I've finally quit being an E21 owner wannabe.

Took the day off and flew up to Sacramento yesterday, seller picked me up, and I drove the car down to the VC (Ventura County j/k) via the 5 freeway. Wasn't sure how fast it could go given that the speedometer only went up to 85. Plus I had a few things in the trunk: bilstein struts and eibach springs, TEP front and rear braces, TEP air intake kit, Vented rotors + calipers, and a BavAuto ssk. I found out that I was cruising by at 91mph :) ... at least that's what the officer told me.:(

Pics to follow - front looks like it's smirking though (uneven bumper), but hey, where's the fun in having a car you don't need to work on? If I could see one of the very good examples (paging BoostedE21), then I will have something to aim for.

Later, fellas.

Aim for this:
http://img282.imageshack.us/img282/976/320i1309yi.jpg

:needpics Sorry I had to

Congrats!! I am a new E21 owner as well. It's awesome!! I think I'll be driving the E21 more than my E36. It's so much fun!!!!!!!!!!

Depends, how well do you know cars... and how much are you wanting to spend. BoostedE21 has turbo, most of the stuff in his car he spend a pretty penny on. It all depends on what you want out of your car and how much work/cash you are willing to spend.

:needpics Sorry I had to

No problem... I would have done the same thing:)

Anyway, here's the pics:
1. In my driveway... younger brother (e36) in the background. Generally in good shape, but you can already see the smirk (uneven bumper). I may just take it off this afternoon. Already removed old chrome fender trim (which was painted black, causing the wheel well to look even larger - weird). Wheels were newly sandblasted and painted (thanks to Bob Sutterfield).
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/fullswing/84949852.jpg

2. Reverse angle, garage in background. Also has Zender side skirts and Ronal rear deck spoiler. The spoiler is all warped though due to age and exposure. Any suggestions on refreshing it? Should I just take it off? You will also notice the ugly antenna. It's not connected to anything now as I saw the wire in the trunk. Will definitely remove this.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/fullswing/7361a722.jpg

3. Interior. Seats in ok shape but a little too deep. E-brake looks like a rocket at launch angle. Momo steering wheel and shift knob are worn. A bit too many speakers on the doors and rear panels. Have not tested these. Radio can be pulled out as it is not fastened and surround is broken. Dash has a few cracks.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/fullswing/17d95989.jpg

4. A present in the trunk... see the umbrella tucked away? That sucker is mine! Not much use for it though year round, but the winter rains are almost here.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/fullswing/c928e49d.jpg

Different road feel from my E36 which has the M suspension, but I love the stick shift (wifey needs to drive the vert, esp. now that her wagon is in the body shop). It'll be my daily driver for the meantime (4-mile roundtrip commute), but will be my weekend hobby in a month.

I haven't tinkered with any engines or suspension but I've taken out the entire interior on my E36... and put it back eventually. I'm a quick study though, and I look forward to learning by doing.

Ultimate goal: refreshing most everything with not necessarily new parts, but urethane bushings will be a must. Have '77 front brake setup, ssk, batt. relo waiting in the wings. I'll get my indy mech put together a to-do list as well, which I will mostly do myself. I'll do sound system and upholstery work too. I think I'll stop short of FI or rebuilding the engine/tranny FOR NOW. I will need to keep the A/C though, and will consider options.

"FOR NOW" - gotta get the wifey her new kitchen stuff first.:)

Suggestions are most welcome.

Looks like this will be a fun new car for you. Any chance you can join the Legion for BFest in April?

Looks like a solid car. I would ditch the funky rear spoiler rather than try to fix it, but that's just my opinion.

Your Recaros have been recovered at some point in their lives, as they are leather, which was not an option on these from BMW. They are likely "too deep" because the webbing is hosed on the bottom of them. Replace the webbing, and they will lift back up to proper depth, and be mighty comfy again. I sell the webbing kits for $37 including shipping.

Al

Congrats!

Looks nice! Congrats on your new toy!

I can't wait to have my E21 home so I can start fiddling with it. Hopefully it'll be out of the shop by the end of this week...

welcome.....

i need to go back out west and pick one of these up. love the white color BTW

Thanks for the comments and the good words!

I look forward to having the car in somewhat better shape by April, so I will join the Legion at the BFest. How do I get the details on that meet?

Al - how did you know the seats were leather? Ok, dumb question given your expertise. The webbing kit sounds good. I'll let you know soon. I'm just trying to figure out the order in which I'll do things. The seat fix will probably be one of the first, after the front bumper delete.

Any recommendations as to repair literature? Got an old Haynes (UK version), but it's not very picture/diagram friendly.

Later, fellas!

I have the full service manual in PDF form, its 197 pages with full pictures, its about 70mb if you want it.

Look for a Bimmerfest thread a couple months before April, you wont miss it.

I have the full service manual in PDF form, its 197 pages with full pictures, its about 70mb if you want it.

Look for a Bimmerfest thread a couple months before April, you wont miss it.

Re manual in pdf: yes, I want it. If you send me a link, I'll download it from home so I can burn it on a cd. VERY much appreciated.

I'll keep an eye out for the BFest. Thanks again!

Holy F@#%in Crap...

While driving down the 101 to LA, the accelerator got stuck on full throttle. Not wanting to use other vehicles as deceleration devices, I quickly pulled over. Since the brakes were not helping the car stop, I had to put the transmission in neutral - this caused the engine to rev at the redline ~7 to 8k - I then quickly shutoff the system and stopped the car on the side of the big offramp. It was still dark to I had to keep my lights on unless I unwittingly became a deceleration device myself.

I got the car towed to my mech in Newbury Park. At the shop, the battery was DOA. After recharging the battery, my mech turned the engine. The SOB siezed up after creating a knocking, breaking bearing, hammer pounding type noise. I later did not turn whatsoever, backward or forward. He opened up the valve cover and seeing nothing wrong, said that it was a bottom-end issue... and that the labor spent to diagnose the problem, and not even solve it, should rather be used toward replacing the engine.

And that brings us to this point. Figuring out what to do next.

Based on posts I've read, there are the good and bad.
Bad: engine swap expense will be earlier than usual.
Good: engine swap will be earlier than usual.

Don't want to go overboard as I bought the car to be a fun to drive daily driver, not a race car. Neither did I expect to build it up to concourse quality. I aimed to make it something I could be proud to own, drive and work on.

Suggestions are most welcome.

Rebuild it, if you want get some custom pistons (ie 91mm, higher CR), a mild cam. Shouldnt be too much extra to do this since you will need a rebuild as it is. Good luck.

Go into your local dealer, and order one of these - 31 11 1 121 501

Once you figure out what it is, you'll know what to do with the rest.:)

Al

Get a 323 subframe for $100-$150 and swap in an m20. :redspot

Looks like a solid car. I would ditch the funky rear spoiler rather than try to fix it, but that's just my opinion.
Your Recaros have been recovered at some point in their lives, as they are leather, which was not an option on these from BMW. They are likely "too deep" because the webbing is hosed on the bottom of them. Replace the webbing, and they will lift back up to proper depth, and be mighty comfy again. I sell the webbing kits for $37 including shipping.
Al

Yes it is amazing how much more comfy they are with new webbing, they aren't BUCKET seats any more.