Tuesday, January 31, 2012

How to Modify an E9 shock to fit the NK: Phase II

Another update from California and how to finish resleeving the E9 shock to fit an NK:


photo by Ben Amen/La Jolla Independent

And here are his comments:

"The sleeve has been drilled out to fit the 12 mm stud on the NK swing arm. Ultimately the sleeve ends up only being 2 mm thick to take up the slack between the two sizes."

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

How to Modify an E9 shock to fit the NK: In Process

I had no idea this sort of thing could be done and had despaired since discovering that the rear shocks for my car are available only in the Bilstein Sport configuration, not the best set-up for street driving. And they cost far too much - with shipping from Germany - to be cost-efficient for the average person.


Photo by Ben Amen/La Jolla Independent

In Ben's own words:

"The first step of the sleeving process. I've pressed a brass valve guide into the mounting bushing at the bottom of the shock. Now I'll drill out the sleeve to fit the 10 mm bolt on your swing arm and then we're all set!"

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Another Fastener Fastened

When I installed my Euro headlight grills it turned out I was short a fastener.  Not a tremendous issue, but as long as I had an new order with W&N for the hood insulation I figured, why not stock up on some small parts at the same time. So I ordered grill fasteners.


1) The hole with the missing screw

Curiously, the new ones I received came with brackets slightly smaller than the one pictured here, which is used on one of the old fasteners.

 

2) One of the old fasteners with original bracket

And so I was not able to slide the bracket over the sheet metal.  Nothing to get bent out of shape about, pardon the pun.  The new screw went in tightly and the combo works fine.


3) The new fastener and smaller bracket

Hood Insulation Conundrum - SOLVED

I just got a fun package from W&N with hood installation. The end pieces went on nicely, with my trademark Canadian lumberjack ax ensuring a good bond at the corner of the left-side piece.

Problem is, W&N said, "there is a big pad for the center will will be placed under the central metal bar."

Well, that's not going to happen. The vertical metal bar (and I had sent them a similar photo of the hood underside) is only about 1/16" from the hood. Short of using a crowbar there's no way the pad's going to fit under that bar.

Solution - cut the pad in half, leaving room for the metal bar?  Or something I haven't thought of?


NOTE: This question was posted on BMW2002faq.com in hope of further suggestions.  A helpful guy in France said words to the effect of, "Just cut the stupid thing."

And so I did.


Sunday, January 15, 2012

Snowed In

Yesterday I was scheduled to take a 60 km. drive to check out another NK, this one a 1968 2000. But Mother Nature had other ideas and now the car is stuck in the garage until such time as the season becomes more amenable to pleasant motoring.


Going out in my wife's car this morning, I noticed that the city had dumped salt solution on the major roads, so I'll have to wait for a good rain to wash the streets before my next excursion.  Seattle has a reputation for demolition-derby driving when there's half an inch of snow on the ground; the Transportation Department is regrettably dumping salt everywhere these days when the least bit of flurries descend from the sky.

Maybe I should call Alex and go to Tahoe.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Driving a Cabriolet in the Cook Islands

DESCENDING THE CAIRO SIDE - a novel of the traveling life
Available as an e-book on Amazon.com


Buy the book on Amazon

The New Year found me in Aitutaki, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to tool about in a Cabriolet.

Regrettably it wasn't a Bimmer.

1) A real cabriolet, the Nissan March

No it wasn't much good, and yes, the suspension was shot at 80,000 kms.  At least the thing got around 15 km. per liter.


2) Parked at the site of a marae, well inland and jungle-bound

While on the island we experienced a storm with winds in excess of 100 kms. per hour and the rain, which came down sideways in great sheets, poured through the canvas roof and drenched the car, which smelled forever more like mold until we left it at the airstrip at the end of the trip, with its key in the ignition for the owner to retrieve.