Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Denver MCM garage expansion
- Thread starter kwyjibo
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
@kwyjibo I just spent the last 2 days rereading this thread as a nice break from trimming out the house, and brought forward some questions. Also some inspiration/motivation to finish trimming the house out so I can work on designing shop space.
How has the size and layout worked now that you've been in the space for a while and have been rebuilding the Targa in it? If my understanding is correct size was limited by zoning?
If possible would you make the bays any wider?
Would you ever take out the dividing wall?
Any other changes or plans for the space now that you've been in it for a while?
All the windows seem really nice and not something you see all the time in shop/garage spaces. Any downsides that you've experienced? I get they are high up or facing a private courtyard, so privacy doesn't seem like a concern.
How has the size and layout worked now that you've been in the space for a while and have been rebuilding the Targa in it? If my understanding is correct size was limited by zoning?
If possible would you make the bays any wider?
Would you ever take out the dividing wall?
Any other changes or plans for the space now that you've been in it for a while?
All the windows seem really nice and not something you see all the time in shop/garage spaces. Any downsides that you've experienced? I get they are high up or facing a private courtyard, so privacy doesn't seem like a concern.
THanks for taking the time to read and comment!
I'm generally very happy with the layout. If I can find more storage space or shed some parts, I'll be much happier. As the car goes together, more space is created. At it's worst I was constantly moving around the 27gal tote shelves, wheels, engine and etc to make workspace. In fact, I didn't see the top of the large bench until the recent glass install. The recurring theme is that I have a lot of stuff that I have trouble getting rid of
For the front, narrower spot I made sure that there were no cabinets where I thought swinging doors would be, and that has been very helpful. But even a foot or two wider would make it so much easier to work around. For example, I can drop a transmission because most of the access and moving around is from the front. Working on brakes is tough because the space is so cramped along the sides. In fact, even taking the wheels off is a pain. Another foot would make it so much easier to work from the side of the car (and remember these are small cars)
I think that I'm happy with the design of the cabinets so far. I have a lot of junk and the cabinets are very helpful. Even though its only a couple inches, the shallower cabinets towards the front of the garage create space. And almost no one has noticed that there is a difference in their depths. The dropping shelf has also been great when working through an open door (ie: working on dash board or seats).
If I had less stuff the workshop area would be working out fine. But there are two engines, four pairs of seats, two sets of wheels, etc taking up space. Almost everything is on wheels so that I can move them around. If I ever take on another restoration project I'll make sure to sell off these parts beforehand (or start with a much smaller car)
I'm not gonna lie: more space would be very welcome. But, yes, I maximized the space allowable by city zoning. The length is the maximum allowable but I could have made the workshop space a little wider. I did not for the sake of design and usability of the courtyard. Basically, I was afraid that if that space were wider the area separating the house from the garage would feel like a narrow alleyway. One of the things that I wanted in the design was a direct line of sight between the front door and the fireplace. Silly. But that is something I imagined on the first walk through.
I'm generally very happy with the layout. If I can find more storage space or shed some parts, I'll be much happier. As the car goes together, more space is created. At it's worst I was constantly moving around the 27gal tote shelves, wheels, engine and etc to make workspace. In fact, I didn't see the top of the large bench until the recent glass install. The recurring theme is that I have a lot of stuff that I have trouble getting rid of
Absolutely.
For the front, narrower spot I made sure that there were no cabinets where I thought swinging doors would be, and that has been very helpful. But even a foot or two wider would make it so much easier to work around. For example, I can drop a transmission because most of the access and moving around is from the front. Working on brakes is tough because the space is so cramped along the sides. In fact, even taking the wheels off is a pain. Another foot would make it so much easier to work from the side of the car (and remember these are small cars)
I think that I'm happy with the design of the cabinets so far. I have a lot of junk and the cabinets are very helpful. Even though its only a couple inches, the shallower cabinets towards the front of the garage create space. And almost no one has noticed that there is a difference in their depths. The dropping shelf has also been great when working through an open door (ie: working on dash board or seats).
If I had less stuff the workshop area would be working out fine. But there are two engines, four pairs of seats, two sets of wheels, etc taking up space. Almost everything is on wheels so that I can move them around. If I ever take on another restoration project I'll make sure to sell off these parts beforehand (or start with a much smaller car)
No. It is nice to have a barrier between my wife's daily driver and my toys. My garage stays a comfortable temperature while nextdoor the daily continues to radiate heat for a few hours after she gets home in addition to the garage door opening a couple times a day to let in whatever temperature air we're suffering that day. But the real reason is that the beams are not continuous between the two garages, the beams terminate above the wall. Because the wall supports the beams it would need some real engineering to completely eliminate the wall
I don't - currently - have any plans to change the garage. To be completely honest I really haven't been able to 'enjoy' the space yet. It's been jam packed from almost the first day. Once the car is in one piece and all the boxes are emptied and gone I'll be able to sit back and evaluate the space. In the meantime I'm already working up plans in my head for completing the rest of the backyard and a bathroom remodel.
i love the windows. The natural light is great. You're right that security/privacy are not a problem because the windows are directly across from large windows on the house. Downsides? An entire wall of storage is gone. Every bug that finds it's way into the garage will inevitably go to the windows to die. Once I'm actually able to sit at the benches I'm sure I'll appreciate them even more
Thank you for the thoughtful answers. I'm working with a similar situation of how to nest around an existing garage and property lines. As much as a pole barn seems like solution for plentiful space it isn't in the cards. Your build, @sakurama , @Jack Olsen and a couple others that are slipping my mind have been a helpful references of how to get the most out of a small space. I have an upcoming Land Cruiser restomod and being able to do that with some level of comfort and not banging doors and getting wheels off without feeling like I am getting packed into USPS flat rate box would be preferable.
