Several months ago we at Clarion (you know, the car audio company) threw around the idea of creating a program where we restore and enhance cars that have transformed car culture on an epic scale. Why would Clarion do this you might ask? Well, its simple, Clarion’s engineers, marketers, management, sales staff and practically all employees are “car people”. We love to be around cars and most of us have project cars of our own and are deeply entrenched in car culture, and this program was appealing because it would allow us to connect with the car loving community on a deeper level. Not long after the idea was proposed, a meeting was held to announce that the program was green-lit, and it seemed as if our entire group was thinking the same thing – our first project had to be an 02. Finally, after months of searching, we found our ideal candidate to use as the starting point for our Clarion Builds project. Our entire team carefully looked over the vehicle before deciding on pulling the trigger to sign off on the car. We met the owner at a restaurant down the street from our office in Cypress, CA. While the car was foremost on our mind, our stomachs were growling so we headed inside to grab a quick bite, which also gave us the perfect opportunity to get to know the seller and go over all of the details and history of the car. Another advantage to eating first was it gave us a chance to follow our 4th rule for the previous post and took some time to go over all the paperwork, and boy was there a lot of it! The seller had records going back 20 years. Upon review, we noticed that there were some reoccurring repairs to the drive shaft. The car had a 5-speed swap performed well before the seller got his hands on the car and the repeated drive shaft work was a red flag that something may have been a bit off with the swap. Following lunch, we walked outside to the parking lot to check out what the seller had brought us. All in all, it was a good-looking car – Well, at least for a 40-year-old daily driver. The paint was faded and we could tell that it was a low-end re-spray job (see the before photos), but for us, that was the least of our concerns because our restoration plan included a full teardown. We immediately noticed the wheels were from a newer model BMW. Using our flashlight and magnet, we scoped out under the hood as well as all of the body panels - everything seemed copasetic. Moving into the interior, we found the normal wear and tear one might expect of a car of this age. The dash was cracked, there were small tears within the headliner and back seat, and the heater fan was not working. We took the car out on the open road and put it through its paces. Not a lot of get up and go left in the old motor but we knew that would be remedied soon. Also we heard some rather strange speed sensitive noises coming from the front end and chocked those up to wheel bearings. We were confident that this 74 BMW 2002 would make for a great canvas for our project. In the end, we negotiated the price and the seller was nice enough to deliver our newly purchased Clarion Builds project car right to our warehouse. With the easy part finally done, it’s time to get down to brass tacks! Stay tuned and watch this thread to keep track of each stage of the restoration.
UPDATE: We gave Coupeking the green light to completely dismantle our 02. Check out the quick video we pulled together about the tear down.
Awesome that you guys are going to get such a huge project done - what's the vision for the end result ? Stealthy but looking stock, or insane-in-the-stance-brain?
Didn't get to commenting earlier - from the pics above, I wasn't sure what the wheels/tire plan might be, but having seen the wheels, 15's are the perfect choice (in my opinion, vs. some crazy-big size with rubber-band tires) - just get a tire size where the sidewalls extend pass the edge of the rim instead of the nonsensical rim-wider-than-tire fad seen all too often. It's all lookin' good! I presume the the audio system integration will be coordinated with the interior installation? Does it get a 5-spd trans vs the o.e. 4?
Thanks for the love! Totally agree with you regarding the wheel size for the car, its perfect for the 02's wheel wheels. As for rubber, TOYO hooked us up with a nice set of Extensa HP tries dialing in at 195/50r15. As for the transmission, we're planning on doing the 5 speed, interestingly enough the already came with that conversion, so we're going to do a full rebuild of that transmission and get it back under the tunnel. Audio is coming up soon, not sure when we will have that portion done.
