My '73 Roundie Revival [BMW 2002]

[Simon S]

My goodness.. just got done going through this.. WOW – yeah – we could totally be brothers. lol

LOVE the seats you chose.
SO jealous of the shop space and tools you have access to.
LOVE your methodology.
Can TOTALLY relate to switching from “non-fun” to “fun” project-aspects as you work along on things.
LOVE your attention to detail – and having a clear picture of how you want things to end up.
Do to lists.. always a necessity.. lol
With as hip-deep as you are – I’d be dreaming about having a rotisserie..
Very, very nice job on the photography!

Dude – you are making me daydream again.. that’s how inspirational your project has been. Thank you for sharing the progress here! Will definitely be keeping an eye out on it..

Cheers.

[CubbyChowder]

My goodness.. just got done going through this.. WOW – yeah – we could totally be brothers. lol

LOVE the seats you chose.
SO jealous of the shop space and tools you have access to.
LOVE your methodology.
Can TOTALLY relate to switching from “non-fun” to “fun” project-aspects as you work along on things.
LOVE your attention to detail – and having a clear picture of how you want things to end up.
Do to lists.. always a necessity.. lol
With as hip-deep as you are – I’d be dreaming about having a rotisserie..
Very, very nice job on the photography!

Dude – you are making me daydream again.. that’s how inspirational your project has been. Thank you for sharing the progress here! Will definitely be keeping an eye out on it..

Cheers.

Thanks a lot man! I appreciate the comment. Glad it could provide some inspiration for you. This car will never be perfect, but I wouldn't want it that way anyways, I'd be too nervous to drive it haha.

[CubbyChowder]

Here are some parts I just received in the mail. In preparation for the 5-speed conversion, I ordered up the necessary clutch kit which consists of:

- 228mm clutch disc
- 228mm pressure plate
- Euro e21 323i throwout bearing

I also had the flywheel resurfaced to spec and received some 20mm spacers that I got for really cheap on VWvortex. I have pretty much everything I need to complete the 5-speed conversion now, the only thing I need now is to have the driveshaft shortened and balanced once I can get the right measurement.

I also bought a new headliner off a user on bmw2002faq for a really good price, just waiting on that to get in the mail. Spent A LOT of money lately but it's all necessary and I have most of the big stuff I need to complete the project (minus paint and suspension, which are two huge ones haha).



And I guess I'll just show these pictures :(
I also prepped and painted the engine bay last week, but I'm really unhappy with how it turned out. It looks absolutely terrible to me and I'm honestly kind of embarrassed to show it on here haha. I used brush-on Chassis Coat paint by POR-15 because I wanted a super durable satin black engine bay, but it was really hard to brush on evenly and it ended up looking like dog shit and I'm pretty pissed about it. I thought it would turn out a lot better than it did. I decided I'm going to leave it for now though, if I ever do a swap down the road then I'll tear everything down and do it properly, in the meantime it'll be visible maybe 1% of the time so it's going to stay. It's very durable and will do it's job just fine, it's just not the prettiest thing.

[e30_neverstock]

was following this on stanceworks and just found it here. im gona steal some ideas for my 02 :D . keep up the good work.

[CubbyChowder]

Just a small update today, haven't had too much time to work on the car as I've been busy with work and life lately. I'm also waiting on some stuff to come in the mail before I can really proceed with reassembling the engine bay.

My dad painted the block, I think it looks so good!



Also received my new GoLiners headliner in the mail. I originally wanted a black headliner, but I saw this brand new white one for sale on BMW2002FAQ for a really good price ($95 shipped, as opposed $175 shipped), so I decided to buy it. I think white will look good too.



Plus I got a little "thank you gift" from the guy who sold me the headliner. He ended up accidentally sending me his NOS OEM headliner (which he paid $300 for) instead of the GoLiners one, so he emailed me immediately and told me what happened. I told him it was no problem and that I'd ship his OEM one back as soon as I got the other one, so he decided to add a little thank you gift in the package, which I thought was really cool. Brand new locking gas cap!

[canakami]

[IMG]locking fuel cap[/IMG]

This little detail is really friggin' cool. Love old-style stuff like that.

[randomsv650]

WOW...can't wait to see the finished project. Looks like you are making awesome progress. The fendes look totally trick, amazing work.

[Nsquared97]

Incredible work so far, keep it up!

[constructor]

I really like this build. I can't wait to see it progress.

[CubbyChowder]

Thanks everyone!

[CubbyChowder]

Finally got some more work done today! It's about time haha I got a new job and have been working a shit ton, but today I had the day off so I made the drive up and got to work.

So I'm focusing on engine bay reassembly, and I started off by putting the whole brake booster/cylinder assembly back on and then ran all the wiring back to it's original spots, etc. I replaced almost every spring/bushing in the pedal box, greased it all up and got it ready to re-install:



Installed. Bolted the clutch cylinder back to the clutch pedal and the brake rod to the brake pedal. I'm still waiting on two little plastic bushings before I can install the gas pedal:



Here is the front subframe ready to go back in. Has a new tie rod assembly installed as well:



While I was lifting the front subframe into place, I figured it'd be a good time to install the new steering coupler (I swapped the little horn spring thing over to the new one, don't worry):



Got the front subframe bolted up and the steering coupler preloaded and tightened:



Then I installed the new control arms but didn't tighten them down all the way yet, I have to wait until the car is back on the ground to do that:




When I bought the car, the previous owner told me the passenger's side ball joint had recently been replaced, and he had an extra one for the driver's side but never changed it. So I decided now would a good time to do it. Here is the pitman arm with old ball joint still installed:



Bottom of strut housing where the pitman arm bolts up to:



New ball joint ready to be installed:



The old ball joint came out fairly easy with an impact gun and hammer, so in went the new ball joint:



Then I bolted the pitman arms to the control arms and connected the tie rods (only one side is pictured, and yes I will pack the ball joint area with grease before I re-install the struts). I didn't connect the sway bar yet because the bushings are shot and I'm considering getting the 22mm sway bar from Ireland Engineering. That will come at a later time:



So the engine bay is basically ready for the engine/tranny now and the front suspension is almost completely reassembled. More updates soon!

[tinkwithanr]

Good Progress!

Not sure if you saw this in Andrew's thread (SkiFree), but he had a great idea. Before you bolt up the steering arm to the bottom of the strut, smother the ball joint stud and nut with some wheel bearing grease. That will keep them from getting rusty when water gets into that cavity, so the next time you need to take them apart it'll be nice and easy.

[CubbyChowder]

Good Progress!

Not sure if you saw this in Andrew's thread (SkiFree), but he had a great idea. Before you bolt up the steering arm to the bottom of the strut, smother the ball joint stud and nut with some wheel bearing grease. That will keep them from getting rusty when water gets into that cavity, so the next time you need to take them apart it'll be nice and easy.

Thanks for the concern, I actually noted that I'll be packing it with grease before I bolt the strut back up, it's in the text above the last picture in my last post. Thanks for looking out though!

[CubbyChowder]

Today's update might seem a bit redundant to some, but some will appreciate it

I got a bit antsy today, so I got this out:



And wanted to test these out (longer studs are in order):



Will it work? Kind of a moment of truth situation:



It'll work just fine :D pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. This is what an "aired out" stance would resemble:




And this is probably what my regular driving height will resemble:





I'm pumped on how it's turning out, I just need to get my ass in gear and finish this damn thing!

[deutschman]

I might have a urethane disk for your steering box. You want it if I can find it?
It'll be a present.