jerry

your engine bay is a joy to behold as-is. your valve cover paintjob is a tasteful modification. nice work and nice writeup.

if only my engine bays would look that tidy...

i ended up taking mine to a mechanic who specializes in overpriced german autos. he said it's all about getting the proper crush on the crush gasket. i don't believe they are too expensive so i will buy a couple and try to do the next one myself.

it's that inherent dislike of mechanical 'black boxes' that compels me to try this myself on my next differential.

you are trying to get a suitable preload on the taper bearing. keep tightening. if you overtighten (and i don't know what that amount is), try again with a new crush gasket.

check out a couple threads on the "FAQ Construction Zone" area. there's a lot of helpful info there. it's becoming a convenient repository of the collective knowlege of the members.

i bought two sets from them back in the 90's and they were as close to OEM as one could want. unfortunately, i don't think they are available anymore. they were bought out by maximillian imports as i recall.

good carpets. i wish they were still available. the salt and pepper would be nice to have available again. the other thing i'm noticing on ALL the kits i've ordered recently is the lack of vinyl edging on the kickpanel pieces. it's suppose to wrap around the door jamb and be held in place with the edge trim. these carpet kits are missing this small detail that really helps hold it in place.

WOW!!!

that looks great brian. those seats look great with that carpet and the brown interior goes well with golf. i'm so jealous to see your engine installed. did you do the interior before or after the engine install?

i'm trying to do the final touches on my engine before the install, but i had a minor mishap with the hoist. stupid mistake and i realized it was time to call it quits for the night. fortunately, my engine took a gentle fall. i'll sort it out tomorrow.

at those prices, it'll be another trip to lumber store for some thin plywood and fabric store for vinyl.

do your retirement savings a favor and drop this one. way too much work. if it were a Porsche 356 or Ferrari or some other valuable car then yes.

i too hate to euthanize an 02 but there comes a time when it is the humane thing to do.

speak gently to it as you remove parts from it.

i have seen several exhaust manifolds with cracks. i believe all were of the webbed type referred to above. anyhow, i had a coworker weld one up for me. it took several attempts before he was able to eliminate weld cracks. he 'stop-drilled' the crack tips prior to grinding a vee along the length of the crack. what finally worked for us was heating it up in a furnace to 700F and stick welding with a high-Ni rod then returning it to the furnace and allowing to slow cool to room temperature. he's welded several manifolds before but remarked that this particular BMW manifold was very difficult.

btw, every crack i've seen has been at the No.3 outlet.

this car sold on ebay a while back and was essentially a stock original, a survivor in the truest sense.

personally, i think my subject line could read:

how to turn a $6000 car into a $2000 car

click here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-2002-1600-1968-BMW-1600-1602-2002-RESTORED-3PC-HRE-AWSOME-CAR_W0QQitemZ190102625933QQihZ009QQcategoryZ42601QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

item no: 190102625933

i'm sorry mr/mrs current owner, i guess i'm being an A-hole, but at least i'm using my signature. it's a free country, to each his own. flame away....

looking over the factory OHM on the differential, it refers to this guage that measures the turning resistance (friction value) prior to removing anything. i'm not familiar with this tool.

what is the significance of this step? or alternatively, is it considered hack work to omit this step? apparently there's an adjustment required to return to original friction value upon reassembly.

anyone improvised this step?

is this tool still available in some form?

i'd like to ensure my differntial doesn't spew oil all over my newly cleaned and painted underbody.

thanks

I had 5 steelies blasted down to virgin metal for $60 at my local blasting shop.

They told be it takes 12 minutes to do a wheel -- Grab a bucket of stuff you need cleaned up and let them do it all at once--sure beats wasting money on DIY systems that cant give you the same result.

Ben

that is an exceptionally great price. i recently sand blasted 12 rims in an enclosed industrial sized cabinet at 80psi typically used for cleaning combustion liners on aeroengines and i can tell you it took more than 12 minutes per rim. i got to the point where i merely spot blasted the rust away and scoffed-up the surface before epoxy coat and paint.

i was quoted $25/wheel locally in the bay area. it was a lot of work cleaning and painting them but the end result was very satisfying.

gravity feed setups are less efficient and unless you have an enclosed chamber you'll go through a lot of grit. use a pressure pot. just remember, dry air is the key. once moisture gets in the line the flow of media is hindered.

don't bother with those small gravity-feed pistol blasters either. i tried one load that lasted a whole of 60seconds and never used it again.

have a very good vacuum cleaner on hand. you'll need it. and a broom.

brian, get posting. you've been awful quiet lately. i'm desparately trying to wrap things up myself. i MAY have to slap those rusty blue doors on my car to save time. the engine-transmission install and carpet are the biggest issues waiting. what about you?

i couldn't get past the couple guys without ear protection. even if they were wearing foam plugs, that's pretty loud.

got to do a little woodworking and be able to call it 02 work. very limited opportunity to actually incorporate woodworking into an 02 project. typically i've recoiled in horror at the wooden consoles that appear on occasion. for the most part they appear to be someone's highschool woodworking project. it just ain't right.

anyhow, my cars suffer from warped door panels as is common. i need several sets so i decided to make my own. it's been on the back burner for quite awhile so i decided to tackle it once and for all.

i made a few rear shelf boards too. it's not worth the effort for one car, but if several sets are needed the effort is justified to save money. i merely stacked them to make the cuts and finish shaped them with a hand plane.

final touch was a coat of urethane i had lying around.

if you already have the dry ice and the carpet is out. i'd remove it. you never know what's lurking underneath. replace it with roofing patch available in an 8in wide roll at home depot. it's the cheap alternative to pricey Fatmat and the like.

having dry ice and a blanket to hold the cold in makes short work of removing the tar.

driving like that, on dirt, with no guardrails...

the guy has 'nads the size of texas.

that is amazing.

