|
Don't think I have forgotten about this thread. I have been very busy, but laying low because the car was in pieces, and I couldn't take it down to get the title transferred. I got the BMW registered today, so here is a teaser update. I drove it around a bit. It seems pretty OK. There is a raspy grinding sound from the back of the car, which I hope isn't the diff. It surges at idle when warmed up. Anyway, here are a few highlights: 1) full suspension overhaul with a complete ground control adjustable coilover Koni kit. 2) All new poly bushings 3) LSD 4) Rebuilt driveshaft 5) New wheels/tires 6) Cleaned/painted all kinds of stuff. It still looks like a turd on the outside, but the suspension and underneath is now awesome. On to paint and body work this week!         
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2013 00:44
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 15:32 |
|
|
You're going to paint that? Why?
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2013 00:48
|
|
|
General_Failure posted:You're going to paint that? Why? I do think it looks cool as-is. It has character, and tells a story. I have put quite a bit of thought into the rat-look sleeper concept, and I think it boils down to not wanting to half-rear end fixing up a car. I can do the paint and body work, so it would be a cop-out to leave the car in its decaying state. Plus, I'm at a point in my life where I would prefer to have something nice. It is currently metallic light blue, and the red is just primer where the NM sun burned the paint. I thought about doing a silver/red two tone like that, but my wife hated the idea. I'm going to do all-white. I like simplicity. It is actually going to be pretty hard to get all of the dents resolved. There is some pretty serious panel mangling. I would rather deal with the dents than rust, though. Dents are mostly localized. Rust is everywhere. On an awesome note, I picked up all of my paint supplies today. The father of two of my former students is an auto paint rep. He gave me an incredible deal, and I am absolutely floored. 1 gal of DP epoxy primer 1 gal of urethane 2k primer surfacer 1 gal of high-end ppg paint all of the reducers/hardeners total: $132 (net savings of at least $600).
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2013 02:56
|
|
|
That paint is a screaming deal, holy poo poo. As much as the rat look is perfect on that car, I'm with you on fixing it and painting it white. White bimmers are where its at.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2013 15:32
|
|
|
While it is painful, and I often regret it, I have been keeping a build tally of costs and rough time estimates so far. I think it is useful to keep my spending in check, and to realistically look back at what I have done so far. It may also be a useful reference for people looking to start a project. Here is what I have so far: $2500 for car $700 shipping _______ $3200 $2100 Suspension $400 driveshaft rebuild & poly steering coupler $150 stock old-style chrome rear bumper $175 afr standalone kit $155 tuneup (plugs, wires, oil filter, etc.) $115 poly bushings $1025 wheels and tires $600 e21 limited slip differential $85 fuel pump $95 Battery $60 wheel bearings $170 misc OEM parts $285 steering wheel and adapter $50 diff oil, brake line $50 seat repair $350 paint/body supplies (including fuel tank kit) _______ $5865 Overall total as of 3/30/2013: $9065 As for time, I started with a paper to-do list with estimated times. I basically multiplied the time I thought things should take by three or four, and even those estimates ended up way off. I revised things to reflect an estimate of how long things actually took (for completed items). Some times look really long, but factor in only being able to work on things for a couple hours at a time, and reality. Plus, I'm just slow. If I had it all to do over, it would probably take about half as long in most cases. What isn't factored in is time spent researching/ordering parts online, and driving around to buy parts. That adds up pretty quickly, too! My initial paper list had about 26 hours of mechanical items to do. That eventually evolved into a more realistic (current) 118 hour list. I am hoping to knock out the paint and body work in 100 hours or less. We'll see how that goes. Paint/body times are not included on the to-do list linked below. Here is a link to the spreadsheet so far: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3QNzJ6sOv0gQUhfTE92YW9BQXM/edit?usp=sharing Today I need to finish rebuilding the carb on the 1979 Scout II, so I can move it and the 1966 Scout out of the garage, to move the BMW into the garage. I also need to put all my tools away, after the mad dash to get the BMW reassembled for yesterday. I think about half of my tools are randomly spread around the garage stacked on every flat surface. Hopefully I can get that taken care of, and also begin pulling parts on the BMW to start stripping paint. I picked up a bunch of stuff today for body work (filler, glaze, por 15, etc.). I also grabbed a POR 15 gas tank kit, because my tank is puking rust into the fuel lines. I put in a clear filter before the pump, and it is filling very quickly. I had pulled the tank and pressure washed the inside, but apparently that wasn't enough. In a stroke of awesome luck, my paint connection was actually working the store this morning (I didn't know he ever worked the counter), and he was tremendously helpful once again. 3 30 oz containers of metal glaze 1 gal z grip filler 1 qt POR 15 1 POR 15 tank sealer kit = $192 CatBus fucked around with this message at 15:49 on Mar 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2013 15:44
