D.martijn

Today we addressed the front section of the floor sitting a little high. making two relief cuts in the side allowed us to move it down some more, as well as stretching the flange a little. Then it was time to fit up the new inner sill and measure the subframe point one last time before spotwelding the floor and subframe point to the inner sill. When we removed the jig in the end, after getting it all spotwelded. It removed very easily so should be pretty spot on. Still need to fill the two little holes I used for some cleco's.. Front seat base also spot welded to the inner sill Inner part of the rocker sprayed with Corroless and the section where the outer sill gets spotwelded onto with Technolit Inox spray. We've switched to this recently and it's very nice to plug weld onto as well! And dries crazy fast, great product although it's a bit more expensive then regular zinc spray. Next up will be removing the right rear wheel well and outer arch so we can fit the new panel.

Today we addressed the front section of the floor sitting a little high. making two relief cuts in the side allowed us to move it down some more, as well as stretching the flange a little. Then it was time to fit up the new inner sill and measure the subframe point one last time before spotwelding the floor and subframe point to the inner sill. When we removed the jig in the end, after getting it all spotwelded. It removed very easily so should be pretty spot on. Still need to fill the two little holes I used for some cleco's.. Front seat base also spot welded to the inner sill Inner part of the rocker sprayed with Corroless and the section where the outer sill gets spotwelded onto with Technolit Inox spray. We've switched to this recently and it's very nice to plug weld onto as well! And dries crazy fast, great product although it's a bit more expensive then regular zinc spray. Next up will be removing the right rear wheel well and outer arch so we can fit the new panel.

Some more progress, After checking the height of the subframe point by measuring from the other subframe point we previously replaced to a square tube that's also level with the car. we compared it to the one we need to weld in. We were only off by a couple of mm so pretty good. By using the jack we were able to lift it so it's level with the other one. The jig squares the point with the rest of the car. However we did measure to the front of the car as well, everything looks good. Also making sure it's rotated correct so it's inline with the inner sill and floor! First couple of spotwelds we were able to reach with some of the clamps in the way. And the inside/underside Fully spotwelded to the floor, we still need to add the stitch welds underneath but we'll to that once the inner sill and rear wheel well is in. Adding a couple extra spotwelds on the side at the floor flange and in the middle of the panel. Inside spotwelds got cleaned up a little and everything sprayed with Corroless Also prepped the inner sill for welding and cut it to lenght. as well as the remaining section of original sill got trimmed a little bit more. We did notice the floor flange sitting a little high at the front of the seat post, making it hard to add plugwelds / spotwelds. Might need to make a small relief cut and push it down a bit more. We ran out of time for today but next time we should be able to weld in the inner sill for good. Then it's on to the wheel well!!

Some more progress, After checking the height of the subframe point by measuring from the other subframe point we previously replaced to a square tube that's also level with the car. we compared it to the one we need to weld in. We were only off by a couple of mm so pretty good. By using the jack we were able to lift it so it's level with the other one. The jig squares the point with the rest of the car. However we did measure to the front of the car as well, everything looks good. Also making sure it's rotated correct so it's inline with the inner sill and floor! First couple of spotwelds we were able to reach with some of the clamps in the way. And the inside/underside Fully spotwelded to the floor, we still need to add the stitch welds underneath but we'll to that once the inner sill and rear wheel well is in. Adding a couple extra spotwelds on the side at the floor flange and in the middle of the panel. Inside spotwelds got cleaned up a little and everything sprayed with Corroless Also prepped the inner sill for welding and cut it to lenght. as well as the remaining section of original sill got trimmed a little bit more. We did notice the floor flange sitting a little high at the front of the seat post, making it hard to add plugwelds / spotwelds. Might need to make a small relief cut and push it down a bit more. We ran out of time for today but next time we should be able to weld in the inner sill for good. Then it's on to the wheel well!!

