Trust but verify, no problem. Shame, those are not too pricey. I found them at twice that price!
1971 2800 Sahara
- Thread starter Frederick
- Start date
Black or grey grilles give the car quite different looks, both are nice. Black grilles come all black, no further work. Grey grilles are painted, underneath is some kind of hospital beige. I very lightly sanded them, taped the vertical slats to keep the black paint that was there and cleaned everything with silicone remover. Someone at the shop offered to spray them, that was gladly accepted. They are a little darker now than original but grey enough. The correct colour is neither silver nor metallic grey but something in between. Taping the vertical slats may get on your nerves.
The better dash is always the better choice. Difficulty is the instument cluster housing. Clusters for the later version are secured from above with one screw through the dash into the cluster housing. Series 1 housings come without the sliding piece with the thread for the screw but with a nose on top. This nose will most likely stand in the way when you try to insert the cluster into the dash opening.
That's how it was done at the factory. In later years, the grilles were often painted black by the owners for a more sporty look or whatever. The W&N pieces come in a light yellow-beige colour, as far as I know. Probably not an option.
Again, I really like that car.
Update on Project:
After a great deal of sanding, priming, resanding, repairing, sanding and priming, etc. etc. add Infinitum the car has finally arrived at the painter. Trailering it was a bit of a white knuckle flight as it sat so high on the jackstands.
I decided to go with the deletion of the real light markers to look more euro. Otherwise it was fairly straight. I gave up on the driver side fender and was able to find a new one through BMW, Monterey awaiting delivery. The vehicle has apparently been pranked in the corner. There was a previous repair,(not very good) rust, and the pendant was somewhat deformed. After looking at the fender that came with the car, the guys at the body shop were pleased with the order of a new one. Basically it would’ve cost more to fix than to get the new one.
Need to source carpet, headliner, and seats, and or seat fabric and Carpet.I may go with aftermarket front seats from Stephen at.GTS Classics, looking at the Monte Carlo for two front seats. Still need covering for both front and rear end. Likely will go with leather.
The rims are being refinished, and should be ready shortly.
The only thing that I’m missing is a rear window gasket. I’ve checked it out and I’m fairly certain I can use a front windshield gasket for the rear by cutting and pasting. (Fortunately, The one I removed is in good shape, and I have a new one as well.)
Should someone know this to be impossible, please speak up, because rear gaskets don’t seem to exist.
Transmission and differential are done at Metric mechanic, but Jim’s head problems. First with sourcing a 3.5 block, and then getting pistons and rods. He now manufactures his own lightweight, pistons and rods, but my motor got dropped out of his production line for the M 30’s. Not really a concern at this point as obviously there’s a lot of work still to be done but it’s very exciting to maybe see it painted and ready to assemble.
After a great deal of sanding, priming, resanding, repairing, sanding and priming, etc. etc. add Infinitum the car has finally arrived at the painter. Trailering it was a bit of a white knuckle flight as it sat so high on the jackstands.
I decided to go with the deletion of the real light markers to look more euro. Otherwise it was fairly straight. I gave up on the driver side fender and was able to find a new one through BMW, Monterey awaiting delivery. The vehicle has apparently been pranked in the corner. There was a previous repair,(not very good) rust, and the pendant was somewhat deformed. After looking at the fender that came with the car, the guys at the body shop were pleased with the order of a new one. Basically it would’ve cost more to fix than to get the new one.
Need to source carpet, headliner, and seats, and or seat fabric and Carpet.I may go with aftermarket front seats from Stephen at.GTS Classics, looking at the Monte Carlo for two front seats. Still need covering for both front and rear end. Likely will go with leather.
The rims are being refinished, and should be ready shortly.
The only thing that I’m missing is a rear window gasket. I’ve checked it out and I’m fairly certain I can use a front windshield gasket for the rear by cutting and pasting. (Fortunately, The one I removed is in good shape, and I have a new one as well.)
