1970 2800CS restoration

[Belgiumbarry]

after founding out i have mixed struts ( M50 and M48 ) , now i doubt that the big rubbers ( W&N) will go in there... pulling the old was easy ( tube and bolt ) but the new ones ... tryed several times but i don't see it happen. Even the rubber in the center is larger diameter than the hole , so there's no room for the back lip, bended backwards , that must also pass the hole... ?
as it is bolted with washers both sides , i wonder why BMW didn't made them in 2 pieces , a front and a back one... that would work perfect i assume ...

 

[Belgiumbarry]

to get my deadline i did cut those rubbers in half and mounted them that way ... looks fine , will keep a eye on them after some driving. Even the center rubber needs bolt torque to get in.
Perhaps heat them in boiling water would help ?
What i also have seen is that my facings aren't really flat ( older damage ? ) , so trying to bolt them in always resulted in a one side in , other side crushed.
Will look if BMW has any ... perhaps they are better molded to OEM specs than those W&N parts ?? don't know.

 

[Belgiumbarry]

M48 Bilsteins arrived ( always nice to have W&N parts the day after ) , one installed and car is back on his wheels !
Now i see the difference : the M48 is a bit shorter with the mutter on top , M50 has the mutter with a recess for +10 mm shock ) ( the yellow part )
i may return, but will keep the mixed spare set... if i ever find a good strut it can be either

all bolts tensioned once on his wheels, exhaust remounted... now we can go for the interior !

 

[Belgiumbarry]

i never thought i would remount the interior from the rally car , demounted in 2013... ofcourse happy now i kept it , despite a restoration shop who wanted to buy the set 2 years ago .... !

just washed those seats and some leather conditioner...

 

[Wladek]

Nice set, rear seats looks almost pristine.
2k saved

 

[Belgiumbarry]

passenger side window gearbox has a dead spot ... plastic wheel will be worn on top or down place by to long pressing the switch i suppose in the past ..... W&N is 450 euros for that gearbox :eek:
It works down, up ,if i help it a bit passing that worn spot , every turn/few inches window ...

Removing the door panel to see the window mechanics i discovered also a steel square bar across the door as already seen in the bumpers ! Was already curious about a visible bolt head in the door side , which my red car doesn't have....

Was that also a item of federalisation back in the '80 years ???

 

[autowerks]

Great work berry!

 

[Belgiumbarry]

thanks autowerks !
becomes a long day ... mounted carpets & trim , center console, seats , new seatbelts are to short ... so i had to fabricate extra pieces from other belts....
wipers don't work... yes , a few times , when i pull the washer.... so motor is OK.... problem for later... any advise to look first ? switch in center console is connected according the color code.... ( 53 , 53a and 53b)
stalk ( clicks normal ) ?... relay ?

 

[Belgiumbarry]

haha ! made first test drive and all seems OK ! washed the car and now to garage for setting the lights ... tomorrow tech inspection.
Engine pulls strong .... and gearbox OK.... so that part is good.....
Ride is ofcourse so much softer than the red car ... it's more a "limousine" ....

 

[Belgiumbarry]

not so succesfull.... one light could not be set as the plastic knob is out of the frame ....
returning i had a rear drum sticking , blue smoke , lucky after some cooling it was free !

 

[teahead]

Looks great! Some lowering springs would do wonders for the looks too.

Rear drums...sorry, but I hate them, hence me converting to 3.0 discs.

 

[Belgiumbarry]

meanwhile seen...
1 shoe was sticking , perhaps i gived it to little play or my emergency brake wasn't down all the way .... to be tested...

The light that wasn't possible to set has a not OEM spring , much to long ! at some point in setting ,the spring came loose , so the hole light ! Had not seen that , is a second hand set i bought to replace the US lights .....

Rob, i "must" keep this one OEM... for tech control ....

 

[Belgiumbarry]

so i passed tech control except for the not functioning odo meter ! Belgium , what a banana land....
Speed needle works , not the km counter.... as if this has ANY importance on a 47 year old car ? He's now stuck on 35.032 km... can be 135 , 235 ? 335 ?

i already bought a restored one in Germany ( 350 € ! ) ....

If tech control gives me a "carpass" with the new odometer with 00.000 km i must sell this car... must be worth a fortune

 

[Belgiumbarry]

wifey&son did a 400 miles touring "rally" with the coupe and everything went well !

just ordered new rear brakes ( cilinders,brakes,drums) to avoid what i had with a sticking brake first run.
Must look here what to do , to fit a new odometer....

 

[Belgiumbarry]

rear brake cilinders were indeed leaking... after the 400 miles oil was just at clutch level.... all new now .

due tech control i started the speedo job... not fun he's out ! indeed a chinese puzzel and at some spot needed some force... but i didn't need to unscrew more than the multi gauge.... install will be for later , want to spare my back&nerves

as you can see, car is still covered with dust inside after the rally....

 

[Philippe db]

Always love watching you "speed restoration" Barry. Amazing how you tackle any up coming problem in the blink of an eye. For a couple of months now I'm wondering How I could get out my radio because I very much would like the tackle the rattling noise it makes on bad roads. So far no luck, just to afraid to break something.

Say Barry is that the original leather on your former Rally car seats?

 

[Belgiumbarry]

Hi Philippe, don't think original leather.... they must have been redone by the PO... i think. They were to nice to be oem after 47 years. Sure if i compare them with the seats out of this blue car ! those are worn....

i found the seating rather "soft" so i placed several zip ties between the steel "springs" at the underside. Made a extra connecting "net" .
Much better now , seat feel is "firmer" , not sagging that much anymore.

 

[Philippe db]

They indeed looked a little to good but for sure very nicely done.

Why am I not surprised to read that you also found time to "quickly" improve te seats. I know the soft seat feeling all to well but I just live with that.

 

[Belgiumbarry]

that's a easy fix Philippe.... ok, you need to take out the seats ( only 4 bolts) and alot of zip ties
Strong zip ties needed, smaller ones break !

 

[Belgiumbarry]

got my wipers working ! damned , that was searching..... inspected motor ( cleaned old grease ) , checked relays.... to found that one of the 2 wires coming out of the stalk ( from the switch on top ) and soldered to the main switch was broken ! Looking from under that "looked" ok... but was not ! Using the blinkers those wires must move a bit.... not a great "design" .... ?