What Lies Beneath: Having a car repainted and having it come out looking great is not an easy, fast, or cheap prospect. No matter how carefully the body is inspected there will almost always be surprises that won’t show themselves until the car is disassembled. Our ‘74 BMW 2002 was no exception. After the skilled team at Coupe King had their way with our ride and the pieces were all neatly stacked on shelves, we started getting a better idea of what we were in for. Rust on a vehicle this old is normal, and we certainly did not expect our 02 to be an anomaly. Once torn down, we found trouble areas on many of the panels. For a car build of this caliber, we decided against merely treating the affected areas and painting over them. Instead, we opted to replace panels and cut out the affected areas where needed. We ended up replacing numerous panels including the doors, fenders, trunk lid and even the hood. Many of these parts were shipped directly from BMW’s warehouse in Germany. After hours of cutting, welding, hammering, fitting and refitting, our ’02 was once again rust free and ready to move to Diamond Hills Collision Center for some finishing body work and a fresh coat of paint. Arriving At Diamond Hills: The team at Diamond Hills Collision Center is full of experts of all thing auto body, and the caliber of the vehicles they work on serves as a testament of their reputation for quality and attention to detail. Our BMW edged its way into their shop, pushing past Lamborghinis, Ferraris, GTRs, and a host of other high end luxury cars. The 02’s shell looked a bit out of place in its current haggard state, but that did not last long. Mere days after the Clarion Builds BMW arrived at Diamond Hills’ facilities located in Walnut, CA, they began stripping all of the remaining paint and prepping the body for the next stage. Using a special (secret) compound applied directly to the sheet metal, the paint easily scraped off as if they were squeegeeing water off of a window and in no time they had the body down to bare metal. Once the sheet metal was prepped, the skilled craftsman at Diamond Hill began the delicate and complex task of making sure the body was completely straight and true to its original form. This slow and precise step of the restoration is crucial in order to guarantee that the finished product will look perfect once the paint is applied. In fact, any minor slipup or oversight at this stage could have permanent repercussions for the project as a whole. We knew the highly trained and experienced team at Diamond Hills Collision Center was up to the challenge. Metal Work and Body Filler: Coupe King had handled the majority of the cutting and welding, but to make sure that the bodywork required a minimal amount of body filler, some fine metalworking was still necessary. So out came the hammer and dolly. This is a time honored metal working technique that requires both skill and the patience of a saint to master. While the principle is simple, hammering sheet metal against an object that has the shape you want in order to achieve show worthy results is anything but. The team at Diamond Hills is filled with true craftsmen, so within a few weeks they had the body panels where they wanted them and began applying the body filler. There are a few tricks to using body filler correctly but the most important one is simple patience. First, the panels must have a sanded finish and be contaminant free. If the surface is not prepped correctly then the bonding agents will not function properly and you will get cracking in no time. Next, the filler should be applied in a thin coat. The less that is used the better. Too often, we see filler applied too thick at one time and in the worst case you can lose the lines of the car. Once each layer is applied and cured, out comes the sanding blocks and the surface is sanded even. Where the metal begins to show back through the filler is where the high spots are, and where it still remains are the low spots. Repeat these steps as needed until the panels are straight and smooth enough for primer. This is exactly what the Clarion Builds BMW 2002 underwent and after a few weeks of hard work the car moved on to the next stage, primer. Finally – Laying Down Some Paint: After a clean shot of primer, the team at Diamond Hills went over the car once more to make sure there were no imperfections with the body of the car and then it was time for paint. Truth be told, we had no idea what color we wanted to paint the car – another big decision that makes or breaks any build. With so many colors in the paint books to choose from, we decided early on that we definitely wanted to keep the car an original factory available BMW color from the 02’s era, making the decision a little less onerous. After a little bit of research, we didn’t realize just how special our 02 was. It turns out the car’s original Fjord Blue paint was a pretty rare color to find on a US spec 74 model, however few did make it across the pond and ours just happened to be one – so when it finally came down to it, we decided to keep the car unique and dress it back up in its original factory color. Check out the full albums here:Paint Prep: http://bit.ly/12AReOoPrimer and Paint: http://bit.ly/1qDaXYR[/img][/URL][/CENTER]
Excellent choice w/ the original Fjord Blue! I can imagine the coming conversation with the insurance company about this car.... "Wait... you want two-hundred thousand dollars coverage for... a 1974 what?!"