Ah, another person who also seems to be a magnet for spare parts. I get that, but that is a real thing to consider. I have 2 spare engines tucked away and they take up space and are always blocking the one drawer I need to open.
That's not a point I would of considered was the climate conditioning aspect by having that wall separate the 2 bays, which makes a lot of sense. Hmm, something to ponder.
Fair enough, I will be interested in your thoughts once the car is wrapped up. Also excited to see what you come up with for the bathroom and backyard!
Good to know on the windows, I think sometimes they become an afterthought or something that gets value engineered out. On the upside you only have one place to vacuum up the bugs for whatever that is worth.
A few ProjectConda updates
I still can't figure out how to mount the horns. There are two horns, a high and a low tone, mounted in the front fender, behind the batterybox. Based on internet photos it looks like I have one original and one replacement, but the problem is that I don't see a way to mount the longer one. I mounted the left front wheel to get an idea of tire clearance (you can see the short horn pointing down ahead of the wheel). I'll figure it out later because it's not important right now
I moved on to the engine compartment. One thing that I've been putting off is installing the sound deadening pad that I bought off a Porsche forum. Basically, it didn't fit. Luckily, it was too big so I could trim it down. Looking forward into the engine compartment, it goes onto the sheetmetal that separates the rear seat from the motor
I had many cycles of install, check fit, remove, trim and repeat. In the end, it was probably almost 3" too tall and 1" too wide.
next I crawled under to work on the rear suspension, the heat control valves (red box with hoses) and rear brakes. Here's how it sits now
The eagle eyes here will notice something strange in the previous photo - here's a close-up of the spring plate located in the upper right of the photo
That grease-coated, splined thing is the torsion bar, the spring of the rear suspension. It's not supposed to be sticking out the end of the tube. In fact, if you look back two photos, the greasy spot on the cart is actually the endcap of the spring plate tube. As I was tightening the end plate on the driver's side, I heard a "pop" but couldn't figure out what caused it. Until I went to tighten the other side and saw the cap on the ground. What this all means is that the driver's side torsion bar (there are left and right bars that meet within a centrally fixed splined tube) pushed the passenger side out. It should not have happened and indicates that either 1) the drivers side isn't seating properly in its spring plate or 2) something (like blasting material and/or rust chunks) is sitting between the two bars, making the overall length longer. I'll be taking it all apart to figure it out.
More bad news: the upholsterer is still behind schedule so I don't expect to get in there for another month. I guess the good news is that it gives me more time to get things sorted
In other news, the '74 Carrera is moving closer to going up for sale. @RocketJohn came over last weekend to give the Carrera a sympathetic paint correction. It's definitely the best it's ever looked in the decade I've owned it.
I still can't figure out how to mount the horns. There are two horns, a high and a low tone, mounted in the front fender, behind the batterybox. Based on internet photos it looks like I have one original and one replacement, but the problem is that I don't see a way to mount the longer one. I mounted the left front wheel to get an idea of tire clearance (you can see the short horn pointing down ahead of the wheel). I'll figure it out later because it's not important right now
I moved on to the engine compartment. One thing that I've been putting off is installing the sound deadening pad that I bought off a Porsche forum. Basically, it didn't fit. Luckily, it was too big so I could trim it down. Looking forward into the engine compartment, it goes onto the sheetmetal that separates the rear seat from the motor
I had many cycles of install, check fit, remove, trim and repeat. In the end, it was probably almost 3" too tall and 1" too wide.
next I crawled under to work on the rear suspension, the heat control valves (red box with hoses) and rear brakes. Here's how it sits now
The eagle eyes here will notice something strange in the previous photo - here's a close-up of the spring plate located in the upper right of the photo
That grease-coated, splined thing is the torsion bar, the spring of the rear suspension. It's not supposed to be sticking out the end of the tube. In fact, if you look back two photos, the greasy spot on the cart is actually the endcap of the spring plate tube. As I was tightening the end plate on the driver's side, I heard a "pop" but couldn't figure out what caused it. Until I went to tighten the other side and saw the cap on the ground. What this all means is that the driver's side torsion bar (there are left and right bars that meet within a centrally fixed splined tube) pushed the passenger side out. It should not have happened and indicates that either 1) the drivers side isn't seating properly in its spring plate or 2) something (like blasting material and/or rust chunks) is sitting between the two bars, making the overall length longer. I'll be taking it all apart to figure it out.
More bad news: the upholsterer is still behind schedule so I don't expect to get in there for another month. I guess the good news is that it gives me more time to get things sorted
In other news, the '74 Carrera is moving closer to going up for sale. @RocketJohn came over last weekend to give the Carrera a sympathetic paint correction. It's definitely the best it's ever looked in the decade I've owned it.