|
|
|
Oh progress, you fickle mistress. I have been busy. I have reached the point of "I wish I hadn't started this because I am going to run out of time." It's probably true. The amount of work isn't the stress, it's knowing I have very limited time. I am a moron. Saturday: 1) Cleaned garage (major task) Before:   After:    2) Finished rebuilding the carb for the 1979 Scout II (Carter Thermoquad - "junk from factory"). Surprisingly successful.  3) Trip to paint store for supplies Sunday: 1) Pull BMW in garage  2) Pull external pieces (lights, bumpers, etc.)  3) Strip paint - discover the doors are horribly mangled and the left quarter has a giant patch poorly welded in    Monday: 1) Find/buy sandblast media (I have always used silica before - 4x100lbs Black Beauty coal slag = $55) 2) Trip to paint store for supplies 3) Pull windshield, rear window, rear side windows, aluminum trim along windows, and sunroof/mechanism (and disassemble/reassemble a door for no reason!) 4) Prep for sandblasting   5) Sandblast 6) DA some panels (roof, right quarter) 7) Cut out rust on passenger quarter, weld in new pieces for inner and outer panel      Anyway, the race continues. I am revising my mental schedule to just focus on the rear quarters, trunk, and rear panel. Everything else I can pull off and do individually. Blah.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2013 16:39
|
|
|
Fun fact: Front and rear bumpers with hardware = 80 lbs!! Never has a car looked better without a front bumper. I have an older style chrome bumper for the rear. I am debating deleting the rear marker lights. It is apparently illegal. My windshield has a big scratch, and a crack in the corner. I got it out without breaking it, but I can get a new one installed, with a new seal, for $325. Decisions!
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2013 16:49
|
|
|
CatBus posted:
You can always tell where a Scout has been parked.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2013 21:42
|
|
|
trouser chili posted:You can always tell where a Scout has been parked. Haha, yeah, that is from the 1966 Scout. It's crazy because it is a different transmission and transfer case (both of which I rebuilt), and it leaks everything out just like the old combo! Argh. I'm hoping it's just a bad pinion seal on the transfer case, since I know I knocked one in crooked and bent it. In project news, I got 95% of the work done on the bad (left) quarter, and started on the right quarter. The holes are welded and I have started the body work. Blah. It's 30F outside. At least it's still 40F in the garage. The filler is slow to cure in these temps, though! It is supposed to hit almost 50F today, though, so maybe that will help. Fun fact: The switch from round to square tail lights in 1974 was due to regulations on the minimum size of tail lights. It's too bad the round looked SO much better (not unlike the ugly bumpers tacked onto many cars for crash requirements). I'm glad this has a round tail light rear panel. I question the quality of the installation though. Hopefully it won't be too much of a fiasco fixing things and figuring out a way to mount the older style bumper.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2013 16:11
|
|
|
That's one productive-as-hell update. Good work, man.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2013 21:53
|
|
|
CatBus posted:Haha, yeah, that is from the 1966 Scout. It's crazy because it is a different transmission and transfer case (both of which I rebuilt), and it leaks everything out just like the old combo! I'm pretty sure the leaks are designed in, that way you know it's got fluid in it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2013 22:05
|
|
|
Ok, here's the latest update: It's not done. Blah. It isn't even close. I estimated about 100 hours for paint/body work, and reality is probably closer to 125 hours. I managed to get about 75 hours in, but there just wasn't enough time. It wasn't for lack of trying. I was doing LONG days. I used up my 40 hours of Pandora for April early in the morning on April 4. Anyway, here's what has happened: 1) Left quarter panel: First coat of fiberglass (note the extra dents above the body line - not from me):  Dent near the back:  Dent mostly pushed out from the inside:  Welding up the mounting holes for the square tail lights:  Second coat of fiberglass:  After I had "finished" the body work on that panel, I realized the body line was WAY off where the repair panel had been welded into place. It took another six or so hours to fix that and make a decent body line. I don't have a picture, apparently. 2) Right quarter panel: Dent in front of the wheel:  Dent mostly pushed out from the inside:  Chunk cut out of wheel well (I found one of these on the left quarter panel as I was prepping for primer!). I cut a patch and welded it up, but apparently didn't take any pictures:  Filling holes with nails!:  After grinding the nails down:  3) Rear tail panel (this was a fiasco): The old bumpers had three mounting shocks that slid into the body. The holes had been cut out with a chisel or something, and they were horribly booger welded all over in random places. This is all hidden by the new rear bumper, but I couldn't leave it like that. Before:   (The smile stich weld was actually me. I had to cut a slit and weld it up to remove a huge crease.)  