We flipped the car back onto it's wheels and shimmed the rotisserie so that the car is level (unfortunately the concrete in the workshop isn't all that level..) Added some jackstands under the car as well to support it just a bit more. One at the front frame rail and one at the B-pillar, just beneath where we welded in the reinforcement that ties the B pillar and floor togehter. Then it was time to remove the outer and inner sill. Took a while to drill out all the spotwelds, in the end we pretty much had to go at them again with the finger belt sander.. First test fit with the new sill (MVP panel), it isn't as nice as the inner sill on the left side, that one was a genuine BMW part. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it but just the overall look compared to the BMW one.. We also noticed that the threads on the inside of the inner sill are coarse thread (or rather normal metric threads) and the original and new BMW panel have fine pitch threads. just an FYI. Since we were able to save the old threaded plates, we decided to remove the MVP plates and add the original ones after sandblasting them.

We flipped the car back onto it's wheels and shimmed the rotisserie so that the car is level (unfortunately the concrete in the workshop isn't all that level..) Added some jackstands under the car as well to support it just a bit more. One at the front frame rail and one at the B-pillar, just beneath where we welded in the reinforcement that ties the B pillar and floor togehter. Then it was time to remove the outer and inner sill. Took a while to drill out all the spotwelds, in the end we pretty much had to go at them again with the finger belt sander.. First test fit with the new sill (MVP panel), it isn't as nice as the inner sill on the left side, that one was a genuine BMW part. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it but just the overall look compared to the BMW one.. We also noticed that the threads on the inside of the inner sill are coarse thread (or rather normal metric threads) and the original and new BMW panel have fine pitch threads. just an FYI. Since we were able to save the old threaded plates, we decided to remove the MVP plates and add the original ones after sandblasting them.

I started with filling up the big hole we made to replace the whole rear right subframe point. We had already made a new floor panel but somehow I missed and drilled the hole in the wrong spot so the subframe bushing wasn't sitting in the center at all, although it wouldn't have mattered, it bothered me.. So new panel was made and marked out the hole again, this time it's a lot better I already welded it in and ground the welds down, ready for the next step! (welding in the subframe point and inner sill) With the help of some box section clamped on to the inner sill I made sure the flange of the floor was sitting in the correct location for when we weld in the inner sill I also trimmed the excess of the rear flange at the wheel well but forgot to take pictures..

I started with filling up the big hole we made to replace the whole rear right subframe point. We had already made a new floor panel but somehow I missed and drilled the hole in the wrong spot so the subframe bushing wasn't sitting in the center at all, although it wouldn't have mattered, it bothered me.. So new panel was made and marked out the hole again, this time it's a lot better I already welded it in and ground the welds down, ready for the next step! (welding in the subframe point and inner sill) With the help of some box section clamped on to the inner sill I made sure the flange of the floor was sitting in the correct location for when we weld in the inner sill I also trimmed the excess of the rear flange at the wheel well but forgot to take pictures..

Today we started with removing the rear subframe point of the 02 Touring. We made a hole in the rear wheel well to have better access since we plan on replacing it anyway. This made cutting the outer wheel well easier compared to when we did the other side (before we decided to replace both shock towers) Making sure to add a couple of reinforcement pieces to keep everything on it's place. We will need to carefully remove this piece of the outer wheel well panel since it's NLA for the Touring.. After this we started with making a new floor piece. starting with making a flat plate with a 90deg bend and shrinking the edge where it's bended. with some hamering and a dolly we made the little end curvature on the panel. After this we pressed in the subframe bolt into the new bushing I previously had turned on the lathe at work. This way we could mark the outer contour to determine where we needed to drill the access hole for the bolt. By using the hydraulic press and some 3D printed dies we pressed the reinforcement lip at the edge of the hole. After this the turned bushing got welded onto both W&N panels. These do need some adjusting for them to fit. The part with the rectangular hole needs to be bended more so it's closer to 90deg. This also closes the gap between the two panels when you fit the bushing. Otherwise there is quite a gap present between the two. Just a little tip And first test fit into the car. We still need to adjust/clean up the remaining floor as it's now just resting on top of it. So it sits a little higher than what is should be Next up is cleaning up the floor, welding in the new floor repair panel and probably the subframe piece as well!

