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Mark92131

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  1. Mark92131

    Fresh Nevada Paint

    By Mark92131,


    Fresh Nevada Paint
    This car was delivered to Classic Auto Body and Collision in Ramona, CA on May 27, 2020.  I got it back yesterday on my birthday, November 17th, 2021, almost 18 months later.  Carlos the owner told me it was probably the last 2002 he would work on.  He was painted numerous cars for Bill Holmes at Bavarian Rennsport, he painted my Mintgrun 75, but will now concentrate on insurance work which is significantly more profitable.  Originally, we negotiated $4800 for a complete paint job with some minor rust repair (there was rust in the front valance under the battery and under the rear side windows).  This was a little more than the Mintgrun paint job, but that one didn't include the trunk, interior, underside or engine bay.
     
    When we started, there was another BMW 2002 in front of me in the queue and that delayed the body work on my car.  It was a Tii and required tons of metal work which took months to complete.  Eventually that Tii's owner decided to paint his car elsewhere, so I was next, right?  Wrong, the Pandemic was in full tilt and my car sat languishing under a tarp in the yard.  Even after the Covid-19 case load numbers improved, Carlos couldn't find anyone that wanted to sand primer and weld metal for a living, thanks Biden!
     
    When things returned to some semblance of business as usual, my car moved from the yard to the garage and the body work started.  Once the car was is primer, it was time to finalize on the color.  This was the most difficult part of the process, what color should I pick now that a full paint job provided the freedom to change to any color I wanted.  Part of the decision was based on the interior color, (Tobacco), which isn't as universal as Black, but not as limiting as Marine Blue.  So I had Carlos spray out samples in the following colors (E21 Reseda Green, E21 Opal Green Metallic, Baikal, Florida, Turkis, Derby and Nevada)  The first five paint codes were available in PPG, Derby and Nevada however, were only available in Glasurit.  Of course the $4800 price was for PPG paint, so sourcing Nevada and Derby, if picked, was going to be on my dime.  It was close, but I decided to go with the original color of the car, Nevada, to give myself some wiggle room on a later decision for going the restored original look, or full resto-mod.  Of course, Glasurit had just introduced some new water-based paint lines (Glasurit 90 Line) that were less expensive and offered the Derby paint code, but not Nevada.  Nevada was only offered in their most expensive paint (Glasurit 22 Line) which ran about $1500 with Activator and Reducer for the 1.5 Gallons Carlos needed to paint the entire car.  Remember the guy that had the Tii in front of my car?  Apparently, when he pulled his car from the shop, he left a gallon of 3M Dynapro undercoating that Carlos used on my car as a credit (+ $200) for not having to buy the PPG paint.  So total cost was $4800 (Less $200 + $100 Undercoating) + $1500 in Glasurit paint, activator and reducer, so $6000 all in.
     
    I must admit, the Glasurit 22 Line looks great, like it was dipped.  The paint has that slight hint of olive undertone that really sold me on this color.  I am really happy with the result.  It took more time than I ever imagined, but I am smitten to have it back in the garage and excited to get farther down the road to restoration.
     
    Mark92131











  2. Mark92131

    DIY Yellow Chromate Zinc Plating

    By Mark92131,


    DIY Yellow Chromate Zinc Plating
    I promised some details on my attempts to do my own Zinc Plating, figuring "How hard could it be?".  Well, if you have oodles of time like I do, (recently retired), it can be a fun and satisfying part of your restoration journey.  The hardest part is ordering all the supplies and pieces you will need to get the results you want.  I learned some things that should save you time and money if you decide that this process is for you.
     
    Supplies
    There is a laundry list of things you will need to secure before you are ready to plate.  I will provide links to some of the items I purchased, but feel free to shop for better pricing.
     
