LoudSpeakers

It’s been a while since I updated my friends on the progress of the restoration of my 1969 BMW 2002 that was originally started in late 2004.  It was supposed to take 3 months and I would have been driving it just in time for the weather to get warmer in 2005.  The shop that has been doing the restoration delayed the effort significantly for reasons outside of my control and as a result I’m getting a bargain basement price for a complete restoration. 

Anyway, lots of things have changed since I blogged about it last. 

1.  All lights are back in.

2.  The window gaskets and windows are back in.

3.  The seats, seatbelts, carpet, and have been installed though this photograph does not show the front seats being installed.

4.  The headliner has been installed.

There’s still minor electrical work that needs to be completed to fix the hack job of the previous owner.  And I might need to dig up a better dashboard from the pile of ‘02s that this restoration shop has.

You can view all of my previous BMW 2002 photographs on Flickr here.

Here are my previous posts about the ‘02.

I managed to pickup a set of better looking wheels for the BMW 2002 this afternoon. These will look a lot better than the old school wheels that are on there now. Though these wheels look huge, they’re only 13″ and are original on 2002s — I won’t be “Pimpin’ My Ride.” The electrical was re-connected this week. The car started right up after almost 2 years. It coughed for about 30 seconds and then idled perfectly. The carpet still needs to go in and the exterior needs to be buffed, but the car should be finished in under a month.

Notice the checkerboard slip-on Vans. Takes me back to being a kid.

The final coat of paint went onto the ‘02 while I was in India. It needs to be buffed once or twice before the exterior is complete. There are a few interior rust spots that need to be fixed as well before the new carpet gets installed. Afterwards, there won’t be a single spot of rust on this 37 year-old car.

Compare the last two pictures to get an idea of what we started with and where we are today.
More photos from today here.

All of my 2002 photos on Flickr here.

The engine and the transmission are back in the 2002. I expected more to be accomplised upon my most recent visit, but I have come to also expect things not to happen nearly as fast as I was promised.  It’s supposed to get sanded and primed again soon before getting final exterior paint. I’ll be getting a substantial discount for my patience throughout this process — that’s a promise from which I won’t back down if challenged.

Here’s a list of significant recent developments in the quest to restore “Eugene,” my 1969 BMW 2002.

1.  Entire car has been primed.  Needs to be sanded.

2.  Interior trunk, engine bay, and wheel wells have final paint.

3.  German wool carpet arrived and delivered to the shop.
4.  Engine and suspension go back in starting tomorrow.

The process seems never ending, but it’s slowly coming together.  More pictures on Flickr.

The visits to the 2002 in the shop are becoming more frequent in order to photograph and capture the various stages. It will be finished by March 15 — or else. The shop has been given a mandate to finish soon.

Pictured above is a photograph from yesterday that shows the rear-end completely welded on and some filler.

Less filler. Tastes great.

I visisted the ‘02 in the shop this morning. The restoration project continues slowly, but with steady progress. The engine bay got the final coat of paint recently. The picture doesn’t really do it justice, but you get a sense of what the final look will be.

The rear-end came back from being sandblasted. Every inch of this car will be rust free with a fresh coat of high-quality paint before it’s over. The special order carpet should be here soon.

Realistically, we’re probably still looking at a few months before it’s all over. Just in time for the summer —- a black car with no A/C in the Atlanta heat. Perfect.

More photos of the engine bay here.

The original back-end from the 2002 restoration project was amputated this week because of an automotive gangrene known as rust. Luckily, a donor 2002tii was nearby and the transplant should be made sometime this week.

It turns out that amount of rust in the back-end was significant enough to justify removing it all and replacing it entirely. It already had the remants of a sloppy bondo job as it was. As a matter of fact, entire parts of the bumper area consisted of solid bondo. Getting rid of the gangrene in one move and replacing it with actual steel is a good thing.

Pictured above is the soon-to-be-welded back-end. You can see the 2002tii markings on the right-hand side of the car. Unfortunately, this will not increase the value of the vehicle but will make for an interesting story perhaps.

Pictured above is the old back-end. It was a little sad to see it in the scrap heap. Leaving a little piece of Eugene (all BMW 2002s have a nickname — I bought my ‘02 in Eugene, OR) in Georgia was a little sad indeed.

More pictures of the back-end and rust issues here.

As some of you know, I have been restoring (read: paying someone to restore) a 1969 BMW 2002 that I picked up in Eugene, Oregon. Well, “pick up” isn’t quite the way to put it either. David Wright, Jerry Stover, and I flew out to Seattle in May of ‘04 in hopes of having a “we drove this piece of shit 3,000 miles and stayed in dive motels” type of experience, but it just was not meant to be. I ended up having to ship it back ‘cross country for almost more than it cost me on ebay.

