What did you do to your e21 today?

[320iAman]

Yes, the quietcast last a long time, good grip, rotor friendly- they don't chew it up, and low dust. Vented rotors are interesting had them on early e21's and then went to solid rotors. Vented rotors stay cooler when braking.

Randy

[Tom D]

Bosch quietcast pads..........offer a nice pedal feel and good initial bite.

Should be low dust...... a ceramic based pad. ]

while I can't disagree with anything you said and I've never used Bosch before, I would never put a ceramic pad on my car. but then again you and I probably don't drive alike.

I have used ceramic pads before and couldn't get them off the car fast enough. kinda of ironic to upgrade to vented rotors and then use a ceramic pad.

[Rushfan1]

Pre-winter storage oil/filter change and brake/clutch slave fluid flush and fill. Looks like my right front caliper will need to be replaced soon as the vehicle is veering to left upon braking and the right pads are about 50% less worn than the left. Does it make a difference if it is a Girling or ATE caliper?

[320iAman]

Pre-winter storage oil/filter change and brake/clutch slave fluid flush and fill. Looks like my right front caliper will need to be replaced soon as the vehicle is veering to left upon braking and the right pads are about 50% less worn than the left. Does it make a difference if it is a Girling or ATE caliper?

As far as performance no.

Randy

[midlifebmw]

Still have Gypsy DblSports E21 and have done a lot of Euro conversions to it for bumpers and such. Found out that most of the injector seals are shot, so I've ordered them and will install them this week. Been using her as a daily for work on a 24 mile commute and noticed some lagging and lack of power despite checking the timing (which is fine because the injector seals are crap!). UPdate coming soon! I do have a 2.7 litre upgrade with an 885 head and solex 4bbl carb intake conversion to bolt into this car soon.

[timsco]

Fully Pulled the EGR air pump as the previous owner disconnect all the emissions when he converted to carbs setup.

[320iAman]

Picked a few items for the M10 Block I'm going to rebuild. Timing Chain tensioner rail and 2 Timing Chain Guide rails, the guide rails were $6 each/ free shipping so I got two.

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Randy

[gsumzzz]

Now you have to find a second block Randy! LOL

[320iAman]

Got one on the car already

Randy

[E21Drive]

I bought a 323i two years ago that i have been working on. Finally got it to run this spring after a big engine overhaul and fuel distributor rebuild.

So today i've finally begun to work on my rear trailing arms and removed them. Gonna paint them, change all bushings and and renovate the calipers. One wheel at a time.

Nice to see so many E21 lovers out here. Cheers to you all.

[cgifool]

Converting to e30 rear calipers is pretty easy, much better pad selection/availability and they just work better. I didn't end up doing it myself but only because I'm a sucker for originality.

[DavidF]

I bought a 323i two years ago that i have been working on. Finally got it to run this spring after a big engine overhaul and fuel distributor rebuild.

So today i've finally begun to work on my rear trailing arms and removed them. Gonna paint them, change all bushings and and renovate the calipers. One wheel at a time.

Nice to see so many E21 lovers out here. Cheers to you all.

I'm at about the same stage with my '80 323i that I purchased back in March (2023). Went through the entire incredibly clean engine (2.7 stroker), rebuilt fuel distributor, and entire fuel system (including single pump assembly). Removed the tanks for cleaning/inspection (they were perfect for vehicle sitting for 10 years) only to find more rust than expected on inner rockers. Had to repair all that before I reinstalled the tanks which happen about two weeks ago. Went to start the engine for the first time only to find out I only have power to ignition while cranking...still have to figure that one out. I have fuel to injectors and engine sounds great when it fires (while cranking). If I don't figure out why no ignition in run position, I will hotwire the coil just to get it running and tuned.

The car already had e30 rear brakes. I purchased new rubber hose only to realize the lines are different between E21 and E30 calipers. The E21 calipers use banjo bolts and the E30 hose simply screw directly into the calipers. You can make the banjo lines work, but the bend in the hose will be sharp. I discover one of each type of hose when I went to replace them. Just a heads up.

[msiert]

Put over 200 miles on the 83 since Wednesday!

