re: Trick or Treat?

[Don Cicchetti <dcicchet@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael Mynatt said: (edit edit)

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On Holloween night I ventured out to look at a 1972 2002 that a friend of a
friend was selling.  The car was supposed to be in "show room" condition.  I
arrived after dark, which was only fitting considering it was Holloween.

As soon as I hit second gear, the lever jumped back into
neutral, forcing me to hold it in gear.

Then I reached up to turn on the turn signal, but the brights came on.
Actually, the brights didn't work, and turning on the brights turned off the
head lights, which was a bit dangerous considering it was pitch black outside.
Not sure why, but the turn signal lever was mounted on the right side, which
made it very difficult to reach when I was trying to change gears.

I pulled the car under some lights in a shopping mall and continued my
inspection.  It didn't take long before I found a huge puddle forming under
the car.  I climbed under the car and followed a thin line up to the engine
compartment to the brake reservoir.  The reservoir was nearly empty.

Needless to say, my inspection was cut short.

I squealed to a stop in the backyard, threw the woman her keys, and said,
"no thanks."  I was never happier to be back in my great little 325iC.

If anyone is interested in a 2002 with leaky brake lines, a shaky tranny, and
turn signal lever mounted on the wrong side, I know where you can get one
cheap.
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Good story, but you didn't say how much she wanted for the car.

Just curious.


On the other stuff:

The tranny needs some serious work.  Heck, just use it as an excuse to buy
a 5-speed, everyone else does!  <grin)

The leaky master cylinder is a reasonably cheap fix.

Electrical gremlins are common with these cars when they are old.   They
can be resolved by getting your grounds all tightened up, use some good
contact cleaner/preservative on all the contacts and the fuse box, and then
replace switches as needed.

Sounds like the engine ran well.   Mighta been a pretty good car.

Heck these things are *antiques*, Mike!     I think they are pretty darn
bullet-proof, all things considered.


Can't help ya with the turn-signal-on-the-wrong-side problem.   What's
really goofy is how you get used to it, and then turn the darn WIPERS on on
anyone else's car!


DC



Don Cicchetti
dcicchet@domain.elided
71 '02   BMW CCA member 122043
- -Beatnik Motor Werke-

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