Should someone know this to be impossible, please speak up, because rear gaskets don’t seem to exist.
Transmission and differential are done at Metric mechanic, but Jim’s head problems. First with sourcing a 3.5 block, and then getting pistons and rods. He now manufactures his own lightweight, pistons and rods, but my motor got dropped out of his production line for the M 30’s. Not really a concern at this point as obviously there’s a lot of work still to be done but it’s very exciting to maybe see it painted and ready to assemble.
Attachments
Great progress Frederick!
Had my master carpenter make a new shift knob. Could make it out of anything of course but we used Sapelo.
A long way from trying it out!!
A long way from trying it out!!
look great!!
Tires and rims ready to roll. Straightened, balanced and powder coated.They just need a car!
I thought the Defender was discontinued in 195, that is good news.
Mo Brighta
Well-Known Member
Frederick,
Ready to discuss restoring the rear lights? It has been some time since we talked; shoot me an email.
Andy
Ready to discuss restoring the rear lights? It has been some time since we talked; shoot me an email.
Andy
Had to fabricate one of the corner pieces of the windshield trim. Can you tell which one?
The one on the towel is the first attempt. Still have to polish the bottom piece.
The one on the towel is the first attempt. Still have to polish the bottom piece.
I visited the car at the paint shop today in Salt Lake City. Hadn’t seen her in four weeks. It’s coming along overall. I’m told it was in very good shape. Just a few things left to do. All body work is done. I need to doing only thing left is to put another coat of primer and black sand, looking for imperfections.
The shop it also made up about pint of the pink color and I got about a half cup. I sprayed it on a piece of metal which was only partially primed. Agave is pretty tricky, don’t want it green but don’t want it too dark. I’m getting hesitant on the color but we’re going to spray a couple pieces and tweak it. Here’s what I did. The lighter part at the top was just raw metal with no paint or stain on it. I think the lights gonna depend on the color of the primer. I’m thinking we should go with black.
The shop it also made up about pint of the pink color and I got about a half cup. I sprayed it on a piece of metal which was only partially primed. Agave is pretty tricky, don’t want it green but don’t want it too dark. I’m getting hesitant on the color but we’re going to spray a couple pieces and tweak it. Here’s what I did. The lighter part at the top was just raw metal with no paint or stain on it. I think the lights gonna depend on the color of the primer. I’m thinking we should go with black.
What is the pink color for?
The high build primer is for sanding. Color doesn't really matter. The car will (should) get a coat of sealer just prior to the color. Your painter should have an opinion on the prefered sealer color.
The high build primer is for sanding. Color doesn't really matter. The car will (should) get a coat of sealer just prior to the color. Your painter should have an opinion on the prefered sealer color.
I apologize, I really must do a better job of proofreading the Google voice. It’s not pink, but paint. There’s nothing pink involved here.
Thanks Dick, I will discuss with the painter as this is way beyond my knowledge base.
It’s just with this green/Agave, I need to be very careful. I need a deep, dark green and not a mint green.
Thanks Dick, I will discuss with the painter as this is way beyond my knowledge base.
It’s just with this green/Agave, I need to be very careful. I need a deep, dark green and not a mint green.
Good!
I would think a good quality paint brand would have the color code for Agave and that it should be very close to the color BMW used. Do you have anything you can compare a sprayed sample to?
Last chance for Nevada. It is a really cool and rare color. I understand the desire to change, and won’t fault you for it.
Looks like Agave.
That’s funny. Should be between the strut and body mount in the wheel well obviously. BMW added that for the North American bumper hight requirements. It’s not needed. I removed mine and just trimmed the top three strut mounting bolts down.
It was (is) common to just pull the spacer and place it on top ot the strut tower. No trimming studs that way.
That is where I found them. Likely what Dick said.
I remember now the strut studs would of interfered with my hood if I hadn’t of trimmed them down. After removing the spacers.