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Laura

Solex
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Everything posted by Laura

  1. Hey guys, newly moved back to California - I. took my ugly American bumper off for that sharknose feel in the front - but not sure if its legal in California to drive without bumpers.
  2. I replaced the seals for the side windows and quarter panel glass (everything but rear window and windshield) - it's annoying to get them to fit, but relatively easy to do. I think I bought my seals on eBay, and they worked great. For the quarter panel glass, the windows just pop out when you unscrew the latch in the back, then you position them back in and screw them back in. They really are annoying to get to fit without pinching or gapping, but overall it took me about 2 hours. I can send you some walk-thru photos if you want.
  3. Hey all, I just moved back to Pasadena after 8 LONG years living in Michigan. Stoked to get connected with the local '02s out here! My car is getting the block machined at a place called Meccanica, and I saw a sweet white 02 with the 2002FAQ sticker on the side glass! Just wanted to say hi!
  4. Yeah, and this will buff out too.... I saw this on Craigslist here in Michigan.....
  5. You inspired me to have a Black Friday Weekend Sale on my BMW 2002 Christmas cards and Garage Art! $15 off when you buy any 3 items from the shop. Ouros.Etsy.com and use code CYBERWEEKEND Good until the end of Monday! I also do custom art if you want a painting of your own car....
  6. Michigan .... we're called the Rust Belt for a reason....
  7. Also, all the above being said...I'm also in that category they talk about. I make a great living. But between rent, astronomically high student loan payments, and even more ridiculous childcare costs....I don't see a new car in my future anytime soon. ....that just isn't why they arent making Sports Cars.
  8. I disagree. While there is huge income inequality, the standard of living has increased so that our expectations are ridiculously high. People are spending more on their cars than ever before. When I was a kid, it was typical for a first car to be a run-down clunker. More and more high schoolers are driving nice...and I mean really nice....cars. As someone that work in the car industry, we're losing sports cars for a totally different reason. Capitalism. Let me explain. So, by the basic rules of a publicly traded business, a company wants to make 10-20% more profit than that same day the previous year. Investors are in it for the short-term, and they expect to see an increase in their pocketbook every year. This isn't really sustainable, so this tends to be the path for car companies (think of Ford right before their crash): ..remember, this is all driven by the mission "how do we make more money?" 1. Make an awesome product 2. Make more products to get more market share 3. Sell more places (globally) to get even more market share 4. Buy up competition to get more market share ...at this point, companies have saturated the market. So the only way left to increase profit it to cut costs... 5. Start sharing platforms and other parts (for example, the Porsche Cayanne shared a door with the VW Toureg , and the Jeep Renegade is built on the Fiat 500 platform. Most famously, the Pontiac Aztek was built on GM's minivan platform...which is a major reason is was so hideous. GM did that because they wanted to make more cars off the minivan platform - the more cars you make off a single platform, the sooner it pays itself off) ...this is where things start to go wrong for Sports Cars. Nothing shares a platform with performance cars. You can't make a profitable sedan off a Corvette platform. So the big head honchos don't want to invest in producing one. Exceptions are brands that are built off the idea of performance. The Porsche 911 doesn't make the company any money (they actually lose money I believe), but they wouldn't be able to sell any of the other cars on their lineup without the 911. No one dreams of a Panamera, but its what people actually buy. In case you're curious, the last step: 6. Reduce quality. Make more stuff out of plastic instead of metal. ...oops. Didn't mean to write so much. LOL
  9. can you please send me a photo of the emergency brake cover?
  10. Thanks for letting me know I forgot to link it! it's : Ouros.Etsy.com I also added the link to the main post. Thanks for asking!!!!!
  11. Wow! So excited to see a couple other designers out there! I'm a Car Designer. Not to be confused with engineer. I don't math. I draw cars all day, coming up with idea for what the next cool car should look like. Then I work alongside people that turn my drawing into a clay model, then eventually a real car. I do exterior design, so I dont mess with interior design at all.
  12. Also..please let me know if there is somewhere else I should be posting this. I thought maybe stuff for sale...but it isn't really a car part. I dont want to annoy anyone!
  13. Hey guys, I have the 2002 Christmas cards I drew for sale on my Etsy site again! I'm a professional car designer by day, and these cards started as gifts to my co-workers and friends that were into cars. Once my bosses started asking me to give them extra cards to give to family, I figured I'd just put them up for sale. Selling the cards is really just for fun....I think I've only made 40 sales over 3 years lol. I hope you guys like them! If you guys wanna see a different model of '02, or a different view of the car or something, let me know in the thread! PS - I also do custom artwork, if any of you ever want a painting of your BMW. I also attached a photo of a painting I did for a friend a while back, so you can see the style of painting I do. Here's the link to my shop : ouros.etsy.com
  14. Laura

