My BMW was built in the fatherland in 1986, and shipped to the United States to be sold to an affluent auto enthusiast for around $34,000.  About 19 years later it had seen 272,000 miles and an engine swap. It had also seen a lot of rough driving and at least one pretty bad  wreck.  When I got it from my daughters starter husband (after they moved to Florida) it was dead.  I bought a new battery and got the gas tank open (I didn't know about the internal locking system then) and had a harrowing ride home in the dark. From day one, the right front shock was a rattling, noisy, scary mess, but the car still handled pretty well (better than most cars I'd driven to that point) and I endured.  After a few weeks I got used to the foibles and appearance, and started to enjoy the pluses of the car. Then the day came when I was driving home and the shift selector rod snapped and I was out of commission for the immediate future.  That future went on for around two years, with another BMW in the mean-time but that's another story (and one that is well detailed in previous "Projectile " posts here at chuckpace.com).  
When I finally found the correct shifting mechanism (after the death of the 2nd Bimmer the Mädchen) it was decided that we (I) would rebuild the Blue beast that I got in 2005, to that end I began the resurrection of the car. And because of it's appearance, and the fact that I would be getting other parts from multiple sources, I started calling it the Blue Frankenstein.  
More time passed and the car was garaged.  Body work had begun, parts and accessories slowly added, improvements begun.  This was during the time that there were two vehicles in the driveway.  Jenni drove Harold the truck and I drove the "Vert for most of that time, leaving the Blue Frankenstein to be worked on at my leisure and discretion, but brought out of the garage often enough to keep it nimble and alert. 
The truck died, and the Frankenstein was back to full time duty, the decision was made to finally replace the shock absorber on the right corner with a new, properly operating one.  Since shocks are always supposed to be changed in pairs, a pair of Bilstein High-performance shocks was purchased along with some trim elements and front and rear mud flaps. 
More failures and set-backs occurred in May and it was back to what you know instead of what you want, and I was still driving the Frankenstein with the broken shock on the right. Three months from the day that I discovered that the broken shock was fused into the strut, and that the strut could not be disassembled I began a week of vacation.  I had a mission to get some results for the Frankenstein.  
Sanding and primering for three days and the car .looked better than I've sever seen it, still there are some imperfections that only show up when you do that kind of work, so I'll bee taking care of those soon.   But the best news, is in my next post... 
Stay Tuned...
The Bimmer in 2005 above & Hood, fender filled and primered 2010 below.
Chuck Pace ©2010
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