My never-ending project, a 1975 BMW 2002

Page last updated: 10/22/00

Here she is, almost complete! (more pictures HERE)

I bought this car in the fall of 1988, as a senior in college, and at that time, the car had 107k on the odometer.  I drove the car for about two years as a daily driver, until I started doing some serious commuting on back country roads between two cities about three hours apart.  Although it was a blast to drive, I needed 100% reliable transportation.  Not that the '02 ever left me stranded, but a few incidents warranted purchasing a new car.  At the time, I couldn't bring myself to sell this fun little car, and I had intentions of restoring it.  I started on the interior, and after some major updates, one year rolled into another, then another, and then several more years.  After about ten years of taking up space in the garage, it was finally time to tackle this project, and start driving the car again.  I've summarized the restoration project below......

Upgrades to the car: Engine/Drivetrain: - Weber 32/36 DGV carburetor - Stahl header - 5-speed from 320is - 3.91 Limited Slip Differential Suspension/Brakes: - 14x6 inch Vial aluminum wheels - Boge Sport struts - Stainless steel braided brake lines Interior/Exterior: - Complete exterior "bare metal" repaint - Recaro seats - Foam restuffed rear bench seat - Momo Prototipo steering wheel

- Ansa Freeflow exhaust - Metric Mechanic shortshift kit - K&N Air filter - Pertronix electronic ignition - Ireland Engineering strut brace - 22/19mm front/rear swaybars     w/ urethane bushings - custom wood shifter knob - Hella halogen H4 headlights - Cibie' halogen fog lights - custom wool floor mats

This is the shop that did the paint and body work.  I would recommend them if you are in the Atlanta area, they're good folks.  Click the card for full-size if you can't read it.

This is my car the day I took it to the body shop.  That's me bundled up to drive the car with no windows in 30 degree weather!  I had stripped the hood, and removed all trim, emblems, bumpers, etc. Rear view of car HERE.

Here's the car in the body shop.  It has been stripped to the metal, all of the windows removed, and the cosmetic bodywork started.  The "tar" looking goop on the hood is a rust inhibitor.  I also changed out the wheels for e30 "bottlecaps" which have the proper offset. Another angle in the body shop HERE.  The leopard spots are more rust inhibitor.

10/8/99 UPDATE: I went by the body shop today, and the car is looking GREAT!  They have done a really good job smoothing out all of the body panels, and have started priming the car.

Here's the car, still in the body shop.  All of the bodywork has been complete (except for finishing touches).  From this angle, you can really see the difference in the body panels.  The rear fender over the tire was warped from a previous collision, and the driver door used to look like someone took a ball-peen hammer to it.  Ninety percent of the primer has been applied, and is close to ready for the finishing top coat. Other angles Here and Here.

11/30/99 UPDATE: The car is PAINTED!  Not quite done yet though, but should be ready any day now.......  The shop still has to paint the sunroof, put the hood back on and buff, and respray a quarter panel that they buffed too thin.  Unfortunately, this is the only pic that came out, and the car has frost on it.  But if you look down the side of the car, it's like GLASS!!!! Click here for full-size.

