bmwe21.net forums

Hi all, been lurking on here for a couple of weeks whilst looking for a car, and just yesterday went to Gateshead to pick up this beauty:




Talking to the son of the last owner (who sadly passed away recently) this car has been with the family for the last 21 years, has always been garaged, and from the looks of it seems to still be wearing its original paint (Which incidentally is VASTLY superior to the paint finish on my E39). The car is very original, inside and out. the Seats have seen better days, and are a bit like sitting on a trampoline, but with the exception of the electric mirrors, everything is fully functional. The wiring into the doors seems to be the cause of that malfunction, so I'll fix that soon.




Original dealer air freshener under the seat cover:



The engine bay is very tidy, no major oil leaks, and all genuine filters on show. Carb has been upgraded to a Weber, which seems to work flawlessly, it idles like a sewing machine. The ye olde sparkrite alarm in the inner wing is going to be first to leave the party....





Overall, I'm very impressed by the car, it has a solidity like an old Mercedes. It'll be replacing my Imola red E39 530d sport (anyone want one?) for daily duties. I'm not kidding myself that it'll be 100% rust free, but I also own a mk1 VW Scirocco, so I'm good friends with Mr welder...

Anyways, I look forward to posting more on here, and meeting anyone in the local area!

Andy

Welcome mate. Nice find you've got yourself.

I'm sure the rest of the N M's will be along to recruit you soon enough. There a few of you up in that neck of the woods.

So what are your plans for it?

welcome mate very nice car you got there .....


.....ayds

Hi Mark, I have been studying that copy of PPC very closely recently! Hi Ayds

Plans, lets see, first thing it needs is a bit more air in the tyres, and a full compliment of front bushes, as there's a certain wooliness to the steering! Poly would seem to be the way to go, but I'm intent on increasing the handling without sacrificing the ride too much, which seems pretty good right now. It has to go lower, and I think some 15" wheels. The ones I used to have on my old Scirocco Storm would be perfect, but rarer than rare. 7x5 et13 ATS classics in 4x100:



Mechanicals can stay stock for now, I always make the mistake of messing with those and not having money left over for any body and paint work. Not this time, I intend to pamper this baby.

That said, I will be measuring up the engine bay, and the 4.4 V8 in my local scrappy

The ATS are lovely. I was going to put some on my 02 eventually.

I think a nicely sorted 316 is a really nice drive. A set of Bilstein (less altitude, more attitude) or Spax are actually pretty good as a cheaper alternative. Having the Weber already is a bonus.

I had a Storm myself for a while, but just never liked FWD. Look good though.

Your fairly local to me. I live in leeds but am originally from Donny.

The original paint work is hand sprayed i believe. You look like you have scored a nice example actually.

The old 50mph shimmy a right pain in the arse. Your track rod ends need replacing too more than likely.

Welcome, very nice car - love the air freshner accessory too, very cool.

Welcome here and congrats on a beautiful buy!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, I'll have to start a project thread in the 4 cyl forum.

I think the first jobs are going to be the front jacking points, and the track control arm bushes, the track rod ends look to be new, which is a bonus. I'll probably bare metal the whole sill, sort out any nastiness, and have them painted, what do you guys think, black like stock, or silver?

Either looks good, although body colour makes it look lower I guess?