Last edited by sonomaGTLN2; 01-24-2021 at 02:14 PM.
.: M42 Swap Thread M42 Turbo Build Thread E85 Conversion :.
My YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/c/AdamPE21
New to Bimmerforums here! Not an E20 Owner but an E30 if that will do
I have a 1991 325i
15x,xxx miles
Mods include: MTech style front and rear bumpers and some Whistler kr7's with some Federal 595's.
Future Plans include a show build of this sort: http://adfoc.us/58543377371797
Howdy! New here, I just purchased a 1979 320i!
- - - Updated - - -
Howdy! New here, I just purchased a 1979 320i!
https://imgur.com/a/Px50m9B
Long time listener, first time caller, eh…long-time lurker who finally joined.
My most recent acquisition is a 4-speed manual 1979 E21 (October ‘78 build). The car has 103K miles and is essentially stock with front suspension and steering upgrades that addressed the 55 mph “shimmy”, A/C is retrofitted to R-134, and the old brake lines have been replaced with new Ireland Engineering stainless steel.
The body and trim are in good shape with only a couple of surface rust spots around the passenger A pillar. No paint bubbles, strut towers and floor pans are solid. The interior is overall pretty good as well…seats are a little saggy, and there’s one small crack in the dashboard.
It’s a good driver, but the car has a few glitches that need to be sorted out:
The engine occasionally has a slight miss.
Warm starts are an issue-On a 90 degree day, I drove the car to pick up my 15 year-old after school last week and then it wouldn’t start until the next morning.
After running great on a 60 degree morning, the car refused to start warm at my office. Once again, it started the next morning. I’m thinking vapor lock/fuel accumulator?
Idling in a drive through line saw the temp gauge edging higher and higher, so I ran the heater at full blast to bleed off engine heat. Although we’re headed into fall, we can hit 90 and above from April into October, so that’s an issue.
Cold starts aren’t usually an issue, but sometimes idles rough at first and then settles down.
Fuel vapor smells…thinking O rings and hoses etc.
A few times I’ve noticed the fuel gauge bouncing around and the low fuel light coming on when there is plenty of fuel in the tank.
So far, I’m sensing the usual 40+ year old E21 issues that with patience and a strong IPA can be diagnosed and addressed. It’s still a fun car to drive and almost re-creates the “old” 1976 2002 I bought when I turned 16 in 1988.
D15D789E-318D-4C9E-B8CB-9DE246382550.jpeg
https://imgur.com/DYBbq2q
Last edited by DrewsWill; 12-17-2021 at 07:36 PM.
I turned 16 in 1988, and my first car was “Astrid”, a white ‘76 2002. Together through college, we parted ways when I bought a Toyota 4-Runner.
Replaced (not quite) in 2021 by “Ingrid”, a white 1979 E21. My wife knows when I’ve been out with Ingrid by the faint scent of her gasoline-tinged perfume on my clothes. I’m not sure what I was thinking…
Been a lurker since Aug of this year, finally was able to purchase a clean ‘80 316 (built April ‘79) everything’s a process here in Italy. Roughly 124,xxx miles on the dash-only had one owner, completely stock.
Couple known issues-slight leak into the trunk (by left tail light and right under the rear windshield), 55 shimmy, my model came with a clock, already bought a tachometer but when I went for the swap the wiring harness was missing (thanks PO?). Looking to make this the project car (already have an e46 but can’t take that back to the states as it’s euro spec). Looking forward to learning a bunch from everyone!
-Cas
Hello from North Carolina. I recently picked up a 1983 320i that has had some neglect over the past few years.
This will be the first time owning a BMW, so I will shortly find our what I'm up against to get his thing going. I have a decent amount of mechanical experience, so ill be doing all work myself.
The car is currently not running, but from what I gather, it seems to be fuel related and possible bad starter/relays. Maybe ill start a build thread to log my progress.
The Good:
- Interior seems to be all there.
- Equipped with a BBS front spoiler, Kamei rear spoiler, and side skirts (not sure the brand)
- Underside of the car has very minimal rust. Only one spot of the driver side floor pan that may need to be replaced.
- Suspension looks to be in good shape. no worn out bushing from what I can tell.
- Engine bay does not look molested (Fingers crossed no major issues)
The Bad:
- The paint is SHOT and will need some body work redone where the side skirts were molded to the rocker panels.