1/24/00 UPDATE: I got the car back! I picked it up Friday (1/21), and drove it home and parked it in the garage.  It was quite a challenge getting it started after over a year of just sitting.  The first time it finally fired up, it was only running on two cylinders!  The plugs were completely fouled and black with carbon.  After adding a few gallons of fresh Amoco Ultimate gasoline, installing new plugs, distributer cap, and rotor, it cranked right up and purred like a kitten.  The car is FILTHY, so a lot of scrubbing is in order, but the paint looks really good.  Here's a PICTURE after some reassembly (tail lights, marker lights, grill) but it's not pretty because the flash caused circles to appear in the paint...... 1/31/00 UPDATE: I spent the weekend stuck in the house due to the ice storm, but it gave me plenty of time to work on the car.  I focused on the rear section, reassembling the trimwork, taillights, and trunklock.  I took each of the taillight assemblies apart COMPLETELY, and cleaned them thoroughly.  While apart, I noticed the reflective lenses behind the bulbs were no longer reflective!  I resurfaced all of the assemblies (ugh!), which I summarized on my repair notebook page.  HERE is a picture, you can see the difference in the sides that are black, and the new reflective surface. 2/14/00 UPDATE: The car is coming back together one piece at a time....literally.  Each night I'm trying to put at least one piece back on the car.  The only parts left are the aluminum trimwork (lots of pieces!) and the rear window.  The trimwork may be a while, as I am having to fabricate the mounting brackets from stainless steel sheet metal.  All of the old ones were almost completely rusted away.....very tedious work! (pics of old and new bracket comparison  HERE and HERE)  The next project is to replace the brake lines with new stainless steel braided teflon lines.  3/13/00 UPDATE: Slowly but surely..... I finally got the rear window seal that was backordered, and a friend made the drive "out to the country" to help me put it in.  So for the first time in about 6 years, the car has a back window!  It wasn't as hard as I anticipated.  Next on the list is to finish putting on the rest of the trimwork, and as much as I hate to think about it, removing everything I already put on, and treating the holes in the bodywork with POR15.  I don't know why I didn't think of it before-hand...... 4/8/00 UPDATE: From the outside the car looks complete!  I still have to take some of the trim back off to seal the holes (stupid, stupid, stupid!), but it looks good.  I replaced the brake lines, was much easier than I anticipated, so I got the car out on the road last weekend and discovered that I have some pretty serious brake problems.  The brake cylinders are frozen from rust (sitting for 6-7 years will do that), so more parts are on order.  The interior is now the big project, cleaning all of the "body shop dust" out and putting everything back together.  Am having some difficulty sourcing some of the stuff to put it back together though.  Also having problems with the local tag office, aren't bureaucracies just so much fun to deal with?  I'll post pictures once I can get the car back off of jackstands, and we have a decent day to take a picture! (April showers!) 5/4/00 UPDATE: It's getting there!  I got some pics taken (see top of page, more HERE).  I finally got the tag from the (PITA!) local tag office, and got the car out on the road.  The car drives like a dream!  The new brakes made a huge difference.  I also replaced the shifter tower bushings, which have needed replacement since I bought the car.  Still left to do are the sunroof seals, new antenna, and drip-rail moldings.  It's getting close to being done..... 10/22/00 UPDATE: Yeah, it's been a while since an update, but the website hasn't been first on the priority list.  Lot's has happened since the last entry.  The car is now what I would consider to be complete.  Everything is back together, and if I have to say so myself, the car looks GREAT.  I never imagined the car would turn out this good.  Some of the additional things I have done to the car that I haven't mentioned previously:  New Weber 32/36 (to get rid of a vacuum leak), Pertronix electronic ignition, Ireland Engineering strut brace, 22/19mm front and rear swaybars, new wool floor mats (made a significant difference in interior looks, and also cut down on noise!), rear third brake light (LED, in window), new door panel liners, valve adjustment, and urethane alternator bushings.  Whew!  What's next?  Front wheel bearings, alignment, door seals, Behr A/C conversion, and on, and on, and on...........

BMW and Related Automotive Links: BMW 2002 Message Board: The best source of 2002 information I have found. Southeastern '02 Owners Group: Calendar of '02 and BMW events for the Southeastern region, pictures from events, and an '02 Owners Group forum. Oil Filter Review: A great resource to help choose the BEST oil filter for your pride and joy. Rust Removal: Really cool procedure for professional rust removal at home. Maximillian Imports: Supplier of parts for your classic BMW.  Great service and availability of OEM parts like no other I've found....  Website isn't up yet, but email them or give them a call.  Ask for Paul, he'll get you fixed up. Ireland Engineering: Great source for those "go-fast" parts for the '02.  Ask for Jeremy, he really knows his stuff! My Other Automotive Related Pages My "Repair Notebook" Page..... My OTHER money-pit project..... Friends BMW's picture page..... pics from friends of their BMW's. BACK to the home index for all of my pages

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