A Dubious Gas Cap

A couple years ago, as previously recounted, I purchased an "original" BMW locking gas cap for the car. In fact, this item is still for sale here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-BMW-E3-E9-Chrome-Tankdeckel-gas-cap-2-key-2000CS-CA-2-8-3-0-CS-CSi-CSL-/150927852942?pt=DE_Autoteile&hash=item232400458e. (The price is now considerably higher.) It seemed fine but as time went by the cap became more difficult to remove from the filler hole. Not a good sign, since I could imagine getting to a gas station and being unable to remove the device and having to resort to drastic measures to get fuel into the tank. I also went as far as to polish the old, stock cap, with thoughts of using it once more. It looked good when re-installed on the car. However, since I had gone to the trouble and expense of buying the locking cap I did prefer to keep using that version. Finally a squirt of graphite in the lock did the trick and freed the mechanism. So once again the locking cap is on the car and the tank is protected from the predations of vandalizing strangers.

More Cleaning

When the mood strikes I get a rag, spray some brake cleaner on it and wipe yet another part of the engine bay, slowly relieving it of accumulated oil and grime. The process is time-consuming but rewarding. Then, naturally, the camera shows areas I've missed.

More Bumper Bling

Some time ago I went to look at a 1969 NK 2000 because, well, I'd never seen one in person. One of the interesting yet subtle features I noticed on the car were small protective rubber bits on the bumper over-riders. Mine, naturally, didn't have these, lost to the winds like so many other small pieces of a forty-six year old car. I was pleasantly surprised to find they only cost three Euros in Germany. I ordered them and quickly got to putting the strips on the bumpers after getting the envelope in the mail. Pearl of wisdom, they don't go on easily when cold.

The story of getting the rear bumper off, in order to remove the over-riders, I will save for another day.

But Does It Really Look Better?

I've never liked the way the driver's window crank looks. The crank sticks out in an unbecoming way, despite the the metal "teethed" ring that sits against the vinyl. I found a $4 "stop disc" that goes with the window crank on the later 2002s. Despite the item not being stock to the 2000, as far as I know, I thought it would better the look of the door panel. The question now is, "Does it really improve the appearance?" I'm still pondering...

Rechromed / Regrooved

It occured to me the other day that something was amiss with my door panels. I checked with the Euro Original Polizei, who told me the current look was unacceptable.

The two horizontal strips that border the textured vinyl, shown here colored black, are supposed to be chromed. Clearly, my doors had been stripped of the requirement. So I got some mylar strips courtesy of Dan Pecsok, who I found on bmw2002faq.com. He sent them promptly. Too bad he's leaving the country in March and so will soon be unavailable to help other owners with the same problem. I applied two pieces to one door as an initial test. The interior looks much better; shimmering mylar is our friend.

And now two more doors done!

The last and most important door, which probably turned out the best.

Idle Thougts

The car began to idle rather fast this week, perhaps at 2k RPMs. At first I thought an adjustment to the carburator would be required and so I did a search on the BMW 2002 forum to see if I could learn what to do. I was suprised to read that leaves, pine needles, and other junk can collect behind the gas pedal and prevent it from releasing properly, a scenario that would make the car seem to idle too high. Naturally, when I checked behind the pedal I observed plenty of lawn trimmings. Even a small screw had lodged in the crevice. I got out the vacummn cleaner and cleaned everything. In the photo a few remnants of debris are visible but now the car idles perfectly, back at 800 RPMs.

A Sporty Shine to the Calipers

The car had developed, over some time, a tendancy to pull to the right intermittenly when braking. Clearly the time had come to refurbish or replace the calipers. A quick look to Germany established that the price of new calipers was ghastly - nearly $600 for a pair. (At least the figure included shipping.) So I acquired a couple of repair sets at $20 each and then Patrick at Midnight Motorsport here in Seattle went to work. The rehab didn't take long and I have him to thank for the photos of the disassembled pieces (Last pic of the caliper back on the car is mine).

They look great from under the car. What's not so wonderful is how a camera flash highlights the driveway roughage on the struts and control arms.