solo 2

Apparently I won't even have to restore mine, I'll just wait a couple of years and sell the rusted shell for 10 large.

After 6 months of a break finally started getting the 320 apart, new LSD and 5 speed for the 2002.

This has been done with many cars, just do an internet search. While keeping the BMW theme might appeal to fans of the marque you're already modifying the crap out of it. Get yourself a Hyabusa engine to start with, 180 HP and 103 lb/ft of torque at 7K rpm right out of the box. Turbo kits are available up to 400HP I believe.

What I do is roller some paint on the wall beside the tv when F1 is on, that way I can switch back and forth between the drying paint and the race, which ever is more exciting at the time...paint is ahead about 70/30 right now;)

+1 on MotoGP

I did upholstery about 20 years ago, even then for some reason people seemed to assume that it took nothing to reupholster a seat, you really do get what you pay for. Material, especially rare original or proper hides are very expensive, many running into the hundreds of dollars per yard. IIRC it takes approx. 3yds to do a set of seats. Leather is especially tricky because most original automotive leathers are coated and have the grain stamped into them for uniformity and wear resistance. Regular garment hides can be used but the grain is uneven, they are more supple but unless they are top coated the dye will rub off on your clothes and it will wear much faster than original leather no matter what. The quality imitation leathers are very good and gaining popularity even in high end cars, but once again very expensive.

If someone specializes in Recaros or has done them before, it should be a little cheaper as they probably already have a pattern for them, if not they have to tear them apart for a pattern, or worse, make one from the seat itself. Any foam repairs can be time consuming to get right and do properly using a high quality foam. Merely gluing standard cushion foam (or worse,rebond foam) in place without correctly backing it will result in a failure pretty quickly, they may look nice but like paint, what's underneath can be as critical as the cover.

Check out the prices of a new, quality leather sport seat, there's no reason to expect a quality rebuild to be much less expensive. A good upholsterer is no less important than a painter/bodyman or mechanic. Once again you get what you pay for usually. 

Go to a decent upholstery shop, preferably one that's been around for many years. There are places that stock factory materials, even back to the 40's. That particular material may not be available and if it is it will probably be wicked expensive but it's worth a shot.

These guys are the largest from what I remember, I don't know if you can deal directly with them.

https://www.smsautofabrics.com/

On 1/12/2017 at 7:07 AM, MildSeven said:

 

Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.albertronic.x123tuneplus&hl=en

 

iOS:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/123-tune/id890882601?mt=8

 

OK neither my phone or my tablet seem to be compatible though both are Android 4.2.2 and have bluetooth connectivity. I thought anything above 4.0 was compatible.

My laptop is older than both with windows 7 but it will download just fine. Any ideas, I haven't actually opened my 123 yet as it won't be in use for some time.

6 hours ago, Simeon said:

The edges on my trunk boards have released (in situ) using 3M 90. Areas where I used old fashioned, brush on rubber based contact adhesive this all stayed in place. 

+1 

I did auto upholstery for 10 years, contact cement works really well on anything being bonded to steel, once cured it doesn't come off. most glues I've seen have to be sprayed on both surfaces and then left to set up tacky, almost dry, if you don't do this most glues will fail. Wet feeling glue is a recipe for disaster in my experience.

Maybe I've overlooked something but where do you get the app for the bluetooth 123? I have a Samsung Galaxy and can't seem to find it anywhere. TIA

If it is a crack you can just get it welded up, a pain to be sure but not a huge issue.

That's pretty cool, I've never seen the machine that does that. Thing would be so easy to program with that type of tooling.

2 hours ago, dang said:

What I do...

 

--  If you're painting over an area that already has paint and just needs touching up and blending I use 800 grit, but you're not trying to take a bunch of paint off, just make it dull.

--  Get the paint matched by either driving the car down to the shop or better yet, take a piece of metal that's the correct color and have it matched.  It won't be perfect.

--  Determine if you need base/clear or single stage.  Take a dark towel and use some polishing compound and see if any white shows up on the towel.  If yes, its single stage.  If no, it has clearcoat.

--  Have them make an aerosol can with the base/color.  If its two-stage get some Jam-it clear in an aerosol can.  They should be $20 to $25 each.

--  Make sure the sanded area is much larger than your painting area.  Allow a foot or so more than where you plan to paint.

--  Paint the base and blend, leaving enough sanded area to paint clear past the color but not all the way to the edge of the sanded area.

--  Wet sand the entire sanded area with 1500 grit.

--  Cut with cutting compound (or rubbing compound), then polishing compound.

 

For the holes you might consider using white grommets to plug them.  It won't look great but it would look better than trying to fill them and it not turning out very good because you don't have the right material.

 

This is pretty complete but I'm curious about the clear you're talking about, is it a 2 part, if not I'd stick with Spraymax. Just remember to wear a proper mask when shooting, nasty stuff. If you're in Cali I'm not sure you can buy it there.

10 hours ago, theNomad said:

Thanks, thats what i was envisioning. What grit do you uae to scuff before paint? 400 seems too rough?

