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gastephens

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Everything posted by gastephens

  1. gastephens
    Dropping the rear ride height means changing spring perch rubbers (very small change) or springs (large change). And if the ride height was level, it will turn your car into a tail-dragger. To change rear ride height and keep it level, you have to drop the front too so you are talking springs all the way around and then the front camber can change so you might have more work to do. This can be a real rabbit hole. I know this because I just got out of it by installing camber adjusters on all 4 corners which involves welding on the back. BMW had to make the ride height so high on square tails to meet federal regulations that is screws everything up and without good adjustability you can't fix it. To bring it back to "normal" requires a lot of messing around if you want it to be right when you are done. Maybe fixed camber was the norm "back in the day" but going from a modern car with camber bolts back to the BMW just shows how far cars have come.
  2. gastephens
    I agree based on the fact that your rear camber is low. If you drop the rear ride height you get more camber. One thing I noticed is that your front cambers are .5 degree apart from each other. That is within spec but just barely. It will make the handling slightly different left to right. The one with less camber will understeer more. The only thing you can do about it is to make sure your front struts are exactly the same, same washers, same rubber spring seats, and same age bushings (not a problem since you have new control arms). IMO you want a bit more negative camber in the rear vs. the front of an '02. This is what I would go for, although it is very difficult to achieve without going to extreme measures like front and rear camber adjusters. These are the settings I like. Your preferences may vary. Normal street setup, .7 front and 1.2 degree rear. For a sporty street setup, 1.2, 1.7 For an aggressive street setup, 1.8, 2.3 For racing, 2.5, 3 I am pretty particular about my setups. I finally installed an Ireland fixed front camber plate and Ireland rear camber adjustments to get more front and less rear. I have cursed BMW many times for not having a fully adjustable alignment.
  3. gastephens
    I have towed my 02 in my 18' enclosed race trailer. Pulls fine with a 2003 Toyota Tundra as long as you have sway control and we not going across some steep mountains. 89 or 93 octane needed for uphill. I have an equilizer hitch which I highly recommend. I get 8-9 MPG driving around 70 MPH.
  4. gastephens
    when you install bed liner on a pickup truck bed you have to degrease and then scuff the metal to create a good bonding surface. I don't think there's any way you can get all of the grease and grime off the underside of your car and prep the surface to accept the bed liner. besides it would really be heavy. clean it, por it, then apply eastwood undercarriage paint and pop a cold one.
  5. gastephens
    No, we have never thought of posting car pictures here. Nice car.
  6. gastephens
    +1 5 goes into 32 for less than $2500.
  7. gastephens
    4 14" bottlecap wheels, all usable and presentable, one slightly bent, $50 all 4 4 13" early style steel wheels (suitable for hubcaps), $25 all 4 4 early style hubcaps with roundels, good condition, $20 ea, $75 for set original air cleaner assembly, $10 Sold -- M10 crank, $10 hood latch rod assembly in excellent condition, $5 right rear non-tii control arm, good condition, $20 2 late model '02 front bumper shocks, $10 ea beer and various grab box items (trim, etc.), free to first person who comes out! will ship small stuff. Glenn
  8. gastephens
    I think it is great that you are taking care of an old friend.
  9. gastephens
    HSR will let you run a Miata and SVRA has a class for replica stock cars so they will take pretty much anything. VARAC has a class for later cars. VDCA and VRG are a bit more selective but with the bad economy they might take a later 02. Its getting hard to race a real vintage car any more.
  10. gastephens
    I can't speak to value but I can say that the car would be vintage legal in most places on the east coast. It would not be competitive however. If you just want to dip your toe into vintage racing this is a way to do it. There are some really fast 2002s that are highly lightened and modified. I too question the cage design. To be fast the cage must be designed to stiffen the car as well as keep you safe. This one seems like it was a bit of an afterthought. To run up front you will need at least 200hp and maybe as much as 225hp. You wont get that with a 38 downdraft. This car is a ticket to the show but you will be sitting in the cheap seats.
  11. gastephens
    I can't speak to value but I can say that the car would be vintage legal in most places on the east coast. It would not be competitive however. If you just want to dip your toe into vintage racing this is a way to do it. There are some really fast 2002s that are highly lightened and modified. I too question the cage design. To be fast the cage must be designed to stiffen the car as well as keep you safe. This one seems like it was a bit of an afterthought. To run up front you will need at least 200hp and maybe as much as 225hp. You wont get that with a 38 downdraft. This car is a ticket to the show but you will be sitting in the cheap seats.
  12. gastephens
    I have ST springs (they are a light green color) with Bilstein HDs. I think the ride is just about street perfect. Obviously there is a lot of personal preference to ride. More importantly, my wife thinks the ride is good, which tells you that they are not too firm. I also have Ireland large sway bars, all new rubber bushings and 14" wheels with 60 series tires so there is quite a bit of cush there.
  13. gastephens
    Good idea! Thanks.
  14. gastephens
    Mountain drive was a blast. Thanks to all for putting it on. It was great to see you Harry. You did pretty well keeping up with me in that lovely 6er.
  15. gastephens
    A tip for the helicoil insertion. The hard part is getting the junk out of the cylinder. Put the cylinder at top of travel. Insert rag soaked in oil to catch the shavings. Tape a straw to your shop vac to suck out the shavings. Then pull the rag and suck it again. Spin the engine with the plug out to eject the last few shavings.
  16. gastephens
    On-board video from vintage car cannonball in a 2002. 6 hours compressed to a few minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_b_nyzUyI
  17. gastephens
    I would not recommend running H4s on stock wiring. I tried it and it fried my switch. Then I bought an expensive Susquehanna harness and all was good. Go cheap and you'll be dancin' in the dark.
  18. gastephens
    Sorry, can't caravan. I am leaving early on Thursday so I can stop at a shop in Asheville to see how my Healey is coming along.
  19. gastephens
    I'm happy for you but let's just be friends.
  20. gastephens
    From today stops after starting
  21. gastephens
    Would not be the first time WU sent out stuff that did not fit. Call them.
  22. gastephens
    You have overlaid the old and new panel to ensure they are the same size? You should have started at the top but that should not be an issue. Will the vinyl stretch any more? You definitely need some overlap at the top and bottom so they are unusable as shown. If you cut down the door panel it will look wrong on the door. If the inner panels old and new match then the vinyl is too small and you should contact the vendor.
  23. gastephens
    Obviously I am not up on CSL prices! I found the picture link also. Any way you cut it that is a gorgeous car. It looks like it was beat to hell before the last resto. Who would do that to such a beautiful car? Maybe it was in an accident or some other disaster.
  24. gastephens
    Damn I want that car. But this is the internet so I have a few snarks: How about a few more pictures? If it is so wonderful, show it off. After a $100k restoration, how bad could a car fall into disrepair from daily driving to need ANOTHER $100k restoration? Is it worth more or less with all the mods? Wouldn't you be better off buying a real restored CSL?
  25. gastephens
    I vote for keeping the mechanical clutch. You will need to fabricate a linkage but that it not terrible if you can weld and shape some steel brackets.
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