Adding More Horsepower and Upgrading Brakes and Suspension on Clarion Builds’ BMW 2002 The Clarion Builds BMW 2002 project has come a long way in 5 short months – we are very excited about the latest upgrades made to the car’s engine, suspension and brakes – not only did we want it to go faster, we wanted it to handle better and stop quicker too! Every piece of the engine, transmission, brake system and suspension has been either replaced, upgraded or rebuilt to new specs. What we added to the car: Engine: Fully rebuilt the engine with all new internals (Crank, pistons, bearings, valve train, etc.) - increasing compression from 8:1 to 10:1, replaced the intake manifold with a custom unit from Ireland Engineering, installed dual two-barrel side draft Weber carbs, a combo that effectively added nearly 60hp to the rear wheels. Brakes: Wilwood 4 piston calipers and two piece slotted rotors from Ireland Engineering. Suspension: Upgraded sway bars, Eibach springs, KONI strut inserts up front, and shocks in the back – making ride height adjustable while maintaining the car’s road manners. A shot of the rebuilt rear differential - Photo Galleries: Engine Build:http://bit.ly/CB_BMW_2002_Engine_Build Engine, Suspension and Brakes Install:http://bit.ly/CB_BMW2002_Engine_Suspension_Install All other photo galleries of the full build:http://bit.ly/Clarion_Builds_BMW_2002_pics More details about the Build:www.clarionbuilds.com We are getting close to finishing the 74 2002. Stay tuned for more.
Clarion Reveals the Renovated Interior of their BMW 2002 – Preps for Audio Install CoupeKing in Wilmington, California has been working around the clock to get the finishing touches on Clarion’s BMW 2002 project car’s interior, getting it ready to move on to the audio installation, where Clarion has some very big plans that will be announced in the next week. As a foundation for the interior, Clarion Builds partner Hushmat provided their Hushmat Ultra sound deadening mat for installation within the iconic 2002 build. The Hushmat Ultra is great for insulating and reducing road noise inside the car, and will allow the audio installation to shine. On top of the Hushmat, fresh dark medium/dark gray carpet was laid down in the 2002, serving as a terrific contrast to the freshly upholstered Oyster colored leather seats, and interior panels and Alcantara headliner. The seats, door panels and rear quarter panels were all done in leather, reproducing a look similar to what was found on non-US spec LUX edition 2002s. The dashboard was completely refurbished to look like new, and the gauges all rebuilt. Due to the rarity of replacement parts for these classic BMWs, every part of the car’s interior was either replaced or reconditioned and re-plated. To class up the interior, the steering column was topped off with a Nardi 390 steering wheel, and Nardi shifter knob and parking brake handle. The entire interior can be seen very clearly through the all new lightly factory tinted glass installed all the way around the car, and pops beautifully against the factory-fresh Fjord Blue paint job.
Clarion Reveals the Renovated Interior of their BMW 2002 – Preps for Audio Install continued... Modeling the exterior of the car after the more appealing Euro-spec 2002, CoupeKing ditched the crash-rated bumpers mandated by the US government in 1974 for the thinner more sleek looking bumpers from a pre-1974 model. Additionally, CoupeKing finished buttoning up all of the rubber molding and body panel alignment to ensure that the car look better than the day it did the day it rolled out of the BMW factory. That car looks pretty close to done, but a few little tweaks are still needed. Regardless, we are so excited about the car we took it to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to show off the progress that we have made so far. What do you think about our build so far? Next steps, the Clarion Builds BMW 2002 gets a Clarion audio system! Stay tuned!
