anyway. Comments?

The 90-93 Acura Integra front seats fit pretty easily. I had a 91 integra and i can vouch for their comfort.

what is the oldest year you can run a carfax on?

could you get information about the 02?

I can vouch the ebay stuff doesn't fit for crap. OEM seals are only 20 bucks more when you include shipping anyway. worth the cash for sure

My vac advance line is currently connected to the manifold, but i think it pulls too much vacuum there.

Hey thanks guys - I'll try the port on the carb. Should I just plug all the other vacuum lines? I don't think there is anything I need them for other than the advance.

Hey John - How's the silver 02? That's good news about the crane - def on my list for the future. here's a picture just for fun

I just finished removing all the smog crap from my '73, something a PO started around a decade ago. I'm wondering if there is any insight on how I should re-route my vacuum lines?

Most importantly, any ideas about where I should hook the vacuum advance from the dizzy? Would the manifold pull too much vacuum?

thanks,

-Zack

I recently installed a Weber 32/36 in my '73 and I'm having problems adjusting the linkage for a full throttle opening. What does the BMW book recommend?

not to sound like an old grump, but you should probably learn how to drive on a stock car before you start thinking about getting performance parts. my $0.02

living in S.F, I see about 5 2002s every day. There are 4 that regularly park within 3 square blocks of my house. But then the panhandle neighborhood is a haven for classic cars. I think it speaks well for the durability of the '02.

Volvo Amazons are also very common here. About 4 in this neighborhood...

I'll take a copy too

zacharyminick@gmail.com

thanks!

what if I just get a nice big funnel and use that? seems like it would be easier than making an aluminum plate to hold the bellows back...

seems as though everyone has this problem. That's somewhat of a comfort I guess. I try the 8 o'clock / half pump speed trick. I had been pulling the bellows back with one hand while pumping so I'll keep trying that. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon.

I'll pull my smog equipment off this weekend as therapy =)

I recently bought a '73 2002 and every time I try to fill it with gas about a gallon spills out onto the ground and my paint. I'm in California so I have to deal with the vapor recovery boots on pump handles.

I stick the handle in to fill up like normal and it will automatically shut off after about 5 seconds so I need to keep pumping the handle. And no matter what angle I hold the handle at fuel splashes back out all over the place. Am I missing something obvious here????

my '02 came without a sterio or any speakers anywhere - where were the stock speakers mounted? I too am planning to sink 6.5" rounds into (an old) center console and leave the doors uncut. probably do 6x9 in boxes in the back, but I'm tempted to cut the parcel shelf. I hate those big ugly boxes...