    DC Power Supply, I ordered mine on Amazon, no longer available, but there are comparable ones for around $50.00 Crock Pot, I ordered one to heat my degreaser before the Zinc bath, but found that cold degreaser works just as well.  This crockpot was 1.5 quart and not appropriate for large parts.  If your wife has a bigger one, buy her a new one and use her old one. Zinc Anodes, I bought these zinc sheets off of Amazon and cut them to size.  Lots of options on Amazon. Timer, You can use your Iphone, or buy one of these.  I found that most of the plating process, except for the Zinc bath is under 30 seconds, so one thousand one, one thousand two works good. Drying Hangers, I have some low steel racks in the garage, so I used these hooks to hang plated parts for drying on the underside of the racks.  You just need space to hang your parts while they dry. Copper Wire, You need lots of wire to connect your parts to the Negative side of your power supply.  I use 14 Gauge the most, easy to bend, fits into small holes. Zinc Sulfate Monohydrate, adds Zinc to the Zinc bath, speeds up the process of activating your bath. Disposable Gloves, keeps the oil on your fingers off of your parts. Fish Tank Pump, I run a cheap Amazon Fish Tank pump in my Zinc Bath to keep the solution flowing over the part. Distilled Water, you can't have enough distilled water.  Buy 6 gallons to get started. Distilled White Vinegar, you need a 1/2 gallon, found in most grocery stores Epsom Salts, I bought some at WalMart, you will need at least 16 Oz. Karo Lite Corn Syrup, found in most grocery stores, you will need at least 1/2 cup. Caswell Zinc Brightener Additive, this makes your Yellow Chromate pop. Caswell Yellow Chromate, you can get other colors, but Yellow works great, 4 Oz makes 4 Gallons Buckets, I bought 2 gallon buckets with lids, you will need a minimum of 5. Muriatic Acid, you don't need a lot, you'll need a 5% solution for etching the fresh zinc part and a bath of full strength for removing the zinc from old parts. I got mine at Home Depot. Degreaser, you need to degrease your parts before plating. Spray Bottles, I use distilled water in spray bottles to eliminate the need for rinse buckets. Tupperware, I used several sizes to degrease and acid strip parts prior to plating. Copper pipe, I bought a piece of 1/2 inch copper pipe at Home Depot, cut it long enough to stretch over the 2 gallon bucket and flattened the ends with a hammer. Bench Grinder with Wire Wheel, I had a cheep 6 inch Harbor Freight Bench Grinder and bought a wire wheel for it. Media Blaster, I bought the Harbor Freight freestanding cabinet during one of their sales, they have a portable one that is pretty reasonable.  
    Preparing the Zinc Bath
    Take one of your 2 Gallon buckets and fill it with 1 gallon of distilled water and a half gallon of distilled white vinegar.  Slowly add 1.5 cups of Epsom Salt while stirring until completely dissolved, (you can add more Epsom Salt as long as it dissolves completely).  Slowly add 1/2 cup of Zinc Sulfate Monohydrate while stirring until completely dissolved.  Add 1/2 cup of Karo Corn Syrup and 2 teaspoons of Caswell Zinc Brightener and stir.  You can drop a piece of Zinc in the bottom of the bath and wait a few days until the vinegar dissolves the Zinc into the solution or you can speed up the process by taking a sheet of Zinc, securing it to the inside of the bucket (I cut a 1/2 strip on the side of the sheet with a 1/2 inch remaining on the cut and folded the strip to create a hook over the lip of the bucket).  Attach the Positive and Negative leads from the power supply to the Zinc sheet and immerse it in the bath making sure the power supply leads are above the water line.  Turn on the power supply, dial in 2 Volts, you should see bubbles coming off the Zinc sheet as Zinc molecules are released into the solution.  You can run this until the entire sheet is dissolved.  Turn off the power supply, prepare a new Zinc anode sheet on one side of the bucket, and connect this Zinc sheet to the positive lead on your power supply.  Take the 1/2 inch copper pipe, place this across the top of the bucket and connect it to the negative lead on your power supply and you are now ready to plate.
     
    Preparing the Etching Bath
    Take a 2 Gallon bucket, fill it with 1.5 gallons of distilled water and slowly add 1.2 cups of Muriatic Acid for a 5% solution.  Take a felt pen and write 5% Muriatic Acid Solution on the Lid and Bucket.
     
    Preparing the Yellow Chromate Bath
    Take a 2 Gallon Bucket, fill it with 1.5 gallons of distilled water and add the appropriate about of Caswell Yellow Chromate concentrate for 1.5 gallons.  Take a felt pen and write Yellow Chromate on the lid and bucket.
     
    Preparing the Yellow Chromate Rinse
    Take a 2 Gallon Bucket and fill it with 1.5 gallons of distilled water.  Take a felt pen and write Yellow Chromate Rinse on the lid and bucket.
     
    Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
    Like painting, plating is 90% preparation.  Here's the steps I use...
     
    Take the part that you want to plate and put it in glass bowl or tupperware container filled with enough Muriatic acid to cover the part.  This will strip any old Zinc coating from the part.  When the bubbling stops, carefully remove the part with a plastic spoon and place it in a strainer and rinse with water, blow dry with compressed air. Media blast the part to remove any rust, scale, etc. Use the wire wheel on the bench grinder to clean the part until is shines like new. Take a 10in piece of 14 Gauge Copper Wire and twist it around the part so it makes a solid connection with the least amount of copper wire actually touching the part.  The copper wire prevents the Zinc from bonding with the part, so keep this in mind while securing the part with the wire.  Also consider how the part will drain, you will want solutions to flow off the part. Set the part aside until you have enough parts prepared to run a reasonable batch.  
    Let's Plate
    Take the parts you are going to plate in this batch and place them in a container of degreaser.  If you went the crockpot route, bring the degreaser up to temp and place the parts in the heated solution for 15 minutes before plating.  Instead of having a separate bucket for each rinse step, I use one bucket and a spray bottle filled with distilled water to rinse each part.  Take the first part out of the degreaser, hold it over the bucket and spray it clean using the spray bottle of distilled water.  Put the part in the Zinc Bath about 6 inches from the surface and wrap the end of the 14 Gauge wire around the 1/2 copper pipe, suspending it in the middle of the bucket under the solution.  Check to see if the positive lead is firmly on the Zinc anode plate and the negative lead is firmly on the copper pipe.  Plug in the fish tank pump and secure the discharge air hose so it doesn't hit the part or pop out of the bucket.  Turn on the power supply and set the Amps between 100ma to 1 Amp depending on the surface area of the part (80 - 150ma per Square Inch of surface area).  The Volts will be typically under 2 Volts at that amperage.  The key to this step is there is no set time for the plating process, you need to monitor your part carefully by pulling it up and observing how the process it progressing.  Put on your gloves, if you see that the copper wire is preventing the plating process, move the wire and put it back in the solution.  What you want is an even, bright grey coating of Zinc without dark spots.  The longer you leave it in, the heavier the coating and this will lead to parts that are dull and rough.  The process happens quickly (usually under 2 minutes) so you need to check it constantly and put it out often to check when the part is fully coated and at the peak of bright grey.  When you reach this point, pull it out of the solution and turn off the power supply.  Unwrap the wire from the copper pipe, suspend it over the rinse bucket and spray it with distilled water.
     
