better rot than rust

peter coomaraswamy · Post by **peter coomaraswamy** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 7:11 pm

Hi Folks, I hope you don't mind but I'm moving my thread to this section cause I think it fits better. Anyhow, I'm creating a reliable driver (I hope) out of a 320is that I purchased for a few hundred dollars. I put in a new battery, renewed the rear brakes complete and flushed the brake system and changed all the (rubber) fuel lines. I drove her around the block a few times and everything under the car is making noise, ball joints are lose, tie rod ends lose bushings have rotted from the front sway bar, U-joint noisy etc. I put her back up in the air and I'm getting my parts list together and I already have a question;

The 320is supposedly has a larger diameter sway bar up front, will I have to order different lower control arms (with larger bushings) or will the standard 320i arms work?

Thanks in advance!

uwbuurman · Post by **uwbuurman** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 8:05 pm

Bood wheels, sportsteeringwheel, great seats with some work, pop out windows, no shifter, bad paint, no rot. Sounds like a great base for a (small) project!!

Bigger swaybar is just thicker, rest is same dimensions, so only different part is the bushings that hold the swaybar. No problemen with your standard arms.

cgifool · Post by **cgifool** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 10:24 pm

haha love the "short shifter"

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:09 pm

Not bad at all! I'd measure up that sway bar first though, then you know for sure.

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:11 pm

BTW think it may be better to keep this thread in the Owner's Gallery so if you don't mind I'll move this topic to the 4 cyl section of the owners gallery. Keep on posting!

uwbuurman · Post by **uwbuurman** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:39 pm

Jeroen, Why not combine it with the intro topic under general?

polov8 · Post by **polov8** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:40 am

I'd be very curious to find out what those BOHEMOTH bumpers weigh! Got to be a performance advantage in replacing those with Euro versions!

peter coomaraswamy · Post by **peter coomaraswamy** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 1:55 pm

Thanks Jeroen,

peter coomaraswamy · Post by **peter coomaraswamy** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 2:35 pm

Ok, looks like the thread has found a new home! Thanks again for all the comments, regarding the bumpers, I can give a weight on them when I take them off but for now I'm concentrating on getting all the little things under the car fixed. I drained the diff and found it only half full but with the help of a good light I was able to look at the gears (some of them) through the drain hole and there is no wear on the edges that i could see so I just re-filled it. The U-joint is shot so I'll renew the drive shaft with a new flex disc and CSB and I'll try to replace the U-joint myself. that could be tricky because of the press fitting of the original but we'll see what happens. As you can see from the shots every bushing needs replacing. I also took down the fuel pump assembly and refreshed all the lines the only tricky one is the pre-formed line that goes from the end of the filter to the tank area, that can be cut and spliced using a high pressure fitting which the PO did and it made the removal and refreshing easier. So, a couple of questions,

What are the widest tires I can put on these wheels safely without hitting anything underneath, I was thinking 205/60/13 (the current tires have cracks all the way down to the steel belts)?
Is there a preferred shock/strut/spring set up?
On the 3rd picture down there is a blue electrical fitting, right by the steering shaft, where does that go?

Again, thanks for the comments and help!

polov8 · Post by **polov8** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 5:59 pm

That blue plug could be the cold start injector. K-jetronic wiring tends to be colour coded and the injector is blue

peter coomaraswamy · Post by **peter coomaraswamy** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:48 am

Thanks Andy, not sure your engine is clean enough

polov8 · Post by **polov8** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:22 pm

If only it WAS my engine! Mine looks the same but carbed and oily!

peter coomaraswamy · Post by **peter coomaraswamy** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 3:33 pm

On the 320is that has the 13 in. wheels has anyone tried 205/60/13 on the stock basketweave wheels? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Duracel79 · Post by **Duracel79** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 5:15 pm

when I first bought my yellow car it had 6" basket weave wheels and 205/60/13 tyres and they looked ok if a little bit bulbous.
Never drove on them so can't comment on how they would feel or perform.

I have used 205/60/13's on a 7" wheel and they are a great option for the E21

Check out pics in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=5116

Regards

Ben

peter coomaraswamy · Post by **peter coomaraswamy** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 8:30 pm

Ben, that's really cool! I think that I will put on the standard size tire (tyre) and if I get the urge I'll put a set of sticky ones on 7" wheels later on. I'm attempting to do a "quality/budget" job on this one. She's a bit tired but allot of elbow grease and a few new suspension parts and she should be OK. More pics to come and thanks for the reply.

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better rot than rust

better rot than rust

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moved to the owners gallery

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Tire size

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Tire size