The Roundie - 1973 BMW 2002

[stubs179]

Did you ever figure out a solution for the rear coilovers? I’m running CATuned coilovers also and they are a bit noisy in the back. Haha

[bwwaaaa]

Nice, nice, nice. Love BMWs from 1999 and back.

Thanks!

Seats

Another small update, but progress is progress so I'll take it. Wish I took more photos of the brackets specifically, but I suppose they aren't much to look at. I started off by restrapping the drivers side seat. Mk2 VW Recaros use a sling style support under the cushion to hold you up. My drivers seat sling had fallen apart, and was poorly repaired. I converted it over to this sling style support using the stock hardware. Let me be the first to say, holy shit this sucks to do. The actual metal bars it sits on are pretty flimsy, and these are obviously very strong elastic, so it kept bending the metal supports. Eventually I figured out that if you start at the bottom and slowly work your way up the hooks, it is a little bit more manageable. I only did this on the drivers side, because the passenger seat was in tact, and I really didn't feel like struggling with it again.

Nice and firm, but a bitch to install

So the interior is actually due for a lot of work. The previous owner had started converting over to a red/black color scheme. I think it would have looked pretty good finished, but it wasn't for me. I'm not sure who chose to do the rear and passenger seats in Brown/Green, but I think it looks horrible. The drivers seat is mismatched, and with the red carpet the whole setup is an eyesore.

So many colors, so little coordination

The actual installation of the Recaros wasn't difficult (once I figured out what I was doing). I used the Aardvarc Racing Recaro seat adapters. For any other 2002 owners out there, most Recaro seats from this era use the same 16" base. Just measure the distance between the hardware that holds the OEM seat rails on, and you'll know for sure. Because of this, I was just able to use an adapter that is typically used to mount E21 320is seats in.

Also, it's worth noting that if you buy the Aardvarc kit, you'll need to buy new shorter hardware to bolt the adapters on. The stock bolts are too long, as they compensate for the bulky stock rails. You'll need 6 M8x1.25 bolts, ~20-25mm in length.

Driver's side in, looks better but not great


Passenger in

So far, from my brief test drives with the seats, I love them. They sit a little bit higher then I want, however I find that the added bolstering and real support has transformed the car for me. Eventually I plan to get these reupholstered. So while they aren't the prettiest for now, they do serve a functional purpose. In my head, this also kind of fits the narrative of the Neue Klasse cars. BMW had wanted to make a family sedan that you could take to the racetrack on the weekends. Well, if you need bucket seats but don't want to upset your significant other too much, what better way to do that then some plush Recaros? So I'd call this a great success.

Side note, I had started to install the braided brake lines this weekend but ran into disaster. Turns out 45 year old hard line is typically seized and very soft. Ended up rounding off a couple nuts, so I'm scrambling to get new lines in. I was able to get the car back together and limp it home, but it's not ideal.

[2001q45]

Nice, nice, nice. Love BMWs from 1999 and back.

[bwwaaaa]

Parts Collecting

Things have been slow with the 2002, it's taken a lot longer to get in parts then I had anticipated. Not many big updates in this post, mostly just parts collecting.

The first guy I had arranged to trade hubs with flaked out (despite running a business that parts out 2002s...), and it took a few weeks to find someone just willing to sell me a set. Fortunately they have arrived. I also have all new wheel bearings ready to go when it's time to do the swap. I've also ordered all new brake components, including braided hoses. Figured I might as well upgrade while I'm in there.

Shockingly difficult to get your hands on.

My RS faces came back from powder coating. Although nearly identical to the OZ Vega faces, these are finished in Prismatic's Spanish Gold. It's just slightly lighter, but works well with the Sahara beige on the car.

Frankly, it's impossible to tell the difference in photos.


How I got them, to where they are now.

I also (finally) got my 1 inch lips back from polishing. It took well over a month, but the wait was worth it. The two inch lips are for sale, if anyone is interested. I had debated running the two inch lips in the rear, but I'd rather have a square setup.

The last bit of parts hunting came in the form of some VW Mk2 GLI Recaro seats. I actually used to own a GLI with identical seats, and they were easily my favorite part of the car. A pristine set happened to pop up on Craigslist a couple hours away, so I went to grab them before I could convince myself I didn't need them. I actually ended up getting two sets of Mk2 Recaros while I was down there, the second set was free, but absolutely destroyed. The plan is to eventually reupholster these seats in the factory tobacco brown when I redo the interior, however in the mean time they'll just go in as is. It's not the prettiest solution, but I'll get there eventually. Right now Function>Form.