    Next, open the 5% Muriatic Acid Etch bucket and immerse the part swirling back and forth for no more than 5 seconds.  Immediately pull it out and spray it over the rinse bucket with distilled water.  Put the lid back on the Muriatic Acid Etch Bucket, open the Yellow Chromate Bucket, immerse the part and s l o w l y swirl the part back and forth for a count of 15.  This leaves a "gel" coating of Yellow Chromate on the part, but it is fragile at this step and can be easily scratched or dispersed.  Pull it out on 15, it should be yellow, but not too dark yellow and luminous, not dull.  Carefully dip the piece in the Yellow Chromate Rinse bucket (1.5 Gallons of Distilled Water) for three dips and then hang it up to dry.  You can use a hair dryer or heat gun on low to speed the process of removing the excess water and drying the part.  Wait 24 hours before installing.
     
    Conclusions
    I have 2 boxes of Fasteners, nuts and bolt, brackets and assorted hardware from several 2002's I have parted.  If I could find a plater that I could ship this hardware in a flat rate box and get it back in yellow chromate at a reasonable price, I would do that.  But for this restoration, it was more the challenge of could I get some reasonable results at a reasonable cost if I was willing to take the time to learn something new.  Mission accomplished.  I hope this writeup helps someone fulfill their DIY dreams.
     
    Mark92131
     
     
     











  3. Mark92131

    Wrapping up the Rear Subframe

    By Mark92131,


    Rear Subframe
    The car is getting closer to the paint booth, so I got busy finishing up the rear subframe.  I powder coated both subframes in RAL 7043, a nice grey green that should look great against the fresh Nevada tinted undercoating.  I also powder coated the ST Sway bars a black metallic for some additional contrast.  Everything went back together relatively easily with the exception of the trailing arms that I inadvertently pressed the bushing in too much and caused some issues aligning the bolts.  With that sorted, they slid right in.  The ST Sway Bar in the rear also was a bit of a headache.  The outside bolt on the driver's side had some overspray from powder coating and I had to order a thread chaser from Amazon to get it cleaned up.  I went with Allen Socket Head Bolts to attach the sway bar brackets to match the front sway bar and bought new hardware for the connection of the sway bar to the trailing arms.
     
    I finally figured out my process for DIY yellow zinc coating, I zinc plated the ST spacers and original hardware to match the new stuff.  I'll cover my DIY Yellow Zinc plating setup in a future blog, very satisfying and easy to do.
     
    The last step was the brakes.  As you may remember, the 1600 had been updated to Tii brakes in front and 320i brakes in the rear.  Reassembly wasn't too bad until I realized that you must install the pin for the brake pads (closest to the front of the car), before you install the brake backing plate.  You cannot get that pin through the back of the backing plate after the backing plate has been installed, so off comes the nut, hub and four backing plate bolts to install the stupid pin.
     
    The 320i rear brakes are simpler that the OEM 2002 rear brakes, but still took some wrestling to get everything lined up and installed correctly.  I cleaned up the original brake hard lines and used a set of BMW NOS rubber lines I had in stock for the rears.  Brake lines, wheel cylinders, brake backing plates, sway bar brackets torqued to spec, the rest I'll torque with the subframe in the car.  Now sitting in my office waiting for my car to return.
     
    More to come!
     
    Mark92131






  4. Mark92131
    This car has had more carb upgrades than all of the other 12 BMW 2002's I have owned.  We started with the original 1 barrel Solex, to a horrible Weber 34 ICH, to a Weber 36/32, to a Weber 38/38, to a Weber 45 DCOE 152 and finally to a Weber 45 DCOE 152G.  During the final upgrade to the 152G, I decided that the cable-based throttle control that came with the TEP Lynx package (https://www.racetep.com/bmw-m10-2002-320i-single-sidedraft-weber-kit.html) should be upgraded at the same time, so I started reading all the FAQ posts on the subject and reached out to a couple of FAQ members that had upgraded the throttle linkage on their Lynx manifold setup... Crickets!  So this was going to be an exercise in trial and error.
     
    I started with a Universal Single DCOE Linkage kit from Pierce Manifolds (https://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/99006.104.htm).  From the description, it looked like it had everything I would need to convert my cable throttle linkage to a top mount crossbar linkage.  After the package arrived, there was an immediate issue, the holes on the Lynx manifold are 3/8" - 16 pitch and the rod ends in the kit are 3/8" - 24 pitch, so they don't/won't screw in.  OK, easy fix, I just need an adapter stud with 3/8" - 16 on one end and 3/8" - 24 on the other.  I actually found a kit of 5 on Amazon, (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003QZG3H0/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), ordered them up along with new 3/8" - 24 female 5/16" rod ends from McMaster to match the rod in the kit.
     
    In my original setup, I fabricated a throttle return spring using the top mount linkage holes on the Lynx manifold.  Now that that area was being repurposed for the crossbar linkage, I needed another solution for the return spring and purchased DCOE EXTERNAL SPRING KIT LT5000 from Pierce Manifold and installed it on the new Weber 45 DCOE 152G.  When all the parts arrived, I assembled the new linkage and found that the lever connecting the stock throttle rod to the pedal box throttle linkage wasn't long enough to reach the rod end, so I used a piece of stock steel from home depot to extend the lever, (first photo).  Another issue was the rod in the kit was only 11" long, so the lever controlling the stock throttle rod was at the very end of the rod and the levers in the kit were not very robust, (flexible).  The result was very disappointing, too much flex, not enough throttle opening and not the smooth action I was expecting at the gas pedal.
     
    My first thought was upgrading the levers to the longer, more robust aluminum versions from Pierce Manifolds, so I ordered 2 of BILLET THROTTLE LEVER 3/8 SHAFT 32000, without realizing that these won't fit the 5/16" rod from the kit.  When they arrived and obviously didn't fit the rod, it was on to Plan B.  Let's just upgrade everything to 3/8", so I jumped on McMaster and ordered a 12" 3/8 Rod, 3/8" - 24 Female threaded 3/8" Rod Ends, and 3/8" Shaft Collars for my setup.  I also ordered a new 8mm Ball throttle lever for the DCOE, because the one from the kit had a stiff action.  If you were starting from scratch, these are the 8 parts I ordered.
     
