Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Roundie Revival 2.0 - A 1973 BMW 2002 Build Thread in 35mm Film

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Roundie Revival 2.0 - A 1973 BMW 2002 Build Thread in 35mm Film

    What's up everyone! Thought I would introduce my current project, a 1973 BMW 2002.

    A few of you might be familiar with my first "Roundie Revival" build which was also a 1973 BMW 2002 and shares basically the same exact specs as this new one (Sahara, Saddle Brown interior, 4-speed manual, etc). I sadly never got to see that project through to completion and ended up passing it on in late 2015. I promised myself that I'd get redemption one day and build another one when the time was right.

    Fast forward a few years and my redemption build is here - Roundie Revival 2.0

    This Roundie basically fell in my lap at a time of my life where I was in no position to take on a project of this magnitude, but it was one of those opportunities that I just couldn't pass up, and would regret it forever if I did. I decided I'd pick it up and park it until I was ready to dive in head first. It sat in my shop untouched for over a year and a half just patiently waiting. After some travels in late 2018, I decided to focus my attention on Roundie Revival 2.0 and make it a priority.

    My original plan for documenting this build was to film every step of my process and create a small video series around the project, which is still very much the plan and I have been filming A TON over the past few months so I am making good progress on that. However, the classic forum build thread format holds a place in my heart haha. Over the years I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through countless build threads and creating ones of my own, so it wouldn't feel right to leave this build out of that.

    I will be taking a slightly different approach this time around in an effort to cater to my wide range of interests. I recently shot with a 35mm film camera for the first time and really enjoyed the process and end result. I can't get enough of the character and feel of the pictures. Call me a hipster or whatever. I decided it'd be fun to document and update this build thread solely with 35mm film photos taken from here on out. This way I can get more familiar with shooting film and hopefully provide some interesting pictures for this thread.

    Anyways, back to the car. Let me get you guys up to speed real quick since the first few months of progress won't be pictured. This was more or less a complete car when I picked it up, but was nowhere near road worthy. It had a half-complete, poorly executed M20B27 swap with nose panel and transmission tunnel already cut to pieces (very sloppily at that). It did, however, run at one point. I saw a short video of the M20 in the car and running from a few years prior. My original plan was to just finish that swap, so I got it running again and started addressing the unfinished portions of the swap, but the B27 blues eventually got the best of me and I decided to source an M20B25 instead. The exterior and interior of the car basically needed a full restoration anyways so I got my head straight and decided to start fresh, and that's when the real teardown begun.

    I found a solid, complete M20B25 w/ Getrag 260 package semi-locally and picked that up. Bottom dropped the M20B27 and full front subframe as a unit and continued to strip the car of every nut, bolt, wire, clip, etc. The car is now stripped to the bone, sitting on some homemade dollies and ready for the real work to begin.









    I cut out the rest of the transmission tunnel out in prep for fabricating a new one:



    Making good progress on the M20B25:



    My parts room filled up quickly :)



    Clean, low mileage Getrag G260:



    I was feeling artsy, guys.



    This is Roundie Revival!



    That brings us up to date. I've got 10 new rolls of film ready to go and am excited to make some more progress in the coming months. My goal for this build is keep things clean, minimal and simple. I plan on traveling in this car around the US to the East coast and back once I'm finished, so I'm aiming at creating a fun street machine with a healthy balance of performance and practicality. I will proceed to restore and upgrade this car to the best of my personal means and abilities and hope to learn a ton along the way.

    Thanks for viewing. Take care homies.
    Last edited by CubbyChowder; 02-19-2019, 11:47 PM.


    --Roundie Revival 2.0 - 1973 BMW 2002 Build Thread--
    --Golden Boy E30 Build Thread-- (sold)

    #2
    I have those same craftsman wrenches, the closed end works really well on torx head bolts in tight spaces.
    I do things.

    Comment


      #3
      I am going to enjoy this on multiple levels. Thank you.