The wiring clips are made from 0.6mm steel. But as you figured out, I also make and sell them. (FYI: I also deliver these to W&N) The clamps for the rear brake line in my previous post is made from 1mm thick sheet. Just a couple of strips that get bend around a steel rod. The clips are made with 3D printed dies that fit into two steel blocks that get pressed together using a hydraulic press. Takes some time to press them all but once you get into a flow it's pretty okay.

Today we started with removing the rear subframe point of the 02 Touring. We made a hole in the rear wheel well to have better access since we plan on replacing it anyway. This made cutting the outer wheel well easier compared to when we did the other side (before we decided to replace both shock towers) Making sure to add a couple of reinforcement pieces to keep everything on it's place. We will need to carefully remove this piece of the outer wheel well panel since it's NLA for the Touring.. After this we started with making a new floor piece. starting with making a flat plate with a 90deg bend and shrinking the edge where it's bended. with some hamering and a dolly we made the little end curvature on the panel. After this we pressed in the subframe bolt into the new bushing I previously had turned on the lathe at work. This way we could mark the outer contour to determine where we needed to drill the access hole for the bolt. By using the hydraulic press and some 3D printed dies we pressed the reinforcement lip at the edge of the hole. After this the turned bushing got welded onto both W&N panels. These do need some adjusting for them to fit. The part with the rectangular hole needs to be bended more so it's closer to 90deg. This also closes the gap between the two panels when you fit the bushing. Otherwise there is quite a gap present between the two. Just a little tip And first test fit into the car. We still need to adjust/clean up the remaining floor as it's now just resting on top of it. So it sits a little higher than what is should be Next up is cleaning up the floor, welding in the new floor repair panel and probably the subframe piece as well!

We finished spot welding the remaining spots of the outer rocker to the inner rocker. Also remembered to plug weld the extension of the B pillar to the outer rocker I also forget to mention that we welded in three of our selfmade clamps to fix the wiring harness when we ever get the that stage! It was then time to fit up the rear quarter repair panel for the last time with the trim to make sure everything aligned well. Then it was onto welding everything together. I made a long brass strip with slots in it so we could use the panel clamps (not sure how they are called exactly). Going nice and slow and cooling after every tack weld. We did get some warping but it's pretty minor, I think we might be able to get it close with some more planishing. And the welds ground down. it's still slightly proud from the panel but I'll come back to this when I planish it a bit more. I also added a stich weld at the front of the rocker. Decided to clean up the section toward the door. Also spotwelded the rear little lip of the wheel well to the quarter, I remember there was a full stich weld in this gap. Would this be necessary? Before starting the same process of replacing the rear subframe mount, floor section, inner rocker, outer rocker, inner wheel tub (it's quite the list lol) We decided to first reattach the rear seat hinge mount and seatbelt mount while referencing from the original right side. After a couple of test fits with some old extra seats we have as spares, both brackets got welded in. Before starting on the other side, we decided to first clean things up a little at the underside where we made a couple of repairs etc while doing the sheet metal replacements so far. Starting with the rear lip of the wheel well we replaced. cleaning up some of the welds where we replaced a small section of the lip, and the repair of the floor. as well as adding a couple of stitch welds where needed as original. Next up was stripping the front right floor panel of it's shipping primer with some acetone and going over it with the DA + adding a stitch weld at the front and rear of the frame rail. While being in this area, I noticed some small rust spots under the clips that hole the rear brake line and transmission reverse switch wiring. Thus they all got removed and replaced with new clips. First marking out the location And new ones welded on as original (stitch weld) And everything in Corroless anti rust primer Finally it is time to start repairing/replacing the rear right subframe! Starting of with taking a couple of measurements like we did on the other side. We took out reference from the bottom of the trim holes and measuring to the underside of the quarter panel where it runs towards the inside of the car (~13,2/5mm). We cut the panel 2.5cm higher so 10,7/11mm from the line, so we don't have to work in the middle of the flat panel, thus minimizing the warping.. I noticed the W&N panel also having some kind of wave/too much material at the top (roughly where the trim sits) It might come in handy for someone Outer skin removed, seemed quite alright at first sight... But definitely needed to remove it as usual Next up will be removing the whole corner. We did weld in some square tubing to the B pillar and in the door opening + connection the floor to it as well since we will be replacing a big section of inner sill as well.

