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

[CHLTRTL]

Sir!
The build is E F F I N G_A M A Z I N G, love every second of it
Big inspiration for a lot of us thats for sure

Do you have an instagram account where I can follow your build?

[mtmorto]

Those first couple of pictures of the M20 with the trans make it look huge. I've read good things about that motor in 2002s.

[CubbyChowder]

Thanks for all the love everyone!

Sir!
The build is E F F I N G_A M A Z I N G, love every second of it
Big inspiration for a lot of us thats for sure

Do you have an instagram account where I can follow your build?

thanks man, and yes I do, it's under my sig. It's Ayyyitsmikey

Those first couple of pictures of the M20 with the trans make it look huge. I've read good things about that motor in 2002s.

Seriously, I was surprised at how big it was. It might also have to do with it being an auto trans. It's crazy how much smaller it looks now. I've heard good things as well, really excited to drive it!

[FilthyLittle02]

Just spent a crazy amount of time reading through, this is an amazing build man so awesome! I may have glossed over it but did you mention where you were able to source the MK1 fender flares from?

Thanks and keep up the good work!

[CubbyChowder]

Just spent a crazy amount of time reading through, this is an amazing build man so awesome! I may have glossed over it but did you mention where you were able to source the MK1 fender flares from?

Thanks and keep up the good work!

Thanks man! You can order the flares from fixmyrust.com, under Volkswagen Rabbit I, you need two driver side and two passenger side rear fender arches.

[FilthyLittle02]

Awesome thanks! I'm crafting some ideas of what I want to do with my '02 once things start warming up

[CubbyChowder]

Awesome thanks! I'm crafting some ideas of what I want to do with my '02 once things start warming up

Nice! Good luck

[ryanjblajda]

progress looks good man! it makes me want a welder and a space to weld. =/

[CubbyChowder]

Just a quick update on the 2002 and what's been going on with my life as of lately. I'll start off with '02 related progress, as that's what this thread is actually meant for haha.

Engine disassembly has been slow, because I've had a bunch of other stuff going on. I managed to get the head off:



Proceeded to strip that completely. I managed to ruin all of my exhaust side rockers because I didn't follow the steps correctly, so that was kind of a bummer, but everything else went smoothly:






Need to wait until I can afford to take the head to a machine shop and have them work their magic on it. I sold the original M10 and getrag 245 and used my engine stand to mount the M20 block, so there is sits, waiting to be refreshed:



Unfortunately that's all the '02 related progress I have for you guys. I made some pretty big life decisions and am focusing on other things as well. I decided to quit my job and focus solely on my shop, and have some big plans for 2014 and hope I can find ways to support myself and possibly make a business of some sort. Nothing is set in stone and I'm leaving all my options open, taking it one day at a time. I've been on my own for almost two weeks now and am having a blast being completely on my own schedule.

I have been doing a lot of custom metal/wood work on the side, and have been particularly focusing on tables lately, although I plan on branching out and creating other things as well.

Please excuse the variation in picture quality, I get carried away sometimes and forget to take nice pictures, so the phone has to come out.

I figured I'd show you guys some of my recent work, starting with my most recent. I came up with an idea and wanted to build it, so off to the metal supply I went:



Built the table top frame. Measures 6'x3', with an "X" to make things interesting:



This is the part I was excited to build. I recently finished my tubing roller, and have a set of 1.5" square dies, so I put a subtle bend in this 1.5" square tube. I bent two 10' pieces and cut them each to size, resulting in 4 legs for the table:



After some measuring, marking, cutting and welding, I ended up with these:



I welded everything together and had the basic metal frame all together:



I didn't document this step too well, but I bought 10 planks of select pine wood (I plan on learning more about wood working, and using higher quality woods in the future). I then cut them to size, so they would all fit in and sit flush, like this:



The wood slats sit on top of these guides, which are welded along the inner frame of the table:



I then stained the wood a Reg Mahogany color and topped it off with a satin varnish:




I then sanded all the metal so it has a uniform look throughout the whole frame and through some clear coat on it. Here are some finished shots:









Pretty happy with how that turned out. I'm planning on going around to some local wineries and seeing if they would be interested in my tables for their tasting rooms or something similar.

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Here are a couple other projects which I have completed over the last few months:

I built this wall mounted decorative shelf for my girlfriend for Christmas and started out by lightly rolling some 1.5" square tube to have a nice subtle bend.

I then built these two outer frames:



I connected them and added "X"s with various sizes of square tube. This is the final metal frame:




I cut out all these wood slats to fill up the empty space in the X's and sit flush with them:



In the process of staining them. I later sanded them lightly and restained:



And the finished product:



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I designed this table to be used with an L-shaped sectional couch, hence the triangular shape. It includes a custom metal frame with flush sitting wooden slats. This one took me a LONG time:








And I built this table for my mom for her birthday back in July. She wanted a coffee table for her living room, and had a 30" piece of nice round glass which she wanted as a top, so I designed and built a metal frame for it to sit on. This one is kind of difficult to photograph:









Anyways, that's what I've been focusing most of my attention on lately. I am planning on putting in work on the 2002 a lot over the next few months so progress will definitely still be happening, I just need to figure out ways to make money and support myself at the same time, so progress might be a little bit slow. Hope you guys enjoy!

[Polska]

that furniture is flawless !

[DUNXXX]

He's also doing air installs too

[Heist]

Damn you're really stepping it up. Those pieces LOOK AMAZING, keep it up!

[rhoderacer]

...Am I the only 2002 owner on this forum who sucks at everything. All of the furniture is flawless but that coffee table is fucking beautiful.

[skiierman]

Amazing work on that furniture, that stuff looks amazing

[Crankey]

hey, hell yeah man quit your job !! work sucks !!

heh, now that is some nice fabrication there man. I do metal furniture and architectural metalwork for the 1% up here in Seattle. I'll send a PM with some pics just for fun.