Chances are…

This week I will be checking out a ‘74 BMW 2002 that’s for sale.  The guy who owns the car has been very helpful and photographed all of the areas of interest that I have asked.  These areas of course are the major rust spots for this car.  Everything looks good in the pictures, but I want to see it in person.  I am willing to do anything, but it has to be within reason.  I am a little concerned about body work.  I don’t have the tools and know-how to do it on my own and the expense of the tools is very high.  We shall see.

One draw back is that the car doesn’t have a sunroof like I would like.  That might be a blessing in disguise since that creates more areas for concern regarding rust.  It does have A/C which I am most interested in because I want to drive it fairly often and especially in the summer.  I will keep you posted.

A bench of a time

I have been busy setting up my shop for a car restoration and I have almost completed my work bench.  I am so excited to get this project done.  I have been using the shop floor as my work surface for 3 years now.  I found a nice set of steel legs with stringers in the local classified ads.  I sprayed the legs with rustoleum flat black and built a top by laminating several sheets of MDF and coating with polyurethane to protect from moisture.  I attached trim to the edges that are 1/4″ taller than the MDF surface.  I did this so that I may lie a 1/4″ hard wood plywood on top of the MDF and keep it in place so that I would not have to drill more holes through the MDF.  The MDF provides the solid work surface and the plywood protects the MDF from marring.  I might mount a vise to the bench, but that would be the only mounting hardware that I would use for the 1/4″ plywood.  I want to make it as easy as possible to replace. 

 

Update:

Bench is complete.  This project took a week working about an hour or so every evening and one Sunday evening.  The hardest part was waiting for the polyurethane to dry.  If I had to do it over again, I might see if I would use a table saw to get straighter cuts.  Although, I am getting good at cutting a pretty straight line with the jigsaw.  I would also stain the pine trim a dark color instead of just using the polyurethane.  Pictures please!

 

     

Car parts abound

My last trip to the junk yard was the most successful yet.  I acquired all of the parts to complete the EFI system that I have planned for the 2002.  I found a very nice BMW 318i that provided the intake manifold and water inlet manifold along with a bag full of good hose clamps.  I did get the sensors, but I might end up having to order new ones.  I will test them to make sure they work.  I had to pass on the water bypass pipe as it was rusted too much.  Maybe I should have taken it so I could mock up a new one with copper pipe, but I would still have to pay for it and I didn’t think that was a good idea.

 

I also got the parts that I wasn’t able to get last time for the EDIS.    The VR sensor is a bear to get to.  I was lucky enough to find an Escort with the engine dropped out of it.  My advice to just search for an Escort with the engine dropped out.  Don’t bother with beating your self up trying to get to that sensor.  Trust me, I mean it.  Here is some other advice to those that are planning to shop at the local salvage yard for parts.

1.)  Take all size wrenches, sockets, extensions, and ratchets.

2.)  You will need a blade such as a pocket knife or a trusty Gerber multitool.  A wire cutter is a must as well.

3.)  When taking electrical components, don’t forget all of the pigtails.   I literally paid dearly for this as I had to go back for the pigtail and they charged me when it would have been included if I had it attached the first time.  Being honest was costly, but morally speaking….

4.)  It’s probably a good idea to collect all of the nuts and bolts that you removed in case you need them.  I take a few sandwich bags and try to group things together to make it easier to remember what went with what.

5.)  Take some thing that you can take notes with.  A sharpie works great!

I already have most of the components for the upgrades that I want to perform.  There are a few other things that I want to get, but they come from cars that are a little more rare.  I will continue to look for them and if anyone has some time on their hands and doesn’t mind looking through a bone yard, I will pay a finders fee for the parts the I am still looking for.  You can email me for a list. 

 

I know that most people would have got the car first before getting the parts, but this method is working well for me.  This is allowing me the opportunity to learn about the parts and prep them for use in the car.  Hopefully, this will make things go faster and easier once I have a car.  Only time will tell and I am still having a good time.

 

 

 

Eye witness account

And there I was, standing just inside the entrance to the men’s restroom at Wal-Mart today.  I must have looked quiet peculiar, frozen in mid stride by the sight before me.  Standing at the only operational urinal was a young gentleman doing his business, but with his pants and underwear appropriately resting at his ankles.  I say appropriately because I have read many testaments to Wal-Mart restroom visits on the web and what I witnessed today is a common example of a “typical” Wal-Mart restroom visit worth writing about.

 

I regained my composure and proceeded to the stalls as to not look too conspicuous, standing there waiting on “Monty”.  To my surprise, both stalls were available and clean.  I had to check both just in case half “Monty” knew something I did not.  As I stood there in the stall, I thought about what I had just observed.  The one thing that really grabbed my attention was the broken urinal.  I could not remember when the last time I was in a Wal-Mart where at least one urinal/toilet wasn’t broken or removed completely.  To clarify, I pass 5 Wal-Marts between my work and house and I have shopped at each of them.  I would be interested in reading about those stories.