We finished spot welding the remaining spots of the outer rocker to the inner rocker. Also remembered to plug weld the extension of the B pillar to the outer rocker I also forget to mention that we welded in three of our selfmade clamps to fix the wiring harness when we ever get the that stage! It was then time to fit up the rear quarter repair panel for the last time with the trim to make sure everything aligned well. Then it was onto welding everything together. I made a long brass strip with slots in it so we could use the panel clamps (not sure how they are called exactly). Going nice and slow and cooling after every tack weld. We did get some warping but it's pretty minor, I think we might be able to get it close with some more planishing. And the welds ground down. it's still slightly proud from the panel but I'll come back to this when I planish it a bit more. I also added a stich weld at the front of the rocker. Decided to clean up the section toward the door. Also spotwelded the rear little lip of the wheel well to the quarter, I remember there was a full stich weld in this gap. Would this be necessary? Before starting the same process of replacing the rear subframe mount, floor section, inner rocker, outer rocker, inner wheel tub (it's quite the list lol) We decided to first reattach the rear seat hinge mount and seatbelt mount while referencing from the original right side. After a couple of test fits with some old extra seats we have as spares, both brackets got welded in. Before starting on the other side, we decided to first clean things up a little at the underside where we made a couple of repairs etc while doing the sheet metal replacements so far. Starting with the rear lip of the wheel well we replaced. cleaning up some of the welds where we replaced a small section of the lip, and the repair of the floor. as well as adding a couple of stitch welds where needed as original. Next up was stripping the front right floor panel of it's shipping primer with some acetone and going over it with the DA + adding a stitch weld at the front and rear of the frame rail. While being in this area, I noticed some small rust spots under the clips that hole the rear brake line and transmission reverse switch wiring. Thus they all got removed and replaced with new clips. First marking out the location And new ones welded on as original (stitch weld) And everything in Corroless anti rust primer Finally it is time to start repairing/replacing the rear right subframe! Starting of with taking a couple of measurements like we did on the other side. We took out reference from the bottom of the trim holes and measuring to the underside of the quarter panel where it runs towards the inside of the car (~13,2/5mm). We cut the panel 2.5cm higher so 10,7/11mm from the line, so we don't have to work in the middle of the flat panel, thus minimizing the warping.. I noticed the W&N panel also having some kind of wave/too much material at the top (roughly where the trim sits) It might come in handy for someone Outer skin removed, seemed quite alright at first sight... But definitely needed to remove it as usual Next up will be removing the whole corner. We did weld in some square tubing to the B pillar and in the door opening + connection the floor to it as well since we will be replacing a big section of inner sill as well.

I have had this spotwelder for a couple of years now. Here's the brand and model info. (Price almost doubled from when I got it!!) I also have 500mm long straight electrodes, these are great when you need to reach places that aren't very accessible, I remember using these to replace a big section of the top plates on the front frame rails as well as the Art.7407 ones in the picture below. With these it's possible to reach around the A pillar as well as spotwelding the front floor to the frame rail There's plenty of other electodes, there are probably cheaper options out there but these don't have as many electrodes available.. https://www.tecna.net/en/products/division/industrial/type/portable-spot-welders/product/hand-operated-spot-gun-item-7900-7902-7903-2-kva-2/

