What did you do to your E21 today?
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
The engine has arrived.

81 e21 323i polaris
That's a whole lott of engine under the bonnet;-)
That's a whole lott of engine under the bonnet;-)
- gerrit323
- E21 VIP

- Posts: 4603
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 8:44 pm
- My E21(s): '82 e21 323i hartge
- Location: Belgium
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Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
NIce Lars
1992 Mazda mx5
1994 e36 m3
2010 golf gti
2015 Renault Mégane RS 275 trophy
2019 Abarth esseese
2020 caterham 310R
2025 ford custom trail
https://pksolutions.be/
1994 e36 m3
2010 golf gti
2015 Renault Mégane RS 275 trophy
2019 Abarth esseese
2020 caterham 310R
2025 ford custom trail
https://pksolutions.be/
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
Even Arnold will stay behind in the smoke now. The new captain Slow 
81 e21 323i polaris
That's a whole lott of engine under the bonnet;-)
That's a whole lott of engine under the bonnet;-)
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
I do love old m20 and m30 engines when clea and rebuilt, they look lovely!
Couple from the 2.7 build I did and installed in a customers E28



Couple from the 2.7 build I did and installed in a customers E28



1986 E28 M535i - Car stripped to shell ready to be blasted
1981 E21 323i - 2.8 24v on throttle bodies & cams - 3.0 conversion soon.
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/Arnold_the_swimmer/My%20M535i/IMG_0447sig-1.jpg[/img]
1981 E21 323i - 2.8 24v on throttle bodies & cams - 3.0 conversion soon.
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/Arnold_the_swimmer/My%20M535i/IMG_0447sig-1.jpg[/img]
- Jeroen
- Site Admin
- Posts: 29994
- Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
- My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
- Location: The Netherlands
- Contact:
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
Drooling time, nice job on the valve cover, wrinkle finish in the oven?
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
Yes it's wrinkle finish, I love the stuff and will be swapping my value cover over to my metal one on the m52 so I can do that as well.
. I didn't have an oven so just let it air dry, first time using the stuff so it was. Little trial and error but came out nice. I did the inlet the same but you can't really see it in the pic.
I need a little drying room for painting small parts when we move units, I've got heaters so worth building something to bake in.
Here's a small pic of the vac cap on the m20 manifold, you know the saying watching paint dry right, well watching this stuff wrinkle as it dries is really fun! Hehe

And here's a pic of the 21, just the brakes to blead up after me taking the tanks off and cleaning and painting them before making new fuel and brake lines. Once the brakes are bled she's ready for exhaust, MOT. It'll have to wait till after my trip around Europe though as that's goin to cost a small fortune.
. Getting close though, after 2+ years of the road!

I need a little drying room for painting small parts when we move units, I've got heaters so worth building something to bake in.
Here's a small pic of the vac cap on the m20 manifold, you know the saying watching paint dry right, well watching this stuff wrinkle as it dries is really fun! Hehe

And here's a pic of the 21, just the brakes to blead up after me taking the tanks off and cleaning and painting them before making new fuel and brake lines. Once the brakes are bled she's ready for exhaust, MOT. It'll have to wait till after my trip around Europe though as that's goin to cost a small fortune.

