Member
She’s fighting you a bit! May as well check for voltage at the fuel pump. It always makes me happy how easy it is to get at on our cars.
-John
Member
Yeeeha, the challenge makes every little success so much sweeter!
And it's looking a lot nicer under there now too
This is the only picture I took last night. I used a length of stiff wire to mock up the section of hose I needed (the original is lost).
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Member
I worked more on the fuel pump today, the ground and power seem ok.
2 ohms to ground and 11.8 volts, could be better but seems like enough.
I took the pump off the car and tried powering directly from the battery, and it made noise for just a split second, one time, and stopped again.
Seems dead.
I'll try spraying some pb blaster in it to soak, and give it an exploratory whack with a hammer (aka "percussive maintenance") and see if it comes alive again.
Member
New $50 chinese fuel pump arrived today (Hayg 0 580 254 984 Inline Electric Fuel Pump "High Performance"), installed and works fine (so far).
Visually identical to the old Bosch one except a lot shinier. I would have gone for the Bosch one, but this reassembly is getting a little expensive, willing to take this risk.
Once the fuel pump was installed, I jumpered the fuel pump relay, pump started up just fine and I let it run a minute or so until the air cycled through the system.
After that, I cranked the car a bit and it started ! Only on a couple cylinders at first but pretty soon all four and pretty smooth, not bad after a year!
Of course, in the usual "2 steps forward 1 step back" tradition, I smelled gas, and checking for leaks, found a slow drip coming from the one and only original "crimp-style" fuel line clamp, on the high pressure line from the pump to the front of the car.
At this point I'm laughing, happy to make some progress, and amused at the relentless resistance from this old car. It's getting me back for taking it off the road for so long!
Member
My friend asked me how my timing belt is doing, and at first I said, "oh it's fine, its 4 years old, with only 6 or 8 thousand miles on it.."
But then I checked and realized the belt life is only 4 years.. Guess it's time for a new one!
Ordered a new belt, tensioner, tensioner bolt spring, and water pump gasket.
Member
Tonight I spent way too long fixing the drippy fuel line in the pickup area. It wasn't too bad cutting off the old clamp, pushing the hose off the barb, snipping off a half-inch or so, and putting a new clamp on.
But where I went off the rails this time was when I was pushing the hose back onto the barb. It was really tight, and somehow the new clamp got pushed up the tube, between the tank and car body, past where I could reach with my fingers to retrieve it!
I could have shrugged and put another clamp on, but I couldn't stand the idea of that extra clamp being stuck up under there where it didn't belong. Recovering it, however, took another hour, and required lowering the tank down as much as I could, pulling the hose out, removing the clamp, and pushing the hose back in place.
Ugh.
Once it was all taken care of and buttoned up, I once again fired up the car and let it run for a couple minutes, enjoying the sound of it, no more signs of fuel leaks!
Seems like maybe one cylinder is missing a little. (shrug) Problem for a different day!
Member
I used a Hayg fuel pump worked well for about 2-3 years. Keep an eye on sales of better ones-Bosch ect,, the prices do vary and come down when a seller or a few sellers get hungry.
"At this point I'm laughing, happy to make some progress, and amused at the relentless resistance from this old car. It's getting me back for taking it off the road for so long!"
I understand this none too well, the resistance in the car-yet all cars have this same resistance, the only way I have experienced that this resistance goes down is repetition of that particular job and using better tools. Quite a few part changes on these cars have little shortcuts that make the job easier--its called experience and we all start at zero and then accumulate.. Your not alone in this, owners of classic cars that sell there car and move on to another car simply defer the work that is necessary and then on the next car they are back square one...
Randy
Member
Over the weekend, now that the fuel leak was fixed, I was able to reinstall the fuel pump cover plate and rear seat (finally!).
Under the hood, I removed my old windshield nozzles because new ones are incoming. Cleaned up the extra paint in the holes and applied some touch up so the new ones will fit a little less tightly.
Installed some new weatherstripping on the heater box cover, scrounged up a good set of hardware, and reattached it.
Inside the car, I started to work on the heater controls, reattaching them to the dash, but realized the old screws I'd taken out were simply the wrong ones, and it's time for all new. One of the quick-nuts is stripped, and all the screws were too long. Fortunately these might even be available from home depot. My usual go-to for this stuff (bel-metric) didn't quite have it all.
Also, I noticed I'm missing one of the hold-down studs for the back of the instrument cluster surround (the plastic piece that holds the headlight switch and various buttons). I seem to remember it coming out but don't see it anywhere.
Two steps forward, one step back!
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Last edited by cgifool; 10-19-2020 at 12:08 PM.
Member
Checked all the bulbs in the heat/air control panel, found and fixed a dead one in the clock.
Ordered the screws, washers, and clip-nuts for securing the controls and panel (from Bel-Metric).
Received new windshield squirter nozzles in the mail.
Last edited by cgifool; 10-20-2020 at 11:11 AM.
Member
Sure am glad I'm not paying for all my hours on this car! LOL.
I spent nearly 3 hours this evening working on it.