Trapps
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Paint looks amazing on the 74!
New stickers on Conda?
New stickers on Conda?
Andrew S
Well-known member
Here's hoping the torsion bar issue is an easy fix!
Can I ask where you sourced your flexible heater air hoses, the ~2.5" red ones? I need a few feet of that for my 928, but I can only find it in short pieces from 911 vendors.
Can I ask where you sourced your flexible heater air hoses, the ~2.5" red ones? I need a few feet of that for my 928, but I can only find it in short pieces from 911 vendors.
Thanks!
Yes, those are new stickers. I finally bit the bullet and paid for Porsche ones when I saw that they were printed on thicker aluminum, like the originals, versus the vinyl foil replicas
Those hoses are 930.211.622.01 from Dansk. They're just over a foot long. If you need longer lengths you might contact 914rubber.com to see if he gets it in bulk before cutting down to sell.
Lotusnut
Well-known member
Aircraft spruce sell it by the foot look for **** hose.
I haven't gone back to the rear suspension - it's just too demoralizing. I will need to address it soon
I've been messing with little things that turned into big deals, for example, the opening vent windows
ProjectConda was originally spec'd with green tinted glass but when I found it the passenger side vent window was clear. With the door lock pulls located just behind these windows, breaking the glass to unlock the doors was a common way to break in. Tinted glass wasn't particularly rare so I don't know why they chose to use clear
It took a while to remove the glass from the chromed frame without damaging either piece. The installation of the new tinted glass was much easier
Then I started to piece together the window frames and new rubber gaskets using a combination of tiny screws and rivets.
Until I got to a part with a snapped screw. I dismantled the frames a few years ago and planned to fix this before storing it away. Of course I remembered this as soon as I saw the broken screw stump. I've gotten pretty good at drilling and extracting broken screws with my trusty Makita drill and Irwin extractor set but I broke two of the extractors to remove this little M4 shank.
After more time than I thought it should take, the two vent window frames are finally back together and matching once again
The time has also come to revisit the rearseat delete, which is basically two large glove boxes in place of the rear seats. I took measurements of a borrowed original Porsche accessory and with a large cardboard box I made a pattern
I needed to do this because I'll be getting the materials to cover it from the upholsterer and wanted to get reasonably accurate measurements before going into the shop
The timing for the Carrera's paint correction was good because it got a lot of attention while it was at the shop for some pre-sale work. Hopefully the right set of eyes saw it
I've been messing with little things that turned into big deals, for example, the opening vent windows
ProjectConda was originally spec'd with green tinted glass but when I found it the passenger side vent window was clear. With the door lock pulls located just behind these windows, breaking the glass to unlock the doors was a common way to break in. Tinted glass wasn't particularly rare so I don't know why they chose to use clear
It took a while to remove the glass from the chromed frame without damaging either piece. The installation of the new tinted glass was much easier
Then I started to piece together the window frames and new rubber gaskets using a combination of tiny screws and rivets.
Until I got to a part with a snapped screw. I dismantled the frames a few years ago and planned to fix this before storing it away. Of course I remembered this as soon as I saw the broken screw stump. I've gotten pretty good at drilling and extracting broken screws with my trusty Makita drill and Irwin extractor set but I broke two of the extractors to remove this little M4 shank.
After more time than I thought it should take, the two vent window frames are finally back together and matching once again
The time has also come to revisit the rearseat delete, which is basically two large glove boxes in place of the rear seats. I took measurements of a borrowed original Porsche accessory and with a large cardboard box I made a pattern
I needed to do this because I'll be getting the materials to cover it from the upholsterer and wanted to get reasonably accurate measurements before going into the shop
Thanks!
The timing for the Carrera's paint correction was good because it got a lot of attention while it was at the shop for some pre-sale work. Hopefully the right set of eyes saw it
wow, great information! It looks like their price is ~1/3 what I paid
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/****.php
(currently 2 1/2" is $12.50/ft)Trapps
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Vent windows turned out great! Rear seat delete for the win. I have seriously considered this for The Cherry; looking forward to this part (well ALL parts) of your build!
bittersweet post - the Carrera is sold. A friend from our time in NH will be the next caretaker. Sad to see it go
This is one of the photos that was sent to me by the seller in 2011. I had a good feeling about this car from the photos and talking to the previous owner. I was confident enough that I got a oneway ticket to Philly, made the deal and then drove it back to NH.
Here are a couple photos taken from the first week of my ownership.
For any New England skiers, this is the lodge at the Dartmouth Skiway, which was designed by my wife's friend
This is a pond on Rt 25B which was part of my shakedown circuit. On longer runs I'd go out onto the Kancamagus Hwy and loop around past Bretton Woods. This car was perfect for those roads.
Note the 120 lbs akita security/backseat driver
Still in NH, one evening I was getting used to a new camera and took some photos around the house. I ended up using this one as my online profile photo for several years. I think that I had just mounted the light and liked the way it lit the rearend of the Carrera (the E9 is on the lift above it but in the dark)
Obviously this is from inside the garage but the interesting thing here is that you can see that the passenger seat is gone. Our old akita went on most of my drives, so I put her dogbed in place of the seat. I did the same in the BMW
I may have posted this photo earlier this summer, but it is from the last time I drove into the hills with the car.
