318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

BrunoT
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318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by BrunoT »

Wasn't expecting to own an E21 but here I am. I've always loved BMWs and owned a bunch of them and still have a few BMWs such as 2 E30 M3s and E46 320i wagon and another E30 320i sedan

So i imported this E21 from Japan about a month ago, and received it yesterday night. I knew what i was getting into, as most old cars from that part of the world and "in general" require some TLC.

Here some photos:

when it was in japan they sent me a bunch of crappy photos, 2 of them can be seen here:

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My first impression was that those silly chrome wheel arches need to go as soon as i get my hands on her.


FIrst shot when she came into the workshop:

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Some shots i took this morning:

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I took off those chrome arches:

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Before and after:

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Some obvious remarks i gathered today while visually examining the car:

- It seems that car has been resprayed at some point with over spray marks all over.
- few rust spots, on the panels, and under the wheel arches.
- the interior is dirty, could use a thorough clean.
- There are no tears on the front seats, the rear back seat seems to be degraded from sun exposure.
- The battery was dead, so i suspect an electric leak somewhere.
- The cooling a/c switch was missing, but the A/C works
- The hazard switch is broken "e21 problems"
- cracked tires
- the car starts up and idles nicely. seems healthy so far.
- Broken interior roof light
- broken glove compartment handle, i havent seen a lock there, so let's hope i dont have to order one.






Here's what im going to do in short term:

- I'll replace all broken parts mentioned above
- replace all fluids, and make sure she runs fine
- fix that battery leak
- sort out the rusted panels.
- replace those tires and get her registered
- and i will clean her up and polish her to see if she will glow.


I'm sure i'll find more things to do while digging in there.

i'll try to keep on updating this thread.


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Jeroen
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by Jeroen »

Hi Bruno, welcome here! Not a bad buy at all I think, I've seen much worse! Removing the chrome arches already makes a difference, the niggles aren't too bad. Bottom line is that you have a good basis with some wanted options like power steering and A/C, probably a 5 speed gearbox as well? Enjoy it sir!
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
BrunoT
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by BrunoT »

Jeroen wrote:Hi Bruno, welcome here! Not a bad buy at all I think, I've seen much worse! Removing the chrome arches already makes a difference, the niggles aren't too bad. Bottom line is that you have a good basis with some wanted options like power steering and A/C, probably a 5 speed gearbox as well? Enjoy it sir!
Thanks Jereon, it has a 5 speed gearbox, electric windows, and pop out rear windows.
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l3v4rt
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by l3v4rt »

Looking good, I also like the color, if you would put some love into the colour it would really stand out. Great cat, you have some work to do but a great base for a project car, you also have a lot of extras. Good luck with your project. :driving
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uwbuurman
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by uwbuurman »

Welcome here, Bruno! What do you do in Dubai?

Nice pusta green e21! It has the aircondition console. Is it in working order?

It has some spots, but it seems a good base for a nice car!
It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
1980 BMW 528i maior restitutio
1987 BMW 325iA cabriolet
2006 BMW 320d touring High Executive
2015 BMW 320dA touring xDrive High Executive ///Msport
BrunoT
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by BrunoT »

l3v4rt wrote:Looking good, I also like the color, if you would put some love into the colour it would really stand out. Great cat, you have some work to do but a great base for a project car, you also have a lot of extras. Good luck with your project. :driving
Gave her a quick polish, the color popped out, the paint work on the car is still factory, only the lower part of passenger door seems to have been resprayed at some point. Was expecting a poor clear coat but it looked decent for the age.




uwbuurman wrote:Welcome here, Bruno! What do you do in Dubai?

Nice pusta green e21! It has the aircondition console. Is it in working order?

It has some spots, but it seems a good base for a nice car!
I'm in the financial market business. Wrong industry for my BMW passion.

The A/C works fine, I'm just missing the knob in the console.
I'm tackling the spots at the moment.