[DavidF]

After 7 months, got the 323i running. Attempt last weekend turned out to be a fuel delivery problem. I assumed I rebuilt the fuel distributor incorrectly and started to remove it from the car. There was fuel pressure at the injector line banjos except cylinder 1…that was weird. With the fuel distributor on the work bench, I removed the pressure regulator first only to discover I neglected to install one of the o-rings. Found the o-ring from the kit, reinstalled everything. Presto, fuel pressure at all injector lines. Lifted air flapper with fuel pump running and adjusted mixture screw so injectors sprayed when just lifting flapper…engine started right up. Fuel mixture tuning next.

[cgifool]

After 7 months, got the 323i running.

YES! Congrats!!

[DavidF]

Tuned the 2.7 M20, bleed brakes and clutch and moved the car under its own power. Tomorrow may try to rip it around the block before sending it off to get the aftermarket sunroof deleted.

[DavidF]

Drove car around block which was good as it indicated the following:
1. Lowered suspension has to go. Tire rub and horribly firm/bouncy ride.
2. Amazing power compared to my ‘82 320iS.
3. A bit of driveline snatch/bucking…felt an engine miss. Need to tune better starting with valve adjustment and proper timing at correct RPM. Then on to fuel mixture and idle.
4. Adjust clutch pedal.

[Clio320i]

Drove car around block which was good as it indicated the following:
1. Lowered suspension has to go. Tire rub and horribly firm/bouncy ride and tire rub.
2. Amazingly power compared to my ‘82 320iS.
3. A bit of driveline snatch/bucking…felt an engine miss. Need to tune better starting with valve adjustment and proper timing at correct RPM. Then on to fuel mixture and idle.
4. Adjust clutch pedal.

weirdly the only other E21 I’ve ever driven is alaskabimmer’s 323i Baur, which was on stiff lowered suspension so it felt like such an amazingly different beast than my stock (at the time) 320i. And the power! It was almost too much!
Best of luck with yours


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[320iAman]

CAL Smog tested my car and passed 2/5/24, good for another 2 years, car registration is not due till April 2024, I decided to accelerate my tune up before hand by 6 weeks or so and test early.

Randy

[320iAman]

New Oil Pump Sprocket and Timing Chain Gear came in today. Checked the oil pump sprocket with the oil pump, fits tight. Swag is part of Febi-Bilstein Group.

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Randy

[Clio320i]

Tried real damn hard to replace window scrapers. Got defeated. Will try again eventually. Just needed to cry about it for a while. I miss being able to work on our cars with my beloved partner. He’s still here but he can’t wrench anymore and I’m very sad.


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[DavidF]

Sorry to hear your partner cannot help. But, you can do this. There are two methods - hard and easy.

Hard: gently pry off the chrome molding on the outside top of the door. Use a plastic prying tool and work your way from rear to front by prying the molding straight up. If the clips remained on the door, remove them and reinstall into the chrome and replace the "scrapers". Reinstall the chrome trim by pushing down into place.

Easy: roll down the window. Protect the chrome strip on the top edge of the door panel (rag, cardboard, etc). Using a large screwdriver, pry the "scraper" up and off the exterior door chrome strip from the inside of the door (you will prying against the door panel chrome strip you are protecting). The retainer clips will stay in place. Push the new "scraper" into place by engaging the "scraper" edge into the clips.

[Clio320i]

Thank you David. I was successful with method 2 on the passenger door but the window glass got detached from the clips on the regulator arm, after I had the door card back on (ugh, I hate door cards). Not realizing that had happened due to the increase in pressure on the window as it rolls down from the new scraper, I removed the card, reset the glass into the clips, and put it all back together only to have it fall out again. So now I need to get some good epoxy and do it all over. The drivers side has already been epoxied so hopefully it won’t give me this headache. I’m also out of spare upholstery clips so I might just wait on those to come in before I continue because you know how at least some of them will always break.


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[Rushfan1]

I took the vehicle for a spin after taking it out of winter storage. Happiness is it running like it did when I put it away last Fall. 44 years old and looking and running great.

[Brob]

Passed CA smog today. Always nervous time when I go in, no issues this time around.