Getting ready for The Vintage 2018

As I write this, the folks are headed home from The Vintage 2017 in Asheville SC. Six hundred and fifty vintage BMWs were registered and a I’m sure a fair number of newer ones attended the three day meet. It started small several years ago and has grown into a large popular gathering of vintage BMW cars and their owners.

Why am I posting this? I’m hoping, and planning to be there next year with my restored E9. With the number of things that need to be done, it will be a busy year, but that’s the best way to get stuff done. Have a goal and make plans to meet it.

So, It’s about 360 days till the next Vintage. Time to begin.

Dawn of the E9

I think I’m just about ready to begin this BMW restoration. I’ve got the service manual, loads of new parts, a bunch of metal shaping tools, sheets of steel and a lot of backup via the excellent web forum at e9coupe.com. I can’t say enough about the quality and depth of the postings there.

Spring is here and I’m finishing up the transmission project in the garage that’s keeping the E9 parked in the driveway. Many parts have arrived over the two years. Wow, it’s been that long… An order from Eastwood.com with a plasma cutter and orbital sander along with primers and paints are in transit to me as I write this.

Space is still an issue in the garage. It’s a single bay with a row of shelves along one side. There are overhead racks storing boxes. There’s enough room to work, but once I start taking the car apart, the seats, dash, engine and transmission will have to go somewhere to let me work on the body. I’ll have to build another storage closet under the front steps to keep things under control. The 75 square foot shed I built in the back yard has helped a lot, and a few more things will fit, but it’s pretty full.

 

Honda CX500 springtime repairs

It’s time to get the Honda on the road to test it’s systems and enjoy the Spring weather.  I’ve gotten new Michelins installed at a local shop. The shop couldn’t balance the front wheel because the wheel bearings were stiff. Fortunately, they are both easily available and cheap. Seals were included for a cost of $11 per axle.

There’s an O Ring at the rear drive flange to keep dirt from getting into the flange grease. It was broken. I’ve ordered new O Rings and they are on the way. The flange itself was somewhat worn and that’s a concern as all power is transferred through it and they are no longer available from Honda. I did manage to find an excellent used one in Germany for $108, shipped to Texas. I will have to make a list of spares to collect before they become unavailable.

I’ve gotten several inquiries about my New Old Stock CX500 engine. Nope, it’s not for sale, yet. Plans change and there are several projects ahead of the three wheeler build so it’s hard to say I’ll never sell it, but not yet.

Not Gone, Not Forgotten

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update. Lots of things to do in the new house. Painting, installing new kitchen cabinets, etc. It’s winter now, so can’t say it’s too hot in the garage, a real problem in the summer.

The E9 hasn’t been forgotten. Though it’s been under a tarp in the driveway most of the time, I did get to drive it to a small nearby town for some beer and bratwurst with some neighbors who also own old BMWs. I’ve been ordering parts that I know I’ll need when I get the car put back together. The latest find is a bearing puller for the input bearing in the transmission. I had almost given up finding one when my search on ebay came thorough with the exact model puller spec’d by the factory service manual. As long as the noisy bearing is one of the two 6306 bearings, I’ll be set. The smaller needle bearings are no longer available. My engineering friend tells me that the needle bearings spread the load and so should be more durable than the ball bearing roller bearings, so let’s hope that proves to be true.

I have also bought a later cylinder head in case the original head is cracked. The early ones have larger openings and are prone to cracking from the exhaust valve seat to the water passage. I got one of the later heads, an ’82 according to its stamp, from a 6 series car. I hope I don’t need it, but I can practice setting the valves, which does need to be done to my engine.

There are many other parts waiting to go in after the car get painted, new brake lines, rotors, motor and transmission mounts & seals, wheel and strut bearings. I don’t want to have lingering maintenance items, so I’ll take care of everything I can while I have the car apart. I bought a MaxJax car lift to assist in the restoration. It’s going to be a tight fit in the garage, but it will be worth it. I have yet to wire the garage for it. That’s next.

The car has continued to rust while sitting outside, Under the windows is the most worrisome part. I knew I had to pull the windows to fix the rusting correctly, I just don’t want any more water getting in for now. I’ve had to buy another car cover as the cheap one I had has been beaten by the wind and is wearing through at the corners.

I plan to post quite a bit more regularly when I get this restoration started.

 

Bearing Puller

2800CS Chamonix Nose

Rust under rear window IMG_3772

 

New Hardware

I’ve picked up a ’79 Honda CX500C motorcycle. It runs, but has a few issues. Leaky left carb, bit of an oil drip and in need of some paint and mirrors are the big ones. I’ll take the time to tinker with it, get it running nicely and practice some zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
I’m hoping to get back to the three wheeler build, but I have to get the Texas rules figured out. Texas won’t allow car and motorcycle parts to be mixed, so I won’t be able to use the truck frame I brought from Maui. Just as well, it’s very heavy. So the key is how to construct a legal frame for the build. That will take some research. The three wheeler Morgan replica build will have to wait until I get the BMW 2800CS back on the road however since it needs to be protected from the weather and have it’s rust stopped as soon as possible to avoid damage to it’s still very nice interior.

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