e21 320 lumpy on start up

[oldschool e21]

e21 320/6 55000miles 1982
im having problems on start up. revs lumpy if i dont keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the revs up she cuts out white smoke too til warm. seems like its not running on all cylinders? however once warm idiles fine? is this just because its a old car?. i have just serviced the engine.oil filter, air filter, oil, plugs.
the car was sitting not running for 2 years before i got it. has been started only a few times in the last week ive owned the car.
erol

[DrGonzoPOW]

If its running a Solex 4A1 carb then thats the problem. There rubbish! Usually the auto choke thats iffy on them, mine can run fine some days then like utter shite the next. Best upgrading to a weber or go injection

[e21-Mark]

Also, if it's sat for ages it'll take a while for things to loosen up and / or bed in again. E21's love to be used and the more you use it, the better it'll get.

Standard Solex carbs are poo!

[sleepy]

Same issue with mine and i have the weber 38 dgas on it, mine was stored for 3 years before i got it. I was thinking the autochoke wasn't working on mine, plan to get carb checked over and tuned soon....had op on my hand so cant drive for while....cant wait to get stuck into some jobs!

[oldschool e21]

hey sleepy i think your right. might take it apart and give it a clean up.

[sleepy]

Let us know how you get on;-)

[oldschool e21]

I just hope it starts after!

[Reck]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Weber-Carbure ... 33657f1949

Have successfully used this carb for a while now. Returns average 30mpg. Might want to buy a rebuild kit and replace the float needle etc. (also on ebay for about £15). I've not read of any benefits to using a solex/pierburg over the weber, but someone might know of some?

[oldschool e21]

saw this on ebay today. would have to be a new one pointless using a second hand carb as its old and no base plate! and its for an e30 not 21

[Reck]

That's why I suggested a rebuild kit - and I've ran an E30 one for a year, it's still an improvement over stock imho.

[quinn_656]

the white smoke must be over fueling when its cold which would make it lumpy they seem to replace them with a different unit rather than try and fix them.

[oldschool e21]

thanks quinn, im in 2 mindes at the mo, the money it will cost for a new carb is around £340.00 from what i have found out so far/im thinking of a 325 engine swap ? bit of a shame as the cars only done 55.000 miles. i really dont know what to do? any suggestions?

[quinn_656]

it completly depends on what you want if the car has 55,000 on the clock it will still have 55 after the swap if you can get an engine complete with the wiring loom and brain half reasonable your gearbox should mate up ok and you will need to fit an electrical fuel pump as well you will have a totally transformed car. im building a 2.7 engine with motronic 173 for my 320/6 and fitted an in tank fuel pump from an e30 318is havent came across any major issues yet. a good complete 325is engine shouldnt cost any more than £500 imo they would make that money here in N.Ireland as they go crazy for e30's here and blow them up on a regular basis lol.