My E10 2002 restoration journal

[omera60]

Hey Guys,

So yesterday my dad got me a BMW 2002 for my 20th birthday. I wanted to learn how to restore a car as he was doing it all the time when I was growing up, we thought what better car than the driver's car, the infamous 2002 to learn on as it's a simple yet a brilliant one! I love the car since I've first seen it and wanted one to accompany my 2 Coupe. I'm planning to use this thread as a restoration blog/guide both to keep people entertained/informed and, from time to time, ask for advice. I hope this journey will keep me and you guys entertained. Any recommendations just hit them below...

Google Drive Album: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...zg?usp=sharing

[Unknown_Car]

Congrats on a really nice b-day present.

[stooker]

Very cool, subscribed. Good luck with the project! How's the interior, any pics?

[omera60]

Thanks guys, unfortunately I don't have any interior pics but once I get them I'll post them here. I haven't been able to see the car in person yet. What I've been told by my dad and his mechs is that interior is not so bad but needs some work done for example there is a giant crack on the dashboard and the seats need to be worked on...

[BEM-S4]

Nice! By the "dad and mechanics" comment I assume it's solid and you get to work on the fun stuff and not replacing rusted out floors

[overcoil]

I dont know that I'd do a heavy cosmetic restoration on a such a car that appears in such good shape.

Mechanical restoration and maybe window and door rubber and interior but if the metal isn't patched with fiberglass body filler or any underside rust I'd just polish that paint and leave it - unless you had to have a different color to take back to a period color (if that isn't one).

I would NOT even use a chrome polish on the chrome.

[omera60]

So my dad has been doing this for years, he has his mechanics each specializes in specific fields. They are usually there to help. Since it's my first car they are going to help me and teach me. I'm the one who is responsible for the parts, replacements, coordination and the work it self essentially We plan to strip the car to bare metal, this way it's much easier to solve the rust issues or any other mechanical issue that may rise down the line and we get to see how the car was handled, maintained through out the years. The cars previous owner told us that the guy before him painted the car to this color and it's not original. I contacted BMW Turkey and gave them the vin, it turns out the original color of the car is orange (I think it's the Inka one) so the strip down is going to help us as I'm going to paint it to the original color.

[stooker]

Very cool color!

[overcoil]

I dont know this to be true but I heard someone very knowledgeable say that a car that's been through a total disassemble ground up restoration, never quite feels as tight as a car not touched. However cars the Singer Porsche's seem to be total restorations and never read anything about those cars being anything but solid. Wonder if you'll be able to add additional seam welding or spot-welding to the structure to make it tight- kind of what they do on road cars made into high quality race cars.

Anyway, I'm just putting things out there to give you things to think about. Everything about this project sounds amazing!

[omera60]

Almost any car that we buy that's not first hand gets fully restored. We didn't experience any issues before. Like the z3 in my garage list also a bare skin restoration, don't have any issues with it. Thanks for the heads up though, I'll look into it...

[seedyrom]

Nice rig.


I’ve found www.rogerstii.com an invaluable source for really hard to find parts and “New, Old Stock” for rubber bits and bobs.

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

I dont know this to be true but I heard someone very knowledgeable say that a car that's been through a total disassemble ground up restoration, never quite feels as tight as a car not touched.

Unfortunately there’s no two Oh Two’s which are the same.
They are from an era when cars needed to be pulled apart and put back together just to keep them running through the years.
Wiring gets replaced when after market alarm installers work their “magic”, Gearboxes come and go, you replace drum brake shoes on an exchange basis.
So most cars have been disassembled at some point ... and all rubber is over 40 years old. It needs a proper teardown.

Plus, cars from the 70’s are soooo sloppy compared to a modern car.
I was once going to sell my black one, and a potential purchaser came back from his test drive as white as a ghost.
He didn’t realise how old and antiquated the cars are.
They were great in their day ... but a modern Corolla will beat them in every test.





I’m saving mine for my kids ... though my 12 year old has told me he doesn’t want it. Fair enough I suppose ... I shouldn’t thrust my wants on him ... plus will a 50 year old car be safe when he starts Driving? Probably not.

[enjoythemusic]

Great car! Years ago a buddy tracked his often and loved it.

[FrostyDC4]

Mirin

[omera60]

I'm currently waiting for the official handover. The previous owner has to take the car for vehicle inspection and to do that he needs to have insurance renewed. He got the insurance done however he is trying to find an appointment for the inspection, as per the law here you have to have a valid inspection report before selling your vehicle. Will post pics once I have some...

[omera60]

So,

First of all sorry for the late update, I had tons of stuff to deal with the car...
Forum system is very strict in terms of photo uploading as it won't accept my photos and it's really hard to resize them all the time so I created a Google Drive Folder for 2002. I'm putting the link to it to the first post so you can follow the picture updates from there. Please let me know if it works or not...

What happened in the mean time? Well, I got the car photographed in its original purchase state. After that, I dropped off the car to one of the mechs for him to inspect it as I would like to drive it for sometime before it gets stripped down. The car is currently at his shop. I will post an update once I have it back...

Best,
Omer

[omera60]

Would it be possible to make this topic a sticky or something? I'm trying to post updates as the car progresses however I need to search the forum to find the thread to write Thanks...

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by omera60

Would it be possible to make this topic a sticky or something? I'm trying to post updates as the car progresses however I need to search the forum to find the thread to write Thanks...

You can add this to your subscribed threads (like a bookmarks)
Just click thread tools at the top.

You can also create a bookmark in your web browser.

[omera60]

So I dropped the car off on Tuesday for it to be strip down to the bone, this shouldn't take long. I'll post some pictures of it after I return from my vacation...

[omera60]

Photos uploaded to the google drive. The interior was strip down, all the seats and carpets were sent to be refurbished and repaired. At the same time this also allowed me to see the condition of the bone for the first time. There will be some serious work carried out for the doors and the floor of the car.

[omera60]

The complete drivetrain has been removed from the vehicle for inspection and repairs. This also revealed that the shocks need replacement as the head wiggle and there is considirblşe rust on them as well as the springs. This also made me think, as they need replacement I could get some performance once, however, daily driveability is the key here. I need something that can help the car corner at high speeds on the highway etc. (as these vehicles have a rather high center of gravity which brings the roll risk to the table) but does not comprise the general drive comfort to a level where it can't be driven from day to day life.

[overcoil]

is it two subframes for the front suspension?
great pics.

[seedyrom]

Omera, don’t forget it’s a 40+ year old car. Daily drivability, cornering speed, comfort levels, are all words which make sense when talking about restoring a 1999 Nissan GTR ... just don’t forget the age, and the age in which this car was made.
It was seen as an excellent handling beast in its day.
“That engine is too big!” The detractors cried .... but these days a Corolla will outhandle and outrace one.

2002s can be made to handle ... I’m just saying to respect that it isn’t a modern car.
I was once going to sell one of mine. A young guy came to look at it, but he had never driven one before. I threw him the keys and he went off in it. He came back as white as a ghost.
It wasn’t what he was expecting at all. Wheel slop, slow brakes, gear shift not as tight as a modern car.

2002s are great ... but they are an older car, and your expectations should be set accordingly