Clarion Builds 1974 BMW 2002 Audio System Install With the paint completed, the suspension and brakes installed, the engine bolted on to our 02’s chassis, and all the Hushmat sound dampening products laid down, we finally got to move on to our area of expertise: The Audio! Enlisted to help, BP Autosound, one of our premier local dealers, wasted no time in crafting the custom panels for the trunk, rear deck, and kicks. All the Wirez audio cables were routed in preparation for the Clarion audio equipment installation. In the meantime, the last few stitches on our new leather upholstery were being sewed up and all the pieces arrived just in time for final assembly so that the car could make its debut at CES in Vegas! Many of those following the project have asked us to provide details as to what Clarion audio gear were installed into the car and why we selected those components, so here is a little breakdown. First, of course, was the headunit. In the BMW 2002 center console, we could easily fit a double DIN unit in the dash and we really wanted the safety and convenience of handsfree, so we chose the all new NX605. The NX605 also features Clarion’s exclusive Intelligent Voice technology powered by Google, which provides us hands free control of many aspects of the unit which is important as we are rowing through the gears while carving up the canyons above Malibu! The NX605 also gives us direct access to the Clarion Builds’ Pandora station using the dedicated Pandora source and smartphone link. In case we ever need to see who we left in our dust, and so we can keep the tail end of the car free of scrapes, we installed a CC510 rearview camera. This great little thing can see in nearly pitch black, thanks to its .5 lux light sensitivity. We also don’t have to worry about the camera succumbing to the elements due to its IP67 water proof rating, not that our ’02 will see much rain anyway. The NX605 also has 4V RCA’s that outputs high quality audio to the Clarion XC6610 6ch amp that we elected to use for the project. We went this route because it allowed us to spec in only one amp to power the whole system. Channels 5&6 are used for the subwoofers still leaving 1, 2, 3, & 4 to run the highs and mids. The XC6610 is marvelously compact, making it simple to drop into the spare tire well with room to spare. It is also a fantastic sounding amplifier which as you might have guessed is pretty important to us. Now we needed something to take advantage of all that clean power and we hate cutting holes in the door panels of a classic car if it can be avoided. So, the guys at BP Autosound fabricated some custom kick panels to house our SRG1623S 6.5” component speakers. Their shallow basket design and minimal space requirements made them an ideal speaker for this application. For the rear fill, we dropped a pair of SRG6953R 6x9s into the rear deck. They add a fair bit of punch even at medium volume and, when we decide to really crank the system, their 5-way design really screams! And, to spice them up, BP added a custom trim panel sporting a lighted Clarion Builds logo! Of course, we needed some low end to complement all the highs and mids so we went with a set of WG2520D 10” subwoofers. These particular woofers were chosen for their musical performance and efficient design. Because we did not have any limitation on mounting depth, we did not need to employ our phenomenal WF series shallow mount subwoofers for this build. The pair of WG252D’s are installed in a custom-built, rear firing enclosure that is trimmed out with a contoured and leather wrapped beauty board. The whole trunk for that matter is covered in leather wrapped panels, giving it a simple, well sorted, and classy look. To enhance the visual appeal, white LED’s are used to accent the important bits, including a ring around the amp and another around the subwoofers. To finish off the center stack where the radio was installed, we added three VDO gauges, our CCAUSBAV so we have easy access to the USB and AV input on the unit, and to keep thing symmetrical we relocated the factory hazard switch. Our Clarion Builds partner, SiriusXM, provided a SXV200 tuner that got tucked out of sight behind the radio. Installed Clarion Product NX605 $899.99 M.A.P. 2-DIN DVD Multimedia Station with built-in Navigation, HD Radio, Smart Access, Intelligent VOICE powered by Google, & a 6.2-inch touch screen CC510 $99.99 M.A.P. Rear Vision CMOS Camera with Distance Guide Lines XC6610 $649.99 M.A.P. Marine Grade 6-ch Class D Amplifier with 1000 watts Maximum Power, 85 Watts x 6 Channel @ 4-Ohms, and 250 Watts x 3 Channel @ 4-Ohms Bridged SRG1623S $69.99 M.A.P. 350W MAX. 6-1/2" 2-way Component Speaker System SRG6953R $99.99 M.A.P. 600W MAX. 6" × 9" Multiaxial 5-way Speaker WG2520D $69.99 M.A.P. 1000W MAX 10" Dual 4-ohm Voice Coil Subwoofer CCAUSBAV $39.99 M.A.P. Flush Mount Female 3.3mm to Male RCA Audio/Video and USB Extension Cable Check out all the details of the products we installed in our Clarion Builds 1974 BMW 2002 at www.clarion.com/us[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT]
Very nice on the audio part too - looks great! You went easy on your installer not asking them to make it work WITH a spare tire/jack/etc. - now for the hard part, avoiding temptation to get that spankin'-new engine broken-in properly!
Thats next! We will probably shoot a video of the first-start of the engine tomorrow, if all goes well today. And, in the near future, we will let team test driver and 2X Formula Drift champ Chris Forsberg loose with the car for its first drive.
Great story, and exceptional photographs! Your photographer deserves a raise! With taking on an old car, did you find it difficult to incorporate equipment that wasn't very flashy? It took me over a year to hunt down this old Denon head unit for my 1988 M5. I wish there was a simple looking product on the market currently that had new tech, but old looks. DSC_6822 by ericandshovin, on Flickr IMG_2662 by ericandshovin, on Flickr
