02for2

Just returned today from the Grand Prix - 2nd annual. My 2nd trip. My wife's co. (she's VP Sales & Mktg.), does the catering and concessions for the event, so I get to tag-along and get an all-access pass, incl. Hot Pit pass. But the park also allows people to bring pop-up canopies, coolers, lawn chairs, etc. My wife is there generally in meet & greet mode, so isn't deeply involved in the actual operation there, freeing her up to 'play' with me. There was a '74 2002A parked in the classic paddock belonging to wh400, in really nice shape! I left a note for John, but was so busy and had limited email access, so we never hooked up - . But his car is a real Beauty! There were a handful of BMW guys from Nashville at the event who owned 2002s, but drove their other beemers, and I sold a few LED conversion kits to them. We are longtime friends of the Andrettis (20+ yrs.) and the Sam Schmidt Motorsports crew, so we spent a lot of time in their paddocks. Last year, I assisted in pushing Dempsey Team Mazda's car up the hill when their cart's clutch failed, so 'McDreamy' aka Patrick Dempsey invited us to have lunch with them on Qualifying Day (I've never seen his TV show and only once saw him in a movie, which I believe was a plus!). Really super guys! Stayed in Trussville at the same hotel as the SS Motorsports crew and so shared car talk and adult beverages with them every night across the street at the applebees. The first night, they left early (12am) and I stayed for a nightcap. While nursing it, a guy sat beside me, saw my credentials and we started talking about the race, racing, and cars in general. He said he was with the Belardi Indy Lights team and introduced himself as Brian. The next night, he and the crew were there again and we chatted more. Brian said he'd played football at Univ. of Colorado Boulder in the late 80's. I'm a fair college football fan and remember UCB's 1990 Nat'l Championship win with a Brian Belardi playing defensive end. Sure enough, I was talking to the team owner - Brian Belardi! Brian was gracious enough to invite my wife and I to a team breakfast on Race Day. His #4 car had placed 4th in qualifying with their driver, Jorge Goncalvez who was driving with a broken right foot held together with surgical screws. Brian predicted they'd finish on the podium, but the race was chaotic and the #4 car went to the back of the field early. But, in the closing laps, Jorge managed to move up through the field to finish P4 - Belardi's best finish this year. Their other car, the #9 car, finished in 9th, so a good showing all round. Saturday, I was invited to a legends breakfast where I once again met Bobby Rahal, in fact we sat together. Bobby loves our LED taillights and I mentioned that mac now owned his original Tii. I knew I'd see Bobby, so jotted down mac's car's vin and had it in my wallet. Bobby confirmed this was indeed his old Tii and asked that I let mac know that if he wanted, Bobby would be interested in contact info (i'm thinking silver Sharpie autograph on the dash or such) - Bobby still lives in Columbus, OH. Mac, if you're reading this, and interested, send me your contact info via my email button and I'll forward it. Both Bobby and I are Porsche guys to an extent and we spoke at length about them, but the chat returned repeatedly to the 2002. Amazing experience! I shot no fewer than 4000 pics and it's gonna take me weeks to edit and organize them all. Anyone within 500 miles of Birmingham is crazy not to attend this event! Barber Motorsport Park is the best venue I've seen for such an event. Instead of getting a 'bleacher seat', the park offers a wide expanse of hillsides and valleys right next to the Track. If you like racing, you're crazy not to put this on on the calendar! Continental GT, Rolex Porsche 250, Mazda Star series, Indy Lights and Indycars all in the same weekend! Cheers!

Actually, DuPont Tyvek makes an excellent moisture barrier. It's cheap and mildew/mold resistant as well. I have the Ardvaark Luan Panels and painted them w/ 2 coats of Marine Varnish - pay particular attention to the edges. I did them 8 mos. (and 3 seasons) ago before install, so they've had plenty of time for everything to 'stabilize'. I've had a hand in restoring several 50's era Cabin Cruisers and Runabouts, so am comfortable with the materials. Combined with the Tyvek, I expect this to be a 'permanent' repair. Cheers!

Just as I suspected. Thanks guys! Cheers!

Also need to provide for the EFI system. New Fuel Pump, Fuel Return line, power for ECU, O2 sensor & bung in exhaust. Not just a straight swap. Cheers!

The BMW 2002 A US VIN 2392735 was manufactured on May 21st, 1976 and delivered on May 25th, 1976 to the BMW importer Hoffman Motors Corp. in New York City. The original colour was Sahara, paint code 006. This is my car. How was it possible to manufacture the car on 5/21/76 and deliver it to Hoffman Motors in NYC on 5/25/76? I'm certain these were not delivered by air, and I don't know of any ocean going transport which can traverse the Atlantic in 4 days. Could it be that it was invoiced to Hoffman Motors on 5/25 while still in Germany? Inquiring minds want to know. Cheers!

Just picked up a nice 535is for a friend last month. What is it you're looking at? TJones is the E28 guy here with 2 of them. He was kind enough to do the PPI on the car my friend bought. Cheers!

I'm surprised that you noticed such a difference on a car with no engine management system, maybe a slight difference, but certainly no WOW! There isn't necessarily any more energy in higher octane fuel (in fact often less), it just allows a higher compression engine to run with greater spark advance without detonating. On a Tii w/o O2 or Knock sensors, or an ecu to advance the timing and take advantage of the higher octane, I suspect your static settings were off to begin with. And that the performance improved because the high test fuel effectively moved you further away from the detonation threshold. If it were me, once the fuel is all burned up and the car is back on pump gas, I'd check all the running parameters to be sure they're all at spec. You may have a hidden WOW lurking under your hood. Cheers!

