Here we go!
Alright y’all, if you remember (or don’t) I found a Ascot Grey 1982 BMW 323i in the woods of East Portland in October of 2015, and this is how it looked when I found it.
IMG_9199 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
From there I went through a period of about six months where my BMW Tech and I negotiated and couldn’t quite come to an agreement. It was about that time that I found the 1979 323i next to it that had the Matthes engine in it, as well as the
(presumably) Stahl headers as well as a Bosi cat-back exhaust.
323fourteen by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
323sixteen by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
323thirteen by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Well, after coming to an arrangement for BOTH cars, they just sat as I got some things together financially and logistically. About a year after finding the car, my wife and I bought a house with a nice detached garage in it that I knew I could make into my mad scientist lab. We when decided to start planning for a kitchen remodel, so that tied up all of my available fundage. After selling my 1988 325ix, it freed up the necessary monies to make a down payment on the car, and strike a deal that I could bring the car home, and continue to just make payments.
Even though the deal was struck, the car didn’t move for a few months, until recently. With a healthy boost of enthusiasm, a friend and I cleaned out a lane to prep the car to move, in hopes to get it out “soon”. Another issue was that there were two corners that we needed to clear to get the car to the front of the shop…
IMG_9200 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
The first corner was here.
IMG_9201 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9245 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
I didn’t get any pictures of actually clearing the corner, but it did make it, and we didn’t manage to hit anything… but the tractor did run out of gas prior to the finish line… go figure.
IMG_9246 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9248 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9250 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9251 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Out of gas....
IMG_9252 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
We ended up running out of time that day, so we staged the cars at the front of the shop, to be picked up the following morning.
IMG_9253 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
The following morning went off without any issues, and the car was delivered today (Friday) to my friends shop. After work, I swung by the shop and got to work clearing the many years of grime that had accumulated over the years. The following hour was spent dodging rain drops and washing the car… and what I found underneath… and what I found was a fairly decent little car!
IMG_9261 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9263 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9264 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9265 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9266 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9267 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9268 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Found more rust, unfortunately, but it seems to just be surface rust, so im not too worried.
The interior is still a little rough, but it’ll be a work progress, much like the rest of the car. Planning on getting the interior recovered, and I already have a sample of the material I want to use, it seems to be a popular one with e21 enthusiasts.
IMG_9269 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9271 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9273 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9270 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
I’m going to leave the Blaupunkt tape deck, and try to figure out the Ungo alarm system… but who knows what’ll happen with that. I am super excited about the rear head rests.
Last, but not least, I had an old e30 car cover laying, so I fitted it over the car, and that’s where it’ll sit for the time being…
IMG_9274 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
My kitchen remodel is in full swing, and as soon as our new cabinets and cupboards are removed from the garage, it’ll be time to officially bring the car home! Then the fun will really start
Stay tuned!
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
I remember this. That cleaned up real nice, on the outside!
'81 E21 320i / '90 E30 325i / '̶9̶2̶ ̶E̶3̶4̶ ̶5̶2̶5̶i̶t (sold) / '15 Toyota XW30 / '̶̶8̶0̶ ̶E̶2̶1̶ ̶3̶2̶0̶i̶A̶ (sold)
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Wow, can't believe how nice that car looks after sitting outside, you have a great start on this project. When does the other car come home
jm
Awesome, do I see a 2002 under all that moss? I could use some parts...
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Very nice cars (and thread) Morty! This is going to be real fun to watch. I'm looking forward to the first cruise!
Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
That cleaned up shockingly well!
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Looks good, no rust in the tail panel or quarters? Seems to be in very good shape. Make sure you replace the timing belt. Usually the fuel distributor and the warm up regulator gets clogged from sitting. Good luck.
"..Horsepower is a measure of work done over time, or the rate at which work is done."
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/579694/1
Most of the rust is in the tail, but i haven't gotten it in the air yet. I'm hoping that'll happen sometime this week, but we'll have to see! everything is going to move somewhat slowly for the first few months, but hopefully it'll ramp up sometime this winter or next year.
Oh, and the engine that's in there is HOPEFULLY getting pulled out for the one that's in the '79 car, but we're still in a holding pattern for it.
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
nice score sir! and great wheels to boot the paint did look surprisingly good after washing. not sure if a respray is down the road but be careful with how long you leave the car cover on. while I was working on a swap, mine was covered a few months and moisture got trapped underneath and it caused my nice roof to turn cloudy. best to take the cover off every so often up here in the NW and let it breathe although, I guess it was under a tarp for quite a while, so maybe it doesn't matter in your case...
Last edited by sbcrockett; 05-14-2017 at 08:00 PM.