Cut and bend some patch panels, then spray with weld-through primer:  Weld them in place (I should have just tacked them all - I didn't realize that until the third one):  I also welded a panel over the old exhaust hole that my exhaust doesn't use:  Tons of fiberglass:   Sanded down (still just fiberglass - no pictures with the regular filler)   I needed my exhaust to bend more to clear the less-mangled tail panel, so I cut some slits and bent it, then rewelded (before welding):  4) Misc: Here's how things were looking on Saturday afternoon (or Sunday day?):  I somehow needed to get all the paint off the stupid areas around the trunk, rear window, and windshield.  I ended up doing more media blasting, then cleaning things up with paint removal abrasives:    I found a dent at the bottom of the rear window, and tried out my stud welder for the first time. I only took a before shot, and a "first pull" shot:   At some point I did all of the body work on the roof, which took quite a while. Apparently I didn't take any pictures. I also welded up all the trim holes in the rockers, and stripped them and the door jambs. (before welding and stripping, I guess? I apparently don't have an "after" shot)  Stripping paint in all those weird places sucks. I found a small rust hole in the front of the right rocker that I need to cut and patch. Argh. Anyway, here is how I left it on Sunday:   I actually rolled it over to the side, and parked the green Scout in the garage, too. My time is booked solid for the next six weeks or so. I was hoping to get primer on the main parts of the body, but I just didn't make it. It was a pretty frustrating week. I still have the Datsun, so I have something to autox. Hopefully I can finish this car up in June, after school gets out. Until then, I probably won't have anything to update
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 02:34
|
|
|
Wow, don't feel bad. You've done an amazing amount of work in such a short time. We can run shifts keeping the thread alive until you're ready to get back in it. I've never seen a stud welder in use before, I always wondered how bodyshops got those little studs on the bodywork with an arc or spot welder. So much more sense now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2013 02:47
|
|
|
As expected, I have not had a spare second to work on the BMW. I have been getting parts together, though. Here is my current dilemma: I need some solid, straight doors. These are just too far gone to save. I found a pair, but they are located outside of Los Angeles. I am in KY. Shipping would be about $100/door, and the seller doesn't seem too motivated to ship. Ideas?
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2013 01:50
|
|
|
The BMW does look way better without the front bumper. It's like a different car. Looks like its coming together very nice. I do love seeing the green scout all put together and pretty. I started looking in on that project back when the roof was suspended with all the ropes and there was still ten miles of rust on everything. It's good that it all finally came together.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2013 02:00
|
|
|
Grumbletron 4000 posted:The BMW does look way better without the front bumper. It's like a different car. Looks like its coming together very nice. I do love seeing the green scout all put together and pretty. I started looking in on that project back when the roof was suspended with all the ropes and there was still ten miles of rust on everything. It's good that it all finally came together. Yeah, the green Scout is far less depressing in its assembled/running correctly state. I still need to do something about an interior, but it is real progress. In a BMW door update, the guy is going to ship me the doors. Getting a couple rust free doors, and having them shipped across the country, is not cheap. There aren't too many options, though. At least I found doors  . School is out in two weeks, so hopefully I can finish up this car by the middle of June!
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2013 03:38
|
|
|
CatBus posted:In a BMW door update, the guy is going to ship me the doors. Getting a couple rust free doors, and having them shipped across the country, is not cheap. There aren't too many options, though. At least I found doors Greyhound?
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2013 03:58
|
|
|
This is a good thread for me to come back to considering I just bout a 68 2002 that has been built to be a ti homage car. I've even got the same huge brake booster you've got! I lucked out in that mine came mostly sorted out mechanically, but I'll have to deal with some body and interior stuff this winter. Actually, funny enough, I need to repair the same fender with the same size hole as you, just more towards the rear. Your pictures will be a nice reference. Luckily that's the biggest repair I have to deal with beyond the paint just not being in great condition and likely needing a respray. What made you decide to weld over the trim holes and get rid of the trim? I've seen it done before and I'm currently waffling about it since I kind of feel like the trim is such a specific part of the 2002. Then again, I've only got the upper trim to worry about. Have you you been using any decent 2002 forums for reference like 2002FAQ?
