bmwe21.net forums

Hello all, I recently bought an '83 320i project car and have been reading though build threads here and all over the net to get some ideas on what kind of parts are available/interchangeable for these cars, and some of the mods E21 owners do in order to make more parts available.

The first thing that caught my eye was chopping and swapping an E28/E24 rear end into the car in order to get rear disc, 5 lug, and above all, access to beefier and more readily available LSDs (In fact, I have an E30 diff in my shed right now that I'd be able to use)

So for you guys that have done the E28 rear end swap and ended up with the 5 lug, what did you do for the front?

From what I've read there is pretty much 3 options. The first one is to use E12 hubs if you have the pre-79 (year?) front spindles that use the larger bearings. The second option is to run an adapter plate. The 3rd option is to either have some custom hubs machined or to modify the standard hubs. Since I have an '83 the first option is out the window. Running an adapter plate seems easy, and it should help make up the difference in track by having the wider rear end. Are there any issues with fender rubbing?

And then once you had your 5 lug fronts what brakes and calipers did you end up using?

I won't be a great help on these mods but a warm welcome is in place, enjoy and keep up posted!

People chop in the center part of the e30 axle. Check propan's thread in the owners section.

Jason put an e12 axle in using the arms and ended up meaning that the track was a lot wider. So he put custom arches on.

Good luck and welcome

nas80 wrote:People chop in the center part of the e30 axle. Check propan's thread in the owners section.

Jason put an e12 axle in using the arms and ended up meaning that the track was a lot wider. So he put custom arches on.

Good luck and welcome

Ok, but if I were to go that route then I would still have the rear drum brakes. Is there a simple way to convert to rear disc brakes without having to change the rear trailing arms? It'll likely be difficult for me to find a set of those trailing arms here in Canada.

I have a an e21 here that had drums type of rear arm which has been converted to disk. The caliper has a handbrake function. It's a fairly simple design

So you have an adapter that bolts into the trailing arm? Is that something you made or a kit available from somewhere?

It's just a flat piece of metal.

nas80 wrote:It's just a flat piece of metal.

Details on the Caliper used?

Looks like it was off a vw? It's not my car.

I did an e28 and e12 conversion the e28 is wider but you can fit high offset e36 rims rolled and pulled arches. Front is e12 hubs, with modified subframe for extra camber/track and a lower roll centre. Also I have extended the tie rod ends.

Brakes 320mm up front with ap 4 pots, 300mm rear with ap 2 pots

323i had disc brake rear end anyway?