jerry

a GOOD chrome job involves plating three different metals

1. Copper is used as the filler metal base which is the least expensive and any imperfections must be polished out at this stage before plating with Nickel.

2. Nickel is plated after Copper and is used to minimize the internal strain at the interface due to the higher lattice mismatch between Chromium and Copper metal. Nickel is expensive and is typically avoided on lesser plating jobs.

3. Chrome is the thin top layer that will show every scratch, imperfection that was not smoothed out before plating.

If you have deeper dents/gouges you'll have to use lead solder to fill them up prior to the copper plate.

Insist on Cu-Ni-Cr when doing a lasting plating job.

Personally, I prefer Ni-plating as the final layer, but it was phased out decades earlier as it's expensive and doesn't stay as shiny as chrome but it has a nice warm patina.

i'm especially interested in your use of the M3 crank, as i have one squirreled away for the appropriate time. please document the process.

and i'm constantly having to sit on my hands when i see a fourlorn (sp?) 02. they seem to have those puppydog eyes i find irresistable.

1975 dry weather, daily driver (love this car)

1976 driver, non-registered/non-titled parts car in waiting

1973 tii non-driver crashed and rust issues (bought that way)

late '71 currently under refurbishment/rehab

early '71 ti-clone to-be, next in line I hope

1973 automatic, non-running, good body, modern copper color repaint, originally an Inka car. good candidate for complete redo and 5spd.

is it just me?

somehow, i really like the look of your car as it is right now. it has a certain raw look of an 'old school' survivor. the dull finish only adds to it. how's the rust content? i remember when this car was on ebay and i fantisized about removing those flares and returning it to stock appearance, but the more i look at it i kinda like em. the rear spoiler's a little over the top, but so what...

i'd love to see photos of all the items that differentiate this car from all the others.

thanks davin,

you've just 'outed' my own personal autotrac course. i live on paradise drive (just barely past your photo on the upper end) ; nice to have been able to return, btw. homesteads been in the family since 1950. we're the last 'white trash' of tiburon. and it's where your previous white 02 (2570440) resides too.

there's too many bikes on weekends and be VERY careful of deer. i especially enjoy it on my morning commute to work when i take my 02. was much less travelled in the 70's when you could really let loose with abandon.

What about vibration? I am not sure steel lines will hold up without cracking over time.

SS lines are used extensively in aeroengines and diesel engines. this is no more an issue than it would be with the plastic lines. i'm sure BMW chose plastic purely for economic reasons.

failure typically occurs at a transition in thickness/stiffnes such as the fittings, btw.

Swagelok company may offer metric fittings btw.

i kinda like em. i consider it car jewlery, not too blingy and period correct. i got a set i'm gonna use on my late 71. the front piece also comes with vintage scraps and bruises for the proper 'patina' look.

when i restored my '74 twelve years ago i changed it from dark blue to sort of sky blue with a hint of grey, almost a pastel color. i believe it was an 70's Ford or Fiat color, IIRC. i liked it and since it was a squarie i didn't care too much. also, i was living in Atlanta at the time and dark blue w/o A/C was too much heat absorption for me.

i personally like Chaminox very much and think it looks best on the earliest 02's w/o the lower molding. i'm actually wrestling with this dilemna with my current project. it's originally Malaga, not my favorite color that was resprayed with a darker brick red which i actually like. however, when the lightings just right Malaga can look more like dark red than burgundy. Also the original paint color sticker is in such clean shape.

i also have a crashed '73tii that's waiting its turn at rehab; also a Malaga. i've already made the decision for the most part that it will be Polaris or Fjord with blue/black interior (my favorite).

i suppose it really depends on the individual situation. ideally, i would have liked to keep the tii bone stock original but since its a '73 and not an early VIN '72 and crashed as well, i don't feel too compelled to keep it original.

your posting should be titled: "02 porn"...

i mean that in a nice way, though

thanks.

that's a minor detail that wasn't clear to me.

arghhhhhhhh

whoda thunked it???

it's been a while and it appears that several Projects, including mine have moved to page 2 by several 'test' postings.

is there any way to 'bubble-up' postings as they are updated?

well, i considered myself rather lucky when i found a limited slip differential hiding under a 1979 320i at the local picknpull. i thought it was especially fortunate because this car was a '79 and per the FAQ topic on swapping differentials this particular year car has 'thicker' CV joints which are supposed to make the swap straight-forward without the need for 'spacers'.

i pulled all four CV joints off the half shafts and brought them home. guess what.... they are EXACTLY the same size as any other 320i CV joint i have. WTF, the door plate stated this was a 79 vintage 320i.

does the thicker CV joints on '79s ONLY apply to normal differentials????

i'm a bit pissed cuz i've always thought that picknpull charged way too much for these half shafts, $40/each. by splitting them up i still paid $12/CV, and it appears that i STILL will have to buy a set of spacers.

well, it's been a while since posting, BUT, i have been busy. thought i'd save up before posting again. in the interim i've sucessfully welded the spare tire well in. not the prettiest welds but should be easily hidden with seam-sealer and paint when finished.