Back to work

Tomorrow, it’s back to work for me.  I am talking about the gym of course.  I had to take the last month off due to some serious tendonitis in both knees.  I have been keeping myself medicated and stretching every day.  I figure a month should be enough time to heal and now my knees feel great.

This should be a big warning to all you guys who go and work out and don’t stretch and warm up first.  I went to the gym one day and I was running late.  I thought I could just hop on the treadmill and run for my 50 minutes without stretching and warming up first.  I sure have paid for it.  I was worried that I would have to go to a bone and joint doctor because my knees hurt so bad for the week that followed.  I waddled around like a penguin and stairs almost made me sick to my stomach.  Luckily, I have a friend who is a MD and he took a look.  He told me to take Advil for the discomfort and don’t do anything for a few weeks such as high impact exercise.  I decided to take the month off and it has really helped.  Getting older can be such a pain if you don’t take care of yourself. 

I am probably going to be hurting the day after tomorrow, but I feel guilty for not going for the first time in my life.  I have been working out steadily for eight months prior to getting injured.  That’s a record in my book.  I am no muscle head, but I like how I feel when I work out consistently.  I will be taking it easy tomorrow and can’t wait to get back to the Gold’s.

 

I have a question if anyone is interested.  Maybe it’s more of a poll.  I am interested in hearing how you organize your workouts during the week.  I get into a time bind with my workouts and looking for new ideas on how to approach a routine.  Also, are there any resources on line regarding workouts that you would recommend?

Feeling ambitious

About four months ago, my dear wife gave me a book of hobbies.  She gave me a kiss and a hug and told me, “You need a hobby.  You are driving me crazy!”  What a gal!  Of course, I read the book that night as I had nothing to do.  I read about  a lot of really cool hobbies that grabbed my attention.

 

There was one topic in particular regarding car customization.  That seemed interesting because I really like cars, but know nothing about them.  So, I put the idea on the back burner for the time being.  A month passed by and my Honda Accord broke down.  Luckily, I was in a parking lot at the time.  I had to wait a few hours before I could get a way home.  While I waited, I went in to the Barnes and Noble to peruse the magazine section.  I found a magazine with an article about building small cars in a home garage.  There was this really cool looking BMW that I had never seen before and it seemed to be the favorite of the article.  The car was a 1973 BMW 2002.  It was a great looking car and the article discussed all of the easily obtainable upgrades.  Later that night, I looked the car up on the net and was surprised at the large support base for this model.  I said to myself, “I can learn about a car by building it.”

 

I know it’s a pretty ambitious project, but I like a challenge.  My plan is to buy an unmolested ’02 in about a year.  I want to keep the original engine if possible, but will be converting it to EFI.  Yes, I am even going to use Megasquirt.  Not only do I have to build a car, but I will have to learn all about fuel injection and soldering circuit board.    I am a glutton for punishment.  I am also going to upgrade to a 5 speed transmission and big brake conversion.  I am also interested in A/C since I want this to be a frequent driver and I live in Texas.

 

Since that faithful day at B&N, I have cleared the garage.  I have organized my tools and purchased some storage and shelving through craigslist.org.  I have already acquired some of the upgrade parts to begin the refurbishing process.  The parts I have collected are:

 

1.  1980 BMW 5 Series Master cylinder.  (Just in case.)

2.  Volvo 240DL front brake calipers.

3.  Ford Escort EDIS and coil pack.  (I was unable to get to the VR sensor.)

4.  BMW 3 Series trunk battery cable and distribution block.

5.  4 Crown Victoria fuel injectors.   (To be sent out for cleaning and bench testing.)

 

As I become one of the many “internet mechanics”, I will post what I learn here as a resource for others.  My list of needed parts grows more every day, but this gives me time to learn and get things ready as I save for my new dream car.  I am including a few car pictures that have inspired me.

 

 

Let’s begin

I wanted to begin my week by getting into the habit of posting to my blog.  I wonder what others do to prepare for the week ahead.  This is my OCD side thinking out loud.  I have been using a Franklin Covey planner for 4 years now and it has made life easier.  

 

I have read all of the material related to the 7 habits book and am currently reading a lot of Dr. Chopra’s books.  What gives?  7 habits basically tells you to take charge in your life and Dr. Chopra says to let things happen as they are certain to and remain open to such change.  I guess it is just a matter of picking a path in life that feels most comfortable.  I like Dr. Chopra’s teachings, but I LOVE my planner.  This is often the case when I try and make a decision.  I like a little of everything out there.  Anyone out there have a similar situation?  Have a good week! 

Simply Ginormous

I have been lurking on a few forums for some time and wanted to find a place where I could share some of my thoughts and ideas for questions and comments.  Thanks to a friend of mine, I was directed to wordpress.com.  

The objective to this forum is that there is no real objective.   I have spent too many years “planning and working” and it is not working.  I will be writing about random ideas as I have those more often than not and about my hobbies and interest only.  And that’s all I got for my first post!  Cheers!