how NOT to install a roll bar

Since the (temporary) sweatshop starts early,
i'm trying to get at least a couple hours in a "night"
once the sweet spot was 12-3am,
now its 5-8pm.
Wow.
The BMW is a perfect project for this afterwork time,
since a "big box" type boatyard saps any desire to think correctly.
So why not start tearing things up!

This is the biggest joke of the car,
as a roll car automatically makes it a race car.

big red roll bar

I swear its the first thing people talk about when they see it.
"Oh, its a race car cool!"
"Look at the rollbar!"
Maybe cause its so red.

Anyway the roll bar itself isn't that bad,
its how the guys mounted it.

spittle

When in doubt,
thru-bolt the base plate to a piece of sheetmetal not attached to the floor,
and never use washers on the bottom.

droppings

When in doubt, don't worry about using bolts,
even if the baseplate holes are predrilled.
The welding smoke must have been unbearable for the welder.
These rear pads popped off with one light smack with a hammer!

we don't need no stinkin bolts!

When in doubt,
just paint over everything!
Even better that the seatbelts were attached to the rollbar!

square one

I don't think the roll bar will be reinstalled.
Some sembleance of a back seat would be better.
Anyone in need of a small car roll cage? craigslist time...

Gotta love those flintstone holes huh!
And whats with that part underneath the window?
For some reason it was cut and resectioned in, badly.
Maybe someone replaced the window bottom with a different year.
Sigh.

little whistler

Also found the source of that exhaust leak!
It sounded like the exhaust had a lisp.
And yes,
I rarely use exhaust gaskets,
just some high-temp RTV.
The trick is to coat it with the hi-temp,
bolt it all up but not too tight.
Let it harden a bit maybe half hour or less,
than tighten it up as much as normal.

6 big bolts 10 little bolts

Why stop there?
Might as well really clean up the engine bay,
clean and rebush the front suspension...
There's also some good rust holes in the actual subframe that will be easier to fix.
This is a surprisingly easy car to strip down...
please get back together as easily!

...Sigh...

These 2002's, well 1600's, are made almost entirely of very thin sheetmetal.
Its like metal origami.
No wonder they were popular for rally cars.

If you think this is bad,
than take a look at this.

liar's club entry #3

If anyone knows what this is,
you win.

Makes the Beemer look like a cakewalk.
Come on friday.
Now I know why they invented beer!

TP