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2013 05:46
|
|
|
Major progress has been made. The body work on the tub is finished, and I got it painted, reassembled, and the glass back in last week. The fenders, hood, trunk, doors, and sunroof are still bare metal. I bought some used doors from a guy in CA. Yesterday was my first autox in the BMW. I only got about 15 hours of sleep from Wed to Sun, and the day was a never ending parade of drama, but it was cool. On the way to the event, I smelled gas. I stopped at a gas station, and my radiator looked like it was leaking. I started the car, and the line from the mechanical fuel injection pump to the cold start injector was spraying gas everywhere. I cut out the part with the leak, and there was enough to clamp it back in place. Right before my first run, the guy next to me pointed out that my left front fender had gas pouring down the side. My cold start injector line was leaking in a new place! I ran and found a guy who had a section of fuel line, and I used a few inches, along with a 1/4" extension, to just cap the line (the wiring isn't even hooked up to the injector). That was two very narrowly dodged disasters! The first run was OK, but I was frazzled. The second run was pretty good, especially considering my mental and physical state, and the fact that it was the second time I had driven the car, ever. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5My6bEBDtE After the second run, I noticed that my radiator had SERIOUS fan rash. I am surprised the fan didn't rip a hole in it, actually. Another dodged bullet. Then the guy in the neighboring grid spot pointed out the huge puddle of liquid under my car. I decided it was transmission oil. I realized today that it was a leaking clutch slave, which happens to share the reservoir with the brakes. One more bullet narrowly dodged! I drove a much slower pace to keep the engine out of the radiator for the last two runs of the day. While working the third heat, a thunderstorm rolled in, and my no-sunroof, mostly bare metal car got soaked. After cleaning up the course, the car started, then died, and would not restart. Luckily, the same guy who gave me the fuel hose had already taken his car home on his trailer, and he hauled me home. Overall, things could have been MUCH worse. I'm pretty happy with the car, and looking forward to getting the bugs worked out, and finishing the remaining paint and body work (if I ever have time...). I will try to post more details of the recent work later, but here is a shot of the car at the races:
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2013 23:59
|
|
|
Here is the trip home:
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2013 00:01
|
|
|
Things have been impressively busy. I did manage to make some repairs and resolve some issues. There was an autocross school and an event this weekend. They were both at the same location, about 30 miles away, and the car ran about 50 laps (I had a co-driver) with minimal issue. We probably put about 150-175 miles on the car this weekend. Prior to all of that, I had a to do a few things: I found a crack in the motor mount bracket, and welded that up, and welded in an Ireland Engineering brace. I also replaced the motor mounts. After installing the motor mounts, I was a little worried, because the engine still seemed to have a ton of movement. I also pulled the radiator and did my best to fix all of the bent fins. I replaced the fan as well, because it was looking pretty rough. During all of this, I replaced the upper and lower radiator hose, discovering that this is not a stock radiator (it is an E21 radiator, as far as I can tell). That explains why the lower hose was rubbing against the subframe, causing two very deep gashes. It also may explain why the fan was hitting the radiator (I think the E21 radiator is taller, and it is definitely wider). Anyway, I did some modifications to the mounting points, and hopefully it will be OK. I went to swap out the steering coupler for a polyurethane unit, and discovered that my steering box is pretty toasted. There was a large spalled spot, resulting in about 30-60 degrees of play in the wheel at center. I found a used box (from a friend of a guy who sold me the doors), and paid ASAP, but apparently the guy was slow to ship. I had to put the bad box back together and reinstall it to run this weekend. BLAH. I ended up pulling the brake booster and master cyl for better access to the motor mounts and steering linkage. That master cylinder has two feed lines going in, and FIVE hard lines going out (two to each front caliper, and one to the rear of the car). One of the five hard lines had a single-flare end, when it should have been a bubble flare, so I cut it off and redid it (who knows how it was sealing?!). I also put in the new clutch slave cylinder (which never bled right, but after beating it around the track, it feels good). Oh yeah, I did a POR 15 fuel tank kit to seal the tank, too. That is a huge job! It turned out really well, though, and I am glad I did it. There must have still been a ton of junk in the fuel system, because I had to clean my clear filter four times on Saturday (and I also shook out the front filter each time too) due to fuel starvation issues. We did not have that issue on Sunday, so hopefully it is resolved (I replaced the front filter with a new one, for good measure). Sadly, fuel continually sloshed out past the gas cap on both days, and stained my paint I may just jamp a rag in there or something to keep that from happening.Anyway, that is