1976 that was literally in a barn since 1998. Immaculate surface rust and some light cancer. totally tolerable, and makes for a fun and whacky 2002 to tool around in.
I have a bunch of stuff in the garage that will be added over top of the gorgeous finish to really make it pop.
chrome bumpers
restoredish late steelies with beauty rings and center caps, and pirelli skinnys.
to make it go, I have my old 32/236. to make it stop, I have some nice used brake parts.
to make it look a bit better, I have my old suspension and billy sports.
stay tuned!
Got some work done over the last couple weeks.
Lowered on my old suspension
New brake and clutch master, clutch slave, rear wheel cylinders, calipers, rotors, pads, etc.
Got it running in the first couple days. Swapped in my old 32/36, new plugs and a fuel pump.
Buffed out some paint and added an accessory..
Today I got it all bled and drove the thing..! Its blowing steam, so we all know whats next..
http://vid283.photobucket.com/albums/kk299/jasongipson/E55144E2-BDE3-4E8A-B4F6-9439291878B1.mp4
Well, the snob made it to our 2016 RGB spring drive! As the lead car, none the less!
Well, we made there and back in one piece.. and so did the car.. ! Vintage 2016 is in the record books as one of the best times we have had with friends and their old BMWs. The RGB group from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee was represented by over thirty individuals! Has to be record attendance from a single regional group..?! In the end.... I'm a little car'd out.
Here is the list of what it took to make a car that hadn't been on the road since 1998 roadworthy for such an adventure..
I picked it up on 3/21/16 with flat tires and a frozen wheel. Trailered it home from Cleveland.. Over the next thirty days we did a long list of work..
New tii rear wheel cylinders, brake hardware and shoes.
New braided lines
New long line to the rear
New front rotors, rebuilt calipers, wheel bearings, Hard lines, braided lines, pads and hardware.
New brake master
New clutch master and slave cylinders
Used stock wheels with P400s
Full desmog
Removed the AC compressor
New/used ignition system
New alternator
Used Rad with new hoses, water pump and fan.
Head swap with 284 cam and used header
New fuel pump
Swapped in a my old 32/36 and later, on 5/17 swapped in the 320i water neck and Dellorto 40 DHLA-H
Full suspension with Eibach springs and Billy Sports
Chrome bumpers hap haphazardly swapped in.
Reupholstered the interior with blankets, added a sweet 1 ball shift knob from a parts car I had years ago, and installed the 400mm Petri steering wheel.
Replaced a bad right front turn signal
Rewired the rear of the car where the PO started to mess on it
Plugged the return line at the sender as it was dumping fuel somewhere under the car and fixed a very loose fitting fuel feed line at the sender by shrink tubing the metal tube and putting the original braided hose with the hard tube in it, back on over it all..
Changed the trans and diff oil
OH, and bolted on a bottle opener!
Drove it as the lead car on our group spring drive April 23rd, then waited patiently, till Vintage.
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Off we go!!!!!
Met up with the RGB crew around 2pm on I75, at the Tennessee border..
Snagged a parking spot between the Blunttech RV and Paul Wegweiser... The snob was an immediate hit!
....And by the time the party shut down Friday night, her paint was protected by a wall of empties!!
Saturday we came outside, all squinty-eyed, to the fence-o-empties having been removed by the hotel crew, (thank goodness), and off we went on the 'direct' route to Hot Springs.. I didn't want to press our luck, we still had to get 6 hours home!
We stopped at the random coffee shop along 25... loved that place.
Day of the show, I came back to find someone had installed a bonus catch-can.. John Harvey.. such a giving fellow. I like him.
Made it home around 4:30pm Sunday. The car got us home is six hours with stops. Not horrible. Average of 65 MPH. She held 75-85 all the way home. It developed a high rpm bog at toe in, off of cruise speed...and it would clear if I throttled hard..I filed the points and added a touch more advance, and it fixed.
All in all, she did wonderfully, And while it wasn't what I had hoped for, in regards to the red car being at the 100th Anniversary of BMW, I couldn't have asked for more from this little old BMW. She didn't let us down!
Well, as I continue to fester in the L that is a botched body work and paint situation.. my red car, a passionate project and love affair that kept me sane during years of underemployment by giving me a tangible product at the end of my days, I try to come to grips with the fact that decisions beyond my control basically have reduced it to a parts car... a very expensive and bloated parts car.. Shell in one business, motor in another, parts in two locations being stored ... Its been a year of WTF! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??!??!? and ripping my hair out. I'm kind of numb at this point, and see no solution. But one will surface, I presume.
But alas, I keep myself occupied by driving the snot out of, and improving the schnob. Its been my buddy and surrogate child. We have had great fun.. But aside from a deep dive into the motor, I think I am done with the enhancements, as I don't want to spend any real money for parts that I didn't already have (as it has been, up to this point)... its been a rewarding time building a looker on the cheap, something that speaks more to the grass roots/throwback/survivor mentality rather than the shiny and renewed/spendy path we all inevitably suffer from.
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