- The sunroof mechanisms are in really bad shape. (from my research, these things are PITA)
- Chrome beveling/molding around the windshields have seen better days
- Oh yeah, it doesn't run...
I'm not really sure what route I want to take with this project. It will probably depend on how much $$$ I have to spend to get it road worthy before I even think about doing upgrades.
Here she is....
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It looks like you definitely have a project to occupy your time. Do you want to match the original color, or go a different direction with a repaint? The current paint looks like “Delphin” metallic, which looks great on an E21. Hopefully, getting her running won’t be too much of a task. It may just be crud in the fuel lines or a fuel pump issue. Of course it could be a relay…and I’ve learned that the answer is usually a combination of several little things. The curated guides in the forum have helped me narrow down possible cases much more quickly than I’d be able to do starting from square one. Having decent mechanical experience puts you way ahead of me!
My 1979 has a wonky fuel accumulator which make her prone to vapor lock when the temperature is much above 70 and/or when the coolant temp rises while idling a little too long. Yesterday temps were in the low 70s with lots of sun, so I drove it to the office. That afternoon I watched the engine temp creep up while idling in the line to pick up the kids from school. Suffice it to say, I didn’t shut her off until she was back in the garage. Good luck!
Last edited by DrewsWill; 12-17-2021 at 08:11 PM.
I turned 16 in 1988, and my first car was “Astrid”, a white ‘76 2002. Together through college, we parted ways when I bought a Toyota 4-Runner.
Replaced (not quite) in 2021 by “Ingrid”, a white 1979 E21. My wife knows when I’ve been out with Ingrid by the faint scent of her gasoline-tinged perfume on my clothes. I’m not sure what I was thinking…
Hey DrewsWill, Ill probably just buff out the paint as much as I can and rock the patina look for the time being. If and when I do decide to paint the car, Ill definitely stick with the original color. I printed off a bunch of the wiring schematics last week so I'll be doing some troubleshooting while I have some time off during the holidays.
Thanks mjweimer. Ill be pulling up the carpet at some point to inspect the floor pans, so fingers crossed I don't find any surprises.
Build thread will be in the works. Ill try to start one during the the holiday break.
Recently picked up a 1982 320i sport survivor, Hennarot, gray checked cloth interior, a/c delete. All the sport equipment is intact. 227,100 miles on original engine.
I have been the care taker of an '83 320is for 2-1/2 years. Hennarot with clean black vinyl interior that has been in pieces for close to 30 years. Someone took it apart to paint and left it that way. 71,000 miles and free (except for the cost of getting it from Ohio to Colorado, $3200). Been working on putting it back together for some time. Cleaned and recoated fuel tanks, new fuel lines, new brake lines and brake rebuilds, rebuilt fuel distributor, new injectors, new carpet and trim, new door weatherstrip. No real rust issues at all. Close to putting motor back in. Not going for restoration, more of a resurection. Hope this post goes to the right place. Apologies if it does not!
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1978 320i
Just delivered from Southern California found it on cl. Rolled the dice (friends thought I was nuts).... Wired the money waited for the car. Arrived as promised! There are some honest folks in this world
Mint Green
Saddle interior
143,300 miles
Automatic (I know.... I don't care. I like the car)
All original and must have had a cover because it's in good shape.
Just got some new "old school" sheep skin seat covers and a set of floor mats.
Per some advice from this forum it's in the shop for new fluids, valve adjustment, tune up, etc.
I'm stoked. Lolbmw2.jpg
OMG, that’s the year and color e21 I drove in high school (graduated 1982). Even had an automatic. Hated the color then, love it now! Congrats!
New to the forum. Just purchased a 1979 320i 2.0. Las 320 was over 30 years ago.
This one comes with some good and bad. Good is it has very little surface rust with zero rust through, close to 100% less front seats, has A/C and the plan will be to get it cooling again. As for the bad, I am told it has a vented block that leaks copious amounts of oil with a curdling rattle. More good… It came with a tagged salvage long block with transmission attached. With a little luck and good compression numbers this should be a very quick swap out.
Hoping to get some input from the Beamer pro’s here mostly what should be addressed while the motor is out.
I am a decent mechanic, lots of hours servicing/repairing motors and building motorcycles just never cracked open a BMW 2.0
Thats all you get for the moment. No point in spoiling the fun.
Sometimes I just need a little
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