The car has already been paid for so I won't be taking it out again before is gets picked up. This car doesn't have power brakes or steering, or ABS, or even much power but it is my favorite driving car. Good bye old friend.
This is one of the photos that was sent to me by the seller in 2011. I had a good feeling about this car from the photos and talking to the previous owner. I was confident enough that I got a oneway ticket to Philly, made the deal and then drove it back to NH.
Here are a couple photos taken from the first week of my ownership.
For any New England skiers, this is the lodge at the Dartmouth Skiway, which was designed by my wife's friend
This is a pond on Rt 25B which was part of my shakedown circuit. On longer runs I'd go out onto the Kancamagus Hwy and loop around past Bretton Woods. This car was perfect for those roads.
Note the 120 lbs akita security/backseat driver
Still in NH, one evening I was getting used to a new camera and took some photos around the house. I ended up using this one as my online profile photo for several years. I think that I had just mounted the light and liked the way it lit the rearend of the Carrera (the E9 is on the lift above it but in the dark)
Obviously this is from inside the garage but the interesting thing here is that you can see that the passenger seat is gone. Our old akita went on most of my drives, so I put her dogbed in place of the seat. I did the same in the BMW
I may have posted this photo earlier this summer, but it is from the last time I drove into the hills with the car.
The car has already been paid for so I won't be taking it out again before is gets picked up. This car doesn't have power brakes or steering, or ABS, or even much power but it is my favorite driving car. Good bye old friend.
RocketJohn
New member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2016
- Messages
- 4
Another good shot of how the detail turned out on this original paint from 1974. You could completely tell that no one used any form of automated car wash. Really nice stewardship for this Carrera.
Thanks for all the help! You guys know that I don't like cleaning so I really appreciate your help making the Carrera shine
Which brings us to this: Something seems to be missing. The buyer made a call to a transport company after the wire transfer was complete and coincidently a couple spots were opening in Denver for an eastbound truck. So, the Carrera would be gone within a few hours after payment. Understandable but unexpected
Look at that shine. Late afternoon so I met the driver at a nearby school dropoff zone
SOmething about a car getting loaded into a truck gets a lot of attention. A gawker almost rearended another while this was going on. By the way, the decal on the side window gives a hint as to its next destination
The photos don't show the small crowd that assembled to watch. it was mostly little boys and their moms that were fascinated by the ramp
And the closing shot
[The window decal is for VSR which is a mostly BMW shop run by my friend in NH]
With the Carrera now gone, I turned my focus back to ProjectConda
First step towards getting the rear suspension back together was to figure out what went wrong with the torsion bars. First I removed the passenger side bar to inspect the tube. The bar and the tube both looked good
I could see straight through to the inboard end of the driver's side bar so there wasn't anything packed up between the two.
I had some trouble when I went to disassemble the drivers side, the spring plate didn't want to let go of the bar. It turned out that the splines in the springplate had a burr that kept the bar from sliding into place. Once i cleaned it up, the bar could move to the required depth, The rest of the suspension went back together easily after that.
I put together just enough parts so that the car could roll on its own wheels. ProjectConda needs to get to the upholstery shop this week!
So here it is, for the first time in several years, sitting on the ground, on its own wheels
First step towards getting the rear suspension back together was to figure out what went wrong with the torsion bars. First I removed the passenger side bar to inspect the tube. The bar and the tube both looked good
I could see straight through to the inboard end of the driver's side bar so there wasn't anything packed up between the two.
I had some trouble when I went to disassemble the drivers side, the spring plate didn't want to let go of the bar. It turned out that the splines in the springplate had a burr that kept the bar from sliding into place. Once i cleaned it up, the bar could move to the required depth, The rest of the suspension went back together easily after that.
I put together just enough parts so that the car could roll on its own wheels. ProjectConda needs to get to the upholstery shop this week!
So here it is, for the first time in several years, sitting on the ground, on its own wheels
ProjectConda made it over to the upholstery shop this morning!
Here it was earlier, poking out into the sunlight like a scared turtle. We had to be careful because the parking brake barely works and the driveway has a good incline
It was strange seeing it amongst the morning traffic but I did my best to keep an eye out for any parts flying off on the freeway. The driver told me that there were a few thumbs up and photos along the way.
The shop is ok with me stopping by for photos when the work begins so I hope to have updates starting in a couple weeks
Here it was earlier, poking out into the sunlight like a scared turtle. We had to be careful because the parking brake barely works and the driveway has a good incline
It was strange seeing it amongst the morning traffic but I did my best to keep an eye out for any parts flying off on the freeway. The driver told me that there were a few thumbs up and photos along the way.
The shop is ok with me stopping by for photos when the work begins so I hope to have updates starting in a couple weeks
I just got back home from an incredible auto-weekend. The Colorado Grand is a 1000 mile rally through Colorado and I'm lucky enough to know some organizers and participants. I got to be a part of this amazing event for a few hours of volunteer work, which was really just helping friends and having a great time. I'm not going to comment on the photos because I didn't get much sleep, but if you have any questions please feel free to post them
gearhead1960
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nice shots, considering the setting. That Lusso is just one of the most beautiful designs ever....
uh oh, it's been a month since I've stopped by here. Time has gone by very quickly.
