Nada and kelly don't give me any prices for these cars : )

'82 320i, looks like it's in ok shape... 3 spots have body rust (door corners) and the drivers side floor would be best replaced.

Engine sounds good, suspension and tires look good.

Guy is asking $1600... wasn't even interested in picking up another car, but this was sitting at the end of the street...

I don't know if it's a good deal or not - I love the look of the older bmw's, but I was thinking of getting an E30 for the track.

Thought please? : )

With the rust, esp if the floor needs to be replaced/fixed, you should try to talk the price down a little. These cars, in about the same condition are going for between $1000 and $1500 really. Although those are bone stock cars, no mods. Does the '82 in question have any mods, including wheels? My wheels alone are worth more than my car right now!

BTW, if the car is going to be mainly a track car like you mentioned in the other thread, then you should really look into how bad the rust in the floor board is. Esp if it might have gotten to a frame rail. You probably don't want to be getting out on the track with a car that might have some metal fatigue issues....

hmmm... very good point.

Yes, I had planned to talk them down a bit regardless - I hate to walk away not feeling like sI got some kinda deal. :)

The m3 is what we have been autocrossing lately... the z06 is still under warrantly, so I probably won't try to kill it any time soon.

I don't know anything about the car really... I know the signage said aluminum pistons (not sure if they were 10 1/2 or 11 1/2). The wheels were nothing special, new tires. H&R prings, boge turbo gas shocks, schrick cam, weber carb, newer exhaust. Back seats looks great (black) but front seats have seat covers on them (willing to throw a few bucks toward racing seats).

The floor problems gives me an excuse to get a welder : )

oh, and I just found out that I somehow wrote the year down wrong... it's a '78

I can sell my 323i 79' for 4k euros + shiping because of thinking about M3 :)

oh, the tires are new p400's and the rims are repainted... has front and rear sways and new control arms

starts great - runs fine... I wrote down the wrong price, he's actually asking $1500 obo

Get a PPI (pre purchase inspection) done first and foremost... Have them check out the rust situation... if its gotten out of control, i would walk away and never look back...

thanks for the suggestion, but for a vehicle this inexpensive, my PPI is me with the keys, and a jack to check hubs, etc.

The vehicle needs to be much more expensive before I'm going to dish out money for something like that : ) I can look at a car and tell if it's falling apart, I just throw my rhino ramps and racing jack in the car : )

I agree with this one Jonas, a PPI on something that will be les than $2K isn't worth the extra expense. Although I'm glad that it was done so everybody knew what was up with your 323i's subframe.

An earlier car with a Weber carb for that price is sounding a bit better. It makes it so you'll have a bit more power, and the cam isn't going to hurt either. Sounds like you're going to have a nice little project there, again if the underside passes YOUR inspection.

Makes me sorta glad that you live in Ohio and won't be running up against me in 4 Mod at the CCA autoX's!

hehe - you are making this car sound better and better : )

I think I can go check it out more tonight, if I don't end up racing at speeds. : )

btw - what are factory sheep skins?

Sounds like those seat covers up front....but I wasn't aware that BMW offered them. Who know's exactly what they offered in the '70s though at this point.....

I thought they just had cloth or leather for the interior. Was most likely an after market, or at least after factory mod.

Keep in mind, as fun as these cars are to drive, they're not going to have much power compared to what you're already driving. When I had my engine still in and working, I was kind of dissapointed by the torque after driving my truck. Both are 4 bangers, but the BMW only has about 100base ft/tq, where as my truck has 136, and produces it way low.

As much as us e21 guys like to get carried away about our cars, they aren't going to be that cheap. Maybe not compared to an m3 and a z06, but to many of us, these are pretty costly to maintain cars. I know every AZer with an e21 is in college or finishing out high school, and keeps their 320i as a daily driver or a side project. Mine used to be my DD until I got my truck, and even then, it'd be out for a couple weeks at a time to fix critical components (drive shaft, namely, a few other miss happs, like getting a drum stuck on the shoes).

Though if you're going to buy this little sucker, go for it. But make sure everything is good on it, otherwise you're going to be totally ripped off at 1500, it wouldn't really honestly be worth it until 1000. I totally feel that I got ripped off when I bought my car at 1700. Even though it only had 80,000 at the time, there was so much wrong with it that isn't really obvious until you start taking things apart it's not even funny. There were holes in the head, the clutch was shot, the driveshaft centersupport was on it's last legs, and he managed to break the transmission output flange. Not to mention the interior having all kinds of unremovable stains from spills of this or that, and the peices falling off the sides, and the doors not wanting to close right.

But, as many problems as my car has, I've come to embrace and love it. I probably am not going to get rid of it as long as the chassis holds up. Even my fiancee has warmed up to it over the past 6 months. When they're running right, they're an absolute blast. And even when they're not running right, it takes a whole hell of a lot to make them stop running. My car had 2 holes through the god damned head on either side, and a hole into the spark plug threading, and it still ran WELL!!! I would never have known that was what was making me leak oil and blow smoke.


I'm just kind of playing devils advocate here I suppose. I love these cars, but realise, you're going to be getting yourself into alot.

well, I did get some more info on it... but don't really know if it means much

notes I took while the guy talked (don't yell at me if I missed something : )

1st car he ever built by Tom Hatem (local shop owner, pretty popular around here)

setup for 15" track tires

single carb32/36 weber

interior totally redone
600 $ sheepskins
h&r springs
boge turbo gas shocks 20k on susp.
rebuilt control arms new ball joint
new tires.


9.8 alum. high compression piston
282-286 schrick cam
Glenn rebuilt
new plumbing in motor
all electrical systems work
5spd. retrofit. getrag
lsd. 3.96?
with sidedraft
bosch
allison distr.
magnecor plug wires
m10 motor 121ti kinda like a tii motor.
no oil leaks.
only from breather
k&n filter
rejetted carb
sitting since oct. while working on it.
miles on motor after rebuild 25k.
123k original miles
new guibo.
drivers side rust.
flordia for a while. 1yr
current problems 2 40mm sidedraft webers to single carb. fuel pump isnt pushing enough fuel & 70mph.
got new purlator 6psi will put in.
exhaust- BMP ANSA DTM catback.
header unknown origin
new gas tank

wow, buy it! You can always put in a newer fuel pump if the current one is working properly right now... sounds like a decent deal... and a great start on what could become a great e21!

Make sure you get some documentation about the motor. He could have easily made all that up............. :confused

And umm not enough fuel pressure at 70mph? WTF does speed have to do with fuel pressure? And if there wasnt enough fuel the engine would run EXTREMELY LEAN for a few seconds then die. This is obviously NOT good for the engine if it is the true problem.

If he cant come up with any proof of the engine build then throw it on a dyno. That setup should have around 120-130RWHP.

the guy who rebuilt it isn't the car owner, but the guy who lives about 2 blocks from us and owns the local ski shop. He solo2 races with us, and we've known him for a few years... so I'll be able to get the scoop (and any receipts) there. As for the pump, that info came from the owner, not the 'mechanic' (but yes, if the pump is too small, you would see a problem @ higher speeds, even though it's probably not good at any speeds).


I don't know anything about these parts, etc... but I would expect to walk away with that car for around $1200.

I didn't go looking for the car (I was ok with what we have) but I figured it if was a good deal, I'd jump on it. I'll talk to the guys at our bmwcca meeting tonight, see what they think.

The locals that know the car are going to be a good source of info. They can tell you what is wrong with it, what they know of 'abuse', etc, etc. And Do talk with the guy that built it and ask him what he thinks the fuel issue is too. He might have a good idea. Fuel filter maybe?