BMW 2002 polyurethane rear sub frame bushing and differential mount bushing install

As this little BMW approaches respectability, I have been chipping away at some of the little long ignored detail things she needs to be "right." There was a pretty good knock from the right rear sub frame bushing when going over big bumps. A quick look underneath revealed saggy bushings for the subframe and the differential mount. I decided to purchase some poly bushings and try them out. This is an easy enough job, but a little cumbersome and smelly. The following is how I got it done.


                                  
                                                the rear of the 2002 up on stands

1975 BMW 2002 fresh Polaris silver paint (twice)

Earlier in the year I was on a strong roll whipping the body into shape and took the leap to paint the car myself. I have successfully painted before, albeit single stage. The BMW is getting a base/clear system. I have an inexpensive harbor freight HVLP gun and a good compressor. I set aside a complete Saturday for the project and set out early with two layers of a gray sealer, which when on respectably smooth and even. After the appropriate flash time I sprayed on three beautifully uniform coats of the base metallic silver "Polaris" color.  After enough flash time I mixed up the clear and started spraying. I immediately was having difficulty putting on a smooth coat of clear. It was spraying out in large drops/blobs. No matter how I fiddled with the gun, it wouldn't flow even and smooth. I reasoned that I could just lay it on heavy and cut/sand/polish it to a good smooth finish. It might have worked, but it didn't. The clear was so heavy that it hadn't time to flash off before it began to attack the base coat and wrinkle it in places. The following is how it all went down and what I did to move past this terrible "worst-case scenario" situation.

Little 2002, masked under awnings in the side yard wearing a fresh sealer primer coat

Procar Pro 90 seats installed in a 1965 Ford Falcon Hardtop

I've been enjoying a slushy restored bench seat in the Falcon for about six years now. I have long flirted with the idea of switching to sportier, more supportive bucket seats and have had my eye on the Procar Pro 90 low backs for some time. They are super reasonably priced and look pretty good in all the ads. Recent events and revelations in my life finally prompted me to make the leap to bucket seats. I scored a set of seats and adapters from Summit Racing (No sales tax and free shipping...Woo Hoo!!!) and got to work.

 Step one is to remove the old bench seat. To make it easier and less back-breaking,  I unclipped both back rests, slid them off their pivot pins, then I wrangled the bottom out separately

1964 Comet parts car before and after, and on to a new home

Well I managed to succeed with the plan for buying a "parts car" for some rare and expensively un-obtainable trim parts for my 64 Caliente convertible. I harvested the trim pieces I needed and they were in surprisingly good condition. My intentions were primarily two-fold: 1-Get the parts; 2-Not lose any money doing so.

I then took to freshening up the car a little to sell it on to the next person as a viable restoration project. Over the course of about one or two months, I did just that (see previous posts for details). The car turned out pretty darned respectable.

I rebuilt the brakes and power steering system and the car drove very well.

Only problem was that once I fixed the exhaust leaks and broken engine mounts, I could hear a distinct rod knock...sadly the engine is on it's last legs. Also the differential was growling. I advertised the Comet and had a buyer with cash within 24 hours, who happily drove away in Bruno, windows down, in style. He drove approximately 20 miles to his house without incident. Happy ending and hopefully I'll see him driving around the Sacramento area from time to time.