After four years of sleep...

...it's alive!

What started as minimal disassembly to fix a few things, most notably a rusted-out rear spring perch due to nesting rodents, turned into a gutted interior and a torn-apart suspension. I fixed the rust fairly quickly, but then it sat while I ruminated over how much I wanted to do improving the interior and changing up the suspension. Several years of total inactivity had me wondering if I would ever get it back together, and getting my Miata three years ago didn't help. I finally had a break from pressing problems with other cars and a little bit of time, so I started picking away at reassembly. The front end got freshened, new shocks and struts were installed, and the interior started to be pieced back together with some additional sound deadening, new door cards and door brakes, along with lots of little bushings to stop things rattling; the latter was by far the most time-consuming part of the job.

I got it all together yesterday, aligned it, and started it up this morning. Predictably, it wasn't running exactly smoothly, but it settled in once it got a little heat in it. I took it for a few short drives, putting new gas in the tank, and culminating in a brief highway blast to try to loosen things up a bit. It seems pretty happy now, at least as happy as a cammed, dual sidedraft M10 ever is.

I've owned this car for close to 30 years, and it will be 50 next month. I wanted to get it running in time for its birthday. There's still lots of little stuff to deal with, but rather than do it all, I figured I'd start driving it and pick away at the remaining issues as time permits.

It's beautiful and it deserves to run. Congrats and more pictures!

I love these cars and I've wanted one since I was in middle school. And I actually prefer the 74-76 cars with the big tail lights and black grills.

Enjoy your BMW!

Awesome!

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

I love these cars and I've wanted one since I was in middle school. And I actually prefer the 74-76 cars with the big tail lights and black grills.

Enjoy your BMW!

I agree - great car. Such a timeless look.

Sixteen year old DatsunGuy told my dad in 1978 I wanted to buy a used BMW 2002 and he shut me down.  Who's going to work on a German car? (Me) He wouldn't budge.

Sweet!  An old roommate had a 2002, it was a fun little car.  I drive an e28 and e30 myself but appreciate the older BMWs too.

02Pilot said:

There's still lots of little stuff to deal with, but rather than do it all, I figured I'd start driving it and pick away at the remaining issues as time permits.

This is the way.

So many don't get out and do stuff with their project because it's not perfect or they haven't done all the mods they wanted.

Way to go!  Good looking car.

My first new car was a '71 2002.  My last 2002 was a '76 M2 that I drove for 14 years and then sold to my son who still has it.

Gorgeous car! Golf yellow? A 2002 is on my list of cars to own. 

Congratulations. I'm now firm believer in the get it running, drive it, and fix what breaks school of automotive projects (one look at my 924s will confirm that). It would still be on jack stands if I was waiting for "perfection". 
 

Love '02s (had a '75 as my first car, and a '71 as my first race car). Would have another in a heartbeat if prices for them weren't so silly...

j_tso said:

02Pilot said:

There's still lots of little stuff to deal with, but rather than do it all, I figured I'd start driving it and pick away at the remaining issues as time permits.

This is the way.

So many don't get out and do stuff with their project because it's not perfect or they haven't done all the mods they wanted.

In the words of David Freiburger: "Don't get it right, just get it running."

His mentality is, the second you try and make it perfect all progress comes to a screeching halt and you never finish it. Get it running and driving and then just address things in order of importance while still enjoying it.

Looks phenomenal!  More pics please!

There is no better feeling for a gearhead like resurrecting a long-dormant project. Congrats! 

That's awesome, didn't realize the 2002 came in yellow!

Thanks, folks. It's nice to have it back on the road. With this morning's quick loop, I've put about 50 miles on it since waking it up. I'd forgotten how loud everything is, especially the induction roar from the DCOEs, and this is as quiet as it's ever been, with a significant amount of sound deadening and other NVH improvements having been made.

A couple people commented on the color. It's not actually Golf, but it's similar - I had it painted when I bought it, and they didn't get it quite right. I don't care.