    1. BILLET THROTTLE LEVER 3/8 SHAFT 32000 - $28.65 x 2
    https://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/32000.htm
     
    2. DCOE EXTERNAL SPRING KIT LT5000 - $32.24
    https://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/lt5000.htm
     
    3. DCOE Throttle Lever 45041.009 - $18.40
    https://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/45041.009.htm
     
    4. JPS adjustable rod 75500.100 - $22.50
    https://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/75500.100.htm
     
    5. Rotary Shaft, 1566 Carbon Steel, 3/8" Diameter, 12" Long 1346K11 - $7.58
    https://www.mcmaster.com/1346k11
     
    6. Ball Joint Rod End, 3/8"-24 Thread 60645K34 - $3.78 x 2
    https://www.mcmaster.com/60645k34
     
    7. Set Screw Shaft Collar for 3/8" Diameter, 303 Stainless Steel 6462K14 - $3.86 x 2
    https://www.mcmaster.com/6462k14
     
    8. Hard-to-Find Fastener 014973217150 Automotive Studs, 3/8-16 x 3/8-24 x 1-1/2 - $10.04
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003QZG3H0/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
     
    After receiving all the parts and assembling them (see pictures), the results didn't disappoint, the action at the gas pedal is instantaneous and snaps back perfectly.  No stretch or lag from the cable setup.  The billet lever to the pedal box throttle rod was still too short, so I extended it as before.  I treated myself to a pair of new air horns from Corsa Velocita  https://www.corsavelocita.com/store.  
     
    I hope this helps someone looking for the same upgrade.
     
     
    Mark92131




  5. Mark92131

    Sway Bar Installation

    By Mark92131,

    I purchased a set of front and rear sway bars from Ireland Engineering for the cab a while back but never got around to installing them.  Over the Christmas break I decided to pop them on the 1975 to eliminate some of the body roll on my 1975 BMW 2002.
     
    My experience was typical of most owners that have done this modification.  The rear was a pain in the ass.  I ended up sanding the urethane bushings down to get enough clearance to re-install the stock clamps.  Even with the sanding, getting the bolts started required using a longer bolt in one of the holes and "C" clamps to get everything lined up.  I ended up stripping 3 of the original bolts and needed a couple of trips to home depot to source new bolts.  This would be sooo much easier with the rear subframe out of the car, but I managed to get them in.  With the bar in and centered, I did notice that IE must have made a change to the linkage to the bar.  In some of the photos on the web of previous installations, the heim joint was bolted to the outside of the aluminum fixture connected to the bar.  On my linkage the heim joint was centered between the aluminum fixture.  When I installed the linkage though the support holes and tightened them up, they angled in towards the differential and not straight down as expected.  I am assuming that this is correct for the centered heim joint.
     
    The fronts were super easy and went in without a hitch.  The hardest part was removing the stock front sway bar and figuring out how to remove it from the suspension.  I set it for the stiffest setting, front hole and took it for a test drive, drives like it is on rails.
     
    Mark92131



  6. Mark92131
    So, in order to get my car finished, I needed to address the beltline trim issue... buy new or restore the original pieces.  I had the original set from the car and a spare set that I purchased earlier.  Between the two sets, I had enough pieces for a relatively ding-free complete set, but far from something that was shiny and new.  I looked into having King of Trim restoring these pieces, but at $60 per piece, $600 seemed pretty steep for used trim.  I looked into buying new and the best deal I could find was around $900 from Wallothnesch after shipping.  There was also the issue with the new trim curved pieces not fitting properly for the hood and trunk.  So here's what I did.
     
    I ordered new trim from Wallothnesch for all the straight pieces for about $315 shipped DHL, (the 2 curves pieces for the hood are about $200 each) and decided to restore the curved pieces for the trunk and hood myself.  So I did a lot of research on stripping the anodized coating off of aluminum and came up with a plan.  First off, I needed something to immerse the long trim pieces in a bath of Caustic Soda (Drain Cleaner)... my solution, a $9.00 inflatable kiddie pool.  I positioned the pool outside my house, half on the curb and half on the street to create a pocket for maximizing the depth of the water,  Fortunately, I have a storm drain right in front of the house to support emptying the pool after I was done.  I filled the pool with 8 Gallons of hot water and 2 cups of Drain Cleaner from Lowes to achieve an approximately 2.5% solution.  Even at 2.5%, this stuff will dissolve the skin off your bones in short order so be careful, rubber gloves, eye protection, etc.
     
    I popped in all my trim and watched it bubble for 30 minutes.  After the 30 minutes were up, I dumped the water down the storm drain, rinsed the pieces with water, refilled the pool with clean water and poured in 8OZ of white vinegar to neutralize the Caustic Soda.  This was probably overkill, but I didn't want the Caustic Soda to continue to react with the now bare aluminum.  The trim was re-rinsed with water and left to dry in the sun.  The dry trim had a smooth dull white finish.  Now comes the fun part...
     
    I took each piece inside and polished them with Mothers  Mag and Aluminum Polish.  The trim will turn black as the polish does its job and then can be buffed to a shiny mirror finish, just like new.  I thought about spray painting the finished trim with Clear, but decided to just wax them to keep the aluminum from oxidizing over time.  That way, I can polish and re-wax as needed, without worrying about the clear coat going dull over time.
     
    I hope this helps someone else facing the same issues.
     
