Reinsmith.net - 1972 BMW 2002 Parts Car Project Photos and Videos

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Parts Car II - Part 35 Click to Play Removing the Shock Towers - Part I So after I left the night before MT cut off the nose clip on the front end. This morning we are starting with the rear shock towers. The shock towers are in good shape on the Body car, but again these are a common parts that rust and are a good idea to save.<br /><br />Since the fenders (wings to our European friends) are quite rusted or damaged, we are going to cut around the supports for wheel well to save them as well. This, of course, means cutting through the fender itself. I've never done this part before and neither did MT, so I'll see if I can share some things we learned to make it easier if you have to do it.
Parts Car II - Part 36 Click to Play Removing the Shock Towers - Part II This is indeed and extreme exercise in using the reciprocating saw (I'm liking the idea of a torch more and more). Dulled and bent blades, confined spaces, angles and obstructions; all make for tricky cuts. The side grinder helps in tricky spots though. On that subject MT had to run out to get more blades and cutting wheels. So until he returns I am scrounging for blades I can reuse. Not to mention the fact that while he is out he wisely picks up 2 pairs of SAFETY GLASSES to keep in his garage. (I forgot mine again! DOH!)
Parts Car II - Part 37 Click to Play Removing the Shock Towers - Part III I am sure there are a hundred different ways to do this. The approach that I eventually took was to remove the trunk floor. This made it a lot easier to get access to the area that we were working on.<br /><br />A couple of tricky spots to mention are the roof pillars that are located on the outside of the wheel well. From trial and error I discovered that it's best to take those from the inside. The other spot is the floor supports on the inside edge of the wheel well. You can either get these from the top or from underneath. You just need to make sure you are aware of where they are and get through them in one cut.
Parts Car II - Part 38 Click to Play Removing the Shock Towers - Part IV Any which way you can. Obviously as you get into a more complicated area it gets more difficult. The best approach is to look at each piece separately and use the tool that gets the job done. For instance, we found ourselves fighting to get the saw in an area that would have been better reached by the side grinder. Then of course the opposite occurs, where you only cut a little bit with the side grinder then you go back to the saw.<br /><br /> It's tough to shake yourself out of it sometimes and just switch tools when so often you are a scrap of steel away from getting through that section. However, invariably you end up switching anyway, so it's best to just bite the bullet. You may be switching tools every 5 seconds, but it ends up being quicker and easier.
Parts Car II - Part 39 Click to Play Removing the Shock Towers - Part V I stood there throughout this whole thing expecting the tower to come loose. It seemed like every time we'd get to a point where it was going to come off we'd find another tiny little piece to cut. This is again more proof how you just need to go back and forth between tools sometimes to get what you need. We ended up having to bend and twist and wrestle with it a little bit to get to the section that needed to be cut. It did take a while but we got it.
Parts Car II - Part 40 Click to Play Off With Its Head! We were working on a deadline. The scrap yard was only open until 11:00 am, so we decided at this point to do some of the big cuts in case we ran out of time. I was a little bummed to find out I missed cutting off the front end. I must've hit the record button again out of habit when I already had it on, DOH! Sorry about that. We cut off the other wheel well with the fender included in the interest of time. We can cut the rest of it later, it'll be interesting to see if it's easier to do off the car.
Parts Car II - Part 41 Click to Play Tooth and Nail FIGHTING TOOTH AND NAIL - Fight fiercely, with all one's resources; cling tenaciously, etc. From the latin proverb 'dentibus et vnguibus.' Which loosely translated means 'Piss Me Off!'. Well I was pretty tired that morning, so to be so close to being done and to have the last piece fight like that was a little frustrating. However, we persisted and got it done. It's been quite the journey to get this car pieced out in less than a month. We've been fortunate that it has the parts we needed and much more.