1971 BMW 1600 Project

[phreshkid]

I looked at that last photo and it is such low quality that I actually got mad. I can't have you guys looking at potato-quality photos. It's just not right.


So I went and ordered one of these:



Get ready for better photos.

[oliver.r]

....so you have something to read in the morning, or during work when you should be productive, but you are instead surfing r3v build threads.

alldayerryday

[phreshkid]

one more thing, you have a career as a writer, seriously. very good stuff.

I used to enjoy writing when I was younger. I notice that I write much better when I am happy, as opposed to a mediocre or bad mood. I can actually document my moods through my posts.

Thank you for the kind words. I really do appreciate the compliment.

just search on "spal" in my thread. here is the page.
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/1035...43#entry963462

Geeze, that thing is huge. How did you fit such a large unit in that tiny hole?














Today was get-the-seats-in day. I'm tired, but I'll scrap together a post so you have something to read in the morning, or during work when you should be productive, but you are instead surfing r3v build threads.

So here is the car, and one of the two corbeau seats:





Then I pulled out the seats that have been in the car for about a year, in preparation for the seat brackets, which I promptly ruined. More on that later.





And then I welded up the seat frames.








And did some testing, but here is where I messed up. Instead of stenciling the seat to be about an inch from the tranny tunnel, I some how flip flopped the measurements and pushed the seat about 3" from the tranny tunnel. I didn't find out until I bolted the seats in. I was too angry to fix it tonight. If you ride in my car and mention anything about the passenger seat placement, I will stop the car and ask you to get out.





Grainy, low light iphone picture, but the seats are in and bolted down. I'm going to throw the new carpet kit in because I don't like the exposed seat rails.





The seats sit at least 3" lower than the stock seats, and the steering wheel now feels much higher than where it first was. I'm not sure if I like this yet. Do I feel cooler driving around? About as cool as a high school asian kid in his EG civic hatchback stance car. I will say that these new seats make hard cornering much more enjoyable, but I also feel the road more so than before. It's now more apparent than ever that I need to change the door rubber gaskets, and the rear quarter window gaskets to get the little creaks and vibrations out. These gaskets, like the rest of the gaskets on the car have turned to plastic and no longer seal very well. The road noise is louder now. But the seats must be 20 pounds lighter than the stock seats which I do appreciate.


Anyways, I need to do more driving to get a better feel for the seats. Not bad for a pair that only cost me $70

[mlytle]

I heard that some people are able to get the 14" fan in there. Is this in your build thread somewhere? Where can I find a link to this fan?

And yes, this time I won't mess up the fan blade orientation....which I fixed a few weeks ago by the way.

just search on "spal" in my thread. here is the page.
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/1035...43#entry963462

[gwb72tii]

one more thing, you have a career as a writer, seriously. very good stuff.

[phreshkid]

yes, they work a lot better than the eccentric kind. IE is the source.


get a 14in spal fan, not the 12in version.....and make sure the fan blade is mounted correctly....this time....:)

I heard that some people are able to get the 14" fan in there. Is this in your build thread somewhere? Where can I find a link to this fan?

And yes, this time I won't mess up the fan blade orientation....which I fixed a few weeks ago by the way.

Just found this thread and want to say what a great job you've done.
I've owned a few 2002's, restored them and helped my son build one out, and yours looks great. Well done.
Share your pain with IE btw, sometimes their QC is shit.

Thanks! And agreed. But I can't give them too much sh*t. They are still creating products that I can use on this car, some successfully and some not. But still, they are trying.

Speaking of which, they still owe me a bunch of exhaust stuff. I should talk to them.

[gwb72tii]

Just found this thread and want to say what a great job you've done.
I've owned a few 2002's, restored them and helped my son build one out, and yours looks great. Well done.
Share your pain with IE btw, sometimes their QC is shit.

[mlytle]

Where are those aubframe adjusters?

I've never seen the ones with the ridges. I bet they don't slide like the others.

yes, they work a lot better than the eccentric kind. IE is the source.


get a 14in spal fan, not the 12in version.....and make sure the fan blade is mounted correctly....this time....:)

[phreshkid]

I need to get a good set of camber/castor adjustments and weld them in. I have an extra rear subframe or two so that should happen sooner than later.




New developments:

I've been driving the car a few times a week. Temperatures haven't crossed the 3/4 mark so I'm happy about that. I think they can be lowered with a higher CFM fan. I intend on grabbing a thick 12" SPAL fan pretty soon and doing the conversion. That should keep the idle temps at bay.


But for all the paintwork I've done, I need to redo it. After about 2-3 weeks, it's gone flat in many spots. I don't know what happened, but I don't like it so I plan on redoing it.

I visited my buddy Ayed of Kings Auto Body in Huntington Beach and I gave him the skinny on what products I used. He told me that the Meguiars wasn't heavy duty enough for my application and that 3M has a much better product and will actually last much longer. So naturally, I ordered a bunch more 3M stuff last night.

But here is the majority of what he used on a small spot of the hood:




and this is the product of 2 minutes worth of buffing and polishing:



In the photo above, you can see where the paint went flat. I hope to correct this in the next week.

I'm loading up all the surfboards next week and we're going to Mexico for the weekend. Only good things happen in Mexico so the 02 is coming. I plan on not dying so I should post again in the future.

Also, I should have the corbeaus in tomorrow.




Oh and I have a secret admirer. I hope that it's a girl, but I am betting it's a guy. Tools have been showing up at my house the last week. I know they aren't mistakes because they have my name on the shipping label, but they were sent as gifts so I cannot verify who the sender is. Either way, I accept the tools and I hope more come. I kind of like this.

You can never have too many screwdrivers:




Or Prybars:

[LJ851]

Where are those aubframe adjusters?

I've never seen the ones with the ridges. I bet they don't slide like the others.

Ireland Engineering

http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/2002-suspension-steering/adjcmbkit-lock.html

[LoneWolf]

Where are those aubframe adjusters?

I've never seen the ones with the ridges. I bet they don't slide like the others.

[mlytle]

flipping the mounts does not get you much. about the same about of camber change you get from lowering the car a half inch.

gotta do the full subframe modification of welding on adjusters to the trailing arm mounts to get any real results with camber and toe.

i just did that. way better.

[LJ851]

I do need to do something about the rear camber. Currently, it's a bit much, but I still want to lower the rear a tad. I remember there is a simple mod that allows you to flip and swap rear subframe mounts. I'll research this and likely perform it.

I hate how I like it this low, but it handles quite well for a street car.

You can flip the stock subframe mounts but it's effect on camber and toe is very minimal. It also puts your driveshaft out of alignment. No bueno.

You are going to need to do weld on adjusters on the rear subframe, do both camber and toe. The car will be very nicely improved handling wise and with proper toe settings, your tire wear will be greatly reduced.

[phreshkid]

Yes, it's got just a little too much rake. I may have mentioned before, but i like about 5/8 inch of slope from the front to the back of the sill.

Yes, that would be ideal. Even with the current suspension configuration, the car is VERY streetable and I'd almost venture to say comfortable by many standards, but definitely tolerable for long periods of time.

I do need to do something about the rear camber. Currently, it's a bit much, but I still want to lower the rear a tad. I remember there is a simple mod that allows you to flip and swap rear subframe mounts. I'll research this and likely perform it.

I hate how I like it this low, but it handles quite well for a street car.

[LJ851]

I mostly agree, but I still can't help but want to be lower in the rear another 2/3"

Yes, it's got just a little too much rake. I may have mentioned before, but i like about 5/8 inch of slope from the front to the back of the sill.