Trip to Villalba on 7/26/09

On Sunday, July 26, Ipe, a 2002 owner from Villalba, invited a group of us to his town for a meet and greet and some lunch. He did a great job, and even had free t-shirts for everyone!

Total attendance was about 15 owners. Not as much as expected, but we had fun. The drives to and from there were great, and I enjoyed them in the Schwarz 2002. Temps are not an issue now, but it is running quite rich. I have to take care of that next.

We are planning our next outing for October 11 by the beach at Guardarraya in Patillas. It should be a good one.

The Schwarz E21 gets new carpets

Spent the day yesterday installing a new carpet set on the Schwarz E21. This set was the first one done by Esty Anderson, who has done almost 200 sets for 2002's. She offered it to me so I could install it and give her some feedback, and I must say I was very pleased with the quality of the set and the ease with which it was installed by my son and I.

Next in line fort the car is painting the door panels, installing the console and radio and, when funds permit, reupholstering the seats.

Here are some before and after pics (click on each pi to see it full size). If you are interested in a set for your E21, you can reach Esty at esty.anderson@gmail.com.

End of June Touring Update

Well, my daughter finally sent some pics of the touring's progress. All the rusty metal has been cut out from the rear and a new trunk floor has been ordered from BMW. Previous repairs in the rear shock towers have been removed so they can be re-done properly.

The rear valance was quite ugly, so it was cut off, and another was removed from a regular '02 to see if it can be made to fit. This '02 also donated other parts of its body, including the Hofmeister kinks.

Maybe I'll get another update soon, but I expect to travel to Atlanta in the middle of August and should have a more thorough update then.

Hopefully by the next update we will see new metal added to the car so it can start taking shape again.

It's unfortunate that the car is half an ocean away and I can't be doing any work on it. Hopefully I can be there when reassembly begins, which is the most fun part of any project.



In other news, I created a message Board in Spanish for Classic BMW owners in Puerto Rico. It has been slow to catch on since I started it a week or so ago, but hopefully it will become a great resource for Bimmerheads like me in the island.

Here's the link:

http://prclassicbimmer.forumotion.net/index.htm

The Schwarz '02 gets its head back

As you might have read on one of my posts back in April, the Schwarz '02 overheated and the diagnosis revealed that it was a cylinder head problem. It turned out to be that one of the water passages had corroded and water was seeping into the #1 piston's combustion chamber.

After removing it and bringing it to my buddy Ramon in Patillas, one thing turned into another and it couldn't be installed until the Saturday before last. The car started up pretty quickly and seems to be keeping its cool. I haven't tried it out on the road yet, but I let it idle for quite a bit with no problem.

After not starting it for a couple of months, I notice now several rattles and noises which I didn't pay much attention to before. The throwout bearing (hopefully it's the t/o bearing) rattles quite annoyingly when the clutch is engaged, and there is also an engine noise which sounds like a faint knock which I would have to investigate.

This car's engine was overhauled about 20 years ago, so it might be time to refreshen it soon. It does not use any oil, but it's idling erratically, and I would like to get a fresher cylinder head installed with a cam in order to take advantage of the Weber 38/38's higher gas flow.

All this is wishful thinking for now, since my play funds (and then some) are going towards the touring.

Vintage at the Vineyards 2009

Last weekend (May 22-24) I participated in the yearly Vintage at the Vineyards event in Dobson, NC. I drove the E21 Baur from Atlanta and back and, except for a fuel pump relay on Friday's drive, it behaved well.

This has become THE premier event for vintage BMW's in the U.S., if not the entire world. There were close to 300 cars registered, and, in addition to the exhibition at the Shelton Vineyards, there were drives through the beautiful North Carolina countryside all three days.

Here are some of the photos I took at the event:

Touring update for the end of May

Rear flares were test-fitted and it looks like they will cover all the rusty part in the quarter panels that will be cut away. Welding should start within the next week or so. It will be nice to see metal being added to the car rather than being cut off!

Work on the touring has begun!

Last weekend I took a short trip to Atlanta to see The Mitty vintage races at Road Atlanta, and to check out the work on the touring. It turns out that I spent most of the time moving my daughter's belongings to her new apartment, but that's another story for another blog.

I was able to spend a couple of hours at the race track and check out the cars. Didn't get to see any actual racing, though.

Pics can be seen here:




On the touring subject, it has been dismantled almost completely. Lots of hidden rust and much work to be done, but I am confident that it will turn out nice once all is said and done.

Here's how it looks now:



I will be traveling to Atlanta again on May 16 and will post pictures of how it has progressed then.