First, some bad news: the main guy at the upholstery shop suddenly retired, which means that the targa won't be back for a while.
In the meantime I've decided to put the open garage space to good use and (finally) swap the transmission in the BMW E12. I've put this off for years and it took a while to re-find all the parts that I stashed away. The first step was to clean and inspect, then make a list of needed parts. The getrag 265 cleaned up nicely
and so did most of the mounting and shifting parts.
I bought a clutch kit and had the flywheel resurfaced a few years ago, so most of the parts are ready. But, I still needed to spend another couple hundred dollars this week to complete the list of everything I needed. The actual work should start in the next week
I've also taken advantage of the cool mornings to get out on the local roads... or at least, I tried to. A couple weekends ago the E9 didn't want to go into gear so I took the wife's S3 out. I was THAT guy who brings a modern car out on a classic car drive, so I brought up the rear. Otherwise it was a nice morning with bright rainbows for photos
I went up the same road the following weekend on my own. I made the repairs to the shift linkage earlier in the week and didn't want to flake on my friends if the car didn't cooperate. Transmission behaved but it was clear that more work was needed.
Finally, last weekend some friends met up to see the newest purchases within the group
First, a C4 ZR-1 Vette (I think it was a '91)
Second, an Alfaholics GTA-R. I don't know how many of these have made it into the USA but this thing is amazing - 240hp, 1,850 lbs, titanium suspension, twin plug, etc. I could go on and on (but the internet has better descriptions and videos)
First, some bad news: the main guy at the upholstery shop suddenly retired, which means that the targa won't be back for a while.
In the meantime I've decided to put the open garage space to good use and (finally) swap the transmission in the BMW E12. I've put this off for years and it took a while to re-find all the parts that I stashed away. The first step was to clean and inspect, then make a list of needed parts. The getrag 265 cleaned up nicely
and so did most of the mounting and shifting parts.
I bought a clutch kit and had the flywheel resurfaced a few years ago, so most of the parts are ready. But, I still needed to spend another couple hundred dollars this week to complete the list of everything I needed. The actual work should start in the next week
I've also taken advantage of the cool mornings to get out on the local roads... or at least, I tried to. A couple weekends ago the E9 didn't want to go into gear so I took the wife's S3 out. I was THAT guy who brings a modern car out on a classic car drive, so I brought up the rear. Otherwise it was a nice morning with bright rainbows for photos
I went up the same road the following weekend on my own. I made the repairs to the shift linkage earlier in the week and didn't want to flake on my friends if the car didn't cooperate. Transmission behaved but it was clear that more work was needed.
Finally, last weekend some friends met up to see the newest purchases within the group
First, a C4 ZR-1 Vette (I think it was a '91)
Second, an Alfaholics GTA-R. I don't know how many of these have made it into the USA but this thing is amazing - 240hp, 1,850 lbs, titanium suspension, twin plug, etc. I could go on and on (but the internet has better descriptions and videos)
cccoltsicehockey
Well-known member
That Alfa is crazy. Beautiful piece of machinery.
hewey
Well-known member
Congrats on the bittersweet sale of the red Carrera, but sounds like it's gone to a good home. Looking forward to seeing the trim come together on the green Targa.
And that carpark at the Colorado Grand, oh man
Thanks for taking the time to share
And that carpark at the Colorado Grand, oh man
Thanks for taking the time to shareRandom mishmash of stuff I've spent time on recently:
First off, nothing to report on ProjectConda's upholstery. However I did make some headway on a couple of it's accessories. But let me digress with a bit of backstory. When I picked ProjectConda up from the seller back in 2019 he had one of his friends help him move the parts out of the garage the previous night - the problem is that this friend is a well-known automotive hoarder of slightly less than desirable ethics. A few things that I saw - and photographed - during a previous visit went missing. Among the missing objects was the toolkit and jack. People familiar with Porsches know that these are pretty expensive to replace. Luckily I found the correct jack in my random parts hoard. It was a bit rough so I decided to restore it, first step was to disassemble
I used naval jelly to remove the surface rust on the tube. Given how watered down chemicals have become, I tested the jelly on a lug wrench and was really happy to see how nice it cleaned up
I need to get to a friend's blasting cabinet to clean the cast parts before repainting so this is on hold for a while
The weather was nice last weekend so I made my way up into the hills for a drive
Earlier this week I was looking at the trim around the large dining area windows and decided that now was the time to fix them. Here's the post with the trim removed
And here is the testfit of the new cover. As usual I paint the trim before mounting because I'm never happy with the paint job that I do once its all together
Changing focus again, (I think that) I've accumulated all the parts needed for the auto-to-manual transmission swap for the BMW E12. I've refinished the parts that I'm reusing
Lastly, today was a nice day in the mountains so I went for a drive. i was chasing a couple friends in more modern cars so I cooked my brakes on the way down the hill
So I guess that means that I've added another project to the list: check the front calipers for drag and rebuild if necessary.