Sorry to hear your troubles. These cars are attractive because they're currently en time and prices are pretty low. But that's just the entry price as you've unfortunately found out. Realize that even the used engine is gonna run more than a grand. With new oil, coolant, plugs, wires, dizzy innards, motor mounts, gaskets, and on and on. Realistically, you're looking at probably the better part of $1300 - best case when all is said and done. Several hundred more if you're having it put in. Then, there's no guarantee that it won't die in the next couple hundred miles. You're in a bit of a fix with no easy choices. Lots of good advice here, but your circumstances may not allow you to follow it. You may have to roll the dice and go with a used engine. I understand. But, not necessarily that used engine. There's really no shortage of used M10 motors out there. Many from reliable sources and for slightly less money. It's for you to decide, but take some time, do more research, and get some distance and perspective before leaping. I doubt that '75 motor is going anywhere anytime soon. Good Luck! Cheers!

I believe it's an add-on. My 1976 02 doesn't have it and it was bone stock when I got it. Cheers!

As mentioned there is a lot of short-cutting going on here. A premium motor is definitely warranted for the price this thing is going for. I'm surprised that they retained the Siamese Fighting Fish front turn signals, again, IMHO, it shows a lack of detail and understanding of current Mod trends. Maybe most disturbing to me is there are no progress pics of the 'restoration' - don't get to see what's under that shiny new paint. How many pounds of Bondo lurk under there? Cheers! P.S. To the Punk *ss who makes the disparaging Old Fart remarks: I'm gonna think of you everytime I cash my Social Security checks for the next 25 years, because you're the one who's gonna be funding it!

Loosen plugs, wearing work gloves, grab the waterpump pulley and V belt and turn to rotate engine. Cheers!

Great find! Good Luck! Cheers!

I thought this was a joke! Seriously? 6k on break-in oil? I wish you luck. Cheers!

Making your own lines is pretty simple with the proper tools. A tube bender, tube cutter and a double tube flaring kit are all you need. Harbor Freight can fix you up for under $75 for the tools which can later be sold to recover 40-60% of your outlay. The tubing is cheap and pretty easy on the '02 as there are not very complex bends involved. Shoot me an email if you're looking for a good used pedal box. Cheers!

Amazing 1/6th scale 1932 Dusenburg SJ w/ workjing straight eight. http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Chenot.htm Just incredible! Cheers!

Mine is pulled in about 3" in front. Cut out 6 pleats from the accordian ends. The rear cannot be drawn in as tight due to the taper on the bumper ends, still a big improvement. I also cut the front shock covers to length to hide the new tubes - hacksaw the leading edge as it's rubber over an aluminum core. Cheers!

That's a real teaser pic! Looks great! Find another home for that extension ladder though, that thing scares me! Cheers!

IIRC, I used 1 5/8 OD x .125 Wall tube 6061 aluminum. Drilled it on both ends, drilled an elongated hole at the car end to allow for some wiggle room and then flattened the car end slightly in a vice. Cheers!

I wondered about this too, though I suspect it is less expensive than auto color coat. My bro-in-law repainted his old chevy PU last fall and also used Rustoleum. It's a plow truck, so he didn't shoot for the same results as the OP (or get them), just wanted a protective layer on the truck. It's old and will never be painted again. One thing he told me was that using Rustoleum prevents you from ever switching back to auto paints without a full stripping to bare metal. Said there are paint adhesion issues when painting over Rustoleum. I'd never heard that, and am going only by what he said. Cheers!

Interesting. I'll be seeing B.Rahal this weekend at the Gran Prix in Alabama. Last year we spoke at length about the '02 and what a pivotal role it had in his life. Great car with excellent provenance! Cheers!

That doesn't look bad, at least from a distance, can't tell up close. But, there's one thing you forgot to add to your list - skill! You have it, I don't. If I tried that, the end result would be nothing like yours. I'd have totally wasted my time and my $100. Nice job! Cheers!

I have the Crane XR700 and went with the 700-0292 model. This was because it has the greatest number of 4 cyl. shutter wheels. Ended up using the #218 shutter wheel. IIRC, the XR700 requires resistance to the coil and the XR3000 does not. My '76 already had the resistance wire and black coil, so I went with the 700. The difference between models (within the XR3000 line) are the accessories. The 'head unit' is the same. Crane XR3000-0231 appears to be the one which is more 4-cyl. weighted, but to be sure, check that it comes with both #218 and #220 shutter wheels. Either will work with the Bosch dizzy as they both have shutter openings at 90°s to one another, but I found the #218 fit the most securely to the dizzy shaft. I know of people using the other shutter wheel with good results, but for my money, the #218 wheel fit the best. Cheers!

Nice! Good Luck with it! Cheers!

Great work! I have some rear end work in my future too - clean/reseal the diff and replace the subframe bushes to polys. I've been dragging my feet and will do it in conjunction with my 5-spd. swap. Cheers!

Zinc is a good additive, but not totally necessary for the M10. My point was that proper changes have a greater effect on the longevity of the motor than a particular brand of oil. The best oil in the world becomes a detriment if it's not changed at the proper interval. Cheers!