BMW 2002Tii (ish)
Discussion
Justin S said:
Scott, sorry to see those awful photos of the incident. So glad you are both Ok and the car was relatively unhurt too. Must have been a heart in the mouth moment. Still its great to see the '02 guys all helping out to get you back on the road soon.
As for roll cages, from having put my Westfield through IVA, the need of the belts to not sit on the seat, so the belts must go from the bar and onto your shoulders . If the bar is too low, it could compress your spine in an accident . Just a bit of food for thought.
Look forward to seeing it back in action soon.
As for my garage in previous posts being empty, its not now as bought an E86 to fill the gap
Thanks for the kind words and yes, really wasnt a great end to the weekend but very grateful for how it all turned out and that if it was to happen that it happened where it did!As for roll cages, from having put my Westfield through IVA, the need of the belts to not sit on the seat, so the belts must go from the bar and onto your shoulders . If the bar is too low, it could compress your spine in an accident . Just a bit of food for thought.
Look forward to seeing it back in action soon.
As for my garage in previous posts being empty, its not now as bought an E86 to fill the gap
Edited by Justin S on Tuesday 4th June 13:24
Great stuff on the purchase, they are supposed to be great to drive, i've never had a go in one but im sure thats the case!
Well all was okay on the roll cage front and i was just worrying about nothing really but best to ask when you aren’t sure about something eh and Safety Devices also said I’d done the right thing if I wasn’t sure.
With this I set about fitting it, something I was both anxious and excited about doing! I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted the interior to look from the outset when I bought the car and the last pieces of the puzzle for this were the cage and harnesses. For as long as I remember (and much like the Jenvey ITB’s) I’ve always wanted a car with at least a rear cage and it had to have a X brace and I think this comes from the engine place I help out at because they look after a Group A 635csi and I love the X brace in it. Luckily the offerings from Safety Devices are customisable so I got the X brace and decided to add the harness bar too. I also asked for the tabs to attach the front section to be left off for a cleaner look, I knew I didn’t want to fit a full cage after an honest chat with someone who had fitted a full cage to theirs (cheers for one of many chats, Will, if you read this!) before this I was 50/50.
It wasn’t bad to fit at all, and went straight in through the door aperture with only the seats removed. The old ratchet strap on the main hoop trick was used to get the feet into the right position and once one of the most forward holes on one side was drilled and a bolt dropped in, it was easy to get the rest into place and sorted. I trimmed the underlay and the side carpets to suit and treated all the holes and spreader plates against corrosion, I also trimmed the rear inner wheel tub carpets around the feet.
I was a little worried about the main hoop/ outboard eyelet positions, a friend popped round for a coffee and said he had some spares laying around so off we went to go and get them. They fitted with less than a mm to spare! This was a bit of a relief otherwise I would have to order harnesses with changeable lap belt ends and have to bolt these in, this added considerable cost when the harnesses I already wanted to get weren’t exactly the cheapest. Whilst there was multiple sets of hands we quickly got the cage bolted into place.
I finished trimming the main carpets so the main hoop feet weren’t visible and got the driver’s seat in. I’d also borrowed my friends spare harness as his car no longer has a passenger seat, this is good for me as I can get some miles on the car whilst waiting for mine to show up, these have just been ordered. I got the borrowed harness in and adjusted it to myself. Other than fitting the passenger harness/ seat that is me done on the interior side of things and I’m really happy how it’s all turned out.
With this done efforts were refocused onto getting the steering idler sorted and the girdle plate for it. In isolation the body of the idler really is a small flimsy bit of kit, especially with how long the arm is that it houses, it must get some force put through it with the leverage! You cant get these new any more so the castings are getting on in age terms now, luckily the one I got FOC from a friend was in fine fettle.
I measured the right height needed to clear the body and had stand offs made to this height, on top of these I’ve cut out and shaped a plate that clamps down and reinforces all the mounting points. The girdle is a 2 prong approach to the failure I experienced, with it fitted there should be less flex on the idler body due to the extra support and should the worst happen again then the plate over the body will hold it against the subframe even if all 3 mounting tabs on the casting break off again, this means I wont loose the steering again in the same fashion. First off was a bit of CAD (Cardboard aided design) then a quick test fit for sub frame/ engine mount clearance then to make the real thing out of alloy plate. The finishing touch was a bit of the Ed China treatment (satin black everything!) and its all fitted now. I also painted the back of the idler where the previous one appeared to be slightly corroded, which definitely didn’t help matters in the previous one breaking!
With all that done, the wheels are all back on but I’ve left it on its stands for now so I can have another spanner check this evening and paint in the cage bolts with underseal. I might even give it a bit of a clean (I hate cleaning cars!). After that ill be aiming to get the rest of the miles on up to 500 ASAP so I can put the proper oil in, then progressively ill start giving it some full throttle and more revs more often. I’ve everything crossed that this will all go to plan and I can take it back down for its final map!
Front end with added war wounds, flies and dirt!
