jerry

i'm making decent progress lately and i'm actually doing just a little work on two other cars in between. but, my focus is definitely on this car. i WILL complete it. hopefully in time for the Palo Alto meet in may.

progress to date includes a milestone: Headliner is installed!!!!!!!!!!!

i am very happy to have this task behind me. it's really not difficult, just takes time and patience.

i have most of the rear suspension installed. next up is doing some final rust preventative spraying inside the rocker cavities and then putting some sound deadener on the interior.

i also need to clean and apply new gaskets to the engine to doll it up a bit. i will be reinstalling a single barrel solex and air cleaner to this car.

davin,

do you recall how this particular car handled wrt to steering.

although it wasn't obvious at first, this car had a nose-job and one fender replaced. the front support looked a little beat up in places. i think someone added that stabilizer as a quick fix then perhaps ultimately replaced both control arms and steering linkage.

all the rust you see is because this was a greasy mess when i got it and i cleaned and pressure washed it and then let it sit under cover for the past 18 months. removing the grease was not a good idea, considering.

anyhow, i'm squeezing this work in between my main project as i want to get this car running again. i've never driven it and i have an engine for it. i will swap out all that is rusty and replace with freshly sandblasted and painted goodies.

you got your money's worth out of them. what you are seeing first hand is the durability of bearings when treated properly. age, heat and ozone are killers on rubber though.

i reinstalled a used set of strut bearings on my current project, but the rubber was intact.

hey, what a coincidence....

i JUST came in from installing my headliner today as well. what a tremendous sense of acomplishment when it's finally done.

first off. remove all the attachments you screwed in place. you are not ready for those until it's all glued and dried and secured with the edge trimming.

buy several dozen of those small paper clamps as well. you should have it stretched out for a trial fit before you start gluing.

gluing the liner to the rear support board is critical. i traced the placement on the new liner using the old liner as a guide, by measuring the distance to the first seam and curvature and centering.

the material that covers the c-pillar is a bit akward to deal with once the support board is installed. i had to make a cut (think this out carefully, first) to be able to stretch it rearward.

the rods should almost wedge themselves slightly forward. they help to stretch the liner in place. i left the foam padding on my ceiling and that made it easy for me to know where they should end up as i merely had to locate the depression in the foam they made.

use your paper clips to stretch the liner and straighten it out as necessary, adjusting alittle here, alittle there.

btw, you should install your A and B pillar vinyl first.

i will be posting photos in my project page tomorrow.

good luck and stick with it, it is doable. the hardest part for me was installing the rear board. i HATE those metal clamps. PITA POS

anyone know what this shock absorber is for? i've never seen one on an 02 before.

is this something to be saved?

i suspect it was added to dampen some steering wobble or misalignment because i've removed the front subassembly and it's somewhat dinged. i will compare it to a good condition one i have to decide whether the subframe is worth reconditioning or not.

i did notice that the control rods were replaced along with the linkage at some point. still had the OEM stickers on em. the steering box is nice and tight too.

i was wondering if i'd want to move this steering shock to my ti-clone to be?

btw, this car was formerly owned by boardmember DavinSF

ah, i found alittle note i wrote on the spring identifying it as a rear spring, ie., the red-gold combo. didn't see it till i started cleaning.

back to work. the seals are enjoying the weather too right now. they won't stop barking.

okay, it's been a while since i dismantled this car and in the meantime i've acquired other OEM springs. now i'm in the middle of installing my rear trailing arms and i can't tell which springs to use.

here's what i have:

red-gold slightly thicker

blue-white appears SLIGHTLY thinner

unfortunately for me the FAQ section on springs discusses a SINGLE color for the rear springs and i'm confused. i acquired a 2nd set of springs from a 76 02 so i don't recall which ones were on the 71.

my fronts are blue-white, btw

on an aside: you folks in the midwest and east, eat your heart out. i swear the temperature this evening in the SF bay area, is around 70F. i'm working my butt off to finish this car...

justin, i won't be driving UP to petaluma to assist you. if you'd like to discuss your car and try your hand at it come on DOWN to marin.

jerryallsmanATyahooDOTcom

bodywork for me was an ahaaa moment, it only took a while to get there. and yes, the rear panel can be tricky as it 'oil cans' easily.

where are you located? i'm in marin. i did a very unsatisfying paint job on my car last fall, but the lessons i learned and the information i gleaned by doing the whole job myself will surely help me the next time.

i could share some lessons learned and perhaps watch over your shoulder while you tried your hand at applying and smoothing bondo. after straightening the metal as much as possible beforehand. it's time consuming work but the end result is worthwhile.

i spent yesterday afternoon working on removing the engine/auto-transmission from a 73 02.

i believe there is a circlip in the tranny tunnel that i need to remove to liberate the shifter unit from the tranny. Is this all i need to deal with. i was unable to figure out the shifter and shifter cover in the closing moments of daylight i had left. is there any hidden screws or tabs?

this is my first auto-tranny removal.

also, i intend to reinstall this tranny or another spare auto-tranny on a replacement engine and reinstall into this car.

is there any maintenance i can do while it's on the workbench.

i don't want to devote too much time to this car right now as i am in the middle of a project. i just want to make this a driveable car on its own.

oh yea, just in case it wasn't obvious, the problem as i was told by the PO is in the engine. it has no compression in a piston or two. i have a replacement engine waiting.

i got my carpet kit mid-january.

now, i'm not gonna SAY that it had anything to do with me initiating a 'notice of intent' with Paypal before the 45 day expiration date occurred.