    Mark92131
     
     






  7. Mark92131
    So, a bitter sweet end to my 1975 BMW 2002 Mintgrun Lite Restoration has the car being shipped off to its new owner in Dix Hills, NY.  I really enjoyed the journey and although it is not practical to own 2 2002's with a 3 car garage, I look forward to finding another car to work on.  Just don't tell my wife!
     
    I hope the new owner enjoys this car as much as did and starts a new blog on his journey.
     
    Mark92131



  8. Mark92131
    So I received a huge box from Bridgewater BMW last week containing the now back in stock Rain Gutter Trim.  God knows how much it actually cost to ship because they only charged me $18 from CT to San Diego, CA.  The price with shipping was $199, but I think the car looks naked without the full compliment of trim, so money well spent.  Installation was challenging to say the least.  I started with the driver's side, removing the radio antenna mast so I would have room.  I used some silicon grease on the newly painted gutter and after reading multiple posts on this process, started at the curved "A" portion.  This didn't work well for me, the bends down the "A" pillar and down the back of the car seemed radical with the curved portion attached.  What did finally work was starting at the back of the car and working forward to the curved section, carefully positioning the trim so it matched the curve at the "A" pillar.  The trim at the rear sticks out about a half an inch from the end of the gutter when the curve is lined up correctly.  Once the trim is correctly positioned on the "A" pillar curve, it can be rolled and forced on to the gutter as it goes down the "A" pillar.  Both the hood and door need to be open to have enough room to get the trim pushed down on the gutter.  I did notice that as the gutter moves below the level of the hood, it turns in slightly towards the "A" pillar and hook the end of the trim, holding it securely. After doing the driver's side, the passenger side was a snap. I am still debating if I need to buy a tool to pinch the trim on the gutter for a tighter fit, but I think it looks so much better than the naked look.
     
    Thanks,
     
     
    Mark92131

  9. Mark92131
    While I was installing my sway bars, I noticed that the lower spring pads were installed improperly, (the notch in the lower pad wasn't lined up with the bump on the lower spring perch).  The flat part of the lower pad was riding on the spring perch bump and it was beginning to crack at that position.  Probably not the end of the world, but it just bothered me knowing that the springs weren't installed properly.  After a few days of stewing, I decided that I would feel better if I fixed this small issue.  Really, how hard could it be, unbolt the lower shock bushing, drop the trailing arm, spin the lower shock pad into position and repeat for the other side.
     
    After getting the rear up on jack stands, I started with the passenger side first, removing the wheel for better access.  Supporting the trailing arm with the floor jack I removed the lower shock nut and gave the shock a few bumps to move it off its mounting spindle.  This is where things went sideways.  Instead of the shock coming off in one piece, the metal bushing stayed on the mounting spindle and the shock and the rubber bushing popped off.  OK, that's not good, I'll need to fix that later.  Now that the shock was off, I slowly dropped the trailing arm with the floor jack to free up the spring.  Apparently, the ST rear springs are not significantly shorter than stock, so I break out the spring compressor to free them off the pads.  After some serious sweaty wrangling, I managed to spin the lower and upper pads to their proper positions while keeping the spring ends in their appropriate notches on the pads.  OK, now how do I get the metal bushing back in the rubber bushing on the lower shock mount?  I tried every trick I could think off, liquid soap, c-clamps, installing the metal bushing on the mounting spindle and trying to force the rubber bushing over it).  The last "trick" actually compounded the problem by popping the rubber bushing out of the shock.  Now what?
     
    After a few deep breaths and some quiet thoughts about how much I love these cars, I went to the trunk and removed the top nut holding the shock to remove it (after finding an allen wrench to fit the top of the shock shaft).  With the shock removed, I used a fender washer and my vice to press the rubber bushing back into the shock.  Then I used a long bolt, nut and that fender washer to press the metal bushing back into the rubber bushing.  I cleaned up the "Billy" which was almost new and re-installed it on the car.  I repeated the same process on the other side, but was very careful not to repeat the metal bushing removal by loosening up the top nut on the shock to give it some freedom to move.  I ended up just removing the shock completely to clean it up before re-installing.  My 20 minute quick fix turned into 6 hours of sweaty struggle.
     
    I only have a few more things to complete and I will call this one done.  My plans going forward are unclear.  This car could be a candidate for my S14 swap or it could go on the block to buy my neighbor's 75 Polaris car for the S14 swap.  Next up, 123 Ignition for the Cabriolet.
     
    Thanks,
     
     
    Mark92131


  10. Mark92131

    No More Whining!

    By Mark92131,

    The howling from the differential's pinion on deceleration was ruining the driving experience for me, so I decided to address this issue over the Thanksgiving holidays.  I found a used open 3.64 differential on Craigslist from a gentleman in Chula Vista for $100.  He had two, but one was missing the output flanges, so I elected to take the complete one for my car.  After a can of engine degreaser and some vigorous scraping, I was able to get most of the gunk off of it to expose the rusty housing.  This one was an early unit (bolts securing the output flanges), so I would need to make some modifications before bolting it to the stock CV joints.  The flanges on the early units are not threaded, so I needed longer hex bolts and nuts to secure the inner CV joints to the output flanges on this differential.  A quick trip to Marshall had everything I needed.  This differential also was sporting the rear cover from a 320i, so I am assuming that it was swapped out for an LSD unit sometime in the past, and I could just swap the rear cover from the whiney one.  After masking off the output flanges and Input flange, I gave it a nice coat of etching primer and 2 coats of gloss black paint.
     