First off, nothing to report on ProjectConda's upholstery. However I did make some headway on a couple of it's accessories. But let me digress with a bit of backstory. When I picked ProjectConda up from the seller back in 2019 he had one of his friends help him move the parts out of the garage the previous night - the problem is that this friend is a well-known automotive hoarder of slightly less than desirable ethics. A few things that I saw - and photographed - during a previous visit went missing. Among the missing objects was the toolkit and jack. People familiar with Porsches know that these are pretty expensive to replace. Luckily I found the correct jack in my random parts hoard. It was a bit rough so I decided to restore it, first step was to disassemble
I used naval jelly to remove the surface rust on the tube. Given how watered down chemicals have become, I tested the jelly on a lug wrench and was really happy to see how nice it cleaned up
I need to get to a friend's blasting cabinet to clean the cast parts before repainting so this is on hold for a while
The weather was nice last weekend so I made my way up into the hills for a drive
Earlier this week I was looking at the trim around the large dining area windows and decided that now was the time to fix them. Here's the post with the trim removed
And here is the testfit of the new cover. As usual I paint the trim before mounting because I'm never happy with the paint job that I do once its all together
Changing focus again, (I think that) I've accumulated all the parts needed for the auto-to-manual transmission swap for the BMW E12. I've refinished the parts that I'm reusing
Lastly, today was a nice day in the mountains so I went for a drive. i was chasing a couple friends in more modern cars so I cooked my brakes on the way down the hill
So I guess that means that I've added another project to the list: check the front calipers for drag and rebuild if necessary.
Klokwerk
Well-known member
Sad to hear the Carrera was sold. Seems to be off to a good home though.
The cars involved in the Colorado Grand were just one amazing car after another!...that had to be one hell of a rally.
Can't wait to see what the upholstery shop does with ProjectConda!
The cars involved in the Colorado Grand were just one amazing car after another!...that had to be one hell of a rally.
Can't wait to see what the upholstery shop does with ProjectConda!
No ProjectConda updates
It's that time of the year when the farmers markets close and our favorite Sunday morning spot is clear again. I've missed the bakery
I was hoping to start the e12 transmission swap a couple weekends ago, but the car has sat for a while and it wouldn't start. This past weekend a few friends came by after the bakery to burn off some pastry calories by pushing the car into the work area. Now I have no excuse to not start
It's that time of the year when the farmers markets close and our favorite Sunday morning spot is clear again. I've missed the bakery
I was hoping to start the e12 transmission swap a couple weekends ago, but the car has sat for a while and it wouldn't start. This past weekend a few friends came by after the bakery to burn off some pastry calories by pushing the car into the work area. Now I have no excuse to not start
RocketJohn
New member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2016
- Messages
- 4
@kmcteer Thanks for the offer! I talked to someone about their old E12 at the Boulder Fuelfed a few years ago, was that you?
The move went surprisingly well, I just wish the rest of the project was going as smoothly. The exhaust, driveshaft and some accessory bits are out, but the transmission is still held in place by a couple stubborn fasteners... I'm having horrible flashbacks to the E30 work a few years ago.
And because I feel obligated to have photos in posts: Here is an assortment of bottle openers I bought from KC Tool to give to the guys that helped push the E12 into the garage. But in all the excitement, I forgot to hand them out
There were a couple more that were delivered after the photo was taken.
**OOPS** I see now that they're currently out of stock
Lastly, I stopped by the upholstery shop. They're still really backed up with the retirement of the main set of hands so they have not yet started work on ProjectConda
slik560
Well-known member
I had not heard of KC Tool. I checked out their web site, and they are located 6.7 miles from my house. How did I miss this? And now that I know, how do I forget so that I don't bankrupt myself???
@slik560 I'm that bad guy that dangles drugs in front of recovering addicts! [Thankfully/unfortunately] I didn't find them until after I had replaced most of the tools that were "lost" by the movers 10 years ago. I'm not loyal to any brand so it's very tempting to upgrade a few of the tools that Im not 100% happy with. Luckily I'm cheap so that only happens when I'm pretty sure that it'll be an improvement
The usual random updates:
The e12 automatic transmission is a couple bolts closer to out. Still one very hard to access bolt left.
A few posts ago I started to restore a jack for ProjectConda - it's not completely done (I'm waiting on a couple clips to hold it all together) but here's how it looks now
the parts were scrubbed with naval jelly and sprayed with blue or black paint. Also replaced the protective rubber endcap.
Completely unrelated to the happenings in the garage - I got a special delivery from Germany
Back when I put up the Cadovius wall unit, I had to admit that we didn't really have anything to put on the shelves. Since then I've been looking for a particular lava lamp that is shaped like an art deco rocket ship. Non-US residents know this as the Mathmos Telstar. Mathmos, the company founded by the inventor of the lava lamp, entered into a licensing agreement which banned them from selling their products in the US. So when I found out that a friend in Germany was coming to the US, I asked her to order one to her German address and bring in over in her luggage. The biggest worry was that the glass would break and leak all over her stuff but, thankfully, the lamp made the journey unscathed. I need to decide if I'll keep it 240V and run the lamp with a transformer or modify it to use 120V.
The usual random updates:
The e12 automatic transmission is a couple bolts closer to out. Still one very hard to access bolt left.
