AlfaBMWGuy

On 7/14/2018 at 3:46 PM, jdt10768 said:

I like those hubcaps!

question: will they fit any/all steelies early and late? I know the answer is most likely No, but I have some late model steelies and would like to fit hubcaps like these. Is that do-able?

Your guess was correct.  You need the early 4.5" wide wheels.  All the later slotted steel wheels don't have the attachment points needed for the clips that hold the hubcaps on.  I  imagine someone has fabricated something as a one-off to make it work if they wanted wider wheels, but loved the hubcap look. Probably would involve welding new custom clips to the hubcaps that attach to the slots in the later wheels.

-Gary

My pre-71 U.S. spec 2002, #1677187 built October 1970, definitely has the low brake fluid in reservoir dash light.  I was very thankful for its reliable operation because I had a pretty severe leak when I first got the car last summer until some major work was done to brakes, lines, master and slave cylinders.  I'd go from topped off to the low fluid light coming on in 30 miles of driving.  My dash light does not come on for the parking brake.

-Gary

Sympathetic restoration still ongoing, but generally following the plan.  Next spring is the target date for completion.  We could also meet in Walla Walla for a pint somewhere when that day comes.  The pic is blurry, but here are your hubcaps doing their thing on my '02 earlier this week.

-Gary

Sorry, I bought these.  The seller's 2002 he bought new was totaled many years ago so that was his first and apparently last post.  Best bit for me is that I found someone only an hour's drive away, in a "2002 desert", who was an original owner.

Steve at BluntTech sourced me one of these a month back.  It's the exact shape of my early original Solex carb and intake manifold connection, which is not the same as the picture of the rectangular one from ECS Tuning.  Stay away from ECS Tuning regardless based on a more recent thread.  I had a few warm start issues over a couple months this spring.  Since adding the spacer, I've had none.  But the sample size is a little low to draw any conclusions yet.  Cheap and simple to install though so I'd do it again. 

Would have thought subject matter dictated Siennabraun over Malaga, but these guys are the experts.

Hello, do you still have the NOS parking brake grip?  If so, I would take it. Shipping would be to 99353.  Does paypal work, either regular or "friends and family"?

Thanks,

Gary

Same here.  Used to go to 1/2 and climb higher in heat/traffic when I first got it last summer, but then I had major work done over winter on the heater core, all hoses, radiator, water pump--everything gone through to bring my '02 back mechanically.  Now it sits at 1/4 and gets to maybe 1/3 in the heat/traffic situations, but so far never higher.  I don't think I have a 71C thermostat either when that was replaced.  I just attribute it to everything being like it should be and I have extra insurance for the 110F+ outside temps coming up this summer.  I have thought about heat gun readings though as a way to make sure it's running hot enough not to result in any longer term issues.

Based on a recent post Dan made to the Pacific Northwest forum, his car is Verona and he's looking to keep it the original color. I'm interested in this topic as I'm planning to repaint my 1971 Granada in the original color this coming winter.  I want my Granada to look Granada and not brighter Verona or other more common shades of red so 1 vs. 2 stage is one of my concerns.  I.e., would something as vintage/period as Granada (produced only from 1963-1971 I believe) ever look right as 2-stage?

Dan was also saying he budgeted about $5K for the paint, but then said he was willing to go higher. I'm thinking my paint work alone will be in the $10K range (with some other minor work added onto that) even though I'm not looking for a show car either.

Gary

Here it is on Hemmings:  https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/bmw/2002tii/2093726.html

-Gary

Thanks Guy.  I'll let you know if it comes to that.