    Removing the Old Unit
    My Ansa Sport exhaust was shot, so took a sawzall and cut it off to give me some extra room.  I unbolted the resonator at the down pipe and pulled it out as well.  Removing the old differential was more work than I anticipated, mainly because I jumped the gun and unbolted the inner CV joints first.  In hindsight, I should have left the CV joints attached and unbolted the input flange and the driveshaft first.  Once the CV Joints were unbolted, I couldn't use the transmission and emergency brake to lock the driveshaft to remove the four 17mm nuts from the input flange.  There isn't enough room to get a socket on these nuts and the box end wrench wasn't long enough to get enough leverage to break them free.  I ended up buying a set of long handle box end wrenches from Harbour Freight and wedging a pry bar under the input flange to restrict it from turning while I broke the nuts free.  Once the driveshaft was uncoupled, the rest was straight forward, 4 bolts securing the differential to the rear subframe and 2 nuts securing the rear cover to the differential hanger.   I drained the gear oil and with some gentle wrangling it dropped out with support from my floor jack.
     
    Installing the New Unit
    I pulled the rear cover from the old unit, cleaned it up and gave both surfaces a thin coating of RTV.  I placed a new gasket and bolted the 2002 rear cover on finger tight and let the RTV set for an hour before torquing to spec.  After it was cured, I filled up differential was new gear oil and torqued the fill and drain nuts to spec.  I spent this downtime cleaning up the rear subframe, CV joints, differential cradle and other areas covered in muck.  I used the floor jack to get the new unit off of the floor and then angled the front by hand to ease it into the differential cradle.  With some wrangling, I managed to move it forward enough to clear the differential hanger in the rear and attach the two nuts on the differential hanger to hold the differential's rear cover.  I left these nuts finger tight in order to line up the 4 bolts securing the differential to the subframe and the input flange to the driveshaft.  Once I had the 4 bolts securing the differential to the rear subframe in place, I used the longer hex bolts and nuts to attach the inner CV joints to the differential's output flanges.  With the CV Joints attached, it was easy to lock the driveshaft in place using the transmission and emergency brake so I could torque the 4 bolts holding the driveshaft to the input flange.  Once the driveshaft was secured, I torqued the remaining nuts to specification.
     
    New Exhaust
    Fortunately, I had a couple of used stock resonators in my parts stash, so I took the least rusty one and gave it a nice coat of grey primer to clean it up a bit.  After some searching, I decided to order a stock Ansa center exit for a replacement to the fake Ansa Sport I removed.  It arrived sans box, wrapped in plastic, with the mounting tabs badly bent.  Some trial and error was needed to bend them back to their original positions so they would line up with the stock mounting tabs.  I splurged for a new metal ring between the resonator and the down pipe and a new set of shorter nuts and bolts.  I attached the resonator to the exhaust down pipe, but left the bolts loose so I could adjust the resonator's clearance over the subframe and the connection at the muffler.  I attached the rubber exhaust hanger to the rear mount on the body, then inserted the mounting tab on the rear of the muffler into it.  This one mounting point for the muffler gave me some room to slip the front muffler pipe onto the connection to the resonator.  Once everything was connected, I slipped the rubber exhaust hanger on the muffler's mounting hook and then slid the top portion onto the front exhaust mount on the body.  I used a 1 7/8 exhaust bracket to secure the muffler to the resonator and used the floor jack to hold the resonator/muffler connection to clear the subframe and level out the muffler between the gas tank and the spare tire well.  Once everything was clear and level, I tightened up all the nuts and removed the floor jack, added the new chrome tip and the job was done.
     
    I took the car out for a test drive, no more whine and the exhaust note is very pleasing.  Next up, instrument panel LED lamp replacement and IE sway bars...
     
    Thanks,
     
    Mark92131
     
     






  11. Mark92131

    New Shoes...

    By Mark92131,

    The scope creep continues on the 1975.  I sold some parts from my stash and had a tidy sum in my Paypal account so I splurged on a set of Rota RB's and some new Toyo 195-50-15 Extensa HP tires from atw-tires on eBay.  After they arrived, I test fit the rims and then took them down to Performance Tires for mounting and balancing.  All in, about $800.  I had a new set of lug nuts in my stash that I bought from IE a couple years back, so I used them for this installation.  My original inspiration for this build was a car recently restored by CoupeKing.  It featured beautiful Mintgrun paint, deletion of the side marker lights and knee trim, tucked bumpers and a custom interior, (first picture).  I left mine a little more stock.  It is sitting a little high in front but we are getting close to the look I want.
     
    Next up, rear seat restoration and gutter trim installation.
     
    Mark92131


  12. Mark92131

    Seats are in...

    By Mark92131,

    After pulling the horrible stock seats, the original carpet didn't look all that bad, a little faded on the transmission hump, but the rest was pretty decent.  So instead of tearing it all out, I bought a can of Woollite carpet cleaner and went to work.  The result was more than acceptable, so in go the seats.  I pulled off the original 320i seat sliders and bolted on the 2002 sliders from my old seats.  One of the inner sliders on the driver's side was cracked in half, but after pricing new ($260 ea.) and unable to find used, I ended up re-using the old one.  One of the clips that holds the mounting cage nut was missing and one of the cage nuts was stripped, so I just used M6 bolts and nuts on the passenger side inner rail to secure the seat.
     
    My only complaint was the driver's seat is slightly off center to the steering wheel and my butt is too wide for maximum comfort.  Apparently, 320i Recaro seats are made for race car drivers and jockeys, not larger, middle-age men.  But they look great and I'm sure the new, slender owner will love them.
     
    Thanks,
     
     
    Mark92131
     
     


  13. Mark92131

    Some more Bling...

