New to the group, Two days into ownership, Slow slow car...

[Squid's 02]

Nice Car! Looks like a great starting point. As always, sound advice by the many knowledgeable members of this forum.

 

If this is a car that you plan on keeping then you need to get a good baseline and go from there, take all of the info from the above messages and see where it takes you. 

• Adjust the valves
• Tune Up (new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor,)
• New Points and Condenser or swap to electronic ignition (Petronix?) 
• Make sure that the throttle plate is opening all the way
• Adjust your timing (lots of information on this topic within the forum)
• Move that fuel pump towards the fuel tank and replace the fuel hoses and filter

The reason I mention the new components in the tune up is because they are cheap (especially for these cars), and you don't know what the previous owners installed or if something is defective. (Why do people feel the need to install triple electrode Platinum or other some other crazy spark plugs in an old car? That is marketing at it's finest!)

 

Even if you do go down the road of a rebuild, the tune up parts wouldn't be wasted as you wouldn't build an engine and install old spark plugs. 

 

Aside from your memory not serving you well when it comes to the quickness of these cars, another reason the car may feel slower than what you recall could be gearing. If your old car had a 3.90 rear end and your new car has a 3.64 then you will notice a significant difference in acceleration off the line but the gears will feel longer. 

 

Depending on where you are located you may be able to find a local member that can take you for a ride in their car for comparison. 

 

Let us know what you find out. Hopefully you carved out some time to work on the car this weekend. 

[Shiparino]

@Squid's 02 - Yes plan on doing some work this weekend.  The receipts and the previous owner indicate that a recent turn up was done, but should verify all timing and valve adjustment.  The plugs don't look well used, but like you said, cheap so why not.  I have the pump off, just need to go pick up some hose and a new filter, plus will need to run a hot wire (preferably not just wrapped around a fuse). Tempted to buy a ton of vacuum hose and change them out, but that's a lot of hose.  

 

There's also a fairly local guy selling a weber + manifold, pretty cheap.  Not the setup I want ultimately, but could be a good alternative for now and eliminate some of the tubes and hoses.  Probably will pick it up, but I know I'm going to pull out the engine pretty soon, to start on the body and paint (I know me), will have to force myself to drive around a bit, because this sucker is still kinda ugly, even without the big diving board bumpers.

 

Gearing: I thought about that too.  My old "02" was really a 1600 that I put a 2 liter motor into.  The book says that it could have had up to 4.11 gearing.  I know that would be a big difference, but this car is really a dog and can't imagine that's normal.  Need to go through the steps for sure.

[Hans]

The 4:11 rear would definitely help acceleration, but you'd carry a bag of revs on the highway. No need to replace good parts, but you should inspect all of teh items and settings suggested above.

[Shiparino]

Have the pump relocated to the trunk and running a wire to the front of the car, two wiring questions:

• Which wire coming off the ignition switch would be the best "switch on" power wire to connect to?
• Does anyone sell a wiring harness?  I haven't seen them in any of the usual places.  I'm finding a ton of splices, disconnected and there are also some crispy green wires coming off the ignition switch.  The PO didn't sugar coat the electrical issues, but I didn't really consider replacing everything until I started rooting around.  

Thanks

['76mintgrün'02]

Here's an answer from January of 2002.  Looks like maybe Mike Self replied. 

 

I'm sure he'd be happy to answer again, but this will keep you from having to wait for him to see your question.

 

 

People have typed about aftermarket wiring kits, saying they are very expensive.  Personally, I'd repair the old one with correctly colored wires and quality terminals.  It's nice to be able to consult the wiring diagrams and have the wire colors be accurate.

 

Some people value originality and others prefer newne$$. 

 

But then, some prefer big bumpers and others go bumperless.   

 

 

Tom

 

EDIT -- here are the search results for "Tii fuel pump power source".  they will probably contain photos of the connection Mike mentioned.

 

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/search/?q=tii fuel pump power source&quick=1

Edited July 30, 2021 by '76mintgrün'02

[Shiparino]

Like that moment in Castaway where Tom Hanks makes fire for the first time…. Finally got the last bolt off the intake manifold!

[7502]

I've skimmed the post but didn't catch why you need to remove the intake manifold.  Now I'm curious?

Did learn that you lived in Seattle in the mid 80's. Small world, so did I. I was in the north end around U. district then Greenwood/Greenlake area.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by 7502

[Shiparino]

Update - After one week of ownership. 
 

- Removed big ass bumpers

- Relocated the electric pump to the rear

- Attempted to get the car moving faster with the two barrel Solex, but could not get the secondary to open

- Purchased a Weber and manifold on CL

- Was going to just set it on top of my manifold, then realized it was a 38/38 and the manifold it came with was already machined to match the bigger inlets

- Removed all the old smog plumbing and all vacuum lines except for the line from carb to distributor and crossed my fingers…

 

Happy to report, the car rips now! Though I need to cap off the exhaust manifold where the smog plumbing was. 
 

Still want to check the valve adjustment and timing, but at least now I know there’s something to work with.  Thanks for everybody’s help during the first week.

 

Pic include the pile of stuff I removed. Let me know if there’s anything there I have to have.  Seriously, I have no idea. Haha

Edited August 2, 2021 by Shiparino
Forgot a pic

[Lorin]

Right on

['76mintgrün'02]

You're going to need to remove the plug from the valve cover breather hose.  One option is to plumb it into a 90 degree fitting installed in the underside of that little air cleaner.  Some people use a catch can.  There are a lot of threads on that topic in the search-zone.

 

Speaking of air cleaners, I'd save the original brackets that you removed and install a stock air cleaner on that Weber.  I'd save the mechanical fuel pump too.  It's good to have a heat shield over the exhaust manifold to protect the cables.  If you don't like the aluminum one, another option is the e21 gasket with an integrated shield.  The fuel return valve is a neat little piece of equipment.  I'd save that as well.

 

But, one man's treasure is another man's trash.

 

You've made a lot of progress in a short period of time.  

Tom

[jimk]

58 minutes ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

You're going to need to remove the plug from the valve cover breather hose. 

Not if he likes having oil pushed out every seal and gasket 

[7502]

1 hour ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

You're going to need to remove the plug from the valve cover breather hose. 

I don't really see the plug on that valve cover hose. I just assumed he had it plumbed down in a catch can or maybe just down onto the road.  Best to get those fumes back into the intake regardless. 

 

['76mintgrün'02]

3 minutes ago, 7502 said:

I don't really see the plug on that valve cover hose.

 

It is not clamped at the cover, so it'd probably just blow off if left that way.  

 

[7502]

I was looking at the wrong pic, thanks.  If that was my car it would probably spring a leak.

[Shiparino]

This was just for the test fire and drive. I do plan on adding a catch can, though the air cleaner inlet is right there, that would be easy to do.

 

So no one has a problem with removing all the vacuum tubes? That’s what I was worried about the most.