A few posts ago I started to restore a jack for ProjectConda - it's not completely done (I'm waiting on a couple clips to hold it all together) but here's how it looks now
the parts were scrubbed with naval jelly and sprayed with blue or black paint. Also replaced the protective rubber endcap.
Completely unrelated to the happenings in the garage - I got a special delivery from Germany
Back when I put up the Cadovius wall unit, I had to admit that we didn't really have anything to put on the shelves. Since then I've been looking for a particular lava lamp that is shaped like an art deco rocket ship. Non-US residents know this as the Mathmos Telstar. Mathmos, the company founded by the inventor of the lava lamp, entered into a licensing agreement which banned them from selling their products in the US. So when I found out that a friend in Germany was coming to the US, I asked her to order one to her German address and bring in over in her luggage. The biggest worry was that the glass would break and leak all over her stuff but, thankfully, the lamp made the journey unscathed. I need to decide if I'll keep it 240V and run the lamp with a transformer or modify it to use 120V.
slik560
Well-known member
Cool lamp. I'm surprised TSA didn't think it was an RPG on x-ray and rendition your friend to an undisclosed interrogation site.
Lucky for us that she didn't talk to you! Our lavalampmule is a generally nervous person, so even the possibility of running afoul of the TSA would have freaked her out. But, yes, your thought did cross my mind at one point.
The lamp is working great with the transformer I got off Amazon. Definitely good enough that I don't think it's worth the effort to modify it for US voltage.
The manual transmission swap on the BMW 528i (aka E12) is taking longer than anticipated. Despite the good overall condition, a lot of maintenance items need to be taken care of, like the brakes, suspension bushings, etc.
One of the first things I did was to remove the aftermarket cruise control. I was reminded about this being installed when I came across all the non-Oem wiring and vacuum lines. What a mess. It took me a while to reverse engineer the system and remove all the parts. For once the worst part wasn't the actual unbolting of the cruise control system because the transmission swap involves removing much of the under dash components anyway.
It did take some work to get this far so here's a comparison of the manual (left) and automatic pedal brackets.
Here is the what's left of the dash after removing the pedals and steering column
I still have some electrical sorting to do before things go back in. But I'm waiting for an order of a few plastic or rubber bits that needed to be replaced, so I have some time to figure it out.
Anyway, while laying under the car I formulated a list of things that need to be replaced. In addition to the new parts for the transmission swap I'll be replacing parts of the brake and fuel systems immediately and put off suspension for a later date
Lastly, Merry Christmas (or more accurately: Merry Christmas Eve)
I hope everyone's holidays are going well. All I wanted for Christmas was to get the dang automatic transmission out of the E12, and I got it (finally)!
I got my wife to help me by placing the socket on the last remaining bolt with an extending magnet pickup from above the engine while I pushed and wiggled the socket/U-joint/extension/U-joint/long extension from behind the transmission. It didn't take long after that to drop the transmission out.
I did give myself a scare when I noticed that the mounting holes on the bellhousings didn't completely match up. you can see where the auto trans was mounted on the block - and there are a couple extra, previously unused threaded holes (most clear around the starter at the top of the photo) that I hope will align to the manual transmission's bellhousing mounts.
I'm waiting for some parts so in the meantime it's time to clean
I got my wife to help me by placing the socket on the last remaining bolt with an extending magnet pickup from above the engine while I pushed and wiggled the socket/U-joint/extension/U-joint/long extension from behind the transmission. It didn't take long after that to drop the transmission out.
I did give myself a scare when I noticed that the mounting holes on the bellhousings didn't completely match up. you can see where the auto trans was mounted on the block - and there are a couple extra, previously unused threaded holes (most clear around the starter at the top of the photo) that I hope will align to the manual transmission's bellhousing mounts.
I'm waiting for some parts so in the meantime it's time to clean
It's been a while since the last update.
I've been seriously frustrated by two things. First, after six months the upholstery shop hasn't even yet begun to think about working on ProjectConda. Second, BMW E12 parts availability is not good. After being able to source almost everything for the 911 and having good service from the sellers, it seems as though the BMW side of the classic car hobby just isn't trying very hard. Currently I'm waiting on an exhaust gasket that I ordered from three other sellers, and each time the order would get cancelled after a couple weeks. This has happened on at least two other parts that were ultimately delivered. I've already scanned ahead and I can see that I'll have some problems when it comes time to rehab the brakes and suspension.
Anyway, here's where the E12 stands
The transmission had been sitting in the corner for a couple weeks, draining the remaining oil so I'm pretty sure most of it came out.
I installed a few seals, bushings and the few previously repainted a components
with the help of RocketJohn, the transmission was lifted and bolted in
I was really pleased with myself because I did a thorough job a few years ago of picking the parts needed for the swap (Oh... I just looked back at the old posts, the parts car was way back on the first page of this thread!)
