pics from nearly assembled engine

three years....*sigh*

It's been three years since my last post. Three years of hoping to get around to getting that car running. In the meantime, I've rebuilt a 73 squareback, 74 BMW bike, 93 VW eurovan, and sold them all. I finally got the newest project, a 2003 VW eurovan, running well enough to drive to Disneyland and back, so I finally have time for the beastie!

Last weekend I finished most of the engine assembly. Here's the upgrades from stock:

Forged JE pistons
ARP head and main studs
MLS head gasket
83 320 head and intake and fuel injection parts
boost bros turbo exhaust manifold
60ar T3/T4 hybrid turbo
36lb bosch injectors (flowmatched by kinetic motorsport)
crank scraper and oil pan baffle (Ireland Engineering)
e30 alternator
Lots of cleaning and painting

Next weekend I'm taking the family to Moab, but after that I'll be getting the transmission and differential in.

Finally a good pic

It's been a while now, and I've been driving the beastie on and off...until it wouldn't start up. After a little inspection, it appears the coil is bad, or some other coil related wiring.
I finally picked up a shiny block from the machine shop: decked, honed, line-honed, and hot tanked. I also picked up the polished and balanced crank.

It's coming together nicely...and the old one is coming out.

She's legal

I got the plates from the DMV yesterday. I got a ticket last week for expired registration, the cop let the safety and emissions slide because I had just failed safety the day previous.
I also learned for the millionth time to only go to mexican shops for safety and emissions. There's a safety/emissions inspection place attached to the gas station i patronize. It's never busy and it's on the way to work, so I decided to get my inspection there. So after putting a bottle of isopropyl in the gastank, i drive over for an inspection. I passed emissions easily (thank goodness) but failed safety because of an exhaust leak, horn not working, tint on one window and parking brake not working.
So i fix everything and head back. The inspector fails my ebrake again because he said it has to hold the car when it's in a forward gear. (Set the brake, let out the clutch and accelerate, if the car moves - it fails) I call BS and argue with him for 5 minutes about how that cannot possibly be the requirement for a manual transmission car. Finally he gets out the book and it says the parking brake has to prevent the car from moving when parked. We argue some more and then I call the UHP safety inspection office and they tell me the car has to stop moving when the e-brake is applied. The shop inspector gets on the phone and argues with the UHP inspector for 5 minutes about how that can't be right. Finally he agrees to do the test the way the UHP requires it ( get the car rolling, apply the e-brake, and if the car stops - it passes) he gets the car going about 5 mph and pulls the e-brake half way up. Of course the car doesn't stop so he says i've failed. After arguing again, he lets me do the test. I get the car rolling and yank up hard on the e-brake and the car stops. He gets pissed and goes in his office again to call the UHP and argue for another 10 minutes. Eventually he agrees to pass me, but puts a note on the inspection for that says he wanted to fail me, but the UHP said i passed, and that I can't sue him if my ebrake fails. UGH! Talk about a little power going to one's head!
So i swear to never go back to a white-owned saftey inspection place. A mexican place only needs a green light on the emissions test to pass everything. I think i've learned my lesson this time!

Pics with my new camera phone

shiny blau, anyone know what that color's real name is?

Photos of start of motor assembly (forged JE pistons)

Latest drama

After replacing my guibo and driving a couple miles, I started to hear some noise from the driver's front wheel. I'm pretty sure it's a wheel bearing, the 8x16 wheels and 35mm wheel spacers I'm sure stress them pretty good, so i expect to be replacing them every few thousand miles. So I stop by Pep Boys on my way to work, and get a set of bearings. Once I get the car on a jack, I can feel that the wheel is REALLY loose, like a couple inches of play! Bad news.
Once I get the hub off and bearings out, I realize that the bearings are the wrong size. Then I remember the brake upgrade, check the faq to find out what the PO probably did. Then I order some 320i bearings. When the parts guy delivers them, i realize that they are the same as the 2002 bearings, and much smaller than the ones i pulled from the hub. Puzzled, i call Ireland to find out what's going on. I am informed that the larger bearings are for the 2002tii struts, which the PO must have installed with the brake upgrade. So, i go back to Pep Boys and get the bigger tii bearings. When i get them to the shop, i test fit them on the spindle. They are way to big for the spindle, but the 2002/320i fit fine.

WHAT?!?

Turns out, the powder coated strut tubes I got with the car from the PO, which I had installed the week before were 2002 struts, and the old rusty ones i pulled off and threw away were 2002tii struts! So I was driving with mismatched hub/bearing/spindles and it was a miracle I didn't do any serious damage.

I'm gonna stick with the powercoated 2002 struts, so I've ordered a junkyard set of 83 320i hubs ($100) and some new girling volvo calipers ($40 each). I almost bought some cross-drilled rotors ($66 each) but decided that could wait.

Built Motor assembly next!

Props to bmw2002faq and Ireland Engineering

2 big things have made a HUGE difference in working on Blau

First - www.bmw2002faq.com - what a resource. I found almost everything I've needed to know somewhere on that site!

Second - Ireland Engineering - if I couldn't find it on the faq, they could help me out.
Having my own repair/tuning shop, I know how rare it is to find a parts supplier who gives a crap about customer service, knows what they are talking about, and is willing to help if there's a problem. Ireland does all three.

they both deserve some praise.

Not from the beginning, but it's a start

I've owned Blau for a couple months now. He's a 74 BMW 2002. Paid $2000 for the car and my SUV full of parts.
The previous owner did various modifications, many of which i am now discovering myself.

The list of mods when I bought the car.

Vented front rotors
Turbo Flares and Chin Spoiler
Removed front bumper
The pretty blue paint, don't know the name or code Used to be atlantik blue or somesuch.
35mm wheel spacers (yeah i know, but it looks sweet)
TSW 5 spoke 16" wheels
Replaced rusted passenger and driver floorpans, and spare tire well
Increased fuel pressure, rebuilt carb, different jetting (i'm a FI guy so i don't really know the details)

I drove it for a week or so to get a feel for it and decide what it needed.

Repairs since purchase:
Hazard switch wouldn't turn off, PO had removed completely, which turned off blinkers.
Driveline Guibo missing a bolt and a chunk of rubber where the bolt should be.
Leaking Fuel return line.
Replaced front control arms/ball joints
Replaced inner/outer tie rods
Shifter plate bolt loose, then missing (fell out on the freeway, scared the crap out of me...buzzzzzzzzzz-THUNK as it touched the guibo and was spun the rest of the way out.

Upgrades since purchase:
Ireland Engineering front and rear sway bars
Ireland Engineering poly bushings all over
Evo8 steering wheel (still need to fix up the center plate and horn button)
Installed powder coated front strut tubes and lowering springs
Installed powder coated rear subframe and lowering springs