It is sort of a time capsule. It has been stored for roughly 35 of its 40 years!

wow, that is a beautiful car. they don't come any better than that. that is the look i can only aspire to in my 68 1600 TI clone wannabe. i find the survivors always more interesting to look at.

sandblaster is an excellent idea if you have access to one. i've used a cold chisel to coax those heavily rusted nuts off. just beat it in the direction that would normally unscrew it. you'll have to pioneer a little wedge in the nut in one or two places.

after you sandblast it you may find that what's left of the nut is easily removed this way. use oil and heat too.

paint that inner chamber before reassembly and spray some rust proofer on the nut before bolting to the strut. i've used permatex to seal it up as well, for the next guy.

anyone able to shed light on how the 2nd outlet on the gas tank (the one with the brazed on fitting, not the one on the fuel sender) gets plumbed?

this pertains to a late 71 model year. my other cars are no help as they've been capped with a bolt at the end of the rubber line. i've seen a gas tank completely dished from the vacuum that's created when the fuel pump pulls its fuel supply.

there is a hole nearby the tailight that i'm wondering if i merely feed the fuel line through it to vent, it's about the size of a quarter and i don't know any other reason for it being there.

the plastic vent tank hanging above the wheel arch appears to be set up with the vent off the filler neck.

i use a tool that i bought years ago when i was driving a 68 VW Bug. it's a 36mm wrench-type socket gizmo that you attach to a breaker bar and you can use a hammer to strike it to help loosen the nut. i usually use a prybar inserted between the studs to keep wheel from rotating and an extension pipe on the breaker bar and step on the bar as i strike the socket gizmo.

a propane torch is a good idea too. i've only done this with the trailing arms removed from the car.

i was under the impression that permatex gasket goo is only necessary when the mating surfaces are not completely clean and are questionable.

it is my understanding that the only locations that were designed for gasket goo are at the triple-point junctions between the oil pan, lower timing cover, engine block and engine block, upper and lower timing cover. additionally, bolt tightening sequence can also play an important role in proper seating. i treated the tightening of the timing covers in a similar manner as tightening the head to the engine block. a torque wrench makes this a simple process and takes the guesswork out of it.

i did use a gasket spray adhesive on both sides of the gaskets primarily as an assembly aid and to bridge any very small discrepancies in the mating surfaces. all surfaces were wiped clean with laquer thinner prior to reassembly. i did have to cut the protruding ends of the timing cover gaskets flush prior to installing the oil pan and valve cover gaskets.

there was a thread about gasket goo on the forum about 6-7 months ago and my take on it was that it was not required nor originally intended by the OEM. i guess i'll find out soon enough if this works.

my experience with using the BMW color codes is that the formulas provided in their refernce books apply to single stage paint only. if that is OK for you then you should be able to obtain the true color fairly easily.

colormatching is not easy and i did not get an exact copy of Malaga when i purchased that service for 2-stage paint.

Ford 'wimbeldon white' is a VERY close match to Chaminox and is readily mixable by proper formula. if you consider the effect of sun exposure, paint application, undercoating and other variables, i believe it could be argued that 'close enough' is good enough.

any future paints i use will be from color books to match the original color as best as possible. this way i hope to simplify the process for any spot touchups in the future.

there is no substitute for painting on bare metal. hoping to wrap this task up in the morning so that i could return to work on my Malaga car, i was dismayed at the appearance of the old paint underneath the new primer.

SOOOO.... off it all came. at least where it's readily visible. the engine bay does not count, btw.

8 hours later i can sit down and document today's effort. a wire wheel on a cheap grinder is a great tool for quickly removing old paint.

i also decided to remove the fuse box so i could get paint there. prior damage was straightened as best as possible. i thought of smoothing it out completely with a dab of bondo but caught myself before i wasted any effort on that. some things just aren't worth the effort and hiding an old crash is not necessary for me in the engine compartment. i call it battle scars and it conveys a sense of history on this car. if it was on the exterior, that would be a different matter.

not everything goes according to plan. the day started out with my intension to remove the heaterbox, wiper assembly etc., to get access into the air plenum chamber for repaint. the surface rust was unsightly and i figured if i get this painted i can reinstall the stuff after refurbishment and not have to think about it for a long time, if ever.

center console is out. heater box is merely two nuts and the levers. 15 minute job at most. NOT...

the heater trim plates on early dashes are held on by two inaccessible, ridiculously small nuts. one thing led to another and before i knew it, the entire dash was removed, windshield removed, and bottom dash hopelessly damaged in frustration. thankfully, it was in terrible shape and i have a replacement on hand.

anyhow, i am VERY pleased to find that there is not bad rust at all in this area of the car. it's very clean. no metal replacement or welding necessary. that was a nice tradeoff for all the grief i encountered.

i have to really fight the urge to continue pulling things off this car. the goal is to get it ready to return a functioning engine in it and work on it as a running vehicle.

another good feature is the headliner. although it's dirty and in need of a thorough cleaning, if i'm careful it should be good as is.