jerry

i finally got my Craftsman MIG welder sorted out. I practiced most of the afternoon to try to determine optimum settings, wire speed, travel speed etc. building up confidence to actually weld on the car!!! cut a couple braces for the heater box valve attachment (the plastic one that's typically cracked). just came in from cleaning a very neglected Accuspray paint gun i bought on ePay.

another bit of '02 trivia and Munich

during the marathon, which frank shorter won, btw, the official camera car was an 'electric' bmw 2002. if i remember correctly, it was white (chaminox). they did not want the runners subjected to exhaust fumes. i watched those games as a kid and i was glued to the set, back when ABC actually did a great job of televising them.

that car's been on SF craigslist since november with a new posting just about every day with the same dark photos and scant description. very tiresome. hope it found a good home and this is proof that persistance pays off...

wow...., by the time you're done you should be the zen master of MIG. you are really making me grateful i'm not in your shoes wrt to condition. i've much less gutsy work to do on my project. it's kinda training wheels for the 'next in line'.

nice work on the spare tire well. after a bit of smoothing the welds it should really clean up. it's great to see a car like this saved for another life.

photos pleeeze.

this sounds like you've come a long way already. would like to see your spare tire repair, and the patch to the door hinge panel.

i've never seen Malaga look so good....

put the upper trim back on and give me stock steel rims with hubcaps any day.

well, here goes. as probably happens more often than admitted to, my small refresh has turned into a full-blown project.

A little background: I bought this car last february because its engine was freshly rebuilt (<20K per PO) and it appeared to have minimal rust for these cars. the car is relatively stock except some minor upgrades from the PO. My intent is to keep this car essentially stock with perhaps the following exceptions: move battery to trunk, reinstall missing swaybars, bilstien HD's, repaint using the non-OEM dark brickred paint that is currently on the car (could be granada or granarot, perhaps). install 5spd.

According to MT this car was made July 19, 1971. This will be my 2nd extensive refurbishment I've done. The first was a 1974 '02 that I did back in 1994. Enough time has passed to have forgotten the pain.

I plan to reuse any and all parts that appear useable with my criteria being, effect of failure, difficulty of replacement. With this mindset, I would consider reusing a wheel cylinder, whereas I would always replace subframe bushings. I would consider reusing a good used front windshield gasket but would not reuse a used rear quarter gasket.

This car will not be a show car but I hope to make it a good '10-footer'. In the hope of speeding things up a bit, I am seriously considering sending the body to a paint shop to free up some time. I have another '02 to do after this one.

I've attached a few photos that show general condition at this point. I've been busy cleaning and repainting miscellaneous parts. It is well worth the money to have parts cadmium plated. I started this effort by completely disassembling and salvaging a crashed 02 with 5spd. All those parts were cleaned, blasted and repainted in preparation of reinstalling on this car. The parts removed from this car will likely end up on my next car....

By including my project in a public forum I hope to accomplish two things: bragging rights,

peer pressure to keep me on topic and perhaps encourage others to post

i just checked. it LOOKS exactly like the hood bolt but the shoulder and threads are bigger. its the same length though.

keep looking through your stash. no bushing needed.

it's a shoulder bolt exactly like the ones that hold the hood hinge on the front fender.

it all depends on location, location, location and uniqueness. i suppose being a european-based car the VIN would be a novelty, the rear license lights would also add to the novelty, BUT, other than that i didn't read too much else to support any inflated value in the "used, needs work" 02 market.

here in the SF Bay Area market i'd say $1000 tops due to the rust issues, IMHO. perhaps where they are less available you could demand more.

i was the fortunate recipient from a generous fellow FAQer who gave me an engine block w/ bathtub pistons. i figured at the very least i could use it to familiarize myself with the bitsnpieces before i actually rebuild one of mine.

ideally, i wanted to see if i could "potentially" reuse the pistons for a 121ti head i have.

the engine no. is 1563330 which according to the FAQ reference means this was originally a 1968 BMW 1602. looking at the other FAQ reference on pistons suggest that these pistons are different than 2002 pistons.

a search of the archives did not shed light on this.

questions:

are 1602 and 2002 blocks interchangeable?

are the crankshaft interchangeable?

what about the pistons?

anything else i should know.

btw, the head was not included.

thanks in advance. slowly learning, 'thread by thread', greasy finger by greasy finger...

i too bought the bavauto tool to install the lockstrip. even with that tool i struggled. i nearly mangled my gasket doing it. since then i've read on this board to soak it in hot water prior and use soapy water. i did neither. i dread doing the rear windshield someday...

