Wisco Touring International

[Earl]

No need since the car won't have a/c=)

[Earl]

A while back I was working on getting some vinyl cut to make my custom "Touring International" badges. A guy on Instagram saw my idea and told me he could make me a set of badges from lexan. He told me that he made a "BMW Compact" set by hand painting it from the back side and painting black over the top. I asked how much he wanted to do them and said he would make my "Touring International" badges and send two "BMW Compact" badges to me for free. I was excited. He never sent me any teaser pics but he mailed them from Europe around a month and a half ago. I was excited for them but lost hope because we both thought they got lost in shipping. The mailman came yesterday and dropped them off and I couldn't wait to open them.



They turned out amazing. I thought he simply hand painted them from the back but it is much more than that. He actually machined the letters out from the back and then painted them in. This makes them 3D just like the OEM badges. I will take pictures of the backs when I get home and also some of the "BMW Compact" badges.

[teetime4one]

Now that is slick!

[Earl]

Originally Posted by teetime4one

Now that is slick!

You have been AWOL for a bit here=P lol I really like them.

[teetime4one]

I lurk every afternoon. I definitely keep an eye on your doings tho.

[Earl]

I didn't know that. lol I just haven't seen you comment

[teetime4one]

I've been in fishing mode for the past 8 months...cars all run great and get us where we want to go. I have a ton of parts to install on both of the ti's...just not interested in doing it these days. I'm afraid I might miss the chance of catching a big one if I'm dinking around in my garage. lol

[wake74]

Originally Posted by teetime4one

I've been in fishing mode for the past 8 months

Today's winner for understatement of the day :-)

[Mr.Squeelerz]

Very nice touch! Have him make a wall sized version for me

[teetime4one]

Originally Posted by wake74

Today's winner for understatement of the day :-)

Tee-Hee-Hee

[Earl]

More front and back pictures of the badges



Saturday I started by installing my m44 crank pulley


I was very happy to see that the trigger wheel was the same as the m42 pulley. I never even thought to make sure before switching over.

After that I threw the intake manifold on temporarily to get it off of the bench and to see how it is all coming together.


It is much bulkier than I would like but it is about as good looking as it is going to get without making a log style manifold.

After that, my friend John arrived and I decided to attack the rear wheel bearings. These were a nightmare. Getting the hubs out was pretty quick and simple. The inner races were on them pretty tight and pounding them out wasn't working. We set them to the side so that we could work on getting the outer races out of the trailing arms.

We were having a terrible time removing the snap ring for holding in the bearings. We ran to Napa to get a snap ring pliers in hope that they would work great. Well the pliers design for holding the tips wasn't exactly up to par and they kept turning when we were removing the snap rings. I ended up getting fancy with a straight pick and two screw drivers to work them out.

After that, we figured the outer races would come out with brute force. That wasn't working. We then tried multiple ways of pulling them out of the arms with no luck.


The piece of uni-strut bent before the race even budged.

We went off to the hardware store and bought a dremel, figuring it would be our saving grace. It worked excellent for removing the inner races from the hubs. We moved onto the outer races and couldn't quite reach all the way through.

The new neighbor to the shop then came home and upon introduction, recommended we use his air chisel. He walked on over with it and zipped them out in a matter of seconds........I should have introduced myself sooner.

After all of that, John pressed in the new bearings. I brought the hubs to work so that they can be sandblasted and repainted. I will install them Saturday afternoon.

How the car currently sits

[Earl]

Before



After



I painted them last night and will take pics of them dry today.

[minimike]

Getting so close now ! so excited to see it done, still amazed at the detail you have gone to! the engine is looking really good love the wrinkle paint and all the new shiny bolts coming together nicely.
What are you doing about the engine bay wiring? are you going to try and hide most of it for a nice clean look? Keep up the good work!

[Earl]

Thank you=) As far as wiring goes, the fusebox is relocated inside and the wiring that goes over the back of the engine is being routed through the opening in the firewall.

I took some pictures of how the hubs turned out. They're good enough for me. Much better than before



I also just sandblasted my rear sway bar at work and will be spraying it tonight or tomorrow=)

[Earl]

I sprayed the sway bar last night and will take pics when I get home



I also got my studs re-installed in my rear hubs and I put the rotor screws in so I don't forget them Saturday