Conserv

Both ‘75 and ‘76 U.S. models relocated the windshield wiper reservoirs to the left side of the engine compartment, on a bracket above the brake booster. Regards, Steve

Around 1977, they moved to this 2-year casting date method. I’m guessing 13 nubs indicates it was cast 13 months into the 2-year period, so January 1985. Regards, Steve

Still available new from BMW, and many others. Use Pilkington as a possible search string and you’ll find lots of threads, e.g.: Good luck, Steve

Justin, Just found this! Here’s a photo of the underside of the aft end of my ‘76’s Clardy shift surround assembly. I’m guessing you need the galvanized(?) cross-member and that “rusty thing”. I replaced that “rusty thing” with a black-powder coated piece at the time I took this photo. Regards, Steve

Re: the end date of the Early-early chrome-trimmed 3-piece dash (with hard plastic binnacle) on U.S.-spec cars, here is VIN 1560964, manufactured October 1967. This likely extends that end date from September 1967 into October 1967! Regards, Steve

Either. The higher quality lights of the ‘02 era (right through 1977) tended to have chromed steel or polished stainless steel housings. Chromed or black plastic was used on less expensive lights. The ‘60’s were heavy into chrome, but the late ‘70’s were moving rapidly into black plastic. It is no coincidence that the square taillight cars started to replace shiny metal with black plastic trim, e.g., the grilles went from anodized aluminum to black plastic. In 1976, I went with chrome for my then-new ‘76, but this was more my choice of brand, Marchal, than anything. The photo was taken April 1977. On the other hand, I probably wouldn’t consider anything but chrome for a round taillight car. Regards, Steve

Is this a tinted plexiglass wind deflector or a metal pop-up deflector? Regards, Steve

I don’t know. Someone buys a car that clearly needs thousands invested in it. I don’t believe anyone here will dispute that. But then they “discover” there is no title — which should be one of the questions one asks first. And then they have to sell it because getting a title is an enormous problem. It sounds like simple buyers remorse to me. Can someone here put some numbers on getting a CA title for a car with only a bill of sale? Is it a $500 problem, a $1,000 problem, or a $5,000 problem? Regards, Steve

And those plastic side panels are simply hollow covers that slide over the ends of the original (non-A/C) console sides. You might describe the shift surround assembly as the “tail of the original console”, but with plastic covers on both sides. The plastic covers (a.) conceal the raw cutoff ends of the console sides and (b.) better coordinate with cheap plastic sides of the Clardy Console.... 😗 There’s a single center screw at the aft end of the shift surround assembly, that secures the aft end into the transmission tunnel. Is it possible someone put a too-long screw in that position and it’s hitting the driveshaft when you shift? What’s under that assembly on your car? Regards, Steve

I can’t help but think he’s got an email address published on one of those lengthy threads. That’s far more effective than a PM to Dave. I’ve got two of his brackets but I can’t recall the price: more than $80, less than $150... 🤔 Regards, Steve

I know nothing about URO door deals first hand. But even OEM door seals have their....inconsistencies. My ‘76, at its recent re-paint, got a pair of OEM door seals I purchased in 1983, when I believed all new ‘02 parts would become extinct before I got around to the Big Re-Paint. The left seal operates like the ‘76’s original factory seal: beautifully. But the right seal takes a very firm hand to latch the door completely. Their installations look similar, and they were still in matched plastic bags from BMW when I pulled them from storage, but the right seal looks a tad thicker. I think your odds of a good fit are slightly better with OEM seals, but there are no guarantees where door seals are concerned. I put NOS Ford OEM door seals on the ‘61 F-350. Curiously, the left side works beautifully but the right side takes a very firm hand! 😯 Regards, Steve

Either Wurth Silver or Krylon Dull Aluminum will get you close to the original color used on factory steelies of alloys. I simply don’t know about the others. The inserts sound like a good idea. Regards, Steve

Thanks, Dave, And to further confuse matters, when I tried to order the black perforated vinyl from BMW (through Blunttech, Steve P.) in 2015, BMW responded that they could not sell it to me unless I could show I had a European title to my ‘73, something I don’t have for this always-been-U.S. car. Huh? WTF? Neither Steve nor I had any idea where this came from: European Union issues regarding certain exports...of certain textile products? I’ve heard similar stories regarding parts such as “2002ti” emblems, primarily for cars not officially imported into the U.S. But black perforated vinyl? I’d love to hear whether mine was an isolated incident, or was some sort of policy. Regards, Steve