Good luck on your Granada '02 as well.  I'm really not a "red car" person at all--I tend more towards medium to dark blues and greens.  But, this is a more subtle color than Verona (I don't like the brighter and "tomato" shades), plus it's really rare to see an '02 or any vintage BMW that remains Granada after all these decades.  Seems like dating back to the first repaint for these in the late 1970's or early 1980's, owners tended to have them "updated" to a brighter red, whether that's Verona or something custom.  My guess is that they considered Granada "boring" and I can see that for a "red car" guy.  Mine was repainted around 1980, but what is on the outside seems like a match of what I know wasn't repainted in the engine bay, etc.  It's also ironic that my Alfa Giulia Super is toward the red end of the spectrum as well, an original color called Prugna, which is a plum in Italian (there is no separate word for prune and plum in Italian).  It's more of a raspberry lipstick shade--definitely an early 1970's period color.  Here's my Alfa...

-Gary

Thanks all for the added advice.  I'm confident enough now to proceed with removing the grip from the handle I'm buying and getting it on my existing no-grip handle, all without damaging the grip hopefully.

Guy, here's the best pic of my gauges I have.  I'm without the car for a couple more weeks and these were taken by the original owner last summer.

-Gary

Mike, as an aside, from the early 90's through the early 2000's I was a CCA member and really appreciated your '02 cents worth column and of course your constant contributions to this message board.  I've also owned 4 E30s including a couple iX's, an M3, and currently have a '91 318is as my daily driver.  I'm also an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super owner, but my first vintage car love was the 2002 when I first saw them running around my college campus in the mid 1980's.  I'm creating a nice weather daily driver out of this one.

Thanks for the advice Mike.  My metal handle/lever is in near perfect original condition so I definitely want to keep that and just add back the correct style grip.

-Gary

Thanks Ray.  As you might see from the interior shot, this is a highly original 2002 so an E30 grip (or even a late 2002 grip) doesn't fit my plan.  Note the original (supplier strike or factory fire) leather wrapped TI steering wheel, shift knob and boot, spaghetti seatbelts, etc.  I'm even sticking with the original seats with the cool chrome side brackets over more comfortable and grippy Recaros.  I'd stick with original carpets if they weren't so sun-bleached and the accelerator pedal wear pattern.  Also running original steelies and Solex.  I have already upgraded the suspension though to Bilstein HD struts/shocks and the Ireland Engineering stage 1 springs and sway bars.

Thanks Jim.  yes, grip, cover, handle.  It's confusing since the metal lever is commonly called the handle.  "Grip" sounds like the best name for it.  From my searching the FAQ, doesn't seem like many owners have replaced them.  My guess on mine is that the original owner thought it started looking ratting or maybe it came loose on its own and he just tossed it.  A keen eye will note I also have a later style seat release knob. I've already replaced that with the correct early mushroom style knob--passenger side was correct.

"won", not "one"

Note, I'm assuming that the battle will be one once I get the handle off.  I am thinking I can use WD40 or something similar to ease getting the handle on to my existing lever and then over the coming months the WD40 will evaporate and it will be on solid.

I have a new-to-me early 1971 '02 in Granada that I bought from the original owner in Boise, Idaho last summer (I'm in southeastern Washington).  I am finishing up the mechanical sorting over the past months to make it ready for regular use after only being driven a few times per year in the last 30 years.  After that I will be on to the cosmetics inside and out.  Here are a couple pics of what I call my "sympathetic restoration" (yes, I'll be replacing those door speakers with something more appropriate, carpet, and some upholstery work).  This is my 3rd 2002, but first since the early 2000's.  I've been following the FAQ for many years and on a daily basis the past couple years, but I'm an infrequent poster.  It's helped me figure out a few issues already via the search function, but I have one now I didn't find any existing posts on.