That Moss and Ivy covered 2002 is a work of art. I live in a damp area where vegetation flourishes. It appears where you are it is even much more-so.
I went to a farm to buy some Alfa Romeo parts and it was somewhat similar. Parts like transmissions and heads and blocks and camshafts left out for grass to grow up around them and moss to grow on them Lichens. I bought a pair of steel wheels for $10, then decided to toss them after trying to clean off the rust and repaint them
We are looking forward to the dis assembly and rebuild of the Mathes engine.
.
Thank you! There was a respray done on the rear at some point, and it looks like some body work was done on the passenger rear at some point, but that was probably in the early/mid 90s. The car cover is a temporary solution while my kitchen is being remodeled, and my garage is being overrun but new cupboards and cabinets... in about a week or so, it'll come home home and have its own garage to live in! Plus, while its at my friend's shop, i'll be going over periodically to check on it and do a few things. I did pry open the glove box (which was painful to do) and found the original owners manual... but it was beyond repair.
Haha if you love THAT particular work of art, you'd love the rest of his property... TONS of "art" around. Most of the time i go there i almost always find something new. Next stop there is to find the cylinder head and accompanying equipment for the '82 car, it currently has no top end, and if the '79 car falls through, i'm gonna need to send the whole engine out. Still praying the '79 car pulls through, cause that Matthes engine is too cool! Plus there's a lot of usable parts left on it.
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Finally got it home! The powers at be (and my wife) saw it fit that I could bring the 323i home today, and I couldn’t be happier! No having to visit it at my friends shop anymore… all I have to do is walk into my backyard and BOOM!! There it is.
Before we loaded it up, i got a chance to throw it on the rack and get a look at the under carriage. Being that bad e21 owner that i am, i completely forgot to take pictures. But what i can tell you, is that it looks pretty alright down there from sitting for as long as it did. No major rust areas, just some surface rust in the floor boards, and some on the passenger rocker panel. The rest seemed pretty dang good! Also noted an LSD, which i believe to be a 3.45, but i could be wrong... didnt find a diff tag to confirm, so currently, its a mystery.
Loading it onto the trailer…
IMG_9295 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Obligatory Family shot
IMG_9297 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Decided to live dangerously, and take a motion shot (don’t worry, I was being safe!)
IMG_9298 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
After that, my friend and I unloaded it and pushed it into my backyard, where it’ll sit in my courtyard until my garage becomes available.
Sneaky little Minx…
IMG_9299 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
And here it sits for now, ready for the tear down!
IMG_9300 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Started pulling stuff out of the inside, in preparation for pulling the interior out and getting a look at the floor boards.
Carpet doesn’t look TOO bad.
IMG_9301 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
From there I pulled out the seats and found a few interesting items…
IMG_9308 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Under passenger seat, a 90s amplifier for the stereo…
IMG_9302 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Under the driver’s seat was this! The control unit for the Ungo alarm system… complete with mercury switches! Very very cool… I think I might save this for quite some time.
IMG_9303 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9304 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Finished pulling out the whole interior, but my shop vac was buried in my garage, so I decided to call it quits and clean up. And here’s where it sits now.
IMG_9306 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
IMG_9307 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
After cleaning up, I decided to put the cover back on, just in case… This is Oregon, after all.
Crappy low-light cell phone picture…
IMG_9309 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
And now all tucked into it’s new home!
IMG_9310 by Morgan Crockett, on Flickr
Cheers guys, more to come.
Last edited by MortyCrock; 05-18-2017 at 12:45 AM.
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
wow, this looks 100x better already!
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Nice! I love projects like this. Good luck man. Can't wait to see updates along the way.
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Morty, that's awesome. That dash looks completely crack free from your pictures, can't be possible after sitting outside all that time, can it?
Tom D
77 e21 - m42
88 e30m3
04 330 dinan3
84 r1000rt
02 r1150rs
all of them gray
14 f800gsa - red headed stepchild!
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Past, Present, and Future
1974 BMW 2002tii (RIP)
1995 BMW 325is w/ FULL S50 swap, track prepped (SOLD)
1988 BMW 325ix Zinno/Black (RIP)
1988 BMW 325ix Alpine/Black (Sold)
1988 BMW 535is Alpine/Pacific Blue (Going Away...)
1982 BMW 323i (Current Project/Paper Weight)
2003 BMW 325i Sport Touring (Daily Driver)
Yeh, the 535is is very nice
jm
Can't wait to hit that ascot gray with the buffer and see how it looks!
'72 2002 pickup | '88 M5 | '89 330is | '89 M3 | '01 Z3M | '11 328xi-t
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