We finally managed to get the outer rockerpanel welded onto the car after not being able to work on the car for a few weekends.. We first spot welded some of the metal clamps I made with the 3D printed die to hold the wiring against the inner rocker panel. Then we fitted the rocker panel and rear quarter panel one last time to check for fitment and finally it was time to weld it on with the spotwelder! I can't imagine having to drill so many holes and having the plug weld them. This is way faster and cleaner. Although welding this many spotwelds does cause the machine to get quite hot. Close up of the spotwelds, looking good For now we only spotwelded a couple places on the underside since the machine did get a little hot. The rest will be for the next time Front section of the rocker plug welded since there is no way to reach the inside with the spot welder. I stil need to weld the horizontal edge to the A pillar Rear section of the rocker. We did have to shorten one of the electrodes a little otherwise it would touch the quarter panel. Top flange fully welded My brother had to leave a little early so I started on welding in the small corner patch panel for the quarter panel. It took some time previously to get the shape right, in the end we made 4 of these panels and the last one was the only one usable. We started from a flat sheet of metal and shrunk one side, to then tip it over with some rod with a groove cut into it. After some more shaping we managed to get the correct shape. I still needed to adjust the flange of the replacement quarter panel a little as well but happy with the result in the end. And ground smooth. we do have quite a bit of gap between the two panels but I had to make a little cut in at the little triangle since the radiuses didn't line up. Which cause the gap to be even bigger.. Next time we should be able to weld in the quarter panel, being careful to not warp it while welding...

We finally managed to get the outer rockerpanel welded onto the car after not being able to work on the car for a few weekends.. We first spot welded some of the metal clamps I made with the 3D printed die to hold the wiring against the inner rocker panel. Then we fitted the rocker panel and rear quarter panel one last time to check for fitment and finally it was time to weld it on with the spotwelder! I can't imagine having to drill so many holes and having the plug weld them. This is way faster and cleaner. Although welding this many spotwelds does cause the machine to get quite hot. Close up of the spotwelds, looking good For now we only spotwelded a couple places on the underside since the machine did get a little hot. The rest will be for the next time Front section of the rocker plug welded since there is no way to reach the inside with the spot welder. I stil need to weld the horizontal edge to the A pillar Rear section of the rocker. We did have to shorten one of the electrodes a little otherwise it would touch the quarter panel. Top flange fully welded My brother had to leave a little early so I started on welding in the small corner patch panel for the quarter panel. It took some time previously to get the shape right, in the end we made 4 of these panels and the last one was the only one usable. We started from a flat sheet of metal and shrunk one side, to then tip it over with some rod with a groove cut into it. After some more shaping we managed to get the correct shape. I still needed to adjust the flange of the replacement quarter panel a little as well but happy with the result in the end. And ground smooth. we do have quite a bit of gap between the two panels but I had to make a little cut in at the little triangle since the radiuses didn't line up. Which cause the gap to be even bigger.. Next time we should be able to weld in the quarter panel, being careful to not warp it while welding...

Parts run! I was able to find a 02TI/TII brake booster for when we will swap over to the dual solex carbs in our 2002 Touring. It's still in pretty good shape and has the original sticker on it, it's hard to make out the numbers but it's the correct one. I was able to get it for a very reasonable price (250€) The same seller was also selling a sunroof for a BMW E12, when comparing the part numbers the early E12 used the same sunroof as the 02 Touring! (Tourings sunroof is bigger then the sedan) It's in a lot better condition than our roof And finally I got some new hinges, the ones we had were a little mangled, the slotted holes are deformed quite a bit as well..

Parts run.. I was able to find a 02TI/TII brake booster for when we swap over the the dual solex carbs in our 2002 Touring. It's still in pretty good shape and has the original sticker still on it, it's hard to make out the numbers but it's the correct one. I was able to get it for a very reasonable price (250€) The same seller was also selling a sunroof for a BMW E12, when comparing the part numbers the early E12 used the same sunroof as the 02 Touring! (Tourings sunroof is bigger then the sedan) It's in a lot better condition than our roof And finally I got some new hinges, the ones we had were a little mangled also the slotted holes got deformed quite a bit..

