tires and wheels how much rust is too much?

[Guest Anonymous]

I have a 1972 tii. I love this car tremendously. Any E10 speaks to your fingertips and tickles your toes, but this car sings and dances. Since we've been together we've done Eurofest at the Zentrum twice, a trip to the Tail of The Dragon, up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway between Noth Carolina and Washington, DC. We ran flat out through the Cumberland Gap on our way to Lake Seneca for a weekend at The Glen, and then back down through valley roads to the Potomac basin for Italfest at VIR. Along the way we fitted Koni adjustables, and Eibach springs. We grabbed big brake kits destined for portly five series sedans, and tied it all together with fat roll bars for even more tactile, apex clipping, excitement. And holding onto me as I held onto the wheel- a trusty,dusty, moldy, musty, Recaro(pair)ready for a re-build. A phone book under the seat gives your bottom the illusion of a full cushion.

But-

Rust holes in the rockers in front of the rear wheels.

Rust holes in the front of the rockers.

Rust in the very corner of the footwells. Not the pedal box, and since there is no sunroof, not the A-pillar, but rust... and if you squint at it and want to make me feel bad...yeah you can see a little bit of daylight through the rust.

Around the chassis rails where they meet the floor pans, yup-rust.

There was an ameteur stab at a restoration with a previous owner, so...while the front clip and shock towers look fine, the rear clip from the C-pillars back clearly have a few pounds of putty n' mud spackled about. These areas have let in moisture and a flaky brown substance that I call "rust" has begun to poke through.

Oh yeh- the rear shock towers were repaired at one point, and since they were patched poorly, they too are going to need....well attention.

And this is just the stuff that I can see..

We are going to need to take care of routine maintenance and repair issues, as well as some worn out mechanics on this 35 year old,- but yow! Rust is costly to deal with. I just dealt with a little less rust on an E21 323, and this E10 would need a lot more ahem...$attention to get it rust free.

I saw a complete "rust free" roller on e-bay for not much money, but ladies and gentlemen, I live in a one room apartment in Washington, DC, and I walk to work to boot. There is just no way to minister to a complete tii "transplant", not to mention that I've never even done anything like that anyway.

We developed an ignition(maybe fuel delivery issue)a few months back, and we've been off of the road ever since. I day dream alot about quick fixes, but what now? Needless to say I am not sleeping well at nights.

Help! What would you guys do?

I'll ask 2002faq.com as well?

Thanks for any adviceinsights...

Joel G.

72 tii

81 323

[jerry]

a 72tii, no less. high on the desireability index.

you already have one of the ingredients of a high priced (over priced) restoration and that is, an emotional attachment.

do you have the other, very necessary ingredient: MONEY?

now, let your head talk above your heart for just a minute.

you live in an apartment. you sound like you are not too familiar around tools. best bet is to learn the market somewhat and offer it up for sale hopefully at a high enough price that the informed buyer will buy it with determination to save it rather than part it out.

i can't imagine taking this car on while living in an apartment unless you have deep pockets.

alternatively, you can continue to patch it up and drive it until circumstances change or you find another car to love.

post photos for a more complete assessment

[Meintii]

hi i have a 72tii also and i was wondering if when you drove it if it sputtered when ever you pushed the gas.... i had this problem and i bought a fuel pump from mesa and that fixed the prolem for me.

[Guest Anonymous]

Yes money... What's the exchange rate in sentimentel values?

Sadly, no I don't have a blank check to "restore" everything...as soon as I can I'll post some pix and let you guys do some analysis. Overall, the car is presentable. It doesn't sit poorly. All of the gaps line up. Moooooost of the trim is present.... Kind of a rattle can paint-job.

I don't have the intention of restoring any cars to the top levels, I just... well...I just want something solid holding everything together.

I'll post some pix and you can tell me if I'm looking at fatal rust. I mean....nothing looks like doilly per se....