one more thing. when i finally got done i was shy about 2 inches.

i have yet to fabricate the tool designed by a fellow FAQer consisting merely of an open loop fashioned from an old drywall saw. will try that next.

i was surprised when i realized that my late '71 02 does not have swaybars, but, the mounting points are still there. no evidence of being installed, either.

were swaybars optional equipment back then or were mine merely removed by a PO?

you quoted $168/set, but the website states $185/set. am i missing something in my admittingly quick glance?

your carpet looks very nice for the money.

saw the comment from previous post on replacing or eliminating the firewall insulation. i hadn't considered eliminating it. is there a better (or less expensive) alternative to it. it seems to be a great oil sponge.

what is it like to drive without it? noisy, hot....or not really noticeable?

seems to be a good moisture trap too as i found out recently.

pedalbox rehab, suspension refresh, radiator boil, rust inspection of nosepiece, battery relocation, ....

... front subframe removal and beadblast, engine bay repaint, windshield removal, dash removal, headliner removal, interior removal, electrical removal, heck, paint the car too while you're in there.

so,... you removed the engine to change the oil....???

i started out just fixing the electrical gremlins and a door boo-boo and now i've got the car stripped, "while i'm in there". just a cautionary note. not to worry though, this is my 2nd time around (different car). i shoulda known better.

cheers

i didn't realize overhauling brake calipers could be a DIY project. any 'pearls' of knowledge you can share on the process? i have a few i'd like to freshen up.

you don't mention why you are considering the swap in the first place.

if it ain't broke....

anyhow, the 121 head uses the 'bathtub' topped pistons which, to my understanding are NLA. you can also use flat tops resulting in a lower compression.

the E12 head uses the 'piano top' pistons which are still available. i would suspect that there MAY be clearance issues if switched. the experienced engine builders will chime in if i'm misstaken.

i just removed an engine w/ transmission attached. remove shifter or loosen it so it can move as needed. raise the car high. the engine is lifted at near vertical to clear everything. remove hood, btw.

i perused the archives and found some tidbits but i have two nonfunctioning blower motors that need help. it appears that the graphite brushes have worn down. is there any source for just the brushes? seems like when they wear down to the stubs it causes a short and minor melting occurs. otherwise my motor appears good in every other respect.

hate to shell out for a new one as this is only the first of several heater boxes i'll be rehabbing for the stable.

anyone install a look-alike motor with any success?

thanks in advance

i'm sure i speak for most folks in appreciating the effort involved in your posting on dual carb setup. i printed up a copy (w/ a little reformatting for personal preference) and will have it handy when i try to install my set of Solex DDH's on my ti-clone. thanks again.

Note to editors: if this info stands the accuracy test, please add it to the FAQ

if the fender is original to the car, use a small propane/Mapp gas plumber's torch to melt the solder first. then you should see two small tack welds which need to be cut or cold chisled (more risky) apart.

worth? i dunno, $25-$75 used or more if pristene

hey esty, thanks for the anatomy lesson. the confusion is over.

anyhow, i was merely pulling the 'collective' chain. it was a slow night on the forum and this post had no responses, so i thought i'd stir the 'honey-pot' so to speak...

freedom to be a jerk. gotta love the internet.

Big deal....

What's your point? are you trying to solicit opinions? or steer some traffic to it for some unkown reason.

looks like it has a 'moonroof' on it. ughhhh

okay, that's my unsolicited opinion

kicking the soapbox to the middle of the floor now.....

you are right about downsizing your material goods at this point. there is a certain freedom associated with not being tied down to "stuff". there are times i wish i could carry all my worldly goods in a '68 VW bug like i did in college.

those days are LONG gone and a lot of time is spent trying to store, rearrange, keep rain off etc...

as a college student there's no telling where you might ultimately end up with your first real job. heck i was born and raised in the SF bay area and my first job was in lynchburg VA. that journey led me to atlanta and ultimately to indianapolis with no covered place for my 2002. i'm back in SF bay area now and NOW i feel secure enough to indulge my 02 hobby on the ol' homestead.

Sell it and enjoy the freedom from maintenance and BMW parts that you'll have. time to focus on school.

when you find out where those places are that sell big sheets for a few bucks please let me know.

in the meantime keep your eyes out for discarded washing machines, dishwashers, etc without porcelain coating. look for scrapped out hoods, door panels etc.

if you start looking you'd be surprised how much sheet steel is available in various places.

happy hunting. i'll be joining you soon....