1986 E28 M535i - Car stripped to shell ready to be blasted
1981 E21 323i - 2.8 24v on throttle bodies & cams - 3.0 conversion soon.
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/Arnold_the_swimmer/My%20M535i/IMG_0447sig-1.jpg[/img]
1981 E21 323i - 2.8 24v on throttle bodies & cams - 3.0 conversion soon.
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/Arnold_the_swimmer/My%20M535i/IMG_0447sig-1.jpg[/img]
- Jeroen
- Site Admin
- Posts: 29994
- Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
- My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
- Location: The Netherlands
- Contact:
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
What paint did you use? I hear there are considerable differences and the one you used doesn't seem too sensitive, heard about wrinkle paint failing in the oven
BTW E21 sure looks lik she's almost there! That's going to be fun
BTW E21 sure looks lik she's almost there! That's going to be fun
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
Brakes are bled up now...manifolds to sort next then and mate to my exhaust. I can't wait to get the car back on the road now. I wasn't that fussed about getting it done but it's so close now it's making me want to drive it. I even sat in it for the first time in 2yrs + and turned the wheel and shifted gear and made brum brum noises! Sad I know!!
The paint I used doesn't require an oven from what I remember. If I remember right you are supposed to layer the paint up over a period of time. I think it's something like left to right then wait a few mins then go up and down. Something like that anyway. I'll get a pic of the can with the instructions for you. If you want some I can always get it for you and ship it over if you were looking to buy some but can't get it locally. It seemed to do the job ok though.
The paint I used doesn't require an oven from what I remember. If I remember right you are supposed to layer the paint up over a period of time. I think it's something like left to right then wait a few mins then go up and down. Something like that anyway. I'll get a pic of the can with the instructions for you. If you want some I can always get it for you and ship it over if you were looking to buy some but can't get it locally. It seemed to do the job ok though.
1986 E28 M535i - Car stripped to shell ready to be blasted
1981 E21 323i - 2.8 24v on throttle bodies & cams - 3.0 conversion soon.
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/Arnold_the_swimmer/My%20M535i/IMG_0447sig-1.jpg[/img]
1981 E21 323i - 2.8 24v on throttle bodies & cams - 3.0 conversion soon.
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/Arnold_the_swimmer/My%20M535i/IMG_0447sig-1.jpg[/img]
- e21-Mark
- E21 Master
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Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
I found the easiest way to get a good finish with crackle paint is to use an old hair drier (I don't use it much for my hair nowadays) and a cardboard box.
- Jeroen
- Site Admin
- Posts: 29994
- Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:23 pm
- My E21(s): '81 323i Baur
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Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
That might help. Just looking for a good brand of spray after hearing some horror stories.... where I didn't bother to write down the brand name 
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
I bought a pair of new old stock opel ascona ate calipers for £18 which are identical to e21 calipers ....bargain !!
e21 320 (12/1975) 320i/4 (3/77)running gear.
e21 316 (1981) TRE702X.
e21 316 (1981) TRE702X.
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
rebuilt my brake master cylinder and had the system pressure bled
E21 323i [kashmere] Off the road pending restoration
E21 3231[Graphite metalic] Restoration and conversion to M52
E36 318i Had it nearly 10 years work in progress
E36 328i Daily driver
E39 520i Family car school run workhorse
E36 328i Touring
E21 3231[Graphite metalic] Restoration and conversion to M52
E36 318i Had it nearly 10 years work in progress
E36 328i Daily driver
E39 520i Family car school run workhorse
E36 328i Touring
Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
Picked her up from the roll cage fabricator last weekend. Today I masked her up and sprayed the first coat of paint on the cage welds. 
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1981 320/6 - 2.7, motronic 1.3 (now caged)
1989 range rover vogue se
1999 Lotus Elise
1971 mgb gt
1973 bmw 2002 project
2006 vw passat variant 3.2
2008 BMW X5
1981 320/6 - 2.7, motronic 1.3 (now caged)
1989 range rover vogue se
1999 Lotus Elise
1971 mgb gt
1973 bmw 2002 project
2006 vw passat variant 3.2
2008 BMW X5
- petroscf
- E21 VIP

- Posts: 1470
- Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:01 pm
- My E21(s): '77 EU 316 manual
- Location: ATHENS-GREECE
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Re: What did you do to your E21 today?
Had the central axle rebuilt, and exhaust (both central and final parts, not the manifold) replaced.
And had a short shifter fitted, the Schmiedmann one: Looks and feels great, anyone heard anything about its quality? Schmiedmann claim of very high quality, of course...
And had a short shifter fitted, the Schmiedmann one: Looks and feels great, anyone heard anything about its quality? Schmiedmann claim of very high quality, of course...
/oo=00=oo\
E21 Forever
E21 Forever