Best regards

JoelG

[bimmerboy]

serisouly, i found that if i looked at it logically, i would just lose motivation, my rust sounded about yours, except the car had never been touched before so i was the first to make ugly repairs(but sound and full rust proofed!) I also had bought the car with this ahead of me, but it just felt so right when i was in it, i knew id have to. so now 1.5 years later, i not only have a rust free shell, but am half way thru to having new mechanicals. and it was well worth it

[Guest Anonymous]

Yes. The motor would cut out more and more as the car warmed up, and though it would cruise, it would cut out under load. We took the fuel pump and filter off and found that the sperical bearing spring assembly in line with the fuel filter had jumped out of place and was impeding flow and pressure. Lots of head scratching trying to figure out how that had happened..... Mesa sold me the assembly for the spring/bearing, and Maximillian set me up with a re-built fuel pump at half the cost of a new pump (800 bucks for a new pump?!), and down the road I flew. Then the pump got very noisy again and the problem returned. When the weather warms I'll spring for a new pump( sigh ), and a new gas tank, and then replace the fuel filters....again.

Doesn't matter. Fun cars.....

[Guest Anonymous]

Right on! That's what I like to hear. Who taught you how to weld, or rather, where did you learn to weld? If I had some reasonable space to spread out, slow down, and learn how to work on this car (except for the Kugelfischer), I wouldn't feel like I had such a fire under my butt to get it " fully sorted " right now.

If I just wanted to repair the rust though, no shop in the D.C. area wants to cut away 35 years of rust and someone elses botched work. I mean, I would drive this car around in primer grey if I knew that it meant that someone knowledgeable had done enough to work to beat back the rust.

I would gladly spend some of my paychecks/food budget on preserving and strengthening the "Green Hornet". I'm laughing, someone laugh with me.

Thanks for the good words too!

Best regards,

JoelG

[TobyB]

Oh, just fix it-

it's not hard, it just takes forever. Do one rear at a time, and

take your time. I changed a rear clip in my parking space under

the apartment, and took 3 months about it. If you do

one section at a time (and you can do one LAYER at a time

in back) it'll take an afternoon a job, and in 6 months you'll

be in good shape.

Does it make SENSE? Hell, no. Is it fun? Not usually.

But the satisfaction when you're done is immense. And

once you learn, the skills stay with you.

my '02.

t

[Guest Anonymous]

Ha ha! Good sport. Thanks for the good advice.

Best regards'

JoelG

'72tii

'81 323

[Meintii]

I'm laughing, someone laugh with me.

HEEE HEEE HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

There you go I hope it makes you feel better...

[bimmerboy]

my uncle taught me a few things. then i just went with experience(for 20 gauge you need this(low-ish) setting, but you still gotta be careful, for 16 gauge its just a high setting and not being a complete moron, things like that) while im still just a rookie, i got it done. im just a kid so, i got a job with the local old bmw guy, and then i just had to give up things like eating out a lot, movies, lowering my standards on certain beverages...

but it didnt seem like that much money if you DIY

[Martin]

If you need some inspiration, check out this '74 Alfa GTV restoration.

http://www.alfarestore.com/NEW_SITE_06/74/74_index.html

He didn't have a garage and had to keep the car drivable while he repaired the rust. Plus, he picked up most of the skills along the way. Difficult to do it this way, but it can be done.

If you need a reality check, I've been documenting my '73tii rustoration.

http://www.2002tii-restoration.org/

I've had to tackle some of the same rust you described. It's a lot of work, but I think it's totally worth it -- and I don't even have the emotional attachment to this car that you do to yours. However, if you decide this project is biting off more than you can chew, maybe you can find a good home for your car.

Good luck!

[Guest Anonymous]

Sounds about right.

Thanks for the good advice guys. I've got a buddy with an E30 project and a covered garage who's been interested in learning to weld.......now if I could just find a local BMW guru......

Best regards-

JoelG

'72 tii

'81 323

[Guest Anonymous]

What the Hell - You Love The Car! Just fix it, on little bit at a time! you will get better and better (and quicker) with experience. and love is always to be trusted!

[Gordon]

I brought my 74 02 to southern CA after it had been in Germany and North Dakota while I was stationed there. I had already replaced a lot of rust, rocker panels. rear shock towers, new front fenders. While the 02 was at Leif Andenberg's shop, it went on the lift. The lift kept going up, but the 02 stayed on the ground. that's how rusty the floor panels were. That's when I decided to start looking for a shell to transplant all my mechanicals into. About a month later, it was totalled by an elderly lady who ran a red light. No one was hurt. I was laughing all the way to the bank for how much insurance gave me for my rust bucket. I bought it back for a few hundred dollars to salvage the parts.

G-Man