progress! There is still quite a bit of work to do, but the car seems to have taken a leap forward in reliability. Saturday was really a torture test, because it basically got hot-lapped at the driver school all day. Here are three videos from the school (one of me in-car, one of my buddy in-car, and one I took from the sidelines of him driving) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt6V_VMDEe4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5MQHf2BPsE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNEYsPRHgfY Here are two videos from Sunday's points event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laDExUBZRPs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOcPGZgcxgY We gave out quite a few rides, and everyone seemed to agree that the suspension seems about right, so I guess that wasn't $2100 wasted. The car really does hook up, and it feels great around the course. There was quite a bit of rubbing, some of which we resolved, some of which is still unknown. I was out of down last week, and after the autox on Sunday, my wife and I headed out to WI for the week. Hopefully, next week I can get in some work on the car before getting my tonsils out on July 17. What a busy summer. CatBus fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Jul 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2013 19:45
|
|
|
Mat_Drinks posted:This is a good thread for me to come back to considering I just bout a 68 2002 that has been built to be a ti homage car. I've even got the same huge brake booster you've got! I lucked out in that mine came mostly sorted out mechanically, but I'll have to deal with some body and interior stuff this winter. Sorry for not responding to this earlier: 1) You will be one lucky guy if there isn't anything hidden under the bad paint! Good luck! 2) I debated the trim for a while, but it had to go. At least half of it was missing, and I noticed on my Datsun that trim just seems to collect dirt and plant matter, which is annoying to clean, and breeds rust. The trim is very much a visual key to the car, but I just didn't want to screw around. 3) I do occasionally glance at the 2002FAQ, and that is where I have located most of the parts. Sadly, quite a bit of good info disappeared with the redesign, and I don't go there too often (plus - no time!) I would love to see some picture of your ride!
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2013 19:56
|
|
|
CatBus posted:Sadly, fuel continually sloshed out past the gas cap on both days, and stained my paint Even on an older car this is something that shouldn't happen if everything is right - how old is the fuel cap? The only times I ever have encountered this on my GMC were either if I got the cap on crooked, or when the rubber seal on the original cap finally aged a little too much.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2013 21:26
|
|
|
IOwnCalculus posted:Even on an older car this is something that shouldn't happen if everything is right - how old is the fuel cap? The only times I ever have encountered this on my GMC were either if I got the cap on crooked, or when the rubber seal on the original cap finally aged a little too much. The rubber seal is toast, but I doubt it made a good seal when new.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2013 21:29
|
|
|
You'd be amazed All the same it's good to see progress!
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2013 21:32
|
|
|
Progress has been slow, and slow. I media blasted the doors and welded up all the trim holes, and there was a ton of body work to be done. Then I primed and painted the doors and sunroof. (picture attached)
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 03:25
|
|
|
The doors don't line up quite right, and there is front to back adjustment, but no in/out adjustment. On the driver's side, the front of the door actually rubs the drip rail. I may have to bend the hinges to resolve this. On my Scout, there are a million adjustment options, so this is kind of frustrating. The paint and body work turned out pretty well, though. It took about a month of my "spare" time to get the doors ready, painted, attached, and assembled. The sunroof went OK, but I used black trim adhesive, and I probably should have been cleaner about spreading it. Oh well. I had a rear wheel cylinder puke out on my two autox events ago, and it was leaking pretty steadily. I ordered two new 2002tii wheel cylinders, which ended up being incorrect. After measuring the bore, and looking at pictures online, it looks like someone did the E21 rear drum swap on my car. That is good. So I have an E21 radiator and rear brakes 
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 03:28
|
|
|
On a semi-related note (this is in the Marketplace thread, too, but I thought I would mention it here): My Datsun is up for sale. I have it listed at $3500, but my bottom dollar is $2900 for a goon: http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/4039600361.html Here is the text from the ad: Up for sale is a beautiful survivor car. I am the third owner of this 1982 Datsun 280zx 2+2 with ~77,000 original miles. White exterior (repainted about 10 years ago) with red interior and power everything (windows, locks, mirrors, and they all work). The 5-speed manual transmission works perfectly, and the exhaust is new and very quiet. The T-Tops don't seem to leak, and the car starts and runs excellently. The car has almost no rust. The undercarriage and floor pans are 100% solid, and there is only a little rust starting on the bottoms of the rear