Hey everyone
I know I've only been here since August, but lately it seems like there are a lot of new E21 drivers joining the board and I think that's awesome. Just wondering if anyone else thought this or if the new members joining has been steady for a while. I'm beginning to think there are more E21 drivers out there than I thought before (though I still havent seen one around here since I bought mine).

AJ

Alway been an 02 kinda guy and just branched out into E21s. Was it possible to get an 83 euro E21 with and M20?
Thanks

It seems to go in spurts. I noticed a few more on the road last year when the gas prices jumped.

There will never be many e21's seen in the mid west-most have rusted away many years ago.

ken

Alway been an 02 kinda guy and just branched out into E21s. Was it possible to get an 83 euro E21 with and M20?
Thanks

My car was titled as an '83, although the build date was '82. But as far as I know, '82 was the final year of mfg for the 323i e21.

Some very special '83 323i came into the USA, but these were E30 bodied ones, w/ the 2.3L motor equipped w/ L-Jet.

Well I have yet to see any driving around, but it's cool to see 2 or 3 new owners on the board from my area.

without a doubt the bastard child is comeing into its own with more coverage from magazines there availibilty and price has got owners of other model bmws pick these up as project or daily drivers.last summer there was 2 e21's with m20 swaps that autox'd i autox'd another poped up rolling around the streets with a cage in it and now have counted about 10-12 e21's in eugene over the like 4-5 the previous year.ive noticed the portland scene is growing as well.but with the growing number of 320s on the street i have seen a larger number of wrecked 320s in the yards.

without a doubt the bastard child is comeing into its own with more coverage from magazines there availibilty and price has got owners of other model bmws pick these up as project or daily drivers.last summer there was 2 e21's with m20 swaps that autox'd i autox'd another poped up rolling around the streets with a cage in it and now have counted about 10-12 e21's in eugene over the like 4-5 the previous year.ive noticed the portland scene is growing as well.but with the growing number of 320s on the street i have seen a larger number of wrecked 320s in the yards.

Well, the m20 is a common swap, since it can be done with minimal effort.
323i e21s are hard to come by due to rust issues in new england.
I have my whole 2.8 m20 stroker apart at the machine shop right now,
and it will be together this summer. Not too many 323is around boston,
more are always welcome.

There was hardly anyone here in 2004 when I joined, and now there is a lot of people that have steadily been joining over time and taking more interest, most of them are young guys.

i can't rmemvber if i joined in 2004 or 2005, but at that time there were only 3 other guys that i know of other than me at that time, bob, jake, me, and there was another dude

Just with any older classic, as everything gets older / more popular / more expensive, the price and popularity of other models increases. About 5 years ago, you could buy a very nice Bandit Edition Trans Am for $6-8K. Now your paying $15-30k for a well restored one. Also as the 68-72 Corvettes increase in price, the mid 70's-82 Vette prices are going up. So, as the 2002 and CS coupes draw in more collectors, the prices go up and the e21 becomes a better priced alterative. As they get more popular, the price goes up as well. Lets all hope we got in at the low end of the growing market.

I picked this one up off Ebay a week or so ago.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/2man02s/320is.jpg
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/2man02s/-2.jpg

so your the one that got her, congrats :)

I have had 3 02's over the years but here in the Northwest they all rust so bad or had so much rust they were un safe
Then I playing with a 86 VW GTI nice car ran great but just not a front wheel drive kind of guy
Then i found this 81 320I which i now think is a 320IS
At any rate they look great, simple to fix. the sunroof kicks butt. And the 320 makes a nice addition to my 74 BMW R75/7

I picked this one up off Ebay a week or so ago.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/2man02s/320is.jpg
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/2man02s/-2.jpg
wow, i looked REAL hard at that one.




oh and i have an m20 in my garage, should anyone want it. i gave my e21 away to another member.

Just with any older classic, as everything gets older / more popular / more expensive, the price and popularity of other models increases. About 5 years ago, you could buy a very nice Bandit Edition Trans Am for $6-8K. Now your paying $15-30k for a well restored one. Also as the 68-72 Corvettes increase in price, the mid 70's-82 Vette prices are going up. So, as the 2002 and CS coupes draw in more collectors, the prices go up and the e21 becomes a better priced alterative. As they get more popular, the price goes up as well. Lets all hope we got in at the low end of the growing market.

Yeah. It makes me want to pick up another 10 e21's, but then I'd be like you, with too many unfinished projects.

oh and i have an m20 in my garage, should anyone want it. i gave my e21 away to another member.

Complete with trans? Does it need a rebuild? Explain yourself.

wow, i looked REAL hard at that one.




oh and i have an m20 in my garage, should anyone want it. i gave my e21 away to another member.

ya i will take it off your hands...:D free? dibs!

I picked this one up off Ebay a week or so ago.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/2man02s/320is.jpg
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p120/2man02s/-2.jpg


nice! I hope someday that my e21 looks as sharp as your new one:buttrock

Complete with trans? Does it need a rebuild? Explain yourself.
last i checked, cj, a transmission and engine were seperate components. ;)


it's an M20; i have everything but the head, even the harness. head is missing. it's in great shape.
ya i will take it off your hands...:D free? dibs!

eh...

What year M20 is it?

By the way guys if you go to the yards, they are available and for dirt cheap.
I priced an complete 89 325i engine: head, block and intake manifold for 300.

