DukeRimmer

Clamp the pin by the ends with vise grip. Lift the handle of the tool until it slips off the bottom of the pin. Others should be aware that a pin left unlocked can rise up and allow the door to open too far, endangering the upper side moulding.

(nt)

Use minimal base, but lots of clear if you don't want orange peel. My technique takes lots of material, lots of labor, and is not for everyone.

Some seem to think they’re done when the undercoat is no longer visible. This saves a few bucks on material, and the spraying environment does not need to be as clean. Sooner or later, however, the top coat will thin by oxidation, and or polishing, until you can see through the color to the undercoat or even the metal. This is the preferred method of used car sellers and racers. If you are keeping the car long term and or like a mirror finish, you must use much more material. The mirror finish that is so pleasant to the eye is accomplished by color sanding, compounding, and polishing. This step puts a quart or more of your top coat on the floor in the form of sanding dust if you remove all the orange peel. You can scuff off the dust that is caught in the wet paint with ultra fine wet sand paper and call it color sanding, but spending more on material, and taking two days to remove orange peel is so much more satisfying. If you have a clean spraying environment, and are taking the time to make the car straight by block sanding the undercoats, use 4-5 quarts of top coat and get rid of that orange peel.

Some can walk and chew gum at the same time. Others should use plastic tools.

When they're tough you need a tool with a good handle. I added this pic to my ramblings in article construction zone.

Better to fix odo. and install tach. Odo is very easy, all you need is tach, wire harness, and lens without clock reset knob. Pic shows harness and pin connector.

Step1; Open door and hood, remove moulding starting at rear. Your goal is to chip the paint as little as possible if you’re not repainting. This job is usually done in conjunction with repaint so you need to remember when prepping for paint to minimize paint thickness in these areas. Thick paint chips more easily. Sand the primer-filler till you see bare metal before application of final sealer and color. Step2; To install all you need is a common welder’s clamp, a towel, and a little caution. No hammer, no hand strain. Adjust the clamp so that it's 1.5 times the width of the moulding. Hold the moulding against the drip rail with the horizontal and angled parts parallel. This step is to visualize where the center of the curve is. Start the install at the center of the curve and work outward in both directions. It will twist into position with the greatest of ease if the starting point is centered in the curve. Step3; Be sure the hood is adjusted so the gap matches the trunk gap. If it's pushed back to match the fender to door gap, the new moulding will suffer, as will the hood paint. Photos; Pic 116; Welder’s clamp. This one is adjusted for display, it must be much looser in use so that it pushes in on the bottom corner of the moulding. Pic 142; Correct hood gap, and damage done by too small of a gap.

Rear Brake Spring Install and Door Vent Glass Knob Cover Removal; These two jobs are very easy if you have a short ended cotter pin extractor. I’ve read posts from some of our fellow FAQers struggling with brake springs, and removing vent glass knob cover with bent wire. This tool will not flex like a bent wire tool, and makes that brake spring easier to install than a lug nut. Box Wrench Cheat; When sockets don’t fit and your wrench is too short, just use two wrenches, one larger than the other. In my experience this technique is required for both removal and installation of driveshaft bolts, and is useful in many other applications. Turn the driveshaft bolt with a 17mm, and turn the 17mm with a 19mm. Door Belt Moulding Removal; These mouldings are held on by clips with teeth that sometimes bite into the door shell so tenaciously that they need extra force to get them started. The moulding needs to be lifted straight up without bending especially at the thin section near the glass divider. They usually come off straight once started so put the sliding glass fully down and start the moulding removal at the rear. Push up on the lower, inner section of the moulding that holds the clips, not on visible parts of the moulding. Rarely all the clips are stuck. If you have one of these, and the moulding is in good condition, remove the sliding glass and pry the moulding up evenly along it’s length. The belt line of all cars is at the bottom of the glass. The mouldings down by the door handle are called upper side mouldings, and the rubber ones are called lower side mouldings. All cars have belt lines, some cars don’t have side mouldings. ’74-’76 Bumper Removal If you do this job often, you’ll need a big slide hammer. Also used for many other jobs around the body shop. Photos; Pic 134b; Cotter pin pullers. The black one is the one to have. The other has a tip that is too long and will not work for either job described herein. Pic 134; Cotter pin puller in action. Pic 139; Box wrench cheat. Pic 042; Door belt moulding start. Pic 140; Slide hammer

Wipers are held by spring pressure only. The tool lifts the end of the arm, relieving the spring pressure. Wiper then lifts off easily without endangering paint (important when working on a customers car).

Lighted corner markers, head rests, and air pumps are a US requirement starting 1968. The front turn lamp serves as the front marker. However there was some cheating. My '68 had the smog and headrests, but the markers were missing. Perhaps the dealer changed the seats and installed smog to sell a '67 as a '68, but then again it was also 12 volt. The lines are fuzzy.

(nt)

One addition to steveJ's comment; Cables are EXPENSIVE AND FRAGILE.

Sorry, no spare springs, but they're very easy to make. Width is .378" or 9.60mm, length is .740" or 18.79mm. Don't know where to buy the wire. The only clue I have is that I inherited it from a pilot. I do have about 20' so I could mail some to interested FAQers.

(nt)

I don't believe there are two versions. Early (deep) grills use a chrome filler trapped by the retainer. Leave out the filler and you have a late type. Also all the parts are interchangeable, right to left, except the mounting bracket and filler. Let me know if you need pics. The pic below shows the subtle difference in left and right mounting brackets.

(nt)

The '74 tumbler and '69 housing appear to be not interchangeable. The complete assembly looks like it is. Hope Mike can cure your problem 'cause complete replacement requires disassembly and removal of the entire steering column. Could someone please post how to remove the roll pin that locks the tumbler?

Listen to Matt about cleaning the bolt heads. I also use a hammer to make sure the tool if fully seated. Between 12mm and 13mm is 1/2 inch. Be sure the allen fits the bolts tightly. The PO may have switched from 8mm to 5/16" bolts. You don't want rounded bolts. Good luck!

are different too.

Most relays on this vintage BMWs either have attachment ears, or are held in place by wire connectors which are held by welded on brackets. Are you using original gang wire connectors? I'm having trouble picturing relay brackets that are not welded and hold relays without sheet metal screws. My truck was rewired using a screw in bracket and BMW ignition relays. If this is what you have in mind I'll post pics of this type relay bracket. Below is pic of the only '56 GMC with lights, horn, and cooling fan fused and relayed. Also some BMW relays.

until then here's what I received from stevek; Steve, One FAQer says paypal contributions to sales@bmw2002faq.com another says steve@bmw2002faq.com What about those who do not use paypal? DukeRimmer hehe, either one will work. You can also mail me a check I can give you the address. steve k.

fastening the shift boot?

Tell me what you want, I'll send patterns.

-all available storage space is filled with parts. -you dream of more storage space. -you'd rather have a 47 year old sprite than a new mx5.