Should be done from the body work by New years. And hopefully get her checked out mechanically after new years. I'll post an update in the next couple of ours. Got lots of photos
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uwbuurman
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by uwbuurman »

Great, looking forward to it. Collegue of mine lives also in Dubai, getting married with his girl in February. Drives a nice mustang v8 convertible, but even that is just an average car over there I believe. So very cool you have this e21!!!!
It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
1980 BMW 528i maior restitutio
1987 BMW 325iA cabriolet
2006 BMW 320d touring High Executive
2015 BMW 320dA touring xDrive High Executive ///Msport
BrunoT
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by BrunoT »

after removing those funny chrome wheel arches we had to attend to the rust spots around the edges of the fenders as mentioned earlier. while getting them fixed i decided to pull out the taillights to take a deeper look since i found a few spots in the wheel well which was already a hint to dig into that area.

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Borrowed some patches from a damaged door cover and used it in the place of the badly rusted areas.

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I don't want to imagine what i'll find around the edges of the front and rear glasses so i prefer not to look for trouble for now. At this stage im happy with what was accomplished and next week i will move on with other stuff.
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by uwbuurman »

Nice work!! Indian blowjob? :bag On a more serious note: really good job, you are doing. And you are right to sort out these obvious spots. Keep it up and keep those pics comming!
It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
1980 BMW 528i maior restitutio
1987 BMW 325iA cabriolet
2006 BMW 320d touring High Executive
2015 BMW 320dA touring xDrive High Executive ///Msport
BrunoT
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by BrunoT »

uwbuurman wrote:Nice work!! Indian blowjob? :bag On a more serious note: really good job, you are doing. And you are right to sort out these obvious spots. Keep it up and keep those pics comming!

i just saw your build thread... you sir deserve an award
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uwbuurman
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by uwbuurman »

Haha, thank you, but thats to much honor. I am just a guy that bought a wrong car and refused to admit that. So if anything, you can say that I am just freaking hardheaded and stubborn. :bag

But thanks again!!!
It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
1980 BMW 528i maior restitutio
1987 BMW 325iA cabriolet
2006 BMW 320d touring High Executive
2015 BMW 320dA touring xDrive High Executive ///Msport
BrunoT
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by BrunoT »

so was busy getting some cosmetic stuff out of the way.

i plasti-dipped the moldings. and the front grill. i'm not a big fan of chrome if you realized by now, always preferred a shadow line trim on all my BMWs. the plastidip can be easily reversible by just peeling it off might be worth exploring a chrome front grill option but i will tackle this at a later stage.

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you are probably wondering why my headlights are off... well scroll down further.

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finished plastidipping, the car is not polished yet.

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I dont know why but i like them french lights

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Found these jap records after opening the broken glove compartment handle

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the upper part part of the sideskirt (the vertical bit of it) didnt sit flush with the fender because previously the chrome wheel arches sat in between the fender and the side skirt. in order not to drill holes in the sideskirts i want to double tape it later on, just taped it for now.

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My hazard switch was out because i wanted to fix it but totally destroyed it. im not sure if this is related to this question but i'll ask anyways so when i pull out the light switch (first click) my indicators turn on and stay on throughout the whole process (the second click) the low and high beam work just fine. Should the indicators be working like that all the time or am i missing something. shouldnt the dim lights (tinny lights) only come on when the first click is set just like the e30?


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those dim lights only work when the high beam is on

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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by uwbuurman »

Lovely!!
It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
1980 BMW 528i maior restitutio
1987 BMW 325iA cabriolet
2006 BMW 320d touring High Executive
2015 BMW 320dA touring xDrive High Executive ///Msport
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Jeroen
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by Jeroen »

Nice results! Indicators being on is a US and Jap thing I believe, sort of driving lights.
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
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Re: 318i 1982 Bruno Dubai

Post by arshad76 »

Hi Bruno and welcome. Nice progress. You've also got factory AC which is a plus and a larger extended toolbox. I'm actually working on Oman currently. May come to Dubai to see if I can get a deal on an Audi s8 v10,
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