      Comment


        #4
        I LOVE this. 35mm shots suit this project perfectly.

        Can’t wait to see more!

        -NICK

        Comment


          #5
          the beauty of the 35mm is that you have to take good pics, cant just delete and retake.

          hope to see this one through to completion as you always do great work
          Simon
          Current Cars:
          -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

          Make R3V Great Again -2020

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Melon View Post
            I have those same craftsman wrenches, the closed end works really well on torx head bolts in tight spaces.
            I absolutely hate spline drive wrenches, except for use on spline drive fasteners.

            When using them on anything else, its a great way to gouge fasteners.
            Your resource to do-it-yourself and interesting bmw and e30 stuff: www.rtsauto.com

            Your resource to tools and tips: www.rtstools.com

            Comment


              #7
              awesome. I shoot 35mm and always wanted to do a build thread on something from the 70s documented only in film. This will be super sick to follow, and you can use it to see how much better you've gotten at shooting film in one thread! Are you editing these at all or just uploading scans straight up?
              1984 Delphin 318i 2 door

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by noid View Post
                I absolutely hate spline drive wrenches, except for use on spline drive fasteners.

                When using them on anything else, its a great way to gouge fasteners.


                I've never had an issue with mine.
                I do things.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Fantastic! I'll be following this one equally for the build and the photography.
                  Zelig the Zinno • 300k and counting
                  http://instagram.com/zelig.the.zinno

                  Comment


                    #10
                    ^^^ yes.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Always loved a nice 2002, looking forward to this one!
                      '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                      Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I haven't said it, but I'm also looking forward to this.
                        I do things.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Thanks everyone! I'd like to reply to everyone individually but that might get lengthy. I'm stoked to see people are interested in the build and feeling the 35mm film idea.

                          Originally posted by Melon View Post
                          I have those same craftsman wrenches, the closed end works really well on torx head bolts in tight spaces.
                          Originally posted by noid View Post
                          I absolutely hate spline drive wrenches, except for use on spline drive fasteners.

                          When using them on anything else, its a great way to gouge fasteners.
                          Those wrenches are sort of a love/hate for me. Melon, I agree, they work great on torx head bolts and I've had plenty of occasions where I was happy I had them, and they've held up well in the 5+ years I've owned them with pretty frequent use. On the other hand, I've also had them damage/round over bolt heads, slip off easily (which sucks when you're cranking down on it pretty good and end up punching sharp metal edges) and they're pretty thick so there are a lot of instances where they flat out won't work.

                          Originally posted by wworm View Post
                          awesome. I shoot 35mm and always wanted to do a build thread on something from the 70s documented only in film. This will be super sick to follow, and you can use it to see how much better you've gotten at shooting film in one thread! Are you editing these at all or just uploading scans straight up?
                          Nice man! It seems fitting for the era. Also, seeing photo improvements throughout the build is exactly what I'm hoping for! I'm planning on keeping the photos 100% genuine, the photos I posted were the original files with no editing, and I want to keep it that way so I can learn from my mistakes.

                          The only exception I'll make is if an important picture to showing progress on the build needs a little manipulation to help clarify what I'm explaining, in which case I will note that the photo was edited for clarity. Will do my best to avoid that scenario though.


                          --Roundie Revival 2.0 - 1973 BMW 2002 Build Thread--
                          --Golden Boy E30 Build Thread-- (sold)

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Looking forward to more progress. What are you shooting with ?

                            Originally posted by 2mAn
                            The BMW V6 is the best

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by sampayne View Post
                              Looking forward to more progress. What are you shooting with ?
                              Nikon FM with 50mm f/2

                              Film used for those first pics was Kodak Portra 160. I ordered some Kodak ColorPlus 200 and FujiFilm Pro 400H to try out next. My next roll will be the ColorPlus 200.


                              --Roundie Revival 2.0 - 1973 BMW 2002 Build Thread--
                              --Golden Boy E30 Build Thread-- (sold)

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X