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Hello all, I recently bought a 1978 320i manual (US.) Im no expert but it seems like the previous owner put in quite a bit of work on the car, swapping the injectors for a carburetor, changing the brakes, 4 brand new tires, dashboard (I think) and a few other parts whose names elude me. It was his daughter’s car and it’s got a few of those project style quirks but is in pretty good shape for how old it is. I’ve been driving it to work every day and it’s been great!

However there are a couple issues that I would greatly appreciate some guidance on.

1. It has the four round headlights and the fuse box cover specifies for high beams but there’s now way to actually turn them on. As in, the indicator switch has no forward or backward selection, it only goes up or down for turn signals. The pull knob only turns on the regular lights. Does my car actually have Highbeams or was the grill swapped in and the high beam lights were never finished?


2. I believe my heater core valve needs to be replaced. The bottom hose leading into the firewall gets hot but the top one only a little bit warm, probably just from the heat of the engine. The 2 vents that will continuously push air in work but the actual heat setting only gets slightly warm when the engine heats up. This warm air isn’t actually pushed through any other vents besides the ones by your feet, regardless of whether the fan vents were turned on. My rear defroster also seems to not be working. Does anyone know if the HCV needs to be changed through the dashboard and if it’s necessary to drain and refill all the coolant?

Welcome here and congrats on your E21! We'll try to make your ownership as easy as possible. In the meantime, please consider opening a new topic on your car in the Owners Gallery.

1. AFAIK all E21's have high beams in some way, combined with the main headlights, or separate. They are always operated through the indicator stalk. Perhaps the stalk is somewhat stuck and doesn't want to move forward or backwards too easily, but it should be able to move. Unless you had some short circuit that burnt the internals of course, but that doesn't happen often. A little more force, or perhaps a new stalk.

2. Interior heating has a valve that is in the engine bay in most cases, at the firewall and near those hoses, and it is operated by a steel cable with a blue cover. Perhaps the valve is stuck or the cable is loose?
Mind you, not all vents blow hot air, see below diagram from the Owners Manual, white ones are cold air only