My close friends David (foregound) and Jerry (background) were kind enough to join in on the “Raj does some over-the-top shit” game. They were also kind enough to let me photograph them a la Ted Leo and The Pharmacists “Hearts Of Oak” LP. It’s one of my favorite people photographs that I’ve taken. Ted Leo record cover below:

We drove away from Eugene heading to Seattle via Portland only to realize that the tank was leaking more gas than any one of the male members of the Stover family after a nice South Carolina watermelon filled afternoon. Let’s just say I ran out of his parents house once when I was in high-school yelling for the elderly woman next door to let me have some of her oxygen. For an asthmatic, the Stovers should really have the civic sense to place clear warning signs on the exterior of the property.

Back to the BMW. The right brakes were almost toast. Applying the brakes would cause the car to veer to the left uncontrollaby. Oh — and the car had no working seat belts. Let me just say that “toast” and “almost toast” when it comes to brake quality description poses a challenge either way, especially on a 35 year old car.

This picture (above) of the car was taken the evening we miraculously returned to Sandy and Roy’s place in Seattle. I didn’t think we would make it back without having to leave the car in the driveway of a friend of Roy’s in Portland, but like soldiers drunk on the fumes of a leaking tank, we pressed on sans fear and failure.

The restoration process has been slower than Christmas. More will happen over the course of the next month than has for over the past year. I visisted the car again today because a major milestone was reached last week — complete sandblasting.

The picture (above) is before the car was sandblasted and hit with black primer last week.

The picture (above) is well, you guessed it — the ‘69 BMW a la black primer. Black primer is used since the end result will also be 2002 swartz. I found a super nice guy in Canada who makes custom carpet for vintage restorations of BMW 2002s. I’m going with the tan “Imported Wool Square Weave.”

The car should be much closer to completion by early next year. I already have some kick ass original seats in near new condition to throw in once it’s closer to ready.

Here are some pics to check out:

Nov 2005 - Black Primer
Nov 2005 - Pre-Sandblast
March 2005 - Slow Scrapping - Engine Removed

We visited the 2002 in the shop this past Saturday. I was hoping that it would be in completion stage by now, but no such luck.

On the other hand, I am a little lucky in that my empty laptop bag was found on some street in London. It’s being shipped to me as we speak. One of my UK colleagues received a call from the po-po.

I visited the BWM 2002 in the shop today to see how the restoration job was coming along. The good news is that there is far less rust than one might have imagined from looking at it from the surface.

They should have all the old paint off soon. They’ll then begin to fix some of the spots that need repair using patch panels. The interior part of the trunk where the spare tire fits has some rust that needs attention, but since it’s not on the exterior of the car it’s easier to deal with.

I managed to buy some really nice seats from a gentleman that I met through another BMW repair place here in town. He sold me some really, really nice seats for $160. You would think that the seats were brand new. The seats will make the rest of the interior look like real crap. I also need to order a set of interior floor carpet and overhead lining as well. I’ve managed to find one original driver side seatbelt since they are in need of updating. The passenger side belts are on backorder apparently.

Visited the 2002 in the shop yesterday. I’m getting a little attached to it. I need to find someone who can do quality bodywork at reasonable rates here in town. It should be in working order by the time I get back from Thailand. I’m thinking about calling “Pimp My Ride,” but I guess Xzibit may have a hard time getting it back to California.

Oh, yeah. I’m going to Thailand after so much internal discussion about whether the project will move forward or not. I’m leaving on Saturday after a few days notice. I’ll only be there for four days before I need to turn around and come back. Much fun to be had in Bangkok from what I see on Dateline NBC. That’s another discussion. Later.

Don’t fault me for getting a little strange on this last round of terror alerts by the Fuhrer. But then again, I think I am getting stranger as age sets in. Having to say the word “thirty” the other day in reference to a soon to be age was a little startling. In reference to the terror alerts, I think they are being genuine this time — unfortunately.

The mechanic was able to get my ailing ‘69 BMW started recently. Still not quite sure what the problem is/was. He mentioned that the oil pressure light was lit. If that means that it needs a new engine, I’ll probably put in a six cylinder engine that has been modified to fit into the 2002. I should know something more certain about the condition of the car this week. Everytime I think about it, I am glad that we choose not to drive it across the country. No telling what would have happened. Hope nothing happens in regards to the alerts announced by Tom Ridge. Lastly, I also think that the rumours of his resignation are interesting given the condition of some of the past alerts.

The transport company called saying that they dropped off my dead 1969 BMW 2002 at the mechanic here in Atlanta. Here are some of the restore issues in order of importance:

1. Car won’t start now - at all
2. Caliper apparently sticking, veers to the left when braking
3. None of the gauges work, including the speedometer and gas gauge
4. Parking brake cable may be stuck
5. Seatbelts need to be replaced badly
6. Noxious smell of gasoline in the cabin

But the tires are new!

Quick update on the eBay purchased BMW 2002 that has been sitting in Seattle for a while now. It won’t start. Yeah, that’s right. It won’t turn over, in mechanic speak.

But Chris Cornell has probably seen it on more than one occassion and thought to himself who he’d rather have the little German throttle rocket than his Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors.

But I won’t admit defeat! It’s getting shipped soon anyway! Onward and upward!