bmwe21.net forums

Hello E21ers! I'm new to the E21 scene - so new that i don't actually have one yet.

Anyway, I've been to see a couple - both 318 autos with tatty interiors and half decent bodies but i wasn't really taken with the auto boxes.

I'm going for a butchers at this one tomorrow - http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C223560 and I wondered if any of you experts had any opinions about it.

From the pictures it looks bodily ok. the drivers door looks a little misaligned but generall it looks fairly whole. The interior is bearable in the short term but i'd have to do something with those seats.

Not much ticket on it either and I'm not too sure about the looks of the carb setup.

I've just done a rolling resto on a Merc 280 coupe from '83 so I'm not frightened of a bit of work.

Can anybody pre-arm me with any more info, questions etc?

Many thanks,

Welcome between the E21 enthousiasts.. did you also check the item 'buying an E21' on the left hand side of the forum screen?Jeroen put in quite some effort in putting this site together, and together with plenty of UK members you should be able to get some good advice.

AFAIK this car spent a fair bit of time in Spain and last time it was for sale, it was pretty solid. Neither of the past 2 owners seem to have given it much use but if the descriptions are correct it should be worth a punt.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Yes, I've read and digested the excellent buyers guide - very helpful.

The car did indeed spend some time in Spain - I found a bit more info on an old for sale ad I stumbled acroos when I googled 'bmw e21 for sale'... http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-c ... 1-bmw.html

Welcome fella

I got mine kinda on a whim and was lucky to get a minted one.

Problem I had is that I've really only owned performance cars so I hated the way it drove. All floppy round bends slow because the 1.8 carb had no balls whatsoever.

Now its fully setup with coilovers, quaife diff and has 24v engine. Now its pretty epic to drive.

My advice. Don't bother with a four banger or any auto. if you get a 6 cylinder then you have more upgrade options.

Some people love standard cars though dunno if your in that crowd?

Nas there's nothing wrong with a well sorted 4 pot. As I recall this one used to belong to somebody calling himself demk, but then went to somebody slightly more caring. It has a good engine room upgrade in the form of a 318i head and nice carbs, has upgrade suspension, and will probably be as fast as many "modern" sports type cars. I'd haggle but I would be happy to buy this car.

Having said that I do like the 6 pot in my Baur so maybe you are right

I have to confess I love driving my 4 pot e21 and it does feel more nimble in the twisty stuff. On the road though, I much prefer a 6 pot.

I think a better interior would sort this car out. The current one looked a bit tired 2 years ago!

Well, I've been to see it and it's not too bad. The interior is indeed knackered - cheaply re-covered back seat, badly cracked dash, bad carpets and I'm not keen on the front seats. BUT, bodily it's pretty sound. the paint isn't going to win any prizes but it's a good '10foot away' car.

A few things that I'm not sure about. The gearchange is ok but it seems to have a long throw between the gears - is this normal?

Also the doors are really hard to get closed. They swing freely enough but it's difficult to get them to catch in the closed position.

It runs well enough - pops and farts a bit but a bit of tweaking might sort that out.

Apparently the owner doesn't want to shift much on the price and the tax and MOT are short.

Soooo I'm still pondering it. It's not perfect but there again he's not asking perfect money for it...

Hmmmm...

thanks for all the advice so far.

Solid cars can be sorted quite cheaply. Rotten ones can cost a fortune and far exceed their value. Depending on your plans for it, I think you could sort the interior cheaply enough too. You could do far worse for your money imo.

slop in the gear stick side to side is common. not really the throw?

most e21 doors ive come across require a slam to shut positivley. mine certainly do!

i think the "poping and farting" is just the nature of the carbs. tho they might be slightly out of tune.

even if the paintwork aint so good as long as its solid where it matters, thats what counts.

its not difficult to swap interiors. dash being cracked is a bit of a bummer, but common with cars from hotter climates, sunshine/heat dries the dash out and the surface shinks and cracks.

well i just sold my 316 for £2500, it had an E30 sports interior which was mint, no dash cracks, the body work was practically mint, the paint work was really good but lacquer peeling a little on 3 panels; it ran smooth as silk and was very reliable too. the doors didn't require a slam to shut either, i regularly greased up (no laughing....!!) the hinges etc to keep it that way. it also had 12 months MOT (passed with no advisories) and 8.5 months tax.

i suspect there are better cars out there, but it's such a waiting game with E21s. they're generally pretty rare. my advice would be as the others is....get this one if the body is structurally sound. the dash crack is a bummer but not the end of the world. paint can be polished, resprayed or otherwise, interior is easy enough to change and tuning up an M10 isn't that hard. i think considering mine went for £2500 this doesn't sound like it's worth £1750, though who knows.

E21 prices are on the up, something i'm going to have to live with having sold mine. if you don't buy now and wait another year, the exact same sort of car may be going for about £2000.

I'd go with your gut instincts - and you don't seem convinced as far as I can tell. Marks definitely got a point about making a solid body a priority over anything else. Personally I've never been keen on red. As rare as good ones getting and prices increasing, good ones do come along and comparable in price if not cheaper.I might have a dash at some point, will find out in a week if you do decide to go with this one.

If the doors are hard to shut because they are misaligned they are very easy to sort. Take the doorcard off, undo slightly the four 13mm bolts inside the door on the hinges. Shut the door with bolts loose, get inside and tighten the four 13mm bolts.

wiz0r wrote:If the doors are hard to shut because they are misaligned they are very easy to sort. Take the doorcard off, undo slightly the four 13mm bolts inside the door on the hinges. Shut the door with bolts loose, get inside and tighten the four 13mm bolts.

Brilliant! My drivers side door has been pissing me off since I bought it, always takes two shuts. Couldn't work it out!!