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MichaelP

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Everything posted by MichaelP

  1. MichaelP
    5.5" is the recommended width for 185/70, but it will work fine for 6" too. Here's a shot I posted earlier today with 185/70 on 6x13:
  2. MichaelP
    John, I sprayed my Minilites a couple of weeks ago and can offer a few things. Esty's right about the spray gun. The can just doesn't throw paint as hard or as far as you'd like. Try not to do it outside, as any breeze at all wreaks havoc with the spray. Be sure to wear a respirator - lacquer will give you Walter Mitty dreams. Given the low pressure spray, I found it best to lay the wheel flat and go in circles in alternating directions, with the can closer to the surface than Wurth's suggested 15". Laying the paint on fairly thick in multiple passes (letting it dry/set briefly with each pass) seems to work better than lots of thin coats. The reason is that the paint gets sort of "hairy" as it sets up and taking the "hair" down after every drying period becomes counterproductive. I gently knocked the hairy stuff down with 0000 steel wool and did two coats. I painted the whole wheel and used 3 cans. There isn't much gloss to the silver lacquer and the finish seems like it would be a real brake dust magnet, so I went with Wurth's clear finish. It has a nice build up, so lay it on thick in multiple passes.
  3. MichaelP
    Drove to Boston instead of NC, but the water pump in the 5er decided I should stop at my brother's first. No kidding, it quit less than a mile from his house CT after driving up frpm VA. Here's our own V@V:
  4. MichaelP
    No V@V for me. Major printer snafu this afternoon, and I'm driving to Boston to deliver our competition submission (architecture) by 5pm. Damn. I'll keep an eye out for 02s headed south. If you get flashed by a blue e28, it's me -- driving in the wrong frigging direction! Somebody please drink one for me. Have fun!
  5. MichaelP
    For impact wrenches, not at the rear wheels... I'm shopping around for a corded adjustable impact wrench and there seem to be a bunch that top out around 150 or 200 lb/ft - then there's a jump to 300 or so. I'd be using it mostly for loosening things. Is 150 enough? I'm thinking not.
  6. MichaelP
    A shortened throw shifter will be much stiffer and notchier than stock - you have a lot less leverage on the rod with the shotened throw. It should also be more precise. I put B&Ms in both our M2 and 535is (both Getrag 265s) with the same results you're seeing. It does lighten up a little over time, but not much. Do check that the shifter rod is lined up. If it's out of line, the throw will be stiffer than it should.
  7. MichaelP
    You qualify for PA antique plates, which would avoid having to get annual inspection at all. There are caveats, but depending on your situation, might apply. Download form MV-11 and see what you think: http://www.dot3.state.pa.us/forms/index.shtml
  8. MichaelP
    It's for the squeegee that gets slotted into the aluminum trim. The trim with the squeegee for both window and vent installed is available, but it's about USD175 (!). The plastic squeegee (only) with a thin felt strip is about USD18 per side. It's intended to replace both the original fat felt strip that wraps the trim as well as the rubber squeegee, but I left the old felt strip in there.
  9. MichaelP
    I couldn't make out that diagram at all. Ended up just calling Carl Nelson's shop and letting them figure it out. The p/n is from their invoice.
  10. MichaelP
    51-21-1-847-798 hth
  11. MichaelP
    I guess I've always taken sway bars for granted, but I just got back from a test run with the 1600 which, for the first time in its 35 years, has a front sway bar. What a difference! Much less roll and no more understeer. If anything, I tightened the links down too much and there's too much oversteer. For the first time since I've had the car, I was able to kick the back end out on my favorite exit ramp sweeper. A little more juice, some opposite lock and she stayed right with it. Wheeeeeee! Now I gotta have a rear bar. Hey Brad, you have an extra from that parts car?
  12. MichaelP
    Call and ask.
  13. MichaelP
    Your dealer will probably take parts back. The one here charges a 10% restocking fee (don't ask how I know. Ooops). Easy way to cut your losses.
  14. MichaelP
    The PO had stuffed the whole thing into the channel. Not sure how he did that. Before I realized the new one wasn't supposed to go in that way, I had some difficulty... It finally dawned on me that the lips on the seal overlap the channel. Once that was cleared up it went on with little effort - no silicone needed. It might have helped that I was doing it in the sun so everything was warm and pliable.