- Installed a brand new hirschman antenna, purchased from W&N 4 years ago to replace the original which was seized and broken. It wasn't quite identical to the old one, but close enough that I was able to make it work.
- Reinstalled the two plastic inner fender covers. Original screws for these seem to have disappeared, and needed larger ones on the passenger side. Not quite kosher, I'll come back with new stuff later. The covers are completely missing the bottom screw hole. Woops. Too bad new ones are a hard to find and a little too pricey for me.
- Installed the 2 new windshield squirter nozzles and reconnected the hoses.
Not the most productive night, but it really eats up the time when I can't find the original hardware or have to adapt something to fit.
Plus, my motorhead neighbor stopped by and asked a million questions about it which took a while.
Last edited by cgifool; 10-21-2020 at 12:12 AM.
Member
Spent 2 hours messing with the rear bumper. Managed to make a nice little scratch in the paint in the process. I had even put painters tape on the bumper this time to try and avoid it, but I missed a spot. <facepalm>. Ended up getting it mounted up okay, but it was an annoying job, and I'll still have to take it off again when my rear bumper strip clips arrive in a week.
Front right bumper captive nut has some stripped threads as well, looks like I'll have to take that one off again and see if I can replace the captive nut..
1 step forward, 1 step backward.
Member
1 step forward, 1 step backward is very good,,in business one step forward and three steps backward is an old saying. Doing a new nut and bolt replacement bumper to bumper has its advantages.
Randy
Member
My friend came by again yesterday and helped me get the front bumper all sorted finally. One of the bolts that goes into the end had messed up threads and was popping loose after just a turn or two.
Together we slathered painters tape over the whole area to try and avoid yet more scratches, and had the bumper off and on several times before finally getting it solved.
Front & rear bumpers are finally fully secure and look pretty good (rear rubber strip won't be on until next week), better once I pull all the tape off lol.
Both bumpers are only "fair" to "good" overall, hope to buy a full set of new stainless ones and rubber strips in a year or so maybe.
The front center section chrome is wasted, so I painted it with "aluminum" rustoleum, which looks pretty good from 10 feet.
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Last edited by cgifool; 10-26-2020 at 11:35 AM.
Member
Back at it after a week with no access.
Several steps forward, some new issues discovered.
Got my heater controls and the panel reinstalled, with all the right screws and stuff finally. All the controls work except the upper/center/lower one is a little stiff and doesn't quite reach the top of the slot. I think i'll live with that.
I discovered that both the bulbs in the cluster surround piece (the one that the headlight and hazard switches attach to) are burned out, and they're soldered in. Sillyness. Unfortunately I don't have a spare, and I'm not going to wait on new bulbs to put it together, so that'll be a future task.
Replaced the speedo cable, messed with the cluster illuminator bulbs (two of them facing the wrong way causing a shadow in the amber window). Installed the surround piece (with dead bulbs) and cluster.
Reinstalled the outer door window trim pieces, both have issues for future fixing.. One is slightly twisted and slightly touches the drip rail at the front when the door is closed. Also, the window seal is slightly misaligned.
Annoying little stuff that really eats up the time, and still will need to be revisited.
Member
Reinstalled the kick panel carpet pieces. And the passenger seat. 2 hours.
Discovered a few more missing/necessary bits as usual. Grommets for the rod connecting the seat rail latches dead and not the same as the ones in the door. Also, one quick-nut for a seat rail latch MIA.
Really nice to sit in a seat in my car again
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Member
2.5 more hours last night:
- Pulled the passenger seat, installed a new clip-nut for one of the seat-slider-lock mounts which had gone missing. Also hacked up a temporary workaround to the missing and NLA bushing for the seat adjuster rod. (wrapped with teflon tape and smeared hot-glue over it to keep in place. it won't last long, but it does keep the rod from rattling at least). Sprayed lube in the adjuster and on the seat rails so they all work smoothly now. Reinstalled the seat.
- Lubed the seat rails and reinstalled the drivers-side seat adjuster and rod with the same teflon hack. Installed the driver seat, and only then realized the upholstery guy must have installed the seat rails swapped - the teeth that hold the seat adjustment don't engage when the seat is all the way back. Going to leave it for now because I'm running short on time to have the car drivable for Saturday, and I never drive with the seat adjusted that far back.
- Started the car up and let it warm up fully, adding water and bleeding air as needed. Running a little rough on initial start but it caught and even fast-idled after 30 seconds or so, then settled down to 900 rpm hot idle. Still seems like maybe one cylinder is not firing though. I'll check all the plugs after going for a test drive around the neighborhood.
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- Bought some 1/4-20 jack nuts in based on a recommendation online as a substitute for the unavailable ones from BMW for mounting my side mirrors. They were too big to fit the existing holes. I'll look for smaller ones.
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Last edited by cgifool; 11-05-2020 at 10:22 AM.
Member
4.5 hours last night, my last chance to work before cars & coffee saturday!
- installed the glove box, adjusted so it closes nicely.
- adjusted the passenger door latch so its a little easier to close tightly.
