1971 BMW 1600 Project

[rikaro]

very nice! subscribed

[325i]

Private space. We offer shop services only to close friends, and those who can pay. We mostly play with our own cars though.

So awesome!

[quikveedb2]

Great work man. I love that you're using the patina as a foundation for the other aspects of the cars "restoration", rather than something to be fixed. Sometimes I get frustrated with the dings, dents, and idiosyncrasies of my e30 but I have to remind myself how long it's been in service, & that each mark is a part of its history and character. You've got a good grip on your priorities and what you want the car to do, and I can appreciate that.

[phreshkid]

You'll be sitting at around 1.5°-ish negative camber which will be just fine for a sporty street car (Jeremy spent 10 years driving around with 3°). The trick is to make sure the car is corner balanced and your toe set at 1/16° in on either side.

That's good to know! I hope to be driving this thing in a week or two. I would love to swap this week but I have to fly out to North Carolina tonight. Might be buying an M5.

very nice! subscribed

Thanks man!

So awesome!

Gracias

Great work man. I love that you're using the patina as a foundation for the other aspects of the cars "restoration", rather than something to be fixed. Sometimes I get frustrated with the dings, dents, and idiosyncrasies of my e30 but I have to remind myself how long it's been in service, & that each mark is a part of its history and character. You've got a good grip on your priorities and what you want the car to do, and I can appreciate that.

OMG my heart skipped a beat. You're the greatest. But seriously, thanks. Lord knows I'm holding back from a full over-restoration.

[delatlanta1281]

Glad the motor got there.... That alternated may be a single wire alternator, but I can't remember. Looks to have the IE large pulley on it though. I always wanted that valve cover. congrats on scoring it. You look inside the head yet?

[phreshkid]

Glad the motor got there.... That alternated may be a single wire alternator, but I can't remember. Looks to have the IE large pulley on it though. I always wanted that valve cover. congrats on scoring it. You look inside the head yet?

PO says the alternator is a 60A unit with internal voltage regulator from an E21. Looks like the singe wire type. And the pulley is an IE unit. Right on both accounts. I have checked under the valve cover but I sure do like the old school cover! Wish I could swap the engine now but I'm out of town until Monday.

[BobombETA]

Love that you're keeping the patina. Just a great all around build.

[Tismael711]

The hell with "patina" ... paint the car. Everything else is new!

[delatlanta1281]

The hell with "patina" ... paint the car. Everything else is new!

Don't do it man, I was going to paint mine, but with minimal to no rust, it's cool to have one with shot paint. People who don't know what my car is underneath it's exterior don't care to talk about it. Those who know what it is and inspect further are a blast to talk to. I'm headed down the same road with my e30. To the regular douche it just looks like an old dropped e30. To someone who knows what's up, it's a pretty fun car to discuss and drive.

[phreshkid]

I don't really plan on painting the car....at least not for a year or three. I want to enjoy the damn thing but I keep pushing the date farther and farther back.


I'm about 94% ready to tear into the car and start replacing suspension components, brakes, engine, fasteners, etc., but I have yet to figure out the ignition system on this engine. I don't currently have a suitable distributor and buying one, then having it's timing custom curved to optimize the engine's internal components will be around $400ish. For about $200 more I can have a fully programmable ignition system that does away with the distributor altogether. It's basically Megasquirt but strictly for spark and timing. I like this idea.

I have no prior electrical experience and can't yet read wiring schematics, but I plan on taking the time and doing it right. I already know what I need and will be purchasing it shortly.

This will push the build back a week or three, but I can still do the bulk of everything else while I wait for the crank pulley, sensor housing and other custom made parts to arrive.



Sort of unrelated, these showed up:



I don't really plan on using any of it, but it's nice to have extras I suppose. Wait, I will actually use the starter. It's 9-10lbs lighter than the stock unit, fits perfectly, and is even smaller than the notorious s14 starter upgrade. I believe this is an m30 starter, but will confirm. The red fan might be used, but I do have a spal thin electric fan sitting in a box somewhere. May go ahead and install that as well.

These showed up today as well:





These are a one-year-only set of output shafts from a 1976 BMW 2002. These are slightly longer than standard 2002 output shafts and allow me to bridge the gap that occurs when swapping to the 320iS LSD unit. It's a direct drop in unit. Pretty cool.

That's all I have for now. I've been traveling a lot the last two-ish weeks and looks like I'll be doing a bit more. I'll keep you guys updated.


If I had a goal of when to have this thing running and driving at a level I consider satisfactory, I'd say before Bimmerfest.

[CorvallisBMW]

that's a goofy looking fan, the blades aren't even spaced out evenly. How is it balanced?

[LJ851]

that's a goofy looking fan, the blades aren't even spaced out evenly. How is it balanced?

Science.

[SkiFree]

Science.

[phreshkid]

A little earlier than expected, but I'm going to be running Megajolt Ignition System.

Reasoning: I still don't have a suitable distributor for this engine. I figure that I will have to buy another one, then send it out for a custom timing curve that will help match the engine. An IE unit will probably work just fine, but I can't help but wonder what kind of power delivery and engine smoothness I'm leaving on the table.

With the Megajolt system, I'm able to rid myself of the distributor. This will free up a bit of power being as the engine no longer has to turn the dang thing. I will also be able to program different timing curves, depending on what the driving situation allows. I can have a timing curve for daily driving, and another for racecar driving, pending what the car is needed for.

Is it necessary? No, not really. Is it a worthwhile upgrade? Considering I don't want to deal with a distributor ever again, and enjoy the smooth operation of a more modern ignition system (with horsepower gains!), I'd say yes.

This will set the build back a few weeks as the 36-1 crank wheel that my buddy Tom at 02Again.com sells, just ran out and won't be produced for another few weeks.

But still, I'm excited. By the way, I can't so much as read an electrical schematic. Time to Khanacademy for a little while.





Edit: I may still run a dizzy. I'll know more by next week.

[phreshkid]

Today I finally put her on the lift and began tearing her apart. I figured it would be easier to lower the engine and tranny from below, along with the front subframe. This way I can change out any suspension bushings I see fit, and get into all of those hard-to-reach places. And also because I was lazy.

Anyways, Here are a few photos of what I was able to get done today:

Hood removed and positioned on the lift:


Before shots of engine bay, one last look at the 1.6l:


Things are coming apart and almost ready to drop the engine:


A few minutes later and I have this view. There is no turning back now. Good thing I have a very competent mechanic friend.






I also managed to swap in a set of 1976 output shafts into the e21 320iS lsd unit. 3.91 and a 4 speed is going to be really fun, but not very practical. I should find a 5 speed soon.





I should have more photos tomorrow. In the meantime, my competent mechanic friend put together this cool engine stand. He rebuilt the engine from our Mercedes Pagoda project and ran it on the stand. Everything works as it should. He's good at what he does.





Scope creep is really setting in. For the sake of wanting to drive this thing, I'll likely grab a dizzy and a few other things. This will at least let me drive it and iron out all the kinks while I put the Megajolt system together.

More photos to follow tomorrow!

Everything driveline and suspension related will be new and improved somehow.