The front axle
The front axle was almost identical to the GLAS GT. Many parts are the same. Only the rubber bushings for the trailing arms are from the BMW 02 and the upper and lower wishbones are from the BMW GLAS V8. But the rubber bushings are the same.
Especially all the rubber bushings should be replaced, because they are mostly 50 years old and have become hard as stone.
After replacing these parts, the car has a completely different handling characteristic.
These parts are all available at the GLAS Club at moderate prices. But since there are so many there is a fair amount of money involved.
At the lower wishbone you must replace the lower ball joint. Usually the vehicles have been standing for some years and the plastic liner in these joints has disintegrated. Failure to do so will result in a rattle from the axle once you take the car back into operation. The same applies to the upper ball joint and the steering rod ball joints. This also may be the case on the replacement parts if they have been stored for 40 to 50 years!
On the outside of the upper wishbone are two rubber bushing (DU-bearing) on each side, which also should be replaced. In the left picture you can see the parts of one axle half.
On the right side of the brake disc the upper ball joint is shown which is fixed to the wheel spindle carrier. Right beside it is the upper wishbone, in its large hole the upper ball joint is mounted. At the outer end of the upper wishbone are the 4 DU- bearing shown which are pressed into the wishbone. The wishbone is mounted then to the axle with the long rod shown. The DU-bearing is a complex part, using an inner steel spacer surrounded by a rubber jacket. Once installed, the wishbone does not pivot in the rod, but in these DU-bearings.
On the right you see the front stabilizer. It is mounted in 2 rubber sleeves onto the lower wishbones on the outside and with 4 rubber bushings housed in two connecting links (not shown) in the middle to the front axle carrier. These bushing look the same on the outside but have different inside diameters. 20 mm for the stabilizer and an 18 mm for the front axle.
The rear axle
It is a semi-trailing arm rear axle, which was also installed in the BMW 1602 in 1968. It is a completely different design than the rigid axle used on the GLAS GT. Parts are available from the BMW Classic.
The axle is quite robust and mostly you only must change the CV boots of the drive shafts.
If required, wheel bearings can be obtained from any automotive parts store.
The engine
For the engine you can still get all parts from BMW, as far as they fit the BMW 1602. But there are also some specific ones that were only used on the BMW 1600 GT. These parts can only be sourced from used car parts suppliers.
The air filter bellows from BMW are for the BMW 2002ti and their bellow has only three folds. These are too short to be used on the BMW 1600 GT. Here one needs the bellows with four folds. This part is reproduced by a club member.
You can have the radiator overhauled by a specialist with a new core. The club also has still contact to the original manufacturer of the radiator from the 60s. For the GLAS GT and some others, new radiators are still being manufactured. For the BMW 1600 GT radiator they only offer a replacement of the core. The address can be found in the club.
The brake booster is a T50 unit from ATE. A repair requires a specialist which may be hard to find. The club has an address of a shop which can refurbish these units.
The fuse box is a somewhat fragile part. The Phenolic circuit board under the fuses is often charred or damaged.
The GLAS GT used the identical unit. This unit is overhauled with new parts by GLAS Club members.
