1971 BMW 1600 Project

[Poon]

How did you remove the anodized aluminum coating of the belt trim?

Would love to do this to my '02 because it's so much $$$ for new trim and I'd like to hold of buying it until I one day repaint the car.

[phreshkid]

How did you remove the anodized aluminum coating of the belt trim?

Would love to do this to my '02 because it's so much $$$ for new trim and I'd like to hold of buying it until I one day repaint the car.

This video will explain it better than I can. It works pretty well.

[phreshkid]

$2250.00



I died a little inside. But it drives good and has 5 forward gears, which is nice.

[RCM3]

That trim came out great! Sorry if I overlooked a previous post about the pedal box refresh, but what did you do to it? I'm sure mine needs attention and its on my to do list.

[phreshkid]

Small Update!



Ran down to Coupe King to pick up the car. Didn't even look at it and let my brother drive it back to my warehouse in Long Beach.

I peak at the car and notice that the shift knob was different. This is an original 1600 shift knob that I expressed interest in while at CK, but didn't think much of it after that. What an excellent gift! I think that this knob is way cooler than the other one I had on there.


Today was paint rehab day. I mixed up a cocktail of Kerosene, Water, Dish soap, and Bon Ami and got to work with super fine steel wool. In retrospect, steel wool may not have been the best choice but what's done is done. It got the car down to a consistent finish, which is what I was after. Here is what the car looks like after the super chemical wash:


Not too bad.



I opted to not cut/polish it any (yet), but go straight to wax. The wax is laying in uniform so I'll look into what and why. I may opt to use a low rpm buffer to reapply the wax. Not sure if this will work, but we'll see. If not, I'll strip the wax, do a bit of wet sanding, and go that route. So many options for trashed paint!



and here is a quick shot of a (hand) waxed car. It didn't come out as I'd like, but I'm not in any rush to start driving it. I want to get this right.



Can you name all the cars in this photo?




That's all I have for now. Happy 4th!

[Farbin Kaiber]

Just consider it as you dropped $2250.00 for a NOS 1600 shift knob, and the transmission was thrown in for free!

[phreshkid]

Just consider it as you dropped $2250.00 for a NOS 1600 shift knob, and the transmission was thrown in for free!

I like free transmissions. One day I'm going to look back and wonder why I spent so much money on a base-model 1600 and not something like a tii or touring.

Or, maybe this was the perfect car to modify and drive around. Either way, I'm $20k lighter and I have a really cool shift knob. Worth it.

[RUFFLZ]

I like everything about this thread and you.

Isn't it crazy how an e30 feels like suuuuuuch a modern BMW when driven after a 1600/2002?

Like these cars actually feel old.

As least this was my experience meh.

[phreshkid]

I like everything about this thread and you.

Isn't it crazy how an e30 feels like suuuuuuch a modern BMW when driven after a 1600/2002?

Like these cars actually feel old.

As least this was my experience meh.

You're right on the money. So much of me wants to go ITBs and EFI on this motor but then I take a step back and think "why am
I trying to make a classic car into a modern car?" And this holds true especially to the 2002. I have to physically restrain myself from swapping in a modern engine.

These cars are time machines. So archaic compared to any newer BMW.

[2mAn]

Im excited to see this and you at Archies on Tuesday.

I'll be the short brown guy with dreamy eyes on your car and you

:giggle:

[rzerob]

What color is the green mint on the one on the bottom, Z3? Z3M?

[RUFFLZ]

:giggle:

:giggle::giggle:

[phreshkid]

Im excited to see this and you at Archies on Tuesday.

I'll be the short brown guy with dreamy eyes on your car and you

:giggle:

I'll come find you and we will share a Banana Split and talk about each other's perfect hair.

What color is the green mint on the one on the bottom, Z3? Z3M?

The color is pretty rare on the z3 M Coupe but it is a real BMW color known as Evergreen. See more photos below.















This is America. We are free 24/7/365. Today I had the freedom to work on my car and re-wax but this time I used a buffing machine. I like the end product because now the car's paint is consistently bad. But it's consistent.


Should I go with a new front roundel or use the old one?




After the wax, I re-installed all the beltline trim. She's starting to look pretty good. Terrible lighting, but you get the idea:





And here is a booty comparison of the 1600 with 185 tires, and the Evergreen M Coupe with 295s in the rear. America.






I'll probably start driving it on Monday.

[rturbo 930]

I first saw an Evergreen M Coupe while visiting family in Seattle, and I've wanted one ever since. And IMO your paint looks good. Doesn't look neglected, just well used. Perfect for that car, I think.

[LJ851]

Should I go with a new front roundel or use the old one?

The old one is wrong, it should have a painted roundel with the shiny parts raised. Can't tell from your pic if the new one fits this description but it doesn't look like it from here.