- reinstalled the old hood roundel, and a brand new trunk roundel (using all new grommets)
- tried (and failed) to install either of my side mirror mounts, I don't have any of the unobtanium cage nuts, and tried in vain to find anything else in my hardware drawer that I could substitute (like a plain nut). Guess I'm going without for the weekend!
- connected the turn signal wires and tested the lights, and pushed the rubber wire cover through the engine compartment holes.
- tested the reverse lights - they didn't work, until I remembered to reconnect the reverse-light switch harness inside the car.
- tested headlights & tail lights, for some reason the inner pair of headlights don't come on. Problem for another time.
- horn works (just 1 of 2 for some reason)
- Reinstalled the windshield wiper arms.
- reinstalled the drivers side door panel, window crank, and latch release, but not the armrest, because I know I may be taking it apart again very soon to mount the mirror.
- installed only the passenger side window crank and door latch handle, because the door panel and the metal piece at the top have come apart where they were clipped together.
- installed the steering wheel. need a new trim cover because all but one of the little tabs are broken off. Stuffed a shop towel in there to keep it snug until then.
- Havent gotten to the center console yet or the lower dash covers.
- Fired up the car and took a nice 5 mile cruise around the suburbs, drives pretty nice! Cold running isn't the best, but seems good when it's warm.
Last edited by cgifool; 11-06-2020 at 02:38 PM.
Member
which cars and coffee did you go to?
Member
Yesterday my friend Mostafa and I drove the 323i to show at the "Show & Shine" at Circuit of the Americas, during the SVRA Vintage Nationals which runs all weekend. Still plenty left to do but it was so nice to be back on the road again! The engine starts and runs really well and that m20 growl sounded so fantastic just purring along on the rural highway to the track and back.Originally Posted by mtbmx
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I still need to find some of the NLA cage nuts for the flag mirrors - haven't worked out an adequate substitute yet - does anyone here have 4 extra or can point me to a source? Maximilian's website says they have em, but they don't.
My wife brought the kids and we walked around and checked out all the sweet cars in the show, as well as many of the race cars up close and personal in the paddocks. The mechanics were generally pretty friendly and one even invited mine to have a seat on the sill and get a really close view inside this original GT40 (two were parked side-by-side along with 3 sweet early mustangs & shelbys).
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Last edited by cgifool; 11-08-2020 at 02:37 PM.
Member
looking good
Member
Ordered some new esty floormats in black (she says 10 days or so).
Also, found the grommets I needed for the seat adjusters at Maximillian and ordered those as well as new plastic trim pieces (the aluminum-coated ones) for the armrests on the doors.
I still haven't found any of the proper cage nuts 07129925804 for my mirrors, no idea why BMW can't reproduce these.
But, I did finally find and order some M4 jack nuts which will hopefully fit the original holes, unlike the 1/4-20 ones someone else recommended.
Member
https://www.rogerstii.com/bmw-door-m...0i-3-0cs-3-0s/
I will look in my parts bins to see if I may have any spare nuts for the Mirrors.
Member
Thanks! Holy cow $22.87 apiece is pretty steep, I bet they're down to their last few.
Last night I spent about 2 hours (plus a 30 minute break to look up directions) working on the car.
I pulled the radiator, hoses, and block plug, draining out the straight tap water that had been in there for a couple weeks. Already saw small amounts of rust-colored water in places, blech. I'll flush it well before refilling with the right stuff. Having only the electric fan in front of the radiator and no engine fan really simplifies getting to the front of the engine!
Removed the spark plugs, upper timing cover, crank pulley & balancer, rotated the engine until the timing marks all lined up (mine has nice white paint marks to make them easy to see without my reading glasses, lol!)
Removed the old belt (4 years old, ~5k miles on it) and tensioner. Replaced with a new Gates belt & tensioner, and replaced the tensioner spring as well.
It took me a little time to figure how to install the new belt, but fortunately google helped me find a post on this forum reminding me to rotate the crank backwards slightly to release the tension on the tensioner side of the belt.
By the time I got this far, it was already midnight, and we have an airbnb guest for the next 3 nights, so the rest will have to wait for Monday.
Ordered a new water pump, simply because I've not replaced it before so it's at least 6 years old (and probably a lot older).
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Last edited by cgifool; 11-13-2020 at 12:05 PM.
Member
Installed the new water pump, timing belt back on, discovered my alternator belt is all cracked. Ordered a new one and stopped for the night.
Member
Installed the new alternator belt.
My friend came by and together we removed the rear bumper, installed new clips in a used-but-serviceable bumper strip, installed the strip on the bumper, and reinstalled the bumper.
This rear bumper came with the car and is in moderately good condition, but didn't come with the rubber.
Managed not to make any new scratches, still a pain in the ass!
Yes, the trunk lid is not quite closed, all the latches need some little adjustments to make them close just right without having to slam too hard.
Looking at the photo now it looks like I forgot to remove one of the pieces of painters tape under the right bumper bracket
3.5 hours.
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Last edited by cgifool; 11-19-2020 at 11:20 AM.
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