New & Old

It has been almost a year since my last post, and with time comes change. I sold the '75 BMW that was in my previous posts to a very excited gentleman from the Seattle area last January. The money went towards putting a bigger down payment on the house we built, and ever since I have wanted to get into another 2002. Fast forward to last month, and with the "ok" from the boss my 2002 search was back to fruition. Only three weeks into my search I found the perfect car across the water from Seattle. It was a 1973 BMW 2002, which has only been through two owners, and was very well maintained, documented, and most importantly 5-speed swapped (trans sourced from an e21). We picked it up on a Friday night and rode the ferry back to Seattle to rest up so we could drive her home the following day.

Here we are on the ferry ride back (pregnant wife was nice enough to come support me):




The car rides pretty nice for missing a sway bar end link, and having tired suspension. The trip over the mountain reminded me how crucial it's to have a 5-speed in such an underpowered car. The steep mountain passes were no challenge for the 2002, but I did not forget how difficult they were on the 2002 when I was driving my '75 equipped with a 3-speed automatic transmission. The interior was redone in '95 and has excellent carpet and seats. Furthermore, the second owner had a Kenwood deck and four speakers installed in the car. The stereo components are obviously outdated since they were installed 18 years ago, but they still function just fine for my current goals for the car. If you have ever been in a 2002 or have owned one, you would know that the original sound system only had a radio with one speaker directly below it.

There are a few issues that need to be addressed. The clutch sticks once in a while and can be tricky to operate during rush hour when traffic stops and goes consistently, the front sway bar is missing an endlink on the passenger side (which causes it to clunk around and the car does not handle as well as it should), and the car desperately needs a paint job. But, with time and some extra income these issues will be handled one by one. It's easy when you purchase a new (to you) car to throw money at it and get carried away. The only money I have put into the 2002 so far has been new gaskets and labor at an exhaust shop to fix a leak, registration, and gas.

Here are a few pictures of the car:










Direction to take the car under consideration for the future:

Full Ireland Engineering suspension or Air Bags
M20 or M3 Swap
More Aggressive Wheels and Tires

If you are a BMW purist, you most likely won't agree with the direction this car will eventually go, but I enjoy being different and can handle the criticism. Unfortunately, upgrading and being different costs money; a lot of money. This car will not be changing any time soon...

Please feel free to comment and let me know your opinions or ideas!



-Scott

Ready to Hibernate

The 2002 (babyblu) adopted a younger bimmer this weekend. Now she has the opportunity for hibernation! In the spring she will get new carpet, seats, and maybe some lowering springs. But, for now she will sleep and enjoy avoiding the cold winter out here in eastern WA.

Couple poor quality cell phone pics of the new (to us) 330ci:

Sport & Premium Packages!







*Before washing the 330ci (Black Beauty) tonight, I removed the front plate and it really helped clean up the front end!

I'm pretty excited that the 2002 will not need to fight through the snow this year, and I will be able to slowly build up some parts for her :)

The 100k Mile Marker

Yep, the '75 hit the 100k mark two weeks ago! She runs better than the day I got her too :)

Pretty simple, the car has now rolled back to 0 miles and it's brand new again.



In celebration of her mileage feat, I gave her a good wash and a mini detail.


Here is my updated list for what will happen to the car in the next few years:

*E30 sport seat swap/New black carpet ( I have the seats in the garage)
*Audio (just a deck with a 4 channel amp and some components)
*5 speed swap out of an e21
*15x8 wheels with some good rubber
*Ireland engineering race suspension upgrade (shocks, springs, sways, ect...)

Also, we have now moved to easter Washington so the car will rarely see the rain anymore!

PAINT, PARTS, PHOTOS!!!

On Thursday I got the '75 back from the paint booth. As stated in my earlier post, they pulled a dent above the grill, painted the front end with the new air dam, shaved the front side markers, sprayed the sunroof and resealed it, and finally sprayed the left side of the car since there was some rust that needed to be taken care of. I am stoked with how good the car looks! Saturday, my friend DJ and I cleaned up all of the chrome trim pieces on the car and detailed the engine bay with some heavy duty engine de-greaser. Saturday was pretty fun cleaning up the little details on the car and having some spare time to get work done :)

Onto some pics!


Picture of the chrome trim after being cleaned:


Here are the products we used:


A picture after the engine bay was degreased and cleaned with a pressure washer:



Before moving onto pictures of the paint, I want to remind you all what the car looked like when I bought it:


HERE ARE THE PICTURES OF HER NOW!!!







Here is a picture of the '75 at Cascade Cars & Coffee Saturday morning:


Here is the website for the weekly meet: http://www.carsandcoffeeportland.com/

I am very pleased with the progress I have made with the car. Later this summer I will be doing new carpet and putting in the nice e30 sport seats I picked up a few weeks ago. Then probably add some audio and lower the car :)

E30 Sport Seats!

Today I picked up some mint condition e30 sport seats for the '75. Purchased them off the same guy I bought the front air dam from yesterday. I think I'm going to pick up some new black carpet for the car and install it at the same time (if I can wait). This post is simply about the seats, since the car will be in the shop until later next week. I got an awesome deal and just couldn't pass it up. I'm very thankful that my wife has been so supportive with the car :)

Here they are all cleaned up in my garage!

Paint and Kamei Lip?

Today I got an awesome deal on the Kamei lip I had been wanting to purchase. It was going to be $235 + shipping, but I picked it up brand new off a local '02 enthusiast brand new still wrapped for much much less :)

Here she is in the garage:


I'm dropping the car off this afternoon to have some work done!

* Front end have holes welded shut/body work from the old bumper I removed, then resprayed original color
* Air dam installed
* Left side of car resprayed
* Sunroof will be repainted and resealed
* Front side markers will be deleted


I can't believe this is all happening so fast! Getting that lip for such a big discount, and after talking to the guy who will be doing the body work (filling in holes from the old bumper will require welding and bondo), I feel good about pricing and all.

I'm really looking forward to the next post when I will be able to post pictures of the car with some new paint and a new front end! Just in time for the Leavenworth drive...

She's Alive!

Today I picked up my car from Peter Salzman's Hobby Shop in Wilsonville. He ended up replacing a part inside the distributor (he said he put in "new points"). When I arrived, the owner of the shop (Peter) showed me exactly what he replaced and how to do the job myself next time it happens. His honesty and the time he always puts into teaching me about the issues my car is having is refreshing. It isn't common that you will find a mechanic that specializes in your car and is reasonable with the wallet. Salzman Motors has been working on 2002's since 1967 and has many aftermarket parts available too. Back to the maintenance; After fixing the part inside the distributor, the car underwent a minor tune up by having the carburetor cleaned and adjusted. The car runs fantastic, and much better than it has previously since I have owned it. I can't wait to take the car on another road trip in the near future when my wife and I attend the Leavenworth Drive! Information on the drive can be found here: http://www.leavenworthdrive.com/

If you are looking for a reputable bmw mechanic, I strongly recommend Salzman's Hobby Shop! I took a picture of his business card to share just in case anyone needs his contact information.



Today was a very good day. My favorite part about the shop is that they have probably six to eight 2002's on their premises at all times and the owner enjoys talking and planning future build ideas with the customers. Overall, I have spent $230 on maintenance the first month I have owned the car. Also, when I got the car home I installed some new Denso Spark plugs to give her some extra pep! Hopefully this will keep the car happy for awhile!

We shall end the day with a picture proving that life is all good and back to normal :)