Rijco's 76 2002 mild restoration project

[rijco]

I'm new to this bb, live near Seattle and just bought a 76 02 which I intend to bring back to full reliability for my 21 y.o. son in Colorado who is currently in engineering school and ready for his first car. The car is from New Mexico, but has spent a few years in Oregon getting updated regularly before I bought it locally for $2800.00 (yesterday in fact). Jade Green exterior, tan interior, 129K miles.

I spent the day today putting the car on the lift at Group 2 in Seattle and going over the entire car with their head mechanic (they maintain my Alfa S4 Spider and are great guys). The short version is that the car is miraculously free of rust except in the spare tire well and a few really superficial spots on the driver door and at the trunk lid hinges.

The whole drivetrain runs exceptionally well - clearly there's been some significant updating in this area - and other than oil leaks from all the usual places, it's mechanically sound. Going 80 down the freeway feels effortless and secure at something under 4500rpm. The engine has plenty of pull all through the gears and the sychros are all perfect even on a power downshift into second. The clutch pulls uphill under load and will kill the engine before slipping when lugged.

The steering is a bit vague, so I suspect the steering box is probably original. Front suspension needs all new bushings, but doesn't look too bad. All the boots are still intact. The rebound on the Bilsteins seems ok, but I suspect fresh shocks would really help.

Brakes are good but the master and the slaves in the back need rebuilding. All glass rubber has been updated. The seats are also updated in correct 02 tan vinyl and the carpet is also fairly new. Dash is perfect. All lights and instruments working properly. Heater motor sounds terrible - bearing must be failing. Any sources for a replacement and any hints on how to proceed with this job?

The exterior paint is ok, but both doors have had damage from glancing blows with something solid, so they both look a bit ...tired. I thought to just replace both doors, but I suspect it isn't that simple to get the right fit or to get used doors that aren't rusty.

There are small dents in the chrome trim and at various locations aournd the car - the usual accumulation. Just above and in front of the passenger rear wheel well, there's some body repair that may include filler - the paint doesn't match perfectly here or on the passenger side door so something happened that required body work, although it appears to be only cosmetic as I can reach behind in the rear wheel well and nothing appears out of plane.

The driver's door interior panel is loose and shows obvious signs that the water seal was violated, so I'll need a new panel and water seal. The bolster is also missing from that panel, but I have all the handles. Anyone has sources for the panel and bolster? They are tan.

The sunroof is working, but the ceiling liner is bowed downward just behind the sunroof and I suspect this is the result of water getting into the liner instead of channeling down the drains - anyone know where the drains are and how best to determine if they are working? I'm reluctant to tackle the liner since it appears all the glass has to be removed for this job but I don't want water to cause any further damage. Any thoughts?

I'm new to the 2002, so any advice on proceeding with this "working" restoration would be appreciated. If all goes well, I'll hand the car over this summer to my very appreciative son in good, solid, reliable condition.

Rijco in Seattle

[HarryPR]

The vagueness in the steering could be solved by adjusting the steering box if there's any adjusting left.

There's a heater box refurbishment FAQ here:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/73/32/

Blunt here on the board can sell you new Ocella plastic lining for your doors, and Dave Varco ( http://www.2002parts.com/ ) sells replacement fiberboard panels for your door cards. If the vinyl is still good you won't need to replace them with expen$ive new ones. If you still need new ones, Blunt might also be able to help you.

BTW, good looking car! Good luck with your resto, and please keep us posted on your progress.

[BLUNT]

welcome and thanks harry. looks like a great car and i can imagine your son is indeed appreciative. as harry mentioned the ocella cloth is a self adhesive backing for under your doors and comes by the meter. you need 2 meters to do both doors. its fairly cheap and if i can help drop me a line at unkorama@gmail.com.

[smassoni]

Nice looking car! I can say so since mine is EXACTLY the same ('76, jadegreen, tan interior, no sunroof though). Mine's a Cali car, so there was an EGR in there (notice the past tense), and I'm also slowly but surely doing a "mild" resto on mine. If your son ever feels like ditching it, I know a car on the opposite coast who would love a twin... Seriously, nice car, good price, and looking forward to hearing more about your resto!

Cheers,

SeanM

'76 jadegrun 2002 CA

[rijco]

So far I've been gathering parts and information. I've determined that the carb is a Weber 38/38. It runs very well when warm, but is getting poor gas mileage and needs adjusting.

The engine block isn't the original, came from a 1970 2002, and the head is from a '72. That was a surprise!

I've bought another heater box to take apart and study in anticipation of replacing mine - the fan is hitting the cowling and I suspect a worn out bearing on the motor may be the cause.

I thought about replacing the driver's door since its dented and has some rust spots under the lower trim, but my local body shop guy thinks we should just solve the issues and keep the door as it fits well and isn't in too bad a shape.

The interior panels on the doors are both slated for replacement - I've got new panel ply and most of the trim parts necessary.

Once the door and the heater are sorted out I'm going to tackle the carb and various oil leaks, including the dip stick base.

Next will be brake upgrade, shifter linkage kit, and then suspension bushings.

It's actually been really fun gathering information from this site and putting together a plan for the restoration effort. In the meantime, I'm driving the car around town to see what else pops up. I want the car to be totally reliable before my son takes it back to Colorado.

[BLUNT]

i predict once you get it done and give it to your son youll be shopping for another for yourself after suffering separation anxiety

[H_Krix]

The sunroof is working, but the ceiling liner is bowed downward just behind the sunroof and I suspect this is the result of water getting into the liner instead of channeling down the drains - anyone know where the drains are and how best to determine if they are working? I'm reluctant to tackle the liner since it appears all the glass has to be removed for this job but I don't want water to cause any further damage. Any thoughts?

There is a piece of cardboard that fits in the section, that is most likely the culprit of the sagging.

In this shot, you can see the drain tubes to the rear (they're black) but bowing isn't necessarily always the result of these being clogged. Sometimes the cardboard up there just gets soggy from condensation caused by worn-out sunroof seals.

Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about this while the headliner is still in the car, and you're right that the glass does have to come out in order for it to be repaired. For the front drain tubes, its a good idea to stick the nozzle of an air compressor into the hole in the sunroof and blast the old crud out, but thats somewhat more difficult to get to in the rear, since its inside the roof.

Best of luck with the car though, looks like you've gotten a good one.

[rijco]

Thanks for the info guys! It's incredible how much support there is on this site. I guess I'll wait on the ceiling issues until I'm ready to pop all the glass and redo the liner.

[rijco]

I noticed on the Pheonix blog that the original heater box cover has the attachment point for the valve broken off, but the restored box has the attachment in place. My box has a broken attachment point, as does the donor box I picked up. The plastic seems very, very brittle. Can I get a new cover with a fresh attachment point?

[H_Krix]

You can, but it may be easier to just do this:

Make a new bracket out of metal and bolt it to the top of the box. This is what I did, but with ABS plastic, not aluminum. Both methods would work equally well, and be cheaper (and far easier) than tracking down a new top box in good shape.