BUT,

it wasn't long after that, before i actually received my FIRST email from Al acknowledging my order and wondering why i filed first before trying to contact him. i very politely replied that i was merely protecting my interests in that i was under a 45 day time limit and that i hoped he would understand.

to his credit, he accepted my explanation and i received the carpet before the deadline for me to file a formal claim.

our email exchanges were courteous and 'matter-of-fact', and i made it clear that i was only filing so that i would not forfeit my right to file.

for those who haven't initiated a notice with paypal within the 45 day limit, i extend my sincerest wishes on your behalf.

i just farted...

.... since we're in a sharing mood......

my preference is ALWAYS to keep matching engine.

save the other engine for another shell. it doesn't have to be FI either.

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

you have successfully hoodwinked a whole bunch of gullible FAQers like myself.

nice gotcha....

the tii MCs i've seen have a number 23 embossed on the casting. i think it refers to the bore dimension in mm.

don't know how much these'll fetch but i can guess there's a bunch of envious people reading your post. if all those were placed on eBay i'm sure they'd command in excess of $150 and possibly more. inspite of the fact that most are easily made. having OEM is like jewlery in the toolbox.

i have asked these same questions at the local DMV and was told in no uncertain terms, no dice.

i have two 'blue-plate' 02's and i asked if i could swap plates over to my more desireable 02 that did not have its original plates.

i even asked if i could obtain the original license number for my car as i had an earlier photo of it with its original 'blue-plate' until some lowlife stole it for the registration sticker. unfortunately, the PO traded the remaining front plate for a newly issued replacement plate.

apparently, the plate stays with the VIN, period. unless vanity plate.

EDIT: of course, the person i spoke with at the counter could have been misinformed. that is entirely possible and if credible info to the contrary exists, please share with the board

click here:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,283902/highlight,/

and look at first photo for image of ballast resistor.

btw, the blue coil shown does not need the resistor.

have you inspected the fitting to ensure that the flared end is indeed properly seated within the CMC hole? i found it near impossible to install the tube properly seated in the CMC grommet with the grommet in place. i literally had to slide the grommet all the way down from the other end (using glycerine to assist) then wiggle it into the CMC. oh yea, i did this with the CMC on my workbench. i couldn't imagine trying to seat that tube properly with restricted access of an installed CMC.

your idea of installing an NPT fitting sounds like a good idea. i believe there is sufficient metal in the casting to cut threads. you'll definitely want to remove the CMC and disassemble it to do this though (metal filings).

try it and report back

i prefer the simple look. less-is-more cliche. those gold rims would look great on an accura integra with air dam in back and spoiler up front.

thought i'd post a little progress. suspension parts are being readied for reinstallation. i've replaced all rubber bushings, ball joints, strut inserts. i'm reusing the OEM springs, strut bearings and all hardware.

i took extra care to try to seal up the bottom of the struts to prevent the three attachment bolts from rusting in place. i used Permatex gasket sealer around the seam and on top of the exposed bolt end as shown in the photo below. the inner nut received a coating of rust preventative before assembly. hopefully the next person who does this job will benefit from this added effort.

space is such a premium in my little shed that i'm forced to work atop my 02 as can be seen.

sorry jetboy. i've purchased from him before and items were as described and no complaints. his descriptions are accurate. problem for you and me (for that matter), is that his items are tending to command higher prices which leaves the 'semi' bottom feeder like myself merely window shopping.

so, to answer your question. it's probably good stuff as described, but you'll have company too (not me, btw).

i've got an E21 Head that i'm under the impression is similar to the 121 Head that i'm currently playing with. picked it up for $20 on Craigslist so i can afford to screw it up.

thank you for your in depth discussion. your post will be printed, archived and digested slowly, as my brain allows.

i bought a used head complete with valves et al. my goal is to disassemble it and go through the learning process at the same time.

it's my understanding that when dealing with the bottom end the rods and pistons are matched to a specific cylinder.

wrt the head, is it necessary to keep track of which particular cylinder the bits were originally installed? i.e., do i number each rocker arm, intake, exhaust valve, etc?

i don't have the nice OEM tool to depress all the valve springs at once. what have folks used to?