On The Fense

When the previous owner dropped off the 1600 at my house, and before he would relinquish the keys into my possession or even take hold of the cash in my hand, he made me promise him something:

Whatever I did with the car, no matter what, these glasses were to remain with it.

They were, in his humble opinion (and now in mine as well), part of the car’s history. So here it is… these came with the car, whose name is quickly leaning toward becoming Magdalene. Fitting for the 60s era bifocals, and perfect irony for the car’s plates, which begin with 666.

So yeah, I haven’t posted anything in a while, and I have no excuses. I’ve been lazy – not an excuse, just a fact. Maybe lazy isn’t the right word. I’ve been focused on other things.

I have accomplished a few items on the car. A few weekends ago I drained the gas tank and pulled it from the car. I put the car in the garage and began pulling off parts.

Close inspection yields several areas of surface rust, several more than I remember seeing upon original inspection. I started sanding down the roof and the passenger door last weekend and it’s going well thus far. After bursting a few rust bubbles it has also become apparent that I’ll definitely need Bondo in a few places. I also discovered rust just above the rear driver-side window under the rain guard.

I am still torn as to whether I should do the body repairs that need to be done, restore the gas tank, lube the clutch, tighten the e-brake, fix the shifter and leave it at that for now, or if I should do a full restore. A big part of me wants to do the former. Eventually, I’d like to get a second 2002 or 1600 that’s in slightly better shape so I have one to drive around while the 1600 gets the full restore, but that won’t happen until Andi and I move further into the country and have room for such toys.

Jim recommended getting a circular sander for the rust, so that’s on my list of items to research. I’m quickly coming to find that (at least so far), a big cost of restoration is the tools to execute it.

Here’s a list of tools I’ll need sooner or later…
- Circular sander
- Jack and jack stands
- Pressure bleeder

I can’t really proceed until I get these items, although I’ve been contemplating restoring the Roundels (i.e. the circular BMW symbols that go behind the rear windows, on the hood and on the back panel). I could use a quick project success. That would motivate me to tackle a big dirty project like the gas tank. Yuck.

Rhonda came by yesterday and we took her Mini Cooper for a spin. I stalled it out a few times, but did pretty well overall. Realization: It’s a mix of me and the car. It’s me in that I’m too nervous to stall out the BMW as it’s old and I’m afraid it won’t start. It’s the car in that the clutch does stick.

I think I’m left with no choice: I need to cave. I didn’t want to do this, as I was hoping to enjoy the car for a few months before garaging it, but I don’t think that’s a possibility.

I put in some Seafoam yesterday morning to clean out the carbs and everything else down there, but that dislodged some gunk and now it’s leaking what I can only assume is oil. Haven’t checked this morning, so I hope it stopped or at least slowed.

Caving means a new laundry list of items to tackle. Hopefully I can keep it garaged for a few months then have it back out on the street without tackling the full rebuild. We’ll see…

Here’s the list:
- Lube the clutch
- Fix the oil leak
- Generate a new door/trunk key
- Begin rust rehab
- Start the interior restoration

Yesterday when I fired up the 1600, Jim was in attendance and he pointed out a problem I knew I needed to tackle sooner than later: the fuel filter. This morning, I went down to Napa and picked up three of ‘em. I figured, if this one looks a tad rusty I may burn through one or two before I have a chance to tackle the gas tank issue.

Today, I posted for the first time over at BMW 2002 FAQ. I posed a question about troubleshooting a sticky clutch, but I think most people may overlook it due to my tendency to be slightly “long-winded” in my writing. Either way, it’s a project for another day; perhaps next weekend.

One exciting feature at BMW 2002 FAQ is the quantity of posts about parts. Looks like they do quite a few exchanges, which is good for me as there are a few items I wouldn’t mind picking up.

Here are a few items I’ll need eventually:
- Trunk (or warp fix)
- Hood (or warp fix)
- Center dash console (holds radio, including the shifter boot)
- Replacement seat covers and filling (front and back)
- Carpeting

A guy down in Seattle has a few of the items, including a few spare 4-speed transmissions, but he wants to sell it as a whole and I just can’t front that amount of cash and that much garage space right now.

