Fletcher

To add some context, this is a California Car

It's just a San Francisco, California car that's spent much of its life near the beach.  

That is to say it hasn't rusted from the inside out, but rusted primarily from salt air landing on it.  It is structurally sound and has been thoroughly inspected by Bill at Road Rockets, Sonoma Raceway in California.  He pulled Its engine & drivetrain and then parked it out in a field in Sebastopol with a tarp over it some time ago, intending to make it in to a race car eventually.  When he learned I needed something to keep me out of trouble, he graciously put it back together and brought it to me.

22 minutes ago, TodB said:

Where are you located?

Federal Way, Washington.

It's here at long last and I'm trying to figure out where to start.  I have some ideas but am certainly open to others.

Mechanically, @rocketman who installed the engine/drivetrain over the last couple of weeks and drove it here (~760miles!  Much gratitude, Bill! ?  ), told me I need to replace the ignition coil (recommending Bosch blue core w/ internal resistor) and the ignitor(?) I think (pertronix was mentioned specifically in regard to this and looking on their site for my 02, ignitors is what they offer) as it's idling rough and misfiring a bit while driving.   Will confirm with him on that later.   I have a complete list of repairs going back to 2007 that has been done to it mechanically.   Which is cool as I know what's already been replaced in the relatively recent past.

The leading edge of the hood is shot. the rot visible in the photo for the passengers side goes all the way around (hence why the trim is missing - it's in the trunk).  
Thinking fiberglass replacement is the quickest solution there.  Thoughts?  Sources? I've looked at IE & AIR.  Bill said someone here on the FAQ was making nice carbon fiber ones.  I'll poke around unless someone knows who he's talking about there? 

Replacing the fenders with fiberglass was also suggested, but they look salvageable to me unless there's issues there I just haven't looked close enough to see.  The tops and bottoms of the doors though need help. 

The rot under the passengers side window is significant - it's holed right above the hood and the rust goes up under the seal and the pillar on the drivers side at the base is in similar shape.  Is that something people generally fix on their own or is that fabricator territory? 

The diving boards are coming off.  I'll reclaim several square feet of garage right there.  

Interior wise: 
The dash is cracked. 
There s a couple bulbs out in the instrument panel
The speedo is needs to be recalibrated to show the correct speed (currently ~15mph under - 75mph actual looks like 60mph)
The boot for the stick shift is missing.
The front seats are drivers side Recaro (mostly foam, fabric is gone) and stock (passenger) needs attention.
The carpets and the headliner need some love.
I haven't tried the sun roof.  It's little rusty on the outside.
Radio still works
And the heater/fan both work

It won't be registered / insured for a bit, so I'm in no rush to get it on the road.  I think I'll take the trim and the bumpers off and try to address the surface rust and oxidation as best I can while formulating plans for more serious work.

 

6 minutes ago, AustrianVespaGuy said:

Congrats!!! Now you can start shopping for a hood, trunk lid, doors, fenders, etc. . .

Indeed.  Already am.  Any suggestions?  I've looked at IE's stuff (fiberglass) and sent an inquiry in for this to see if they're available https://www.americaninternationalracing.com/product/front-hood-4/
 

Parked in the garage for the first time ever.  Immediately proceeded by driving it for the first time ever. 

 

It's here!   ??  Hand-delivered. Thanks @rocketman!

 

@AustrianVespaGuy & @TodB

both your cars look amazing!  I hope mine looks as good someday! ??  Thanks

@Conserv better?

it’s?arriving tonight.  I will see it (and drive it) for the first time in person then.  Pretty sure it’s Mint Grun at this point, but wanted to provide better photos ?

1 hour ago, JerryC said:

+1, put it back together as-is and figure out what you've got before fiddling with modifications. Do you know why the motor was removed?

Jerry

Hi Jerry,

I was told it was removed running when the car went in to storage.  The car was stored as a shell w/o engine, trans & driveshaft.  Those were all removed and stored inside.  The car was stored under tarps in a field.  The car is currently closer to you than me at Sonoma Raceway being reassembled before I get it. 

Are bumper deletes legal in WA?  Can I get rid of the 70s bumpercar bumpers altogether?  Or do I have to replace them with something?   Thanks!!

Not doing a rebuild atm.  Engine/trans/etc was stored in doors while the car was out in a field.  It's just going back in.

 

My motor.  Question: what is the performance difference between this and a dual carb setup?  Is it worth doing?  Is it hard to do?  Thanks!