Thanks for reading,
Scott
With this I set about fitting it, something I was both anxious and excited about doing! I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted the interior to look from the outset when I bought the car and the last pieces of the puzzle for this were the cage and harnesses. For as long as I remember (and much like the Jenvey ITB’s) I’ve always wanted a car with at least a rear cage and it had to have a X brace and I think this comes from the engine place I help out at because they look after a Group A 635csi and I love the X brace in it. Luckily the offerings from Safety Devices are customisable so I got the X brace and decided to add the harness bar too. I also asked for the tabs to attach the front section to be left off for a cleaner look, I knew I didn’t want to fit a full cage after an honest chat with someone who had fitted a full cage to theirs (cheers for one of many chats, Will, if you read this!) before this I was 50/50.
It wasn’t bad to fit at all, and went straight in through the door aperture with only the seats removed. The old ratchet strap on the main hoop trick was used to get the feet into the right position and once one of the most forward holes on one side was drilled and a bolt dropped in, it was easy to get the rest into place and sorted. I trimmed the underlay and the side carpets to suit and treated all the holes and spreader plates against corrosion, I also trimmed the rear inner wheel tub carpets around the feet.
I was a little worried about the main hoop/ outboard eyelet positions, a friend popped round for a coffee and said he had some spares laying around so off we went to go and get them. They fitted with less than a mm to spare! This was a bit of a relief otherwise I would have to order harnesses with changeable lap belt ends and have to bolt these in, this added considerable cost when the harnesses I already wanted to get weren’t exactly the cheapest. Whilst there was multiple sets of hands we quickly got the cage bolted into place.
I finished trimming the main carpets so the main hoop feet weren’t visible and got the driver’s seat in. I’d also borrowed my friends spare harness as his car no longer has a passenger seat, this is good for me as I can get some miles on the car whilst waiting for mine to show up, these have just been ordered. I got the borrowed harness in and adjusted it to myself. Other than fitting the passenger harness/ seat that is me done on the interior side of things and I’m really happy how it’s all turned out.
With this done efforts were refocused onto getting the steering idler sorted and the girdle plate for it. In isolation the body of the idler really is a small flimsy bit of kit, especially with how long the arm is that it houses, it must get some force put through it with the leverage! You cant get these new any more so the castings are getting on in age terms now, luckily the one I got FOC from a friend was in fine fettle.
I measured the right height needed to clear the body and had stand offs made to this height, on top of these I’ve cut out and shaped a plate that clamps down and reinforces all the mounting points. The girdle is a 2 prong approach to the failure I experienced, with it fitted there should be less flex on the idler body due to the extra support and should the worst happen again then the plate over the body will hold it against the subframe even if all 3 mounting tabs on the casting break off again, this means I wont loose the steering again in the same fashion. First off was a bit of CAD (Cardboard aided design) then a quick test fit for sub frame/ engine mount clearance then to make the real thing out of alloy plate. The finishing touch was a bit of the Ed China treatment (satin black everything!) and its all fitted now. I also painted the back of the idler where the previous one appeared to be slightly corroded, which definitely didn’t help matters in the previous one breaking!
With all that done, the wheels are all back on but I’ve left it on its stands for now so I can have another spanner check this evening and paint in the cage bolts with underseal. I might even give it a bit of a clean (I hate cleaning cars!). After that ill be aiming to get the rest of the miles on up to 500 ASAP so I can put the proper oil in, then progressively ill start giving it some full throttle and more revs more often. I’ve everything crossed that this will all go to plan and I can take it back down for its final map!
Front end with added war wounds, flies and dirt!
Thanks for reading,
Scott
deadslow said:
Christ, I wish I wasn't a spanner-moron! Top work, as ever!! 
Haha, thanks. Its surprising how easy to work on old cars are though, youd surprise yourself i bet!Back down on its wheels now and cleaned all the flies and dust/ dirt off. Hopefully get it out on the road when i get chance, i really dont like pictures of it in the garage now i've had it out!
Blimey, BROWN ALERT moment. Glad you're both ok and the car isn't too badly damaged! I should think that shook you up a bit. Good thinking on the little brace you've made, peice of mind too!
crossie said:
A number of years ago SD went bust - in the UK
They then decided to take there operation to Poland or another country (cheaper manufacturing)
I would always question something if your not happy with it - as your not racing the car the cage doesn't need to be to regs so you could have had the harness bar in a better place to suit your seats.
As Crossie said above, SD went into receivership i think it was 2006 from memory...... I lost my job, we were training a lot of the polish people before it went down the pan. The cages that are still being made i would have thought are from the same original jigs used, looks like it fits well in the 2002! They then decided to take there operation to Poland or another country (cheaper manufacturing)
I would always question something if your not happy with it - as your not racing the car the cage doesn't need to be to regs so you could have had the harness bar in a better place to suit your seats.
amc_adam said:
As Crossie said above, SD went into receivership i think it was 2006 from memory...... I lost my job, we were training a lot of the polish people before it went down the pan. The cages that are still being made i would have thought are from the same original jigs used, looks like it fits well in the 2002!