I didnt yet see if they cleared or if they used single stage. I was getting white from the original paint and not sure what they used at maaco. Getting rid of the hard grey line and the ivory chamonix color would go a long way to make it a 10ft car.

800 grit should be plenty rough for a recoat. BASF/RM makes a paint called Uno, a single stage paint but you need a gun to shoot it. I've only used it once for a new paint job, works good but it takes some getting used to as it shoots like water. Most paint jobs are base/clear.

Most paint shops can put a base coat in a spray bomb, then get a can of Spraymax 2K spot clear coat, dries very quickly and is very durable. I've used these products many times and they work excellent, I've done complete quarters this way. When you tape off the area you want, use 2" painters tape but only press down the far edge, let the leading edge stay lifted about 1/2" or so. Don't try to spray under the tape just pretend it's a solid line, this will blend the paint a bit without going too far or leaving a solid line. If you get a nice blend line, a light scuff with 1000 grit or better yet wait a couple weeks then power polish.

I think sometime it's really just a case of someone thinking they're sitting on gold, you see it all the time in the resto world. Someone sees a Challenger sell for 100K at Barrett and all of a sudden their rusty 4 door Volare' is worth 10K. 02"s seem to be pretty hot right now with prices of nice Tii's going through the roof which in turn pushes up all prices. If someone can get these prices from someone else, they should probably be doing their homework.

1 minute ago, JohnH said:

 

The charge velocity is maintained on a normally aspirated engine, because the exhaust system typically uses smaller diameter pipework towards the end of the system. As you say, flow is everything.

As you said previously the charge slows (cools) the instant it leaves the combustion chamber. Ceramic coating, internal and external, helps keep the velocity of the charge up. Keep in mind that scavenging is probably more dependent on exhaust header design and of course tube diameter also comes into play when you're talking velocity. 

42 minutes ago, JohnH said:

I believe that reducing heat transfer from an exhaust on a normally aspirated engine is counter productive. As a gas temperature reduces it also reduces in volume, aiding scavenging. This is not true for a turbocharged engine, where you would want maximum temperature reduction after the turbocharger, hence wrapping exhaust prior to the turbo.

 

I would paint the exhaust manifold matt black and concentrate on heat shielding vital components and promoting airflow through the engine compartment. You could think about creating an Unterbodenschutz similar to this homologated for the group 2 2002ti to aid in this endeavour

 

  

I'm pretty sure keeping the charge hot maintains the velocity of the charge which in turn increases the scavenging effect. Turbos use blankets and coatings to keep the velocity of the charge from decreasing and also reducing under hood temps. For any exhaust to show maximum gains everything upstream must be working to their maximum. I'm wondering if he meant a 6hp gain which I think might be possible on a large well prepared motor but 6% seems high on 100hp motor.

Rolling Stones - Bitch

Bee Gees - Stayin Alive

AC/DC - Girls got Rhythm

Bob Marly - Jammin

The Clash - London Calling

Tool - Stinkfist

Hmmm, turning into a mix tape. Definitely 'Bitch' if I could only pick one.

I'm no expert but I have done quite a few motorcycle restorations and I can tell you from experience that buying a rusted out 02 with everything else in good nick will save you thousands. An entire vehicle is always cheaper than the sum of it's parts. You have a good shell which is more than most start with it seems, finding a rust bucket shouldn't be a problem, I'm guessing someone on this site may have one sitting around.

Good Luck.

I used to do custom vans and cars and it wasn't uncommon to use the type of screw pictured above to fasten panels. A couple of things to watch; make sure there is sheet metal behind where you are screwing and make sure there is nothing the screw is going to hit that will stop it from going in or ruin something it's going into, this may seem like common sense but trust me it happens. Lay out the places you are going to screw on the door and panel, they are pretty much self tapping into sheet metal with a rechargeable drill. If you are not concerned with originality screws can look just fine. Black screws on black cards would not stand out that much or look out of place. Using original clips can be a pain as they tend to show through if not done correctly and don't work well if the door cards are thicker than original.

Edit: I see the bottoms of your doors are tan, you can get bronze colored screws as well as black and chrome

Ordered mine on Nov.16, just arrived today. Thanks again.

Looks good. What did you attach the spoke covers with? I just finished redying a couple of sport wheels.

It's been about 20 years since I was in upholstery but I hope your person didn't stretch the headliner too tight as it can cause tearing when you install hardware. You should be able to feel the screw holes with your finger, if the material wrinkles a bit it can be steamed and it will usually go back to smooth. Even a hot summer day can cure some wrinkles. The nice thing about steam as opposed to a heat gun is you can't burn through the material, you can also use steam to soften the material to aid in finding holes.

If you are going for absolute original or want to learn something new, use lead but keep in mind that the new epoxies are just as good and easier to cut apart if needed. One of the reasons epoxies have not caught on with the general public is because of cost, it's quite expensive for some of it. Now this is only from my personal experience but I've used JB Weld quite a bit for rough bodywork, filling in weld lines etc. and I've never had an issue with it. Prep is key like everything else. If you wanted to use some of the higher tech epoxies, do your research, I'm sure they make something that will work for this very application.

New Toyos and on the car.