Marching Forward

This week was filled with small yet important steps forward. First of all, I procured a used M42 radiator, made the parts to mount it and installed it. This, to my chagrin, required the removal of the car's "snorkel". There has been much debate about the worth and usefulness of the snorkel; BMW used it to provide cooler air from forward of the firewall to the stock intake. I had previously modified my stock air cleaner to mount atop the non-stock Weber carburetor, just so that I could utilize the original engineering. I had secretly hoped to find another use for it, but, alas, it had to be removed to make room for the massive M42 radiator.

I still have the plumbing connections to make and I'm waiting on an electric fan. Jay and I strategized on wiring, which should be done this week. I picked up this neat little power distribution box from a fourth generation VW Jetta. It will tidy up a lot of the wiring and provide three fused and watertight connections.

Here is the center support bearing (CSB) for the stock E30 driveshaft. The driveshaft has a splined section, allowing for it to bolt right up to the length that is needed for an M42 in a 1600 or 2002. For those of you playing at home, the center-to-center dimension for the mounting holes is 7-3/4".

I made the bracket for the accelerator cable at the pedal box, but, honestly, it's so ugly from trial and error that I didn't want to photograph it.

I also made this:

It's a gear shifter knob made from a 1920s ceramic door knob that I found in a pecan farm store in Georgetown, Texas. The base is a piece of plumbing pipe that has been drilled and tapped for an M6 bolt that I ground down. It feels nice and seems to fit the character of the car.