    By Mark92131,

    The stock steering wheel on the 75 was never one of my favorites, so I pulled out one of my BMW 320IS Sport Steering Wheels from my stash of parts and decided to do the upgrade.  I have done this conversion a couple of times, but refreshed my memory with the excellent write-up on the BayArea02 site.  I decided not to modify (trim) the bottom of the plastic shroud and went with the 1/8 inch spacer instead.  My local home depot didn't have any 1/8 inch aluminum stock, so I used a brass rod and a metric socket as a mandrel to shape a round spacer.  For the horn button, I stripped out the original horn plunger from the stock steering wheel, used a Micrometer to measure the diameter and found a drill bit to match the size.  I drilled out one of the holes in the 320IS steering wheel, threaded the horn plunger leads through the widened hole and press fit the horn button.  I installed the spacer, replaced the washer and nut holding the steering wheel and torqued to spec.  The original horn plunger has 4 terminals, I used electrical tape on 3 of them to prevent them from shorting out and the last remaining one was connected to the 320IS Horn button.  I snapped the Horn button in place, turned the key and was greeted with a shrill beep we in pressed the horn button, job done!
     
    Before and After Pictures...
     
     


  14. Mark92131
    During the Facetime inspection of the car pre-purchase, I did have the owner pull the trunk boards to inspect the tank and spare tire well and everything looked good over the phone.  Now that the car was back, I decided to take a look in person and clean up any issues.  Unfortunately, the carpet pad in the trunk runs under the rear battery brackets and makes it very difficult to remove the trunk boards.  The good news, the trunk boards are flawless.  I'm not sure if the 5 machine screws holding down the trunk board covering the gas tank are factory stock, but my Cab has them also in the same relative positions.
     
    After pulling up the gas tank side, I cleaned up the area, but was really impressed on how little cleaning was needed to highlight the Mintgrun paint.  The spare tire well was equally clean and tidy with the original Michelin tire intact and untouched.  Everything cleaned up nicely...
     
    Thanks,
     
     
    Mark92131
     
     
     





  15. Mark92131
    So while I search for used differential to replace the whiney one, I decided to continue the clean-up and refresh starting with the engine bay.  First thing, I popped off the dingy valve cover to replace it with one with a little more bling.  Wait a minute, why does this car (1975), have a single row timing chain?  Come to find out that the engine has been replaced with a factory rebuilt unit identified by Steve (Conserv) as a 1974/75 model, #0054, remanufactured in April of 1979, 1989, or 1999.  The valve train was very tidy and the cam lobes were perfect.  After buttoning up the new valve cover, I spent some time cleaning and polishing and installed a new set of factory stickers, including my own 1975 emission sticker.
     
    Now that the original matching numbers restoration is off the table, I may look at replacing the whole intake side with Lynx/45 DCOE to bling it up a bit.
     
    Thanks,
     
     
    Mark92131
     
     




  16. Mark92131

    Homecoming

    By Mark92131,

    Got the call yesterday from Bill Holmes that the car reassembly was complete and it was ready for pick-up.  Packed up the family and made the drive out to Ramona.  The car turned out great, nothing like new shiny trim on fresh new paint.  Bill wouldn't let me drive it off without letting him wash the dust off of it, (picture of Bill in action).  The drive home was spirited with a grin from ear to ear.  My next project is to sort out the Pinion bearing whine coming from the Differential.  I have a nice open short-neck differential that came out of the Cab when we replaced it with a E21 3.91 LSD and 5 speed swap.  Should be a simple exchange before tackling some of the interior projects.  Stay tuned...
     
    Thanks,
     
    Mark92131
     
     
     

  17. Mark92131
    It would be hard to install nice new seats and stare down at the tired original carpet, so I splurged and bought this World Upholstery Tan Carpet Kit from Captain Manly on the FAQ.  It arrived today and I think it will look good with the new seats.  When I get the car back from Bavarian Rennsport, I'll strip out the old carpet, remove the tar, lay down some FatMat and install it.  Hopefully, it isn't too different than Esty's Kit.  Thanks Captain Manly!  The scope creep continues...
     
    Thanks,
     
    Mark92131
     
     



  18. Mark92131
    As the reassembly continues at Bavarian Rennsport, I got a call from Bill that the driver's side window regulator was toast and this was holding up replacing the door cards.  Luckily, CoupeKing had exactly what I needed in his E-Bay store, and $100 later, I received a nice used one in the mail.  I drove up to Ramona today to drop it off and check on the progress.
     
    To my surprise, things are moving along nicely.  All of my nice new trim is on, gaskets installed, bumpers re-installed and tucked, seats (old) are in and things are looking nice.  We still need to install the rocker trim and find a source for the back-ordered gutter trim, but we are getting close to having me take it home for the final-final assembly (Recarro seats, 320iS Steering Wheel, Carpet Kit, Wheels and Tires, Etc.).  I was wondering why the steering wheel was off and apparently they were troubleshooting the left taillight not blinking.  I'm and betting on a bad flasher relay, but hopefully it won't be something expensive.  I took some pictures of the progress to share...
     
    Thanks,
     
     
    Mark
     
     








  19. Mark92131

    Bumper Refurbish

    By Mark92131,

    The car has been sitting inside at Bavarian Rennsport in Ramona for a couple of Months while Bill works on cleaning out some of the backlog.  The windows are in, front lights, grills, front turn signals, marker lights and seals replaced, but the bumpers needed some attention before re-installation.  I picked them up last Friday, brought them home and was planning on sanding off the annodized finish and re-polishing.  After cleaning them up, they were in remarkably good condition, so I waxed them and will be returning them for installation and a tuck job.
     
     

  20. Mark92131
    So, for people that are contemplating a "lite" restoration for their BMW 2002, I created a spreadsheet of the parts I needed after a repaint of my 1975 BMW 2002.  It is not a comprehensive list, but covers most of the items needed to re-install trim and seals after a windows out re-spray.  All in all, I spent about $2000.00 in parts including shipping and taxes.  The spreadsheet includes part #'s and sources after some extensive research on trying to find the best price on these items.  I hope you find it useful.  I also included some pictures of the re-assembly process as it slowly progresses.  Ironically, there was another 1976 Mintgrun BMW 2002 49 State Car in Bill's shop keeping mine company during the re-assembly process.
     
