mmaaaaaxx

Very nice. Link to the tool you use?

Yes, he’s still around. I ordered a set last month and had them within a few days. It took a few days to reply to my initial email, but was then very responsive. Maybe just shoot him an email again (things get trapped in spam filters, missed emails, just general life gets in the way, etc.).

Acquired my first ‘02 about a month ago and it’s been sitting in my parents’ driveway (gotta love apartment living) while I get it sorted. First order of business was bleeding the brakes and upgrading to braided lines while I was in there. Managed to swap everything out, including the clutch line, but the driver side rear was a no go. Lines looked like they’d never been changed and the rears had been painted over when they sprayed the bottom of the car. The nut hasn’t stripped yet, but I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it (snap-on line wrench, drenched in both PB Blaster and acetone / ATF mixture, applied heat with a torch, V-shaped Irwin vise grips, etc). while I wait for new hardliners from Blunttech I figured I’d overhaul the sad and tired throttle linkages with the gorgeous pieces from @halboyles. Install was straightforward and easy.

kbmb02, who would be your go to vendor in this case?

Randomly happened upon these at my local super market and bought a pack as a Christmas present for a friend that has an orange 02. Back in high school I loved Jones Soda, particularly the green apple flavor.

Thanks for all the help and guidance everyone! I still have tons to learn, but looking forward to the journey and will hopefully have an 02 of my own in due course. Here is a quick snap of my current car a 1984 300TD wagon with relatively low mileage at 130K.

I currently have $10K to $15K earmarked in my head. I'm expecting faaaaar from perfect for that price. Pberen's recent post on current valuations has been extremely helpful as a guidepost. The pandemic, stimulus checks, and ~0% interest rates did funny things to just about everything, so I'm more than happy to see if average values come down closer to pre-2019 levels. I have access to a life and space available to park it / pull it apart while I learn the ins and outs and make it fit my style.

Actually I originally found that car on the FAQ, but also cross posted on FB Marketplace and Craigslist. That being said, I think I've posted more via this thread than the seller ever has across the FAQ. I think he's had it listed for ~3 months now, originally at $12.8K 🤯, but had mentioned to me that he'd go down to $8K. The hour I spent phsyically poking and prodding the car (versus just reading what to look out for) was well worth it in terms of experience and getting to engage with you all. Thanks again for all the tips and support.

No leads, but give Craigslist a look. I’ve met 3-4 guys now that just rent single car lock up garages due to their overzealous car collecting habit.

Quick update as I went to see the car over the weekend. Unfortunately the car was a far bit worse than the seller and provided photos originally let on. Positives were that all four wheel housings and strut towers appeared rust free. The floor of the car from underneath the car also appeared clean. Now on to the list of negatives. Driver side sill ahead of the rear quarter panel was bubbling with rust. The trunk looks like it was rotting from the inside out. I wonder if the turbo style spoiler was allowing water to seep in. Bottom of both doors were rotting away. I couldn't work out how to pull up the rear bench seat, but this is what the base looked like. It looks like the car was in an accident and the left rear of the car was repaired in. Guessing this crack along the driver side of the inside of the trunk where the floor meets the rear fender isn't good. Assume prior mentioned accident was the culprit? Inside of the trunk where the floor meets the rear bulkhead had a crack in it. Every seal on the car is completely shot and there are multiple 1"+ gaps on both the front and rear glass. The car had the original interior and after sitting out in the sun for decades the dashboard was toast and whatever is left of the padding / filling within the seats was crumbling away when I looked at them wrong. It was a good experience to spend the hour or so looking at the car in detail, but between the current state and the questions around the status of the engine and transmission (currently non running, so I couldn't check anything) I'm walking away from this one. Also, I think the seller's expectation around his asking price is far removed from reality. Curious what any of you would even offer for this.

No firsthand experience with 2002s, but I recently redid the front seats in my W123 Mercedes using brand new covers from GAHH. Quality was exceptional and they are local to me, so I was able to see them in the flesh before pulling the trigger. The padding will be the biggest headache as anything but brand new items (original or reproduction) will have more than likely compressed and then won't fill out your brand new expensive covers.

@Tdh thanks for your insight. I'm on a similar page to you. I've got the time and space. Given how relatively simple 2002s are, I'm more than happy to take the time to teach myself new skills such as welding etc.. Hell, nothing can be as bad as trying to discern a vacuum related issue in a W123 Mercedes.

@tech71 one of my best friends has a construction company and has already given me the go-ahead to leave my car in their yard and use their lift for as long as I want 😉.

Thanks @TobyB! With the limited amount of time I've spent on the forum, your posts have been invaluable. Given how relatively simple 2002s are, I'm really excited about all the skills I can teach myself and learn (e.g. electrical, welding, etc.). Apologies in advance for any questions that I reach out to you for, after search all of your old posts.

Thanks @OldRoller. I'm more of a masochist myself and have space and time on my side. I'm also willing to spend the time and patience to learn anything I don't already know how to do (e.g. welding floor pans, etc.).

@Mike Self I'm going to view the car tomorrow. I'm bringing a jack and bag of tools with me and plan to take more photos than I think I need. Will post them up here for the communities thoughts.

Thanks @NYNick while I'm comfortable with doing / learning a lot of the mechanicals on my own, project management and budgeting when it comes to car projects is new to me. I do love a a good spreadsheet though, so sounds like I just need to take photos of everything before buying and price out parts and panels.

First time posting, but I've been lurking the board for last 12 months or so (only recently created a login). Over the last year and a half I've been helping a friend work on his own 2002 and have fallen in love with the platform due to it's relative simplicity, lightweight, and sporty nature. Over the last few months I've been keeping an eye out for decent project I can work on and slowly make my own. My current car is a 1984 Mercedes 300TD and grew up lightly modifying my old WRX, so I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. I've spend a number of hours searching the faq / technical articles and have purchased both the Haynes manual and Mike Macartney's Restoration Guide, which have all been invaluable resources. I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on a lot of the basics (e.g. general layout, common rust areas, etc.), but I'm looking for some specific advice on a potential car I've come across. There is 1973 2002 local to me for sale that is pretty cheap, with limited rust in the trunk area (I'm planning to thoroughly check all the usual spots when I go to see the car in person), but currently doesn't run. The seller says he got it running when he first picked it up a few years, but it has been sitting in his driveway for about 2 years as he has too many project cars. I'm planning to try and do a compression test on the car when I go view it, but is there anything else I should specifically do / keep an eye out for? I'm based in LA, so I may just see if the seller is willing to send it out for a PPI at my expense to one of the many local 2002 specialists (e.g. Bavaria Auto Repair, JFPro, Bavarian Workshop, etc.). Thanks for any and all help!