CubbyChowder finally got a BMW 2002 - it's project time

[CubbyChowder]

Are you going to move the battery to the trunk? It really really cleans up your engine bay! Just go to your Pick N Pull and find an e30 that has a trunk mounted battery. Pull the battery cable out along with the battery distributor block that is mounted to the passenger side firewall. Then you can use all of that to put your battery in the trunk. Just fab up a battery tray out of some angle iron.
I really like all the work so fare! I start the actual work on my car this Sunday! I am so excited!

I was actually thinking about doing that, especially since my battery tray is rusted to shit anyways. I'll probably end up doing it, thanks! Good luck with your build

I'm honestly a bit jealous, because my dad is the reason I'm a car buff. Although he's never turned a wrench with me.. Which sux but hey whatever!

Sorry to hear that man, get his ass out in the garage with you sometime!

This is awesome

Thanks, I'm having a lot of fun

[exemplar16]

Damn, this is gonna be niiiice. I shall be watching..

[MartinsElerts]

Wonderful to see old BMW brought back to life.

But I think that grinder wheel and wire brush just wont cut it.
I would sand blast that chubby.

Keep up the good work!!

[deutschman]

I was actually thinking about doing that, especially since my battery tray is rusted to shit anyways. I'll probably end up doing it, thanks! Good luck with your build

It is well forth it. Do it while you are doing the other body work because you will need to run the cable through the interior of the car which means putting holes in the fire wall. I then ran my cable up and over the hole above the drivers side wheel arch into the trunk. You could even fab up a rear strut tower brace that has a battery tray incorporated into it.

[Heist]

damn talk about putting in work! Serious progress. I'm also for the battery relocation. They should have stuck them in the trunk from the start. Keep it up !

[deutschman]

[CubbyChowder]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys. I'm still on the fence about the battery relocation, I'm not really sure if it makes sense to do it. I'm not really trying to clean up the engine bay all that much (aside from dirt/grease/grime of course). I'll keep it in mind though.

Another small update. Didn't get too much done yesterday, started BBQing with some friends and called it a day.

Dropped the rear subframe. I ordered a bunch of new OEM rubber bushings for the suspension to freshen things up. Decided to go OEM rubber over urethane just because this car is going to be a comfortable daily driver, and didn't feel urethane was necessary. I also ordered 4 new CV boot kits as the current ones are starting to crack and are on their way out. Just waiting for everything to come in the mail!

I was a bit nervous dropping the subframe by myself, didn't really know what to expect when lowering it down but it went smoothly:



Both rear subframe mounts are lookin' kinda sad, these will be replaced:




All the trailing arm bushings are shot, they all look like the one pictured. These will all be replaced as well:



These bushings still look good, won't be replacing them.



Needs a good cleaning!



Also received this in the mail, a new carpet kit made by Esty!:



All black to keep it classy, the whole set isn't pictured, just to get an idea of what it looks like. My cat was all over it, he thinks it's a quality set:

[bnkm]

Wow, I'm impressed! This is going to be awesome when it's done! Good luck with the build.

[CubbyChowder]

Just a small update. Received my 4 new CV boot kits in the mail. Got most of the rust in the trunk area taken care of (didn't take any pictures yet) and started taking apart the rear suspension so I can clean and replace things.




And this is random but I thought it was rad. I turn 22 on Monday and my girlfriend made this bench for me for my birthday, she's awesome.



That's all for now, going back up on Sunday to get more work done!

[JustinDanger]

Holy shit that bench (and your girlfriend) is awesome!

[Rubens]

Loving this thread already

[neat.fab]

What are your plans for the engine? Sry if i missed it .. -.-

[CubbyChowder]

Engine is going to stay stock for now, and I'm swapping the 4-speed manual with a 5-speed manual.

[Simply Classy]

Awesome build with an awesome car, the 2002 is a nice classic. Looking forward to seeing this thing!

[244Brick]

I was actually thinking about doing that, especially since my battery tray is rusted to shit anyways. I'll probably end up doing it, thanks! Good luck with your build



Sorry to hear that man, get his ass out in the garage with you sometime!



Thanks, I'm having a lot of fun

LOL I wish