    Thanks,
     
    Mark92131
     
     
    75MintGrunBMW2002Parts.xlsx




  21. Mark92131
    So I made one more trek to Carlos' shop in Ramona to check out the corrected paint code for MintGrun. The car was out of paint and getting a final cut and buff. The sections that were complete (roof), had a very nice smooth shine in a color that was a very spot on match to the original paint color. We elected not to paint the trunk interior and blended the top of the engine compartment with the original paint on the sides. The paint in the trunk and the engine compartment blend well with the new fresh paint. It does look slightly lighter than the MintGrun paint on the CoupeKing restoration, but it could just be the photos.
    The car needs some serious clean-up after all the work performed. After cutting and buffing the paint, it's going back to Bavarian Rennsport to have its trim, glass and bumpers re-installed so I can drive it home to finish the interior and engine bay clean-up.
    I took some pictures of the car out of paint to share.
    Thanks,
    Mark92131
  22. Mark92131

    In search of seats...

    By Mark92131,

    The tan seats in the 75 are in horrible shape, torn covers, no foam and broken hinge covers, so I have been seeking replacements for as long as I have owned the car. My plan was to find a parts car that had better seats than mine and offer to swap them with mine for a couple hundred bucks. This strategy didn't work very well because most parts cars have seats worse than mine, they are too hard and expensive to ship, and apparently there are a lot of people in need of decent tan front seats. So after 6 months of looking, no viable options to replace my tired seats.
    I thought about getting them rebuilt and recovered, but spending that kind of money on stock 2002 seats seemed crazy and the price of Recaro and Scheel seats was out of my budget range. Maybe I should open my search to include BMW 320i part cars, because the stock front seats should fit my car and the tan seats are close to my interior color. After widening my search to include BMW 320i parts in the SoCal area, I did come up with a guy in San Gabriel that was parting out a BMW 1978 BMW 320i with spare parts from an Alpina BMW 323i. Apparently the stock seats were gone, but he had the newly recovered Recaro seats in TAN! I negotiated a price, gave the seller Christian a deposit to hold them, and drove 2 hours + between soccer games last Saturday to pick them up. I met Christian at the Arco Station on Del Mar Ave, in San Gabriel, paid him the balance and drove home with my treasure in the back of the Acura.
    I can't wait to get the car out of paint and get these installed.
    Thanks,
    Mark92131
  23. Mark92131
    So, last time, Carlos had sent me some photos of my car in the booth in the process of getting some fresh Mintgrun paint applied. Well, after comparing the photos to my expectations for Mintgrun, I thought the color looked off, too milky/minty. I called Carlos and expressed concerns and asked him if it was going to darken up with more coats. He assured me that the color would look different outside when complete and clear coated, but my gut couldn't shake the bad feeling that this was not going to be a happy ending. To make sure that Carlos and I were on the same page on my expectations for final color, I sent him a picture of the Mintgrun BMW 2002 on eBay that was restored by CoupeKing and offered to contact them for the paint code they used to produce that exact color. Carlos said he would take a look and let me know.
    A couple of days later, I was playing golf at Mt. Woodson, just outside of Ramona and after the round, thought I would take the short drive over to Carlos' shop to inspect the color first hand. To my surprise, my car was out of the booth, being sanded and prepped for paint. Apparently, after seeing the photo I sent over and comparing the my car's fresh paint, it was obvious that something was amiss. Carlos contacted the paint distributor and confirmed that there was a mix-up in the formula for the paint code and had sent the wrong color. So the timeline was set back a week, but in the end, the car should be wearing the proper Mintgrun color.
    I attached a few of the pictures I took as the car was getting stripped of the wrong color and prepped for the with right color, along with a photo of my expectations for how the car should look when complete.
    Thanks,
    Mark92131
  24. Mark92131

    Fresh Mintgrun Paint

    By Mark92131,

    The car is in the paint booth getting some fresh coats of Mintgrun paint sprayed on it. Carlos the painter managed to snap a few pictures in the middle of this process. I should get the car back from paint on Wednesday next week. After it cures, I'll start the process of replacing the trim and tucking the rear bumper to match the front.
    Thanks,
    Mark92131
  25. Mark92131

    In the paint shop

    By Mark92131,

    So, when I purchased this car and drove it down from Fresno, CA, I knew it was going to need some fresh paint to get it to a presentable state. The car had a slight encounter with a SUV that had damaged the trunk lid and driver's side tail light. It was also suffering from a rusty patch of missing paint on the roof, of unknown origin. Luckily, the former owner had a replacement pristine trunk lid from a Polaris car that was included in the sale.
    I had the car up at Bavarian Rennsport in Ramona for some work that I was too lazy to do myself, tie rods, center bearing, shifter bushings and Bill Holmes suggested I use his painter in Ramona to do the body work and respray. I had seen an example of his work on a Atlantik Blue car and it looked great, so I had Bill drive the car over to Carlos' shop after he was done with the mechanical repairs. I visited the paint shop a couple weeks ago to review the problem areas with Carlos and finalize pricing and the timeline. This is not your pristine painting operation by anyone's standards, but he seems to produce very quality work and he knows these cars. We settled on a price for a glass out repaint with all trim and bumpers removed, and damage repaired with a timeline of 4-6 weeks. Thanks to the dry Inland Empire weather, the only rust on the car was under the front and rear window rubber, behind some trim pieces and below the back seat rear windows.
    Attached are a few pictures I took as they were preparing the car for paint next week.
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