The original owner on mine removed the plastic handle on the parking brake lever at some point so now I just have the metal lever.  I found a supplier for used early handles like I need, but all they have are cracked/split examples (maybe from removing the handles improperly?).  I found a complete parking brake lever with handle for sale with the handle in good condition so that's my preference.  Is it easy to remove the handle from an existing lever without damaging the handle?  The lever is much rougher than mine so I would just live without a handle if I can't swap only the handle over.  How best to get the handle off the one I buy, where I assume it's been for over 45 years now?  I was thinking of cutting off the lever with handle I buy with a hacksaw so I can get a metal washer around the lever that's just the right inside diameter to be able to exert force (maybe directly with hammer on the washer or maybe a deep socket to get even pressure around the circumference) on the handle without damaging it.  Or, is the judicious use of a heat gun to soften the plastic just a bit (don't want to deform the handle ridges of course) the better/only way?

Thanks,

Gary

I'll take those.  Mine are in good shape for being original, but the roundels could use some help on 2 or 3 of them.  I PM'd you.

Thanks,

Gary

Looking for a full set of good to excellent condition BWA Sportstar or similar 4-spoke wheels, either 13 or 14" diameter in 5, 5.5, or 6" widths.  Bolt pattern and offset for an unmodified 2002.

Thanks,

Gary

https://boise.craigslist.org/cto/6172422419.html

Not mine, no affiliation.  Interesting story.  I look at this and see it as an added $20K to make this what it should be after interior, paint and body work, and inevitable mechanical work given the "lack of power" and "hard to start" comments.  But, for someone with more skills and time, it could make sense as a rolling restoration given the overall straight and rust-free body.  Would be nice to see under the hood and the trunk to see what could be the orginal color and more evidence of lack of rust.

As both a vintage BMW and Alfa guy, my love extends to various French and Swedish cars as well.  The big clue was the someone said they were from an Alfa.  I knew that wasn't true, but Italian and French cars have a lot of commonality in terms of their soul.  I first thought 505, but then saw the match with the 405 Mi16 with a google image search.  The heavily worn (or patina'd) leather might be considered another hint .  But, having such fondness for offbeat marques, I'm not one to bash quality of build and materials.

Those seats are from a Peugeot 405 Mi16.  Peugeots at least from that era were known for having the most comfortable seats of any manufacturer.

I had a 1973 Alfa Giulia Super shipped back from northern Europe "way back" in 2007.  I have heard the process got a bit more sticky in the past year in terms of possibly requiring a customs broker to handle the transaction at the incoming port rather than being a DIY affair as with mine.  But, that's just what I've heard through the AlfaBB community rather than direct knowledge.  My experience from doing this is documented on two AlfaBB threads:

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/sedan-1962-1977/47327-belgium-tacoma.html

and

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/sedan-1962-1977/50203-cost-breakdown-importing-car-europe.html

Keep in mind this is nearly 7-year old information at this point.  Also I did the entire transaction firmly planted on U.S. soil rather than it being part of a European vacation/tour.  Being both a 1960's/70's BMW and Alfa enthusiast, I can say that doing this for a BMW of that era makes less sense fiscally (likely no advantage at all) than with an Alfa.  With the Alfa (strictly 105 series Giulia sedans and the 1750/2000 Berlina models that followed, GTVs and Spiders are more rare in Europe than here and don't follow suit) there is a much bigger supply so the supply/demand ratio is much more favorable in Europe than the U.S.  So with a Giulia sedan you can come out ahead by importing vs. finding one in the U.S.--it's also good for those of us with less patience as it can take a year or longer to find a nice Giulia Super here.  The Lancia Fulvia (sedan or coupe) is another model in good supply where it can easily make more sense to import from Europe than buying domestically.

As far as sources, I think you've found the best one for Europe as a whole with Autoscout24.  That's the primary one I was using.  In Germany www.mobile.de is a good one.  I definitely recommend having a POC that you fully trust on the ground helping you vet cars.  If that person also understands the logistics of exporting as in my case, so much the better.

Good luck and I certainly wouldn't be too discouraged by what some people say in regards to they would never do it.  I wouldn't have mine if I'd listented to that advice since I heard it too (too risky, importing is littered with hidden costs and hassle, etc.) and the exchange rate with the Euro was even worse back then.