What has been done to the car?
So it has been ONE YEAR of ownership with my 2002 and it hasnt failed me yet! There has been alot of progress, and initially I thought I would have been done by now….but like any 33 year old project, you never know what you are going to have until you get until you are into the job! So mechanically, the car is SOLID now. Its EXTREMELY reliable. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say reliability is at a 10. Starts EVERY time, runs, and doesnt break down. Its been driven the 450+ miles down to Newport Beach from San Francisco, and I drove it back last month. It ran like a charm. The car is quick, fun, and with the new Recaro seats VERY comfortable. The drivetrain received the most work with a rebuilt engine being installed, new transmission, clutch, clutch master cylinder, carburetor, intake, distributor and exhaust. I also replaced the transmission mounts and motor mounts. The suspension was revamped with Ireland Engineering Stage II springs and Bilstein Sport shocks. This lowered the car and gives it amazing stability. I also replaced the rusty 13” wheels and narrow tires for a set of 14” BBS RZ rims from an e30 BMW 318/325. It sticks to the road with a nice set of Kumho tires. Then comes the interior transformation. Start with new front and rear seats. The front seats are reupholstered marine blue Recaro seats from an 80s e21 320i sport. The rear seats are stock 2002 seats reupholstered to match in marine blue. The sunroof interior panel was missing. This part is no longer available from BMW. I found someone with an extra one on the internet and bought it. Cleaned it up and installed it! I also installed a 3 spoke leather wrapped steering wheel from a 320i to replace the aged and fading plastic 4 spoke stock one. Then I added the Nakamichi head unit, and Hertz HSK 6.5” 2 way component speakers in the doors. When I did tis I also replaced the Vinyl door panels with pristine ones and replaced the worn out door backing fiber board with brand new door backing and clips. I also applied Dynamat to the doors to improve the speaker sound and reduce road noise. the exterior has had NOTHING done to it. The only work on the car was a wax job, a roof polishing. I did however primer the trunk, treat it for rust, and resprayed it in Fjord Blue.
Plans for the year to come:
For the next 12 months, I plan on doing the 5 speed conversion, HID light upgrade, replace the headliner, replace the chrome trim around the car, repair the door dings, paint the car, install the new carpet kit, rear speakers, quieter muffler, euro bumpers, DCOE 40 dual carbs or Electronic Fuel Injection conversion, bigger cam, electric fan.
Whew…thats a long list! Well I am having a blast and enjoying every minute of it!