My 81 320i

jbob · Post by **jbob** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 5:32 pm

No, it's not a 2 liter m20

...Yea, it's a North American 320i

haha, now that that's out of the way

, here's some general info/specs & pics:
1981 320i (1.8 liter m10) Ascotgrau & Parchment interior (original paint, except for the front & rear bumpers & side mirrors).
Purchased by my father brand new, then handed down to me when I turned 17 (and the first thing to go were those hideous picnic benches...err, I mean US-bumpers).
The car has approximatley 210k miles (the odometer spindle cracked & indicates 128k miles

), but the original motor runs amazingly strong (compression test revealed 165-170psi across all 4 cylinders). About a year ago, it dyno'd just about 95rwhp, which was extremely surprising for me since the stock motor is only supposed to have 101hp @ the flywheel & the only real engine modifications was an upgraded exhaust from the stock exhaust manifold & the fan-delete.

Current Modifications:
Ground-Control coilovers (350lb 6" / 250lb 7")
Koni Adjustables
Ireland Engineering front camber plates
Suspension Techniques sway bars (25mm / 19mm adjustable)
Replica 'Alpina' bar (bolts to the front sway bar mounts)
E21parts.net rear stress bar (which doubles as a battery holder)
E21parts urethane modified control arms
Titanium wheel studs w/ aluminum nuts
Performance Superlites, 15x7 et13
Toyo T1-S 215/45/15 on all 4 corners
E12 Brake master cylinder
Volvo 4-piston calipers w/ vented rotors
Stainless steel braided brake lines
BavAuto Short Shift Kit
Custom 2.5" mandrel-bent exhaust (Catco cat & Borla muffler)
Ron Davis aluminum radiator (22"x17"x3")
Fan-delete, replaced w/ Hayden 3690 14" electric fan
K&N panel filter
Optima Red-top battery
A/C-delete
E21parts engine dampener
Motorsport front bumper
Rear euro bumper
Zender rear skirt
Sparco Torino seats
Boston Acoustics FX7e's all around
4 brake light conversion (more info here)

I'm currently building a turbo m10 motor which should be finished soon (fingers crossed)...here's some pictures on that build. I need to update that photo album, as the engine is basically all buttoned up.

and on to the pictures (these were taken a few days before the Sparco seats were installed):

I love front camber!

a cool pic w/ my friend's E36

that's all for now

rasb1 · Post by **rasb1** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 5:51 pm

Wow, I really like the looks of that one... nice colour and some awesome rims

I didn't know that there was a 1,8 M10 in the american 320?!? Hm, you learn somethin new every day

Hmm... that license plate need to be moved down under the fender

jbob · Post by **jbob** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:01 pm

thanks!
yeah, all of the 1980-1983 320i's in the US were actually 1.8 m10's w/ 5-speeds. the 77-79 320i's were 2.0 m10's but w/ 4-speeds & a taller differential gear.

I would move the license plate to where it's supposed to be

, but all US 320i's have 3 holes in that body panel just above the rear bumper (behind the US license plate holder). I want to play around w/ some small plastic plugs for those holes to see how it'll look....until I get the car repainted so I can fill those holes & get rid of the rear side reflectors.

ac/dennis · Post by **ac/dennis** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:10 pm

Looks amazing!

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:13 pm

Looks fantastic, a lot of mods done as well... must be real fun to drive!

Any engine bay or interior photos as well?

jbob · Post by **jbob** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:29 pm

thanks again!
don't have any interior pics yet....everything's stock except the seats & crappy cd-player.
here's an old engine-bay shot:

only thing done in this pic was the camber plates.

Bobben · Post by **Bobben** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:30 pm

Very nice E21!!

And the same color as mine, although yours look more shiny.
I believe that there aren't many E21's that are ascotgrau.

jbob · Post by **jbob** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:29 pm

thanks!
ascotgrau does seem to be a somewhat rare E21 color, even in the states.

btw, you have a nice E21 too! I was really close to purchasing a set of front & rear Zender-replica bumpers like yours. And nice wheels! From what I hear, those MiM 1800's are really rare.

ac/dennis · Post by **ac/dennis** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:39 pm

Hi Jason,

Again, that's looking sharp!

Can you explain me what the 4 rear lights conversion means? do you now have for break lights, i don't understand?

rgards, Dennis

Bobben · Post by **Bobben** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:30 pm

Thanks!

When I was about to buy me a set of MiM's I actually found a couple of them to choose from, so they aren't too rare.

But those Zender spoilers, they are rare!

By the way, is the car recently repainted or have you just waxed and buffed it with a machine??

rasb1 · Post by **rasb1** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:53 pm

Hey Ac/dennis...
I have done the four brake lights conversion too... It just means that you connect the rear fog lights to the brake lights... so you have a brake light on both sides of the ordinary rear light...
It can be seen on the pic of mine below:

ac/dennis · Post by **ac/dennis** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:04 pm

Wow! Now thats awesome!
I know what to do now this weekend!

That really is great!

Rasmus, your rverse lights aren't white, id you painted them and didi you use some special paint for it?

regards,

ac/

rasb1 · Post by **rasb1** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:24 pm

I used some red light toner... it is paint in a ordinary spraycan, hip hop style, hehe.
At first I onlys painted the orange part ( http://www.bmwe21.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=622 ) and then a couple of days later the reverse light too... thought it would look cooler (and the reverse light lighted up in red... uncool) but it didn't so now I am back to stock.

ac/dennis · Post by **ac/dennis** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 12:04 am

Looks great totally red rearlighs, bu indeed the reverse in red??

jbob · Post by **jbob** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 12:53 am

ohhh, I never knew some E21's came w/ rear fog lights in the actual tail-light assembly. In all the US 320i's, there's just an empty slot in each of the tail-light assemblies, and I always thought it was the weirdest thing...now it all makes sense

that red spray paint is pretty good, get's rid of that dreaded pink brake lights.

Bobben, the paint on this car is original except for the front & rear bumpers & side mirrors. From what my father told me, he got a dealer-option clear coat added to the paint. I'm not sure if this was something done @ the factory in Germany or if it was done when the car arrived to the US, but the car definately has a clear coat because the paint does not come off at all when I buff it (even w/ a medium-hard cutting compound).
24 year old paint is awesome!

(altho, i'll admit, the roof is starting to show signs of sun fade....especially the sunroof panel)