There are a few things I'll have to address soon. I discovered a tiny fuel leak at the pump (Carter 4070) - looks like it's coming from the bottom, which would suggest it's leaking at the electrical connectors, which probably means replacing it. There's a stumble at steady throttle that seems to happen regardless of speed and engine temperature; on or off, it's smooth, but cruising at a steady speed and it stumbles. Could be something in the driveline, could be the carbs. And I think my alignment is a little off, as turn-in feels less direct than it used to, but that could just be the result of going to rubber bushings in the lower control arms instead of the polyurethane I had in there before; if it is that, I might go back to poly.

No more new pics right now, but when the weather clears up I'll take some. In the meantime, here it is a long time ago in a previous iteration (stock bumpers still in place, different wheels, some other details) at the top of Mt. Washington.

dyintorace said:

Gorgeous car! Golf yellow? A 2002 is on my list of cars to own. 

If you think 240Z's have increased in value start looking at the BMW 2002's...........

Yeah, prices have gotten ridiculous on these cars. When I think about the cars I passed on years ago (like the $1500 early 72 tii that just needed a little tidying...) I kick myself. Repeatedly. But on the other hand, I doubt I would have had nearly as much fun with mine if it was worth as much twenty years ago as it is today.

I decided to rip out the fuel pump and see if I could figure out the leak. The good news is that I didn't see any sign of leakage around the electrical connectors, or anywhere else really. This makes me wonder about my sanity, but also inclined to try the simple stuff in hopes of resolution; it's an old US-made Carter pump, and I'd really rather keep it going than replace it with a modern Chinese one. I pulled the inlet and outlet fittings and teflon taped the threads, and replaced the old worm clamps with full-band fuel injection type clamps. A brief test showed no leaks that I could find, but we'll see if anything develops with continued use.

Took the 2002 out for a day trip today with my GF; that wasn't the plan - I was going to take the Miata, but I discovered one of my new tires was flat when I went to start it this morning (leaking at the bead) - but it worked out fine. We put about 150 miles on it. As expected, I continue to uncover issues, but nothing major. The heat is quite weak, so I'll have to see if the thermostat is stuck open, and the annoying off-idle stumble is still there, which is going to take some diagnostic work to sort out. And I was reminded of some pre-existing quirks, like the auxiliary gauges having less-than-perfect grounds and fluctuating as a result. But overall, the car behaved itself and got us to lunch and back. As promised, here are a few more photos.

As you can see, it's far from perfect, a little scruffy and rough around the edges, but it's entertaining.

It's great to hear that you're enjoying this car again!

Are those American Racing wheels?

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Are those American Racing wheels?

They might be - I'll have to look. They came with a parts car a hundred years ago; I do recall that they're a VW fitment and I need 1/4"(?) spacers to run them. They're 15x7(?) and I'm running 195/50-15s.

I didn't have much time to work on the car today, but I had to look into the stumble off idle and during cruise, as it was really annoying. Webers have a transition circuit that uses progression holes in the bore to manage light throttle applications; I suspected that the throttle plate was too far open, exposing these prematurely and limiting their availability for adding fuel as needed. I scoped the carb bores and found that I was on the right track. I reset the idle speed screws, then adjusted for best idle using the idle mixture screws. Once I had that, I dialed back the idle to 1000rpm and everything seemed happier, at least sitting in the driveway. I'll drive it tomorrow and see if I was right.

Today's driving experience was less than ideal. On my way home this evening, something in the driveline let go. Engine is fine, but something is rattling around underneath, and there's no drive to the rear wheels. Nothing obviously broken, but I'll find out more when I am able to get under it and investigate. In the meantime, I got towed the few miles home. I'm not 100% sure, but this might be the first time I've had to have this car towed - not a bad track record, all things considered.

Old car issues. My Dad had a 1969 1600. I have a real fondness for these cars. Old BMWs also tend to smell the same. Whenever I get in an old one it has a certain smell from the materials used.

In reply to Harvey :

The smell is usually attributed to the horsehair padding they used in the seats. Since my front seats have been replaced with aftermarket units and the rear has been stripped and repadded with foam, it doesn't really have that smell any more.