BiG TIP: it would have been MUCH easier to cut the spare tire well oversize and merely drop the new one in IF you are lucky enough to have a lip to hold it in place. unfortunately, the folks at 2002AD did not see fit to provide enough lip (in spite of request at time of order) so i had to spend a lot of effort to make a snug fit. it required two additional cuts inorder to squeeze the new tire well in the opening. these slits were welded up and ground to shape.

NEXT UP is the front nosepiece. i've cut and fitted two patch panels to size. i would have welded them in place but decided that i'd better metal-prep the remaining rust. this entailed powerwashing with soap to remove as much residual grease followed by phosphoric acid spray. i'm currently letting it soak while i update this post.

upon drying i will use POR-15 on the inaccessible areas covered by the patches. the backside of the patches themselves will receive a coating of cold galvanizing compound prior to welding.

not so.

i have VIN 2570440 made 3/11/71 with short rear bumper and no lower molding and 6-fuse box (my ti-clone to-be).

i'm currently refurbishing VIN 2576240 made 7/23/71 with longer rear bumper ends and lower trim molding and 12-fuse box.

personally, i prefer the short bumper, no lower trim look much more.

Unfortunately, the reality that Max pointed out is that these new parts are imported from one of the highest cost countries mired in stagnant economic growth due to overburdened social system. There are some on this board who are joyous over the news of high-dollar cars selling on ePay (i'm not, btw). The cost of parts being high is one justification for the higher value of restored cars, i suppose. i always have to pinch myself when i price out parts for the 'ol Ford truck at a fraction of what these imports are.

is this color Malaga? or more of a brick red? i like the look of it. i'm not too much of a Malaga fan but the lighting on this one makes it look really nice. i'd like to paint my current project a similar shade of dark red.

reading through these posts, it occurred to me that that old plastic lasted 30 years so far. for the effort involved in changing it out, perhaps OEM plastic replacement is good enough.

couldn't be too expensive or do we pay a premium to have it delivered with a bmw tag and blue color??

while we're on this subject,....

what are the options to match up an 02 driveshaft to a 5spd g/b with 3 bolt flange?

i realize i need to cut the 02 driveshaft at any rate but do i need to also obtain a donor 320i driveshaft w/ 3 bolt flange?

i've got a couple 8bolt guibos sitting around and would like to use 'em up.

those horses in the background somehow look sorta like a photoshop addition. judging from the garage buddy shown (M3 Coupe) doesn't look like you're sacrificing too much...

good luck.

i'd suggest you look for evidence of a front end collision as the culprit. i'd think if the deformation was caused by a rearend collision, perhaps they'd be bent forward not rearward. is your nosepiece original. possible that your whole engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential shifted. just a thought. if you don't have issues currently up front and you're not dealing with a rust bucket, save her....

that's a good deal of money that doesn't make the car run any smoother, faster, dryer, quieter or.....safer.

glad i got the "gotta have everything new and perfect" outta my system 12 years ago with my first extensive refurbish. never again... didn't drive the car nearly enough and ended up giving it away to charity. would do anything to have the new (yes new) two-piece dash that went with the car.

if enough of these euro-lights get installed here in the states then my original 'bug-eyes' will be the new novelty...

i'm waiting for your writeup on the complete build requirements for the S14 crankshaft modification. i just bought a crank for my next project. perhaps i'll run into you in palo alto.

i like it. was wondering if indeed it's a true '72 model.

saw the wonderful 'silver dollar' instrument cluster (my personal favorite, btw) and thought it was a replacement. noticed the short bumper which would be consistent with the cluster, however the lower trim wasn't associated with short bumpers (or so i think). no 'fasten seat belt' sign suggests late '71 model.

6 fuse or 12 fuse should clear this up...

just wondering. enjoy it and don't let my musings detract any from it in any way.

i was wondering if there's any difference other than the numbering between the Bosch mechanical advance distributors with the p/n's that end in 002 and those that end in 008?

if so, what is the significance of the difference?

any reason why one would be chosen over the other?

work is proceeding slow and mostly on weekends, but i've tackled a couple hurdles since the original post. I've actually practiced MIG welding with my 'new to me' Craigslist Craftsman welder. I used the beat up fender I'm replacing as my learning tool. Additionally I sorted out the used air compressor that's been sitting around since buying it 5 months ago. Next up is a go at sandblasting next weekend if the weather's good. before stopping for the day I cut my rusty spare tire well out, to be fitted with a spare purchased from 2002AD last march. it'll probably be several hours of cutting, filing and nudging the replacement in place. i definitely am aiming to butt-weld it in place. we'll see. i'm alarmed at just how THIN the spare tire-well sheet metal is. hopefully, there's enough material from the rusty one to patch up another tire-well I have, for the next car (waste not, want not...).