Electric windows

[Enda]

Hi, there's a guy selling a 323i over here, and it has electric windows. Are these "to be avoided"? My Porsche 924 electric windows of the same era were awful (to put it mildly), and I wished it had "windy" ones! By the way, could electric windows be ordered as a separate upgrade, or was it part of an upgrade pack, ie. are there any other interior goodies to expect, it the car has electric windows? Thanks, Enda.

[e21-Mark]

I had an old Baur copy Millets type e21 about 5 years ago that had a leccy window conversion. They worked OK I guess but give me keep fit windows every time.

[Jason_323i]

Any electric window conversions wil be after market

Jason

[e21-Mark]

could electric windows be ordered as a separate upgrade, or was it part of an upgrade

When my TWR car was new the guy wanted them to fit leccy windows but all the aftermarket kits were rubbish and they refused to fit them. I guess you could always cobble something together using e12/e28/e30 parts?

[Jason_323i]

E30 cab rear window motors if you must know

Jason

[Enda]

Thanks folks. I think the whole car is cobbled together to be honest: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2489268 The owner said the car was restored a year ago, as it had a rotten chassis, so it was put onto a 320 chassis. Given the fact that he said the guy who did the work was "dodgy", I can't trust what is actually in the car, what corners were cut etc.. Pity, I think it would look good if all those stickers and badges were removed!

[Reck]

Speak to Arshad.. Saw his on Sunday and they looked decent.

[E21meister]

Any electric window conversions wil be after market

Jason

Not true; they were a very rare dealer fitment; although it might be a 'Bracknell' thing. My friend's old 320 had leccys on the dealer spec sheet prinout; never had a chance to whip a doortrim off to see what the mechanism was like though.
My E21 daily came with an aftermarket cable type setup; as far as I know they were fitted back in the 80's and still work perfectly. I've got a NOS Electric Life kit that I fitted in my other (project) car; not an especially hard job to fit the gubbins, just make sure you do the wiring properly

Spal still do a (slightly pricy) universal kit:



http://www.spalautomotive.co.uk/acatalo ... _KITS.html

how well it works will partly depend on how well its fitted, but as for the quality of the kit, Audiocar (I.C.E. installers) used to fit the same kit to cars and had no comebacks.

[arshad76]

Speak to Arshad.. Saw his on Sunday and they looked decent.

Yeah they're not too bad Jason. I have heard stories about the motors burning out, mechanisms breaking, but mine are aftermarket ones I had fitted a over 4 years ago from a friend who has his own car audio place and they have been fine so far touch wood. I even have some E30 switches wired up so it all looks pretty factory.

I'd never go back to windy windows, but then I also have power steering, sat nav, an electric sunroof and most of the stuff for an air-con setup, so I wouldn't exactly call it factory anymore.

P.S No I'm not a puff, maybe just a lazy so and so who likes his mod cons!

[Enda]

Thanks for the info folks. I must admit, I prefer electric windows in a modern car, but I prefer manual windows in a classic, as there is less to go wrong with them. PAS is handy for parking alright, but once you get going, I prefer no PAS!

[Reck]

Did you have central locking aswell, Arshad? That's one mod I wouldn't mind doing.

[E21meister]

Central locking is straightforward enough with a bit of forethought. I used the actuators from an E30; but you will need to adapt the rods to fit.

[arshad76]

Hi Reck,

I just had a decent alarm installed (Clifford) and had some actuators fitted that work via the Clifford key fob. What miesters suggesting is also a good way. In fact had I known you wanted this I have an E30 actuator in my front ash tray looking for a good home you could have had that day! I might be able to find the other one too, but if you need it I'll drop it off at Jims next time I see him

[Reck]

Nice one mate! I'll have a look into it and let you know.

[E21meister]

I have an E30 actuator in my front ash tray

To open it?