I also got a Jetta rear bench and a second set of destroyed Mk2 Recaros while I was there.

In terms of actual wrenching, all I have done is fuss with the rear coilovers. The right rear spring has been making some horrific noise lately. I got the car up in the air and disassembled everything on that side. A quick look shows the the CAtuned spring is a little picky about how it sits. If it isn't clocked just so, it rubs on the body.

Yikes.

I realigned everything and it is definitely better, but still not perfect. There are a few other things I want to tackle (mainly having my rear strut brace welded in, vs. bolted in), but if the noise persists then I need to rethink suspension in the rear. The goal is ultimately handling focused, so I know I can still get the car on rails with a divorced spring and shock setup.

Right, so not much else going on so far. Tentative plan is to have the car four lug swapped and on RSs before the end of May. I've been slacking on reassembling my wheels, but I'll take care of that shortly. I also will have a garage space for the 2002 shortly, which will make things a little easier over the summer. The goal is to have the car "done" by September for Big SoCal Euro. I'd like to drive it from Phoenix to San Diego for the show. That will include a total suspension refresh (bushings, ball joints, tie rods, track rod, etc.), some interior bits, cooling system overhaul and hopefully some sort of sound system. Next post should have real, tangible progress on the car itself!

[DawsonLiri]

Usually I **** led light on an old car, but this one they're looking pretty standard, good job!

Jeaoluos of that arizona antique plate, I want one!

[bwwaaaa]

I wonder if the issue you were having with the rear lights was because of resistance in your old wiring.

I've thought about that, and given the general state of the wiring in the trunk, it wouldn't surprise me. It doesn't help that the reflectors in the housings were flaked away and the lenses themselves are pretty dull. The LEDs have more than solved all this though. I may go in and rewire things later just for peace of mind.

You are 100% correct in thinking you need that lip for the wheel assemblies. The recess where the lip and barrel sit on the face registers the parts together for assembly, strength, and balance. Without that, the bolts would be taking too much force.

If you use those Vega faces, you'll have to reverse mount them so both the lip and barrel can register on that edge on the front of the face.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions there. I figured reverse mounting was my only option, but even then it's problematic as the inner diameter of the RS lip/barrel is actually larger then the OZ face. I suppose I could have some sort of hub ring machined, but that doesn't seem worth the effort. I'll just keep an eye out for genuine OZ lips/barrels to finish these wheels someday. Fortunately I've already sourced a set of 4 lug hubs, and will be able to swap back to my RSs with 0 issue. No sketchiness, no work arounds.

Thanks!

[DUTCHswift]

If you use those Vega faces, you'll have to reverse mount them so both the lip and barrel can register on that edge on the front of the face.

[MikeyRa]

You are 100% correct in thinking you need that lip for the wheel assemblies. The recess where the lip and barrel sit on the face registers the parts together for assembly, strength, and balance. Without that, the bolts would be taking too much force.

[duct-tape]

I wonder if the issue you were having with the rear lights was because of resistance in your old wiring.

[bwwaaaa]

Wheels Part 2

So this is a pretty small update, but there's a change in plans with my wheel selection. Originally I was planning on building up the OZ Vega faces that I had sitting around. Given the 2002 was already converted to 5x120, I figured this would work out great. While I was told that 30-hole RS parts will bolt up to these faces, I have some concerns about the "how".

After breaking down my RSs to steal the barrels, I realized that the back of the Vega face doesn't have a machined lip for the barrel to sit on. My worry is, this would put a lot more stress on the bolts, as there isn't a surface distributing the weight evenly. There isn't a lot of information on this, so maybe someone can speak to the safety aspect of it, but it didn't sit well with me.

Note the lip on the back of the face. The RS barrel sits snugly on this.


The Vega lacks this lip.

If anyone has more experience with this, let me know. I'm still fairly new to wheel building, but I didn't want to risk this and have the wheel bolts snap on me. In any event, I've decided to put the Vega faces back on the shelf, and instead swap the 2002 back to four lug and run my RSs. With a one inch lip, they're the perfect spec for a 2002. I already have a line on four lug hubs, so I'll be trading for those to run my RSs.

For those who didn't see my E30 build thread, I originally picked up these RSs in horrific condition. I blew them apart, put a two inch lip on them, refinished everything and threw them on my E30. I then sold the E30 about a month later, so they saw 0 road time.

How I first got them.


Post-restoration.