Were getting pretty close to weld in the outer sill and quarter panel now. I started on preparing the rocker panel, removed the factory black coating where we will be welding and scuffed up the surfaces and applied two coats of Corroless We pushed the door a little more towards the outside, but asking a couple of other people that have an 02, it seems that soms of them also have this "issue" with the stainless steel trim sticking out a little at the front lower corner of the door. Also some picture online had this as well. The other side is a bit better on our Touring though. Especially when we also fit the fender which pushes the trim more towards the inside of the car. Pushing the door even more outside might help it a little but but, it will mess up the alignment at the B pillar. We might bring the door a little bit higher, but overall it's pretty good now When test fitting the quarter panel in the end I trimmed it a little bit too much and have just a smidge too wide of a gap. My brother suggested to place a brass strip behind the quarter with some slots in it. This was we can clamp the original and new repair panel together with the little clamps In the meantime, we decided to go with dual solex carburators on the Touring. We found a full "kit" in Germany that includes pretty much everything, carbs, airfilter housing, throttle linkages.. I already found a guy that is reproducing the Ti water pipe as well. We just need to find a Ti/Tii brake booster but I might have already found a guy, he just needs to have a look but is on vacation right now. Of course we will also need the correct distributor with the mechanical advance. I remembered we had a couple of spare distributors laying in the attic and would you have a look! We got the correct one, it's meant to be hahah I also got the rain gutter trim of the 02 Touring from Walloth&Nesch since it's been available again!

Were getting pretty close to weld in the outer sill and quarter panel now. I started on preparing the rocker panel, removed the factory black coating where we will be welding and scuffed up the surfaces and applied two coats of Corroless We pushed the door a little more towards the outside, but asking a couple of other people that have an 02, it seems that soms of them also have this "issue". The other side is a bit better on our Touring as well. But pushing the door even more outside, it will mess up the alignment at the B pillar. We might bring the door a little bit higher, but overall it's pretty good now When test fitting the quarter panel in the end I trimmed it a little bit too much and have just a smidge too wide of a gap. My brother suggested to place a brass strip behind the quarter with some slots in it. This was we can clamp the original and new repair panel together with the little clamps In the meantime, we decided to go with dual solex carburators on the Touring. We found a full "kit" in Germany that includes pretty much everything, carbs, airfilter housing, throttle linkages.. I already found a guy that is reproducing the Ti water pipe as well. We just need to find a Ti/Tii brake booster but I might have already found a guy, he just needs to have a look but is on vacation right now. Of course we will also need the correct distributor with the mechanical advance. I remembered we had a couple of spare distributors laying in the attic and would you have a look! We got the correct one, it's meant to be hahah I also got the rain gutter trim of the 02 Touring from Walloth&Nesch since it's been available again!

Unfortunately that's not an option as it's a Touring model that I will fit the solexes into. The rear seats lower to fold the back section down. I haven't had luck finding this thread.. Thank you for measuring! The tray sits all the way against the nose? Is yours welded in to screwed in?

Thanks for the info! Do you have any measurements? I cant seem to find anything regarding the height

What about the battery tray/overall battery height? Could this interfere with the air filter?

That's what I figured, that might be the most difficult part of this whole swap. Any idea if I can use my original master cylinder or also need to go with a 2002tii one? I've read the E12 MC might be a viable alternative.

Thanks for the feedback so far! My engine is still in complete pieces so I still have to option to switch over the the h/c pistons and a hotter cam. What would be advised cam wise? I'm not looking to make this engine a power house, a nice upgrade would be cool. I just want it spice up the engine compartment a little bit and ditch the single carb. The guy that is selling the 40PHH carbs, intake runners, ti air filter housing and linkages had removed these for a 2002ti engine. He stored it in a dry basement and everything still moves fine etc. (of course they will need a cleanup/refurb as the seals/rubber is old) I since then also found the correct water distributor. The only other concern I have, will these also clear the normal 02 brake booster? Will the air filter box still fit? or do I need to switch over the the Tii brake booster as well?