BMW Bavaria + Carter 4070 Fuel Pump

When I was unable to successfully rebuild the OE Zenith carburetors on our BMW Bavaria (no patience), I bought a pair of used Weber 32/36 DGAV carburetors (with the linkage and a manifold) on eBay for $99. I bought rebuild kits and some new jets from Pierce Manifolds (because they’re sort of close to me).

Carter 4070 Fuel Pump Mounted on Firewall
Carter 4070 Fuel Pump Mounted on Firewall

For some reason, I also decided to replace the mechanical push rod driven fuel pump with an electric rotary vane pump.

I found that Top End Performance had a discourse on the Carter 4070 fuel pump saying it was a good pump for Weber carbs. I first mounted the fuel pump on the firewall, near the overflow tank.

On the highway, I noticed that the car would occasionally stutter and I realized that the engine was becoming fuel starved because the pump was designed to be more of a pusher, closer to the gas tank.

I moved the fuel pump to underneath the car, just forward of the fuel tank. I used a Napa 1814U “Quiet Pack” that mounts the pump on rubber bushings to isolate it from the car’s frame and ran the 12v+ for the pump from the fuse box.

Carter 4070 Fuel Pump
Carter 4070 Fuel Pump (Note: wiring polarity is incorrect in this photo – it is reversed)

I also bought this Holley shut off switch that works off of engine oil pressure. Joe Weir, on the Senior Six Registry mailing list sent me a diagram that uses a relay (12 63 1 276 165) from a 320i for fuel shutoff.

The only problem I’ve had is with the electrical connections to the pump falling off – they’re held on by friction. To resolve this, I put a dollop of JB Weld on each terminal, then stuck the connectors on.

Carter fuel pump installation notes, pages 3-6 (PDF)

Hood Insulation

The body shop removed the insulation from the inside of the hood when we got the BMW painted. I didn’t think about how hot the hood got until I was covering the car the other night and put my hand on the hood.

BMW Hood Insulation
BMW Bavaria Hood Insulation
BMW Hood Insulation
BMW Hood Insulation

Jim Stansfield at Mesa Performance sent me up some insulation that wasn’t too hard to put on. I made a paper template from the cutouts in the hood and traced that onto the insulation.

3M Super Trim Adhesive 08090
3M Super Trim Adhesive 08090

I cut the insulation with household scissors and used 3M Super Trim Adhesive (for garnitures). The glue is a contact cement that is applied to both surfaces then joined.

I finished the edges with silver foil aluminum tape. It’s all kind of shiny.

1972 BMW Bavaria Restoration

BMW Bavaria
BMW Bavaria

We started after an accident, here. Thanks to Mitch Conard and Jim Stansfield and Spence at Mesa Performance Parts, we got a lot big and little parts to put it back together.

The paint was done six weeks ago. The Alfa was failing, so we took the BMW out of the body shop, missing some trim and some details, because we needed a drivable car. Now it’s almost finished.

I went out to take these pictures and noticed that the driver side rocker panel molding was hanging from the t-bolts at both ends.

BMW Bavaria

I spent an 2 hours trying to get 35-year-old molding over new clips. I couldn’t do it. Now I am drinking big martinis.

If anyone has any ideas on how to put on the rocker panel molding, please leave your suggestion in a comment. I tried hammering it, using a heat gun to soften the rubber and swearing a lot. (Years later: I had the wrong clips to hold the molding)

BMW Bavaria

We are probably in for US$ 9,000 for parts, body work and paint + US$ 3,500 insurance coverage. Plus my labor, swearing and drinking. I hate working on cars.

BMW Bavaria WordPress Flickr Photo Album Plugin Mashup

I haven’t been a user of Flickr, but since I see it referenced so frequently (Scoble talks about Flickr and Zooomr all the time, and he’s a professional), I thought I’d see how Flickr manages images.

Since I started using WordPress v2.2 and got all widgetized (Geez, look at my sidebar), I found Joe Tan’s (of Silas Partners) Flickr Photo Album for WordPress.

Mr. Tan generously released the plugin under the GPL, so all I had to do was get an API from Flickr.

I uploaded a bunch of photographs that the shop took of the surface prep of our BMW Bavaria.

When we bought our BMW, we thought it was a relatively “rust-free” example. But living on a peninsula that is hanging out in the Pacific Ocean has a negative effect on steel.

I had trouble keeping the exterior paint shiny. I bought a Makita 9227C 7″ Variable Speed Hook and Loop Polisher/Sander and numerous compounds, Meguiars Medium and Fine Cut cleaners, and various waxes. It took a lot of effort to make the car look good, but it would last about a week – the paint was shot.

As the shop, J & J Auto Body and Paint Refinishing in Monterey, started surface preparation for the painting the car, the car’s paint history started appearing.

When they started sanding, they found several layers of paint. They recommended bare metal sanding ($$$$). The sanding revealed previous repairs all along the left side of the car (body filler).

J & J also did some metal fabrication to repair a rust hole in the rear window frame and the corners of the doors.

Link to my flickr BMW album.

BMW Repairs

I moved the photos of the repair of the BMW to its own section.

There are only photographs for now, but I assure you the future commentary will have many accompanying curse words.