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2003 Status
2002 Status
Miscellaneous
January, 2003
Wow. Another year gone by. Alot has kept me away from my project, but now this month we are in full swing. More updates to come in January - stay tuned.
First thing this month I decided to drop the Tii struts and remove the strut spacer from underneath while the car is still apart and easy to get to. I loosened the brake lines from the brackets connected to the strut tower & then using a 15mm socket proceeded to loosen the brake caliper. Once the brake calipert was off, I had to remove the strut assembly from the lower wishbone shown in the first pic below. You have to loosen the wire that binds the nuts onto it, and then remove the nuts supporting the tower.
The second picture shows the wire located at the base of the strut tower assembly. Be careful not to break it when removing it since you will most likely re-use it unless you have a new one. 
After successfully dropping the tower down, I was able to remove the strut spacer.
I simply cleaned the part well with brake parts cleaner, washed it and painted it with silver paint to make it look nicer. I will then re-use it by putting it back on top of the strut tower as a vanity ring. While the parts are waiting to dry I turned my attention to cleaning up my old gast tank which is much overdue. I simply prepped the tank, sanded it down and got it ready for paint. Notice I also polished some of it out.
Now that the tank has been washed, I wait for that to dry and begin to primer the air filter assembly which I had previously sanded down and had ready.
Luckily I didn't have to do much sanding since a friend of mine took them into his workplace and media blasted them for me. 
While waiting for things to dry, others to settle, etc. I bounce around between mini projects. I started to take my intake manifold apart to prepare it for a much needed cleaning.
I simply began to unbolt all of the nuts and clamps off of the intake taking note of which items went where. On the next set of pics you can see the intake system slowly being pulled apart.
My model is a mid year 72 (Model 71) and still had the original plastic intake runners so I had to be careful not to damage them upon removal. The nylon lines I was not concerned so much with as I plan on buying new ones... The second picture shows the intake runners removed. 
Next, I removed the throttle body as I need to restore all gaskets and want to clean out each item individually. I also received some goodies I had ordered from Maximillian Importing and Bimmer parts of Pottstown, Pa.. Nothing beats new parts! 
While my intake is cleaning itself in a bucket of kerosene, I turn my attention to other items one again.
I left it sit for a while to see if it would remove some of the gunk inside it. Meanwhile I check on the status of my air filter preliminary paintwork and prepare for it's next coat.
I move over to the gas tank and begin to sand off again some of the initial primer I had applied to it. Then, I washed it down and after drying applied another primer coat. 
Afterwards, I begin to place the Kugelfischer pump onto the engine block and start sizing it up.
I placed the pump in place and then began to secure it with the bolts that bind it to the mount.
When placing this in place it is important to have the notches both line up at Top Dead Center (TDC). Note in the pics that both the crank and K-pump wheel line up properly. 
With the belt in place I began to make sure all the other mounting points line up.
This is also a good time while working with the K-pump to remove the front "nipple". Inside this nut is a mesh filter that benefits from being cleaned out once in a while. Simply remove it and pull out the filter from inside. I used brake parts cleaner to clean mine out. 