quarters. The clock works, as does the voice module (the car will talk to you). I have done quite a bit of work on the car to improve its handling and make it reliable. This work includes: MSA Front Bumper Poly Suspension Bushings all the way around New Tokico Shocks and springs Techno Toy Adjustable Tension Control Arms Suspension Techniques Sways bars, front and rear Custom Alignment New Falken Azenis tires New Battery New Steering Boots (not installed) New Brakes Pads and Rotors all around New Speedometer Cable New Clutch Slave Cylinder Re-covered front seats New Hatch Struts New Ignition Control Module New Front Wheel Bearings New factory cat-back exhaust Extras that are included New Headliner Kit (current headliner is sagging) 2x Steering Racks (used spares, the one in the car is fine) Stock Springs and Sway Bars (if desired) Many other spare parts Problems with the car -Slight damage to left inner fender at some point (cannot be seen from the outside) -Missing one piece of trim on the left front fender, and one wheel center cap -The Factory Radio does not work (I have a spare that may work) -The A/C does not work (the heat does not seem to blow hot, either, but the fan turns on - I believe it is just the in-car auto-temp sensor). -The cruise control is not working, because the plastic plug in the pedal assembly disintegrated -Salvage title (due to the first owner not having the Florida title when the second owner purchased it from him in KY - I believe they did a mechanics lein to get a KY title, which ends up a salvage title, apparently). Otherwise everything on the car works great! My friend was recently without a car, and I loaned him this one. It worked flawlessly for ~1500miles over the past month. He said it gets around 25 mpg mixed city and highway driving. The car is a very comfortable cruiser that car turn heads and corners. It has KY collector plates, and with collector insurance, it only costs me around $60/year to own. I am selling it because I have too many projects, and not enough room and time. Asking price 3500.00 OBO. The best way to contact me about the car is through email or PM erizo_malasuerte at yahoo.com
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 03:32
|
|
|
Anti-archival bump. That's the fun thing about older cars - even if you're the one doing the work, trying to keep track of "okay, now my brakes are from a '71, but this part is from a '77, and this one is from a 1980s model" is hard enough.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2013 22:10
|
|
|
IOwnCalculus posted:Anti-archival bump. That's the fun thing about older cars - even if you're the one doing the work, trying to keep track of "okay, now my brakes are from a '71, but this part is from a '77, and this one is from a 1980s model" is hard enough. Thanks for the bump! I have not been idle, but I have also not had much time to post. Most of my browsing is done from my phone, so posting anything of interest is a pain. I spent some time last month figuring out this Frankenstein's Monster of a car. Here is what I determined: -Tub: 1976 with <1974 rear tail panel (originally an automatic transmission car) -Tii swap from a 1974 (injection and fuel pumps, intake, tank, rear trailing arms, front struts/brakes/etc) -Engine from a 1969 or 1970 -E21 parts (radiator, rear brake setup, 5 speed transmission, Recaro seats, LSD) -Early bumpers I was really worried that the engine was clapped out, since I had no power, tons of oil coming out the breather, and the entire engine bay was coated in 1/8" of oil. Before tearing into anything, I ordered a leakdown tester and a new (better) compression tester. Boy was I surprised. All four cylinders were at 165psi after four cranks, and all topped out around 205psi. I pulled the valve cover to adjust the valves and do the leakdown test and everything looked spotless and new. There was no leakdown at all. The engine must have been rebuilt in the not-so-distant past. That was one less thing to worry about. I wish there was an easy way to see if it was running oversized pistons, and to determine if it has a stock cam. With my worries about the engine condition resolved, I checked the timing, and moved on to the fuel system. There are about a million linkages for the throttle in a tii, and a pretty lengthy/black magic tuning manual. Before I adjusted anything, I FINALLY installed the standalone AFR system I had purchased. That turned out to be some of the best money I have ever spent on a car! I did the whole tuning operation, and found out that EVERYTHING was wrong. It was running in the 10s for AFR cold, then high 16s at full throttle under load. Yikes. I am lucky I didn't ruin anything (knock on wood). It took me about 15 hours, but I tore apart and rebuilt/readjusted all of the linkages and everything per factory spec (using a set of used linkages I purchased). Then I adjusted from there, based on the AFR readings. What a difference!!! There is still some tuning to be done, but throttle response and power were much improved. I have to compromise a bit, and it is rich at idle, to get ~14 under load. I have a few more bushings to replace before I can get things fully sorted (they are here, finally, but I have no time). There are so many adjustments, and some of them are so sensitive. There is no way I could have tuned this car without the standalone AFR setup. Here is a video of my friend running the car at the last autox of the season. The AFR gauge is temporarily mounted behind the shifter, on the transmission tunnel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6a07nirMq4 