I’m slowly coming to the realization that I may need to put the 1600 in the garage before I can play with it… at least to tackle the clutch issue and the gas tank. Oh well…

No photos for today’s post, although it would be more than appropriate to show a shot or two of the old spark plugs I pulled out this morning. You couldn’t get them blacker.

After spending about half an hour trying to figure out how to disconnect the spark plug wires, I realized I just wasn’t pulling hard enough (for fear of breaking them). Once done, I swung over to Lowes and picked up an extension for my socket wrench and a deep 5/8″ socket and I was ready to work. Half an hour later, spark plugs were replaced.

I finished the project about two minutes before Jim next door returned from the Farmers’ Market. He came over for the first firing, and boy did she sound nice with all four cylinders going. With a little pull on the manual choke, the idle hit the right note and damn! There’s a reason people love BMW 2002s, but my little 1600 suits me just as well.

A few hours later, I fired her up again with plans to take a slow spin around the neighborhood a few times, but I noticed the clutch sticking to the floor when I put it in reverse and figured I better hold off a bit.

Jim had also recommended replacing the fuel filter as mine is coated in rust from that gas tank problem I’ve got. A brief stint of research and I have my next few projects lined up:

1. Flush the transmission and replace the fluid, including the clutch fluid.
2. Replace the fuel filter.
3. Eventually get around to pulling the gas tank and giving it a full overhaul.
4. While the tank is out, disassemble the passenger side door, pull the lock to have a key made, and reassemble (including attaching the rear view mirror which is sitting in a box in my garage).
5. Begin tackling the body rust.
6. Pull off the passenger fender and pound out the dent, clean up the rust, and reassemble with a blinker the previous owner included.

Lots to do. Eventually, I’d love to give the entire car an overhaul, but for now I just want it in a condition I can enjoy.

I found this video on YouTube of a 1600 at a retro rally in Europe, and boy do I love how the car looks with that dull white paint and black bumpers. Maybe I’ll try to mimic the look…

So I went for it, that 1968 BMW 1600 I mentioned a few posts back. I made the decision a few weeks ago and have since been working with the previous owner to cover the logistics of transporting the vehicle from his place to mine. There it was, chugging along as it approached the house this morning. Title transferred, cash exchanged hands, and we were set. I have a new car, a working, running, driving project. Something I’ve wanted since I was 12.

I’ve decided to dedicate a substantial portion of this blog to the work in progress that is my 1600. It is to be the documentation of the work I’ve done. I being one who, at this point, doesn’t really know much about fixing up or restoring cars. Futhermore, I haven’t driven a manual in upwards of 12 years, and when I did drive one, I only drove it a handful of times so I’m basically learning from scratch. I’ve already discovered that first gear isn’t happy with me. Probably user error.

There are a few items I must tackle in the near future, and they are as follows:

1. Minor fuel tank leak. This produces a strong stench of gas throughout the trunk that seeps into the interior when driving at low speeds (not sure about high speeds, as I haven’t taken it out on the main road yet for fear of stalling). Once parked, it drops about five to ten drips before stopping. I found a note discussing the issue on a 2002 restoration site. As most parts can be interchanged with that model, I think it’s a good start.

2. Roof rust. There are two or three spots on the roof that have exposed metal and rust, and one or two spots with bubbling paint. I need to sand these areas down, possibly apply (I believe) bondo in the worst of places, smooth it all out, primer it, and paint it. My neighbor Jim, who is in the process of rebuilding a Fiat Spider in his garage, recommended a product that changes the rust to primer. I’ll have to ask him what that product is. The areas will still need a bit of work before I get to that point though.

3. Various interior pieces. The car is pretty near complete in terms of parts. The one item missing is the center console between the driver and passenger seats under the dash. This houses the air conditioner (I believe), which to my knowledge came as an option in the car. It also holds the radio. Following suit, there are no speakers in the back, although the car is wired for speakers. The seats are in pretty bad condition, but again all parts are there. They need new filling and new covers, though. The seat belts are awful, although they’re standard for the model. The previous owner believed there was a conversion kit available that would replace the stock belts with some more modern and up to today’s standards (or close to them).

So, this is my first post as the owner of the car. As I go along, if any of you stumble across the site and have recommendations, feel free to drop me a note. Like I said, I’m new to all of this, so there will be a lot of learning as I go and any constructive thoughts or ideas will be appreciated. What I know at this point is that my plan is to keep it stock and as much an original as possible.