    Photo entry

    oooh that green turned out nice. good job with the polishing.
  15. the nice thing is that it looks like the paint is still there, not rusted or chipped away......just under a lot of oxidation and fading. I think if you clean it, clay-bar it, then do a light 1,000-grit wet sandpaper....it should restore pretty well.
  16. Mint Green (officially "Mint Grun") is a proper 2002 color - that's what mine is, but mine is a '75 - so I dunno which colors were available in '76. I don't think yours is Florida Green- that's more of a pale pastel green than what your images show. If yours isn't Mint, it could be Tiaga. If you look at the sticker for the car on the inside of the driver door panel (where there is the Vin, manufactur location etc,) sometimes they list the color there. If you use some high-grid wet-sanding paper (like 800 grit+), you should be able to get rid of some of that oxidation and see the true color underneath, just be careful not to get to the primer layer.
  17. So, I made some 2002 Christmas cards this year! I did the artwork myself, and since my friends have been telling me to sell them for years, I figured I'd finally give it a try, to make some extra cash. I started an Etsy shop to sell them, check it out: Ouros.etsy.com I wasn't sure where to list this, since it isn't a 'part' to sell. I apologize in advance if I posted in the wrong spot. Happy Holidays!
  18. I can't find the address for the Aria shop in Camarillo - it might just be a shop and not a storefront, unlisted to the public. But we do also use MetalCrafters - they're in Fountain Valley, and also do fantastic work on our showcars. Don't let the name fool you - they do both fabrication and paint.
  19. I'll have to find the address. They're a few streets down from the Volvo design studio....but it looks like they're not listed on google maps. I'll find it and get back to you.
  20. Aria Group is a fabrication and paint shop in Camarillo, CA. I work in the auto industry as a designer, and this is a company we use to make our concept cars for auto shows. They do a really stellar job on surface work and paint - but not sure on the cost. Worth looking into though.
  21. An orbital sander might take off more than you need to if you intend to get all the rust out. I'd start with an orbital, but once you get to the point where there's the little ditches (if the rust is that bad), I'd suggest going in with a light dremel sander. You'll also want something between the bare-metal and the primer. Fill the areas you've sanded away with bondo, let sure, then hand-sand away. Also, I'd recommend against rattle-can primer. Even if you use High-build, it's not the same. You can get a spray gun from Harbor Freight really cheap, and use catalyzed primer - which is much stronger, and will produce a more even body at the end. You'll want to do a few coats, and wet-sand with a spline for smooth surfaces. Doing bondo and proper primer will ensure that the rust doesn't just come back. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time and effort, right? You can check out this process on my blog if you want.
  22. Anyone got a shop they recommend locally? I'm dropping the block myself and having it machined, but am not confident enough to put it back in... I'm in Troy and Livonia is a bit far to tow my little beast.
  23. Yeah, I'm learning a lot about cold-weather prep. ...Something about battery warmers? Good to know for next time. I think my daily is just having some electrical issues - but its too damn cold to take things apart now. There's plenty more winter-things I'm learning though....none of them good. 1. I learned that door locks can freeze. With you inside the car. 2. I brought my car from Cali with a 50/50 washer fluid/water mix...then remembered that water freezes. 4. Discovered road salt. WTF. Didn't know cars could rust that much. O.O
  24. Carl - I'm from SoCal... most recently from Pasadena, but I grew up in a small town near Oceanside ..and OMG that meme couldn't be any more accurate. So. Much. Snow. Raking leaves is a b*tch too. They keep falling while you're raking, and it's always from your neighbor's tree. Sigh. Did I mention I miss Cali?
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