The parts included the blanking plate that manual cars had in place of the PRND21 indicator at the bottom of the cluster
the pedal hanger and all the necessary brackets and fittings for the 3rd pedal to work
I thought the driveshafts were supposed to be different lengths between the manual and auto cars, but the one that I pulled ended up being identical to the one in the car. So I decided to use the better looking one, however, I did need to cut out the centering sleeve at the guibo end because it was pushed too far in to use a pilot bearing/blind hole puller. It took me three evenings to carefully cut down the sleeve with tiny movements of a small section of hacksaw blade
The automatic transmission cars have a safety circuit so that the starter can only fire when the transmission is in either park or neutral. I thought the easiest and cleanest thing to do would be to jump the wires at the connector hidden in the center console. Then i remembered that I don't have any pin release tools. No problem: the metal tube handles of disposable brushes are almost the perfect size. A little work to decrease their diameter and, voila, you have a pin removal tool
Here's the modified connector with the looped wire to complete the starter circuit
And lastly, I decide to replace the original steering wheel
with a slightly smaller diameter and sportier MOMO
I've been slow pacing the work because I know that the arrival of the exhaust gasket will hold up completion of the job. In the meantime I've been making plans on the future overall direction to take the car. While staring up at the chassis it was obvious that I will need to replace the suspension bushings in the near future. Similarly the brake system will need to be refurb'd. Ultimately I'd love to finish the euro-fication of the body by deleting the US turn signals but puts me down the expensive respray and replace body rubber track.
Oh god, I should have never crawled under the car.
I've been seriously frustrated by two things. First, after six months the upholstery shop hasn't even yet begun to think about working on ProjectConda. Second, BMW E12 parts availability is not good. After being able to source almost everything for the 911 and having good service from the sellers, it seems as though the BMW side of the classic car hobby just isn't trying very hard. Currently I'm waiting on an exhaust gasket that I ordered from three other sellers, and each time the order would get cancelled after a couple weeks. This has happened on at least two other parts that were ultimately delivered. I've already scanned ahead and I can see that I'll have some problems when it comes time to rehab the brakes and suspension.
Anyway, here's where the E12 stands
The transmission had been sitting in the corner for a couple weeks, draining the remaining oil so I'm pretty sure most of it came out.
I installed a few seals, bushings and the few previously repainted a components
with the help of RocketJohn, the transmission was lifted and bolted in
I was really pleased with myself because I did a thorough job a few years ago of picking the parts needed for the swap (Oh... I just looked back at the old posts, the parts car was way back on the first page of this thread!)
The parts included the blanking plate that manual cars had in place of the PRND21 indicator at the bottom of the cluster
the pedal hanger and all the necessary brackets and fittings for the 3rd pedal to work
I thought the driveshafts were supposed to be different lengths between the manual and auto cars, but the one that I pulled ended up being identical to the one in the car. So I decided to use the better looking one, however, I did need to cut out the centering sleeve at the guibo end because it was pushed too far in to use a pilot bearing/blind hole puller. It took me three evenings to carefully cut down the sleeve with tiny movements of a small section of hacksaw blade
The automatic transmission cars have a safety circuit so that the starter can only fire when the transmission is in either park or neutral. I thought the easiest and cleanest thing to do would be to jump the wires at the connector hidden in the center console. Then i remembered that I don't have any pin release tools. No problem: the metal tube handles of disposable brushes are almost the perfect size. A little work to decrease their diameter and, voila, you have a pin removal tool
Here's the modified connector with the looped wire to complete the starter circuit
And lastly, I decide to replace the original steering wheel
with a slightly smaller diameter and sportier MOMO
I've been slow pacing the work because I know that the arrival of the exhaust gasket will hold up completion of the job. In the meantime I've been making plans on the future overall direction to take the car. While staring up at the chassis it was obvious that I will need to replace the suspension bushings in the near future. Similarly the brake system will need to be refurb'd. Ultimately I'd love to finish the euro-fication of the body by deleting the US turn signals but puts me down the expensive respray and replace body rubber track.
Oh god, I should have never crawled under the car.
slik560
Well-known member
I can't speak to anything BMW, but it sounds like you need to find a new upholstery shop. Hopefully there are qualified alternatives. Six months seems inexcusable.
I absolutely agree! I stopped by the shop for a talk and they should be starting shortly. I knew there'd be delays when the main upholsterer suddenly retired, but I think they were really caught off guard by how far behind they'd get by his absence.
Speaking of absence, it's been a while and I have a some catching up to do.
This photo means that the e12 is now able to move under its own power!
I had a huge grin on my face when I took it around the neighborhood for a test run. The hydraulic system should probably be bled again but the transmission works as it should. It also was running a bit rough so I'll need to watch if it clears with time or I need to dig into why it seems to be firing only 5 cylinders. One of the multiple delays involved replacing the fuel lines. The biggest delay was that I was waiting on an exhaust gasket which according to my order communications should be shipping soon. Clearly their inventory system needs work because it came last week.
Here are a couple photos from when it was up on stands. First, i used a laser level to align the driveshaft. BMW had a tool for this but it wasn't much more than a straight edge with a few centering attachments.
I've stored away a NOS Alpina airdam for years so in the downtime i decided to finally get it off the shelf and fit it to the car. It's currently unpainted glosscoat, I think I'll have it wrapped. Here's how it looked being test fit.
If it wasn't obvious from the other street shot, the car sits on a stock suspension. My next project on the E12 will be to "refresh" the suspension, including lowering. As you can see it has a lot of room to drop
We also recently celebrated 5 years since we adopted Kimo. Here's a photo from the day the rescue organization brought him over for an introduction
and 5 years later he's finely tuned his begging face