So I once again tore them down, I'll send the faces off to get powder coated (again) this week, and reassemble them with the original 1" lips (which are already off getting polished). This will put them back at 15x7 +25. With a 195/50 tire square, the car will be sitting perfect. If anyone is interested in buying some OZ Vega faces, let me know

Irrelevant to the above, my new license plate came in. The default Arizona license plate looked horribly out of place on my car, so I went with a copper historic. It's the little details that make a world of difference. The car is due for a photoshoot here soon, just posting photos of the car in my driveway is getting a little boring.

I always forget to clean up these damn news papers.

I'm going to Stance Wars Las Vegas this weekend, which will slow progress on the 2002. I have some parts coming in this week, but likely won't have a chance to install them until the following weekend. So that's all I'll have for a while.

[bwwaaaa]

Funny enough I have a 130r in my other car and am quite happy with it. Guess now I just have the tough choice between leather, air leather or alcantara haha. Thanks for the feedback.

No problem! My vote always goes to leather. Alcantara wears out pretty quick.

Love everything of this thing, especially those Pontiac Wheels

Following this one for sure.

Thanks all!

Tail Lights

So since I got this car, everyone keeps telling me that my tail lights are "the worst they've ever seen". Admittedly, the light output was miserable, so I decided to go with an LED kit from Blunt Tech. I rather not get rear ended because I wasn't visible at night. The parts came in this afternoon, I had them in an hour later.

This is before. Yes the lights are on, no I'm not joking.


I used hot glue to hold all the boards in place. Just a small amount on the back, and some dabs in the corners.


I went a little more aggressive on the other bucket (not pictured). This should hold fine though.

Here is a side by side comparison. It should be pretty obvious which one is which. Even though this is shot during the day, they were pretty much invisible at night as well. I'm not sure if it had the wrong bulbs, or the lens is too hazy, but it's completely unsafe.

Hazards were on in this photo, so turn signal is also lit.


Before


After

And the final product. I'm very please with the final results. For an hours worth of work, the peace of mind is huge. Anyone who has followed me in this car immediately comments on how bad they were. So this was definitely a needed upgrade.

Finally, my Renown Monaco came in earlier this week. I swapped the 100 out, and this fit much better. Now the turn signals aren't 50 feet away, and I'm more comfortable. The wheel looks great in the interior as well. I need to get some black hardware as Ireland Engineering doesn't have any, and the thread pitch of their steering hub doesn't match up to the included Renown hardware. Weird, but an easy fix. I also removed the remaining center console. I had debated sourcing a replacement console, but I'm rather liking the very spartan look. I'll tuck the wires up under the dash and try running the car like this for a while.

While I was working on the lights today, I noticed the tail light gaskets were completely shot, and I'm missing one knob that holds it in place. I ordered some license plate lights, so I'll be replacing the busted set shortly. I also spent a good deal of time poking around the cooling system. I've noticed that this car does not like sitting still. It appears the fan is kicking on, but is completely insufficient to keep things cool. It's a cheap, Chinese fan, so I'm going to order a stronger Spal pusher, and possibly a lower temp. thermostat. If that doesn't work, I'll be putting a bigger radiator in. Summer is around the corner, so if it can't take the 80 degree weather we've been having, 120 certainly isn't going to help anything.

Note the post-card sized radiator. Hoping that it's just the cheap fan that is causing the warm operating temps.

[mpower5266]

Following this one for sure.

[DeltaAlpha9]

I'm a big fan, it's very high quality. I had a couple of Grip Royal wheels in my E30 for a while, and was never happy with the quality of those at all. They felt flimsy and the stitching fell apart on them fast. The Renown feels a lot stronger, and held up much better. I just ordered a Renown Monaco to replace the 100, Scott's an awesome guy and I'm sure would be happy to help you out.

Funny enough I have a 130r in my other car and am quite happy with it. Guess now I just have the tough choice between leather, air leather or alcantara haha. Thanks for the feedback.

[DawsonLiri]

Love everything of this thing, especially those Pontiac Wheels

[bwwaaaa]

Other than the Renown 100 being to deep for your driving position how did you like it? I've been eying them up lately and was about to pull the trigger.

I'm a big fan, it's very high quality. I had a couple of Grip Royal wheels in my E30 for a while, and was never happy with the quality of those at all. They felt flimsy and the stitching fell apart on them fast. The Renown feels a lot stronger, and held up much better. I just ordered a Renown Monaco to replace the 100, Scott's an awesome guy and I'm sure would be happy to help you out.