  15. MichaelP
    If the answer to your question isn't no, then the next best answer is that it would be stupid expensive. A much less expensive and effective option would be a lower-geared differential. I don't know much about E30 diffs, but what came with a 325 5-speed? There's gotta be a zillion of them out there and it should be an easy-ish swap.
  16. MichaelP
    I dunno, I've come to really like the 1.6 liter. Since it's as not as oversquare as the 2.0 liter, it's a much smoother and freer revving engine. There's definately not as much grunt as the 2.0, especially before it gets on cam, but if the way things run and how they feel blows yer skirt up, there's a lot to appreciate about the 1600. The 1600ti as sold by BMW in the '60s used the same cam as any other 02, but with high compression pistons (9.5:1) and dual sidedrafts, it pumped out 20 more bhp than the regular 1600. That's the route I'm (slowly) headed, though it would be interesting to try a hotter cam as well. On the other hand, if it's sheer horsepower you want, then make your life easy by swapping in a 2 liter.
  17. MichaelP
    Bad description on my part. I meant the long, lateral seal that is fixed to the underside of the hood. Curls forward or back?
  18. MichaelP
    Sorta working on it. I was going to do some stuff at lunchtime. We'll be out between 5 and 6:30 or so. Wanna swing by at 6:30? Hey, do you have a timing light? Pertronix this weekend, I'm hoping.
  19. MichaelP
    I can't tell what overlaps what with the hood almost shut, and the existing seal faces forward on one side and rear on the other.
  20. MichaelP
    I realize this subject has been posted to death, but I'm struggling with it. Context: for the past 5 years I've been driving an M2 with Bilstein Sports, H&R springs and huge anti-sway bars. A very stiff, hypertense ride. Now I've got a bone-stock '71 1600 with a serious case of the roly-polies and I love it. The ride is magnificent. It swallows bumps the size of small countries like they're not even there, but the way it rolls around turns, it's more like coming about in a daysailer than a car. It personifies the term swanning around in a tidy 5 foot by 13 foot package. So, some of that I want to keep, but lowering the center of gravity a bit would be a plus. I'm adding 2002 anti-sway bars (1600s came without), so that should solve some of it. Bilstein HDs will replace the KYB Gas-a-Justs and 185-70/13s will remain, but the big question is this: how much will the soft, luxurious ride (seriously) that I've come to love in this car be lost with addition of shorter springs? If so, how much? I would trade off a little for flatter cornering, but much of the character of this car centers around its nonchalance. It's quick in its own lazy way, but it's no athlete. More of a competent, but non-competitive type. Is there such a thing as a short, soft spring? I'd rather not install the HDs and springs twice to find out the difference.
  21. MichaelP
    The rear belts are just long enough so you can put the kiddie seat in the center (the safest place from side impacts) and cross both belts over the middle and really nail it down. You'll have to kneel in the child seat to make the stretch. Works in our '74 and '71 02s.
  22. MichaelP
    My E28 does this occasionally. Find the appropriate relay and give it a thump with your hand. It might be at the fuse box, so give that a thump if the relay doesn't repond. That'll at least tell you where the problem is...
  23. MichaelP
    That was easy. A plastic bicycle tire lever got it off. Dumb question: does the new plastic squeegee just get fitted over the existing one or is the old one supposed to be removed? Seems like the former.
  24. MichaelP
    Recieved new squeegees in the mail yesterday - not the whole aluminum trim piece, just the replacement squeeges. Before I take the whole interior panel assembly off, though, is the exterior trim piece that holds the squeegee a friction fit -- removable from the exterior -- or do I need to disassemble the door panel? If it is a friction fit, what's a good tool to use to prevent destroying the aluminum trim and scratching the paint?
  25. MichaelP
    No hard and fast rules on this, so it'll have to be trial and error. Based on where the motor mounts are, try to grok out where the trans will wind up and cut more tunnel on the top and up the firewall than you think you'll need. Beat the sides out to get some clearance there, too - the G265 and its bellhousing are not only big, but they'll vibrate like hell from the S14. Mount the trans and motor and see where the tunnel sheetmetal has to go. The easiest way to deal with a trans mount is to use the one from under the trans on the M3 - ours is just bolted to the floor and it works fine. Nick Vyse has some photos that he took when he did this - maybe he'll pipe up.
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