My LSD is providing no apparent lockup on course, so I need to get that sorted. I guess I will pull it this winter, and buy some parts. Other than that, I still have about 200 hours of paint and body, with zero hours of free time Two kids is a major time sink. My poor vehicles On an unrelated note, I accidentally got a smokin' deal on rear brake drums for my Scout II, from Amazon. Most vendors want $150/each. Amazon had them at like $80/each, and I ordered a pair last Spring. Eventually (August?), amazon emailed to say they were unsure when they would be able to ship them, and asked if I wanted to cancel. I just happened to click the product link, and saw them listed for $10/ea. I cancelled my old order, and placed a new order. That sat on backorder until late October, but one day they showed up at my doorstep (free shipping with Prime, too). That is a rare bit of luck for me! On another unrelated note, I knocked loose the quiksteel patch covering the hole in my KTM's clutch cover (the second one I have punctured). I caved in and ordered another new clutch cover, bearing, seal, and gasket on black Friday, along with a new rear brake rotor (bent the same day). Add that to my "to do" list. The KTM has been leaving a puddle in my garage this whole time I still need to replace the throwout bearing in the 1966 Scout, so that is a high priority too. PS- The Datsun is still for sale! $2500 and it's yours.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2013 02:16
|
|
|
I guess I should update some stuff: 1) The Datsun is sold. I think I had like $3900 in it, and I got $2350. It went to a good home though. It is a college kid who has several projects, and he didn't care about all the little things that were wrong. Hopefully it treats him well! I am trying to get him to do some autox events with it this summer. 2) I pulled the diff in the BMW last month, and ordered some parts (the only ones that were available...). Pelican Parts screwed up and my order was in limbo, but after several calls, hopefully things are sorted out. Now it is a race to get the parts, and get them installed, before the first event (3/16). I would also like to rebuild the pedal box, swap in some new parts into the throttle linkages, and do some final tuning. We'll see how that goes. I have spent about five hours in the garage since October... 3) I picked up some new toolboxes. One is a 52" Husky box that I picked out to store all the tools that come in blow-molded plastic cases. I was tired of stashing them on shelves everywhere, and having to blow an inch of dust off every time I use them. Here is a link (I had the store order it, to save shipping costs - that was a fiasco, but it saved me some cash): http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52-in-W-9-Drawer-Mobile-Workbench-75809AH/202906828 While I was there, I saw they had a 32" stainless box for $90, which was an absolute steal in my opinion. We went out of town that weekend, but I ordered it from the store online. Then a friend found a matching 32" bottom box in stock in Cincinnati for $120 (about 90min away). I ordered it, and also picked up a top box for him there, and another top box at another Home Depot for a another friend. My youngest son was home sick with a fever, so he slept in the car pretty darn well that day. He didn't even seem to mind when I dragged him out at the stores. Anyway, the 32" combo for $210+tax was a smokin' deal in my opinion. It was an in-store only item, as far as I could tell, and limited quantities only. Theoretically, I attached a picture of the assembled box. 4) I really need to get moving on stuff, because I signed up for the SCCA Evo School Phase One and Phase Two at the end of March. Hopefully the car will be sorted, and I can focus on driving better.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2014 20:41
|
|
|
Not a bad deal on a box at all. I got a Mastercraft one from Canadian Tire recently and it's been pretty good apart from some minor build quality issues with the threaded holes for the casters. I need to find a good deal on wall cabinets and then I'm set. Too bad the Datsun is gone but I'm glad it went to someone good.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2014 23:47
|
|
|
I have had issues with threaded holes for the casters, too, on several tool boxes. I think it is just poor QC when they weld the threaded plates into place. Anyway, minor updates. My diff parts came, so the LSD is now limits slip a bit. That is back in the car. I did some parking brake/ebrake cable adjusting, and the threaded adjusters at the lever weren't long enough anymore. The best solution I could devise was to cut the threaded ends in the middle and make some threaded sleeves to lengthen them. I ended up using the shaft from a lift gate shock from the back window of my Jeep. I drilled out the center, and tapped it. (picture attached). It turned out much better than I expected. I also swapped in some new bushings for some of the linkages in the throttle assembly. If you are unfamiliar with the throttle linkage setup on the BMW 2002tii, you are missing out on one of the most over-engineered messes ever to grace the engine bay of a car. I made a short video of how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5U9FGuKk14 While I was digging around, I noticed the guibo was a super-shattered mess, so I had one 3-day shipped from Pelican Parts yesterday. The first autox of the season is on Sunday, and there are several other little things to address (ignoring all the huge things, like paint on the trunk/fenders/hood).
