jerry

Sadly, strut spindles do indeed wear.  Fretting wear, most likely due to improper tightening of the wheel hubs, i suspect, contribute to this.  the evidence can be seen by a wear step at the 12 o'clock position of the inboard bearing location.

Cool never heard of buying a sticker for a car before having it,

i think that shows a great sense of planning. 

i was within 3 minutes of placing a high bid on a vintage italian 2-seater when my computer crashed and the auction ended...   i think it was a message.  i've since resigned to fawning over a coffee-table book of those cars as the prices have gotten out of hand.  The car: a 1959 alfa romeo guilletta veloce. 

I'd like to express my gratitude to the URO vendor for reaching out.

It's been my experience with many 02's in various states of disrepair, that the primary failure point is the aft end of the seal where the rubber is more pliable and sun bleached and the window glass rests against it.  the forward and top portions, after decades of use, tend to endure and remain pliable. 

Perhaps, a truncated repair piece at a reduced price could be a potential 'hot-seller' rather than replacing the entire seal.  if you look closely, the original seal is actually an assembly of parts glued together.

there are many types of mesh available.  stainless steel seems a natural.  i've often thought about such things, especially since the price of new grills is so high.  try it out and report back....

my guess is that you have either a small crack in your exhaust which may adjust when it reaches operating temperature, or perhaps the joint between the downpipe and center resonator is slightly loose and swells shut upon heating up.  check for looseness.  since it is a temporary smoke issue, you're not looking for very loose fittings.  take a wrench with you when you crawl under the car to investigate.

great shot.  just think...

one milli-second later with the camera and the car would look as if it were carrying the Transamerica pyramid on its roof

i'm all for NLA repos in principle.  my reluctance for mudflaps is a concern over whether or  not they entrap grit against the fender well.  i would love to see an inner liner for the front wheels as mentioned above.  that area is a disaster for grit entrapment and moisture.

readily available 3M contact adhesive is adequate.  brushable or spray.  remember that there are tabs at the bottom of the firewall that help to secure it in place in addition to the brake lines up top. 

i have mixed feelings on the insulation as it entraps moisture if the heater plenum drain openings are not properly cleaned.  but, i have not driven a car without so i don't know how much more engine noise would transmit.  additionally, the last time i checked that insulation piece was pricey.  i have seen HVAC insulation type aluminum backed material used as an alternative.

i'd want it for the VIN primarily, but the reserve has not been met at 5K which i don't think could be recouped with all the extraneous bits on it. 

for me, i'd want to return to duel solex PHH's and KEEP the exterior looking the way it does, but remove the tailpanel and fender flares.  perhaps go with integral pigcheeks instead.

i'd curse the person who drilled the VIN on the front fender, too.

i'd want to return the original ti-specific parts to it.  but i love the patina...

talk is cheap and i've already spent my allocation on this example.

where, pray tell, is your beloved city? 

the answer could at least allow some to ponder a solution up close and personal, otherwise we're all here saying, "but for the grace of god goes me"...  sorry to see this.    looks like a squaretail nosepiece.  and it, or the fenders have been removed at some point.

Hi ttown,

 

I'm located in the bay area

wrong answer...

assuming you're referring to the SF Bay Area.

planning on moving out of state soon?

Will your cup holder hold a bottle of whiskey?  can you add a drinking straw version so i can enjoy my whiskey without removing my hands from the steering wheel?

i'd hate to be distracted while driving my car and reaching for a sip....

photos.......?

or it didn't happen.

 

Panda bears are rated as the #1 most stupidest animal in the animal kingdom.

i did NOT know that!!!!

i love a train wreck once in a while.  this has been a great 'food fight' week.   i used to watch the 3 stooges as a kid.  what fun is growing up?

looks like BMWJeff's (?) car; a yearly participant in the Brisbane 02 show.

handicapped parking space, too???   hummm....

edit:  i think this car is a later model, judging from the side markers.

i recognize it....

looks just like a 73tii i have, except mines all rusty and a shell, but yours looks like the 'before' photos i was given, with the car shell (for free, btw).

got a VIN?

i've had similar experience of dead car syndrome with an accompanying empty feeling in the gut.  my problem stemmed from a bad connection on the negative terminal on the battery, to ground.  when the ground is bad, the car is dead.  sometimes, just tightening the connection points solved the problem.