What year M20 is it?

By the way guys if you go to the yards, they are available and for dirt cheap.
I priced an complete 89 325i engine: head, block and intake manifold for 300.
1987; and i'd let it go for less than that.

Back on topic....

I've always been a VW/Audi guy and never got into the BMW's because A: They were rear wheel drive, B: They were so much more expensive, and C: because they are so complicated.

Well I've been building this kinda crazy VW Rabbit pickup with a mid engined V8. And having never driven a RWD much, I figured I needed some practice, and along with my troubles at finding a decent Audi quattro (read 4000Q), I decided to go over and look at this '83 BMW that a friend dragged out of a guys yard for $250. (The guy had too many cars in his yard and was told to get them gone by the end of the week or the town was coming in with flatbeds and hauling them all away at his expense.) So my friend went through it and got the engine running nicely, and was selling it for basically what he had in it. I, for giggles, was driving by his house and took it out for a drive. It was, asides from it's anemic power and blown suspension, a pretty fun car. Something about the big open windows and large sunroof, and the handling of the car which felt very "old" made me fall in love with it. Obviously, tho I shouldn't buy it because they are expensive, and confusing. So I opened the hood and was like, what the hell? This is same management that's on a Rabbit. Hmm... Being a smart consumer, I decide I better research the parts I need to make it a dependable driver. Well come to find out, the parts are actually on par or less expensive than the comparable VW/Audi parts. So I decide to buy it. I drive it about 100 miles total and decide I need to upgrade the suspension to at least get it get it safe again, and then well, it can't hurt to do a quick respray to get rid of that dried clearcoat. Hmm, yeah here I am owning the car for 4 months, and I still have only put that 100 miles or so on it. LOL Oh well, as of this weekend, she'll have that fresh coat of Alpine White, new lights, single round grill, tinted windows, Bilsteins and coilovers, etc. I can't wait for a nice sunny dry day and take it out and rack on a few more miles. :D

Back on topic....

I've always been a VW/Audi guy and never got into the BMW's because A: They were rear wheel drive, B: They were so much more expensive, and C: because they are so complicated.

Well I've been building this kinda crazy VW Rabbit pickup with a mid engined V8. And having never driven a RWD much, I figured I needed some practice, and along with my troubles at finding a decent Audi quattro (read 4000Q), I decided to go over and look at this '83 BMW that a friend dragged out of a guys yard for $250. (The guy had too many cars in his yard and was told to get them gone by the end of the week or the town was coming in with flatbeds and hauling them all away at his expense.) So my friend went through it and got the engine running nicely, and was selling it for basically what he had in it. I, for giggles, was driving by his house and took it out for a drive. It was, asides from it's anemic power and blown suspension, a pretty fun car. Something about the big open windows and large sunroof, and the handling of the car which felt very "old" made me fall in love with it. Obviously, tho I shouldn't buy it because they are expensive, and confusing. So I opened the hood and was like, what the hell? This is same management that's on a Rabbit. Hmm... Being a smart consumer, I decide I better research the parts I need to make it a dependable driver. Well come to find out, the parts are actually on par or less expensive than the comparable VW/Audi parts. So I decide to buy it. I drive it about 100 miles total and decide I need to upgrade the suspension to at least get it get it safe again, and then well, it can't hurt to do a quick respray to get rid of that dried clearcoat. Hmm, yeah here I am owning the car for 4 months, and I still have only put that 100 miles or so on it. LOL Oh well, as of this weekend, she'll have that fresh coat of Alpine White, new lights, single round grill, tinted windows, Bilsteins and coilovers, etc. I can't wait for a nice sunny dry day and take it out and rack on a few more miles. :D


if you screw up this e21 with a bunch of ricer crap, i will hunt you down and beat you with my rolled up e21 headliner.

if you screw up this e21 with a bunch of ricer crap, i will hunt you down and beat you with my rolled up e21 headliner.

Chillax homez, hes talking about the 316 single 7" headlights.

Chillax homez, hes talking about the 316 single 7" headlights.

:lol

:shifty

LCB: As soon as you call me up and give me your credit card number to fund the build of this car, I'll be glad to build it in the way you want. In the mean time, it's going to look something along the lines of this:

http://faimg1.forum-auto.com/mesimages/254651/37.jpg

E21 scene in my city has gotten way bigger, and i find the drivers are a lot younger. had some guy about my age come up to me in a polaris 323i and said to me he saw my car on bimmerforums:shifty

LCB: As soon as you call me up and give me your credit card number to fund the build of this car, I'll be glad to build it in the way you want. In the mean time, it's going to look something along the lines of this:

http://faimg1.forum-auto.com/mesimages/254651/37.jpg
:shifty


that's not TOO bad. the e30 mirrors are a bit out of place...



but i'll be watching you. :nono

e30 mirrors??? Those are the normal '80-'83 e21 mirrors....

I like that car other than the Euro "stretched tire on fat wheels" look. Put some real meat on those wheels!

ken

Yeah, I'm leaving my mirrors unpainted.

And the wheels, I did buy those Brocks, but the cost to get 2 new rears is too expensive at the moment. (for the same price I can get steels and tires for the same price as just the wheels alone).

The Steels will be my daily wheels for this summer, and also be my track wheels, which I'll continue to use in the future, as soon as I get some "pretty" wheels for daily driving.