1.23.2005
Things have been extremely busy these days and quite frankly, that's just fine with me. I like being forced to prioritize and manage the logistics of automotive restoration. The fact that we don't have enough space for all the vehicles and projects we have going on really puts a premium on space, shop ergonomics and part storage. My main goal is to get Ali to the point where she can be driven in and out of the garage so that I can work on the other projects that I have going on.
I have spent at least an hour every evening working on her. I spent a lot of time removing old non-original wiring harnesses for audio and the electric auxiliary fan. I then turned my attention to the interior and began dismantling it. Again, this is very satisfying work and always leads to more discovery. It's also very educational to work on these old BMWs. You really learn a lot about a car by taking it apart, and I'm still impressed by the quality with which these cars were built.
Last week I got a note from the post office letting me know that some packages were awaiting my pickup. When I saw that they were "Air Post" I knew they were my seats, all the way from Germany. I'd been looking forward to receiving them for months, and they had finally arrived! With much anticipation I carefully opened the boxes and this is what came out.
They're beautifully upholstered and very close to what the seats would have looked like way back in 1973. Oh yeah, another thing I've learned in the past few weeks is that Ali is not a 1972 as I'd originally thought, but actually a 1973. She has some of the later style wiring and interior switches and I also received some parts with the Bureau of Automotive Repair stamps on them that identify her as a 1973, built in September of that year.
Back in the shop one of my main goals has been to get electrical power worked out. This was not as easy as it may seem for the car had the battery tray removed from the engine compartment. This was fine with me as I am happy to install the battery in the trunk. It does require some work though. I bought a Yellow Top Optima battery. These batteries are a little more expensive than standard batteries, but they're sealed for life, and have a great reputation. For battery cable I went to my local welding shop and bought a 20 foot long piece of 1 ought welding cable which I measured and cut in to two pieces (one for the short ground, and another for the long positive piece). I had ends crimped on and then set to routing the cable through the body of the car. I went from the trunk up and over the left rear wheel well and then down the side of the main wiring harness. I then routed the cable under the seat and in to the grommet hole that is just in front of the driver's seat mount. This hole actually leads in to the frame rail and with an electrical wiring reel I pulled the cable all the way to the nose of the car. Using a uni-bit I drilled a 7/8" hole in the top of the frame rail just near the nose of the car and pulled the positive lead up through it. I installed a grommet to make sure that the cable does not get cut on the sharp edge of the hole. From a junkyard 325is at the local pick-n-pull I obtained a binding post which connects the battery positive to the starter and the other electrical power to the car. I mounted this to the left front fender (just under the original grounding post) and the electrical system was now complete!
Here's a picture of the binding post
Earlier in the week I'd installed my newly obtained (also from Pick-n-Pull) late model oil canister and with a new filter installed I put 6 quarts of fresh oil in to the engine. I pulled the sparkplugs and connected the battery. For the first time in years the car showed signs of life. The interior light came on and the dash lit up. Time to see if the engine would turn. Insert the key and turn it clockwise. Whirrrrrrrrrr................whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................ah, how satisifying. I will do this for a few minutes again before I put the plugs in and try to start her up. With the engine sitting idle for so many it will be necessary to get oil fully flowing through the engine so it can build up pressure when I finally do start her up.
So as usual progress is made, but it's never as fast or easy as we hope. For now we must take pleasure in the small victories.