They have their history time line on their website and mention about moving production to Poland, sorry you lost your job, i've been through that before and its not very nice!Genuinely, the fit inside the car is awesome to say its not been built in my car and the quality is great.
The only negative is that its taken 6 months for them to make and deliver it which i dont think is on but it is what it is i guess!
1602Mark said:
Nice repair and strengthening job there Scott. Certainly looks as if it should be up to the task.
Cheers Mark, the replacement idler is miles better condition than the one that failed, only realised in hindsight so the plate can only add to that!Justin S said:
As said about the repair, looks solid enough to claim it being better than original and hope never to happen again ! Good stuff !
Cheers Justin, even if it does happen again the plate will stop it pulling away from the subframe so i wont loose steering, a nice double win i hope!Back to it, 100 miles lashed in last night, awesome to be back out in it! Need to do the geometry again though, it's not quite as sharp as it was pre idler fail!
The engine is really freeing up though and it feels like its going to be pretty quick, ill put the proper oil in soon and get some more miles on with that then go and get the map done properly. Also the engine mount combo im running now is great, really happy with that solution and the vibrations in side are much reduced!
illmonkey said:
I've had a moment looking at those photos. Wow, it's stunning. I've lusted after a 2002 for years and yours is pretty much bang on how I'd want it to look. Well done, it's a fantastic car.
*Goes back to classified to find perfect 2002 for some light refurb work*
Thanks, appreciate it! I've always wanted one and dont regret it!*Goes back to classified to find perfect 2002 for some light refurb work*
Quick update, the harnesses turned up so i set about getting them in as well as my passenger seat at last. Interior sorted now, very happy how the initial vision has turned out!
IMG_20190610_140055 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_184014 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_184021 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_200551 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_191730 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_195958 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_200530 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_200603 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190610_200439__01 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
Also hit the big 500 miles sunday night so ill be putting the proper oil in it this week. Also got a couple of leaks to chase, thought things were going too well :lol: I did some full throttle pulls up to 5500rpm on the last drive out and it goes really well and sounds awesome, it all feels rather manic approaching 5500 and its pulling quite hard so seems promising for the final map and extra revs it'll have available!
IMG_20190609_211724 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
IMG_20190609_135704 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
Final shot hiding away from the in bound torrential downpour! Hopefully itll pass soon so i can carry on getting the miles on!
IMG_20190609_144036__01 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr
Thanks for reading,
Scott
IMG_20190610_140055 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_184014 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_184021 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_200551 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_191730 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_195958 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_200530 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_200603 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190610_200439__01 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrAlso hit the big 500 miles sunday night so ill be putting the proper oil in it this week. Also got a couple of leaks to chase, thought things were going too well :lol: I did some full throttle pulls up to 5500rpm on the last drive out and it goes really well and sounds awesome, it all feels rather manic approaching 5500 and its pulling quite hard so seems promising for the final map and extra revs it'll have available!
IMG_20190609_211724 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrIMG_20190609_135704 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrFinal shot hiding away from the in bound torrential downpour! Hopefully itll pass soon so i can carry on getting the miles on!
IMG_20190609_144036__01 by Scott Osborne, on FlickrThanks for reading,
Scott
Awesome , awesome, awesome . Such a fantastic car. Would be interesting on how much more efficient the new fuel injection is compared to the old KF that they fitted in those days. I am sure it will run so much better now , especially with final mapping.
Harnesses's look great and the yellow just breaks the black up enough.
Harnesses's look great and the yellow just breaks the black up enough.
Justin S said:
Awesome , awesome, awesome . Such a fantastic car. Would be interesting on how much more efficient the new fuel injection is compared to the old KF that they fitted in those days. I am sure it will run so much better now , especially with final mapping.
Harnesses's look great and the yellow just breaks the black up enough.
Cheers Justin. At the moment its pretty rubbish on fuel, its done around £150 in those 500 miles but the base map is rich and i've either been accelerating throughout those miles or engine braking, only to accelerate again, its never really sat at constant revs throughout the bedding in process so i cant expect economy from it i suppose. Im expecting it to be better once the final map goes on of course!Harnesses's look great and the yellow just breaks the black up enough.
I thought the same with the harnesses, Schroth have always been the top harness of choice in my head for this car, closely followed by some black Willans ones if the Schroth option couldnt work for whatever reason!
Krikkit said:
Awesome stuff, will you be driving it or transporting it back down for the final map?
Shame I'm not closer to Chipwizards as I'd love to have a nosey
Hopefully ill go down with my friend who knows Wayne pretty well and if so we'll probably end up taking it down on his truck just in case there are any problems on the rollers. It's a damn boring drive down and im keen not to have the engine sat at constant revs for too long whilst its bedding in.Shame I'm not closer to Chipwizards as I'd love to have a nosey
Ill get some videos etc next time im there so i can share them!
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