Project 2002
| by Adrian Burford / Pics: Oliver Hirtenfelder
How safe
is safe
enough?
Building a classic car is a reminder of how much we take for granted nowadays, especially when it comes to
safety, and safety-related equipment.
F
“
eatures” like effective ventilation
(and air conditioning) belong in the
latter category, as they ultimately
affect driver comfort and concentration.
So Project 2002, which is all about taking
a 50-year-old BMW and making it fit for
the 21st century, has been executed with
both dynamic and passive safety front of
mind - within the constraints of the design
age. Where possible, we’ve harnessed
modern technology.
suspension/axle assembly from a BMW
E30 3-series and make it fit the 2002.
We also have a Bilstein damper and H&R
spring at each corner, and new bushes,
bearings and ball joints throughout to
make the road holding and handling
better than ever.
Project 2002
The most obvious part of this has been
retro-fitting the car with ABS brakes, and
to do so we’ve dipped into the BMW
parts basket, both new and second-hand.
So we have a BMW E46 ABS pump,
and later-generation wheel bearing/
hub assemblies that incorporate the
necessary functionality to allow wheel
speed to be recorded and the information
to be transferred to the anti-lock system’s
“brain”.
It then makes a decision
regarding the hydraulic pressure
being applied to each brake
caliper. To do this, we’ve
changed the rear brakes to
discs - the easiest way being to
narrow an entire disc-equipped
This is a biggie, but Norbrake has been
making cars and trucks stop for decades,
and we can’t think of a better partner for
this aspect of the project.
We’ve also opted for a BMW rack and
pinion (rather than the VW Citigolf item
originally ordered) one reason for this is
the crumple zone built into
the column: in a frontal
impact, intrusion of the steel
shaft into the cabin will be
minimised.
We’re fitting a high-level
LED brake light and at the
other end the best possible
globes for the standard
headlamps. Then we’ll run a
pair of Cibie driving lights –
a favourite with rally drivers
for decades.
Braking and hydraulic experts, Norbrake,
will hopefully take delivery of the car
shortly, tasked with building the actual
brake system, which will include converting
from a dual to single booster system and
incorporating the ABS pump into the
hydraulics.
When the car
arrives from
Evolution 2, all
brake hardware
should be in place
(including a mix
of BMW E30
and BMW E36
calipers), as well
as suitable sensor
wiring tracing a
route from each
corner to the
control unit.
| words in action
54
On the inside, we’ve fitted
shapely OMP style seats,
which should ensure maximum support
and keep the driver firmly in position.
Inertia reel seatbelts will also be fitted.
Finally, we’ve undertaken a complete
rebuild of the ventilation system, so
that it’ll be as effective as possible especially when it comes to demisting the
windscreen. Part of this includes building
an evaporative cooler, or “swamp cooler”
- based around a simple cooler box,
computer fan, and a supply of ice. It’ll
sit in the front or rear footwell and direct
chilled air at the driver. Not sure what a
swamp cooler is? Google it!
Now that we’re putting bits onto the car
with a vengeance (spending some very
enjoyable Saturday’s at Evolution 2 with
Alec Ceprnich and his team) the best way
to track our progress is on our Facebook
page: BMW 2002 Youth Project – c’mon,
give us a Like!
october 2014