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2014 01:41
|
|
|
CatBus posted:I also swapped in some new bushings for some of the linkages in the throttle assembly. If you are unfamiliar with the throttle linkage setup on the BMW 2002tii, you are missing out on one of the most over-engineered messes ever to grace the engine bay of a car. I made a short video of how it works: Gah! Why not just a bowden cable?
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2014 19:42
|
|
|
The guibo was toast, and I found out why (I think). One of the bolts for the rear transmission crossmember was totally missing, which made that side hang about an inch low. That put binding pressure on the guibo, which tore it apart. Maybe age was a factor, too. Anyway, multiple issues found and resolved.
|
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2014 00:34
|
|
|
I was up early this morning to get the car put back together enough for a dyno day at a local shop. The car did surprisingly ok, with a best of 102.6 hp at the rear wheel. I would say that puts it about on par with a factory tii back in the day, which was rated at 130hp at the crank. Tomorrow's autox in Louisville was cancelled due to weather, so the first event of the season will be next week here in Lexington (weather permitting). My next priority is getting the pedal box rebuilt. There is a huge amount of slop in the brake pedal, and I am sure the clutch and gas pedals are going to be rough too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn88olNtJ1E
|
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2014 00:39
|
|
|
Things have been busy, though I have had little/no time to work on the car. I drove a few hours to do an autox school in TN at the end of March. About two hours into the trip, the "L" light on the dash started flashing intermittently. I assumed it was an oil light, and got really stressed. After stopping to google it on my phone, I found out it was the voltage light. It was only coming on above 3500RPM, and it seemed just flickered on and off. I worked around the problem by driving slower. ~60 mph kept it under 3k RPM. When I got to my hotel it was pretty late, but I jacked the car up and poked around with no obvious problems found. I did notice the throttle linkage had slipped at the pedal assembly, so it was good I checked. The next day someone suggested that the fixed fan was causing more drag at the high RPMs, and I probably just had a loose fan belt. I tightened the belt and it seemed to resolve the problem. The light started flickering at higher RPMs again after the last autocross, so I ordered a new belt - and an electric fan kit. The kit just arrived today, so I might not have time to install it before the next autox. In semi-interesting news, I decided to change things up at the last autox so I wouldn't just have my normal boring driving videos. I stuck the GoPro under the car, and it was surprisingly cool. Watching what the tires and suspension do is more interesting than I would have expected. Here are some of the videos: Left rear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En65Up2mu_o Right rear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBwpp-ue0S8 Right front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcsrTKTxDzg Left Front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTxwnsRc9Wk Left Front fender (looking back, camera was sideways because I didn't have time to figure out all of the linkages to get it right): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dktnL7BcLo Right Front fender (looking back): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJMwuZ-TGr0 Left rear quarter panel (looking forward): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLUn8-I63CM Then the camera fell off at the start line on the run with the right rear quarter panel, so I quit while I was ahead, and moved it back into the car. Here is my fifth run: 34.590sec (during my sixth run the gas pedal popped out of its pivot and did not work right): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-AkHYS8LOo School will be out in a few weeks, and I am hoping to finish the paint and body work on the car by the end of July. We'll see how that goes...
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2014 00:30
|
|
|
I had some electrical gremlins in the ignition system recently. I ended up buying a new distributor, which came with some electric ignitor (pertronix knockoff). The instructions for the electronic ignition module in my new distributor say, "if the ignition coil does not have at least 2 ohms of internal resistance, a ballast resistor must be used." If my coil has about 1.4 ohms of resistance, do you think I can just order any ballast resistor with at least .6 ohms of resistance, or are ballast resistors more application specific? It also sounds like the factory ran separate a hot wire from the starter directly to the coil, to provide unresisted power when cranking. The good news is that I have a spare used old coil is internally regulated at like 2.3 ohms. The bad news is, it puts out like 17.5kV vs the other coil's 26.5kV Thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 05:40
|
|
|
I've got nothing for you on the ignition side, I just want to say that those under car videos are cool.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 14:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 15:32 |
|
|
Yeah, especially the front tire shots. Wider wheels would help.
jamal fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Jun 10, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 21:38
|
|