Amazing!

what software did you use?  And printer?

thx

Federal Way, WA.  Anxiously awaiting my 76 Mint Grun project. It’s currently in Northern California having an engine/trans installed in it.   It’s spent the last while as under tarps in a field.  
 

What I have (above) and a vague idea I hope for (below)

without a repaint, how best to get there?   Will oxidation like this come off with wet sanding and/or buffing or will that take the paint off entirely?

thanks!

What color is my 1976 02?

The seller called it Mint Green.  Which when I search for BMW color codes seems to be “94”.  Yet when I search for available colors by make/model/year, Mint Green isn’t an option and the color that looks close is called Florida Green “66”.  
 

Which is correct?

Thanks!

This is an old post, but I’m curious about this too.  Here in WA, law seems to state I must have one unless

”Bumpers are optional equipment on vehicles defined as street rod vehicles, custom vehicles and kit vehicles.”

What - I wonder - determines whether or not my 02 is a “street rod” ?

https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=204-10-022

2 hours ago, tech71 said:

 

Man,I really love Mint Grun.

 

Likewise and it is the original color for mine and my goal

52 minutes ago, tech71 said:

decent cartridge type respirator

Thanks! Any ones in particular that you recommend? 

39 minutes ago, Son of Marty said:

A definite yes on the respirator and cover all of your skin if your using anything more than rattle, cans modern auto paint can be toxic at low levels, so do your research before you pick up a spray gun it's cheaper that way.

Excellent advice.   I assumed it wasn't non-toxic, but I didn't think of suiting up beyond the respirator.  Thanks!  

As I progress on surface rust repairs, should I prime as I go with primer from an aerosol can?

or leave it bare metal and then sand the whole car and prime with compressor and sprayer?

i have a couple job site construction compressors for driving nailguns.   Will these work for painting with sprayer?

Any recommendations on sprayers, paints and (seem hard to find atm. Thanks, covid) respirators?

thanks

Since this post, I’ve found a way to get my California 2002 home.  It will take a month or two, but all is looking up again ??

Well for the time being I'm stymied in my pursuit of a 2002 to make the focus of all the time I'm not wasting on social media anymore.  

I had intended - this week in fact - to drive to California and pick up a surface-rusty but structurally sound mint green 1976 2002 sans engine/trans/driveshaft (those pieces were being provided separately - not installed), but this damnable pandemic is exploding there and it was generally deemed a bad idea.   

That aside, if I'm honest with & of myself, my skills as a mechanic are non-diagnostic in nature.  Given an obvious problem (brakes, alignment, starter motor), I can and have followed YouTube videos and other online instruction recipes to successful repairs, but I in no way have any of the experience or knowledge necessary to put an engine, transmission and drive shaft back in a car, redo all it's connecting bits and then know why it does or doesn't work.   So, even if I had gone and got it, I'd now be in a pickle trying to figure out even where to start.

What I need is

• a mechanically complete car (that is perhaps aesthetically challenged)
• one that is near me here in Federal Way, WA
• one that is being sold for next to nothing (the aforementioned Mint Green beauty was a mere $3K)

If my searching to date is any guide: This is the land of pure unadulterated fantasy.  

But I really want to be part of this community and have an 02...

Thoughts?  Guffaws?  Psychiatric recommendations? ?

Thanks
 

1 hour ago, MitchaPaLoOza88 said:

I dont know how much you know about welding

additional thought on this: 

In addition to working on the body panels, I'm going to need to do some repair to the base of the drivers side front pillar and that's sides rocker panel.   Sight unseen as I don't have photos at the moment to share, any thoughts on how to go about those repairs? 

On the pillar, can I just: use a die grinder to clear the base of rust, cut a chunk of steel to stick in the resulting hole and weld it in/grind it smooth? 

I watched one vid of a rocker panel replacement on a truck, where the guy matched the new one as an overlay, marked out the old one, used a cutting tool cut out where he marked and a drill to take off the tops of the rivets(?), bent & pried it out and then fit and welded the new on in.  Is that generally how that's done? 

Thanks! 

59 minutes ago, MitchaPaLoOza88 said:

I dont know how much you know about welding

Thanks for the guidance, I'm sure I'll need more.  I took an metal arts class some years ago where we touched briefly on all the welding, cutting, bending, etc and I own one of those crappy harbor freight welders that blew a 20amp fuse every time I used it for more than a few minutes causing me to give up on it more or less by the third attempt.  Hoping the Hobart will be better in that regard, so I can actually gain some skill