A bit OT, I know, but I'm so saddened to hear that Mark has not kept Silicon Garage alive, even in spirit. I feel fortunate to have known Curt, and if there is one thing he absolutely was, it was honest and giving, through and through. To hear that someone else (who in all my previous encounters seemed like a really nice guy) has not only closed up the business, but also left some customers hanging, is just really disappointing. Mark, if you're out there, I hope you have the opportunity and will to make things right purely out of respect for Curt, even if you don't have the desire or time to carry on with the business.

i know a little background on the demise of the 3-core Silicon Garage radiator business that might explain the sad end of if.  About 10 years ago i took a 2002 radiator to a shop I had used decades ago for an old 50's truck radiator when i was in high school.  it had been in business forever and was just off highway 101 in Greenbrae, CA called Mill Valley Radiator. 

the guy running it recognized it immediately and mentioned that one of his customers (Curt) supplied a steady supply of them for resale.  At that time, the guy seemed to keep his drinking habit in check for the most part.  you wouldn't think much to see him, but apparently, his workmanship made up for the generally sloppy condition of the shop.  It was always filled with cars and radiator cores of all types in piles here and there.  i believe Curt painted his radiators himself to ensure a uniform finish. 

This guy would straighten the brass covers and reform as best as possible and use lead filler to shape to original contour when necessary.  Initially, i got my radiator in a timely manner.  i ended up bringing him 4 or 5  more with no particular timeframe for completion.  As i recall, i waited several months for my next one; then a couple years for the next one after that.  By this time, he had used my PERFECT undented cores for someone else (he commented on how nice they were at the time) and i was left to accept his 2nd tier cores.  out of the blue he called me with 2 more radiators and i accepted them knowing that they were probably rejected by Mark for cosmetic reasons.  i paid $225/each btw.  i always wondered how much they sold for on the open market. 

i was still waiting for the last two cores he had of mine, when suddenly, to my horror, the shop was closed and everything was taken to the scrap yard, i was told by another mechanic who knew of him.  alcohol got the best of him and he started gambling and got into methamphetimines and ended up in jail for a little while.  his rent was cheap and he was behind on it too.  he really threw away a great little business as he was known as the go-to guy for exotic radiator repairs. 

he told me of one customer who came to his shop with a very old radiator from the 20's or 30's that he needed for his vintage racer that he was going to ship to Italy for an event and asked if $4000 would cover the cost of repair.  he tried to contain his glee when he assured the customer that that would probably cover the cost of repair.  such was his reputation among the repair world.

i had one email exchange with Mark, who took over from Curt.  he responded to my email because i informed him that i knew his source.  Mark was unfortunate to have gotten involved with this shop at the time that he did.  by this time, the guy was on the downward spiral.  my guess is that he somehow convinced Mark to pay up front to assure timely turn times.  i'm not making excuses for Mark, and he's ultimately responsible for his deeds, but i thought i'd share the story of the demise of the once highly desireable 3-row Silicon Garage radiators. 

i recently sold one of my cars that had one of those radiators in it and i really regret not switching it out before i offered it up for sale, such was the quality of it.  btw, i asked Mark why he didn't just go elsewhere and he said he tried several shops but none were up to snuff.  i lost 2 good radiator cores, but no cash to this shop.

Longs Locksmith in Berkeley California has done this for me and are familiar with the 2002 locks.

they're on University Ave should you decide to contact them.

plan on removing the engine/tranny and front suspension et al. to repair it, either by patching or complete replacement.  it IS doable. 

.  He is/was most likely German.   Good so far..

even better if he was from East Germany...

i wait in anticipation....

will this story include girls, violence or wild car chases?  spies, terrorists or other aspects of intrigue?

perhaps a description of the exposed parts of an opened hood,  or an ever so enticing tale of what was found while pondering the underside.

wow.  exceptionally nice welding.  i can only dream of making welds that clean on sheet metal...

nice work.

by the time i got around to the passenger side, i think my technique improved...

i made my corner patch by forming it first to the existing corner before removing the rusty metal.  i cut the metal to fit the patch.

photo shows extent of rusty metal removed

finished floor

i hope this removes some of the trepidation in attempting this work.  notice that all repairs were done with available sheet metal. 

here's what i did.  the photos document my earliest work on this particular car so the technique is rather crude, but functional.  practice does indeed make 'perfect', so to speak...

start small.

.

an early attempt at metal forming (if possible, use existing contours (at similar locations) to hammer flat stock to form)

i removed only what was absolutely necessary, piecing together as needed.  as your skills improve you can attempt bigger sections.