You just never know when Angels may smile on you

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by vath2001

So, you will not be keeping it in orginal condition.
Ok.

No, I prefer to think of it as upgrading or improving it. There has been lots of aftermarket support for this car through the years which has spawned innovations which make the car run better, stop better, improve starting, handling and reliability. The 5-speed conversion for instance uses the same gear ratios but adds an overdrive allowing the car to rev about 20% lower on the expressways which helps prolong the life of the engine and aids MPG (BMW did make a very few '02s w/ 5-speed, but they are as elusive as the alleged #89 Porsche 550 Spyder). The Crane electronic ignition does away with the points and condenser, making the car run and start better. The SS exhaust is just more longlasting. The suspension upgrade is Korman Racing's 'Street' upgrade as opposed to their 'Street/Track' or full blown Race setup. The ziebart coating will help preserve the shell. The car will not really be any faster, and it will still have the stock 100 hp. I'm not doing any mod which isn't time-tested and essentially become the standard for these cars.

But, I do hear you. I do want to try and preserve the car as much as possible and not turn it into some ought-two on steroids; if for no other reason than deference to the sentimental attachment to the car by the person who made it possible for me to own it to begin with. I believe the reason he chose me to own the car after his passing was that he felt it would be in caring hands, I do not want to disappoint.

My inclination is to keep the car stock, or as least as much as possible. But, with this car, some parts are simply not readily available anymore, or if they are, they are extremely difficult to track down and then astronomically expensive - I have had a little more than a month to research this model, parts availability and lurk the '02 boards to see what the current state of the marque is, so at least I'd like to think I've chosen them wisely. Believe me, there are lots of go-fast parts available for these which I have rejected. However, I will keep all the original parts and will not make any changes which are not totally reversible.