Mark's 316 M52/2.8 + Cat cams & Jenvey ITB's

[Jeroen]

Bummer. So what's the plan now then, when's the paint coming on?

[e21-Mark]

No idea.

[arshad76]

No idea.

I had a similar experience a few years back the first time my E21 had a respray. Was supposed to be in there for 6 months and ended up 3 years. Not nice, but you really are on the home stretch now by the looks of it. In hindsight when they said "it might take a bit more time than normal" I should have asked them to be a little more specific in terms of days, weeks and months. It's common courtesy not to keep someone hanging on for longer than is needed, but sadly not everyone has it or the guts to be honest.

[nas80]

Well it's taken so long now and there's no point in getting agitated as its middle of winter anyway you wouldn't want to ruin it on salty roads

Hope we see it in 2015 all finished before show season.

[e21-Mark]

Happy New Year guys.

Hopefully 2015 is the year?

Just moving and finally have a nice, warm and dry garage to keep it in.

[Thegs]

Let's hope you get it ready this year mark. Good way to celebrate 40 years of E21!

[e21-Mark]

At this rate it'll be the 50th anniversary.

[Curly]

Why is Mick taking so long ?

[Jeroen]

Hope you can report some more progress soon!

[e21-Mark]

Hopefully this month will see MIB hit the road once more. It's been a while but the build has been between other jobs, in order to try and keep costs down to a minimum. Pristine have also moved premises and suffered more than their fair share of hold ups, none of which were their fault. So much of my car is now custom and even seemingly small tasks, like re engineering the single wiper, can eat up the hours. Anyway, we are literally 98% done now and aiming for the sharknose meet at the end of the month.

The Laguna Seca blue paint is done and is currently being polished to a show finish. Obviously the paint is the first thing people see, so it's understandable that Mick is taking the time to make sure it's the best it can possibly be. I have also opted to have the Rota alloys done in a dark satin gold so they contrast with the blue. I opted against a boot spoiler and but imported a 320is front spoiler from the states. I also have a rear window louvre to try on the finished car. The only other exterior detail changes are the single wiper, Engelmann door mirrors and black chrome kidney grill. The wheel arches have been re worked to clear the 9x15" alloys and 205/50 & 215/50 tyres. It's subtle, but next to a stock E21 it's clear the arches have been flared. The overall stance is really nice, with an aggressive and squat look. The twin 323i silencer look really adds to it, although I'm searching for some E46 M3 tips.

Inside the rear seat has been deleted and the whole of the rear has bespoke plywood panels, which were carpeted in black. The rear cage has been done in body colour and provides a nice contract. The Recaro seats were bought a couple of years ago and are black leather, with grey alcantara centre panels and seat cushions. They have quite thick bolsters and are really lovely seats. They were also a steal at just £200 for the pair! What Mick has had to do though, in order for them to fit properly, is reduce the height of the sub frames. It's pretty common for non E21 seats to sit way too high and leave no headroom. The driving position feels like you're perched up too high as well, which is why the sub frames need modifying. I've also replaced the inertia seat belts with 4 point harnesses from Safety Devices. The dash now houses addition gauges from Stack, for oil pressure, water temperature and volts. It's a very subtle mod to the dash but really adds to the overall look. The finishing touch is the Prototipo steering wheel, saved from my old car, plus a stainless steel, weighted gear knob from Storm. As it's primarily a road car, there's a decent stereo fitted, with Nakamichi head unit and amps, with Focal speakers and Clarion under seat sub. The carpets are all black and custom fitted.

The engine conversion is really nicely done and the bay is now free from clutter. The OE fuse box was binned and a modern blade fuse type now sits beneath a panel in the passenger footwell. The OE brake servo is also gone, so no more pedal linkage or lump of steel mounting the servo up front. The whole bay has a really clean, uncluttered look and the engine itself looks just right. The plan is to lose of the plastic bits from the engine, so I have a custom alloy coil pack cover and Jenvey ITB's will replace the m50 inlet. There is also a polished 6 branch exhaust manifold fitted, along with Cat fast road cams and a lightened flywheel. I'll put the car on a dyno eventually but would guess at about 260'ish BHP?

The whole of the braking system has been replaced and uprated wherever possible. The new servo is one usually used to upgrade VW campers but it's perfect for the E21's dual circuit system. It's also nice and compact, so easy to tuck out of the way. The new from calipers are billet 4 pots with Hawk competition pads. The best thing is the lack of linkage, so no more flex in the pedal. I always found E21 brakes to be a bit lacking but am really pleased with the way this conversion came together. It wasn't hugely expensive and is relatively easy to do. The LEDA coilover/Whiteline ARB suspension is also freshly rebuilt and poly bushed throughout, with a quick rack fitted also.

I'm sure there is plenty I have missed but overall this car is about as close to a new E21 as I could get. I know it won't be to everyone's taste but that was never the goal. I simply wanted an E21 I could enjoy driving every day and that would be fun. I also wanted it to be quick, stop and steer in a way that made me want to drive it. I'm extremely grateful to Mick at Pristine, for his patience and his hard graft. I can't wait to pick it up and attend a few shows but, most of all, I can't wait to drive it! I'll post some photos very soon but hopefully we'll get some UK cars to a few of this years shows.

As the base 316 with 4 speed box and a clock arrived back in 2012.

[uwbuurman]

Hell of a story! I feel you on not wanting to wait to drive her!!

[QuiqueUy]

V nice ! i can't wait to see the photos!

I really dig the laguna seca blue tho !

[Jeroen]

Finally the car is close to completion! Hope you get to do a few decent test drives and then come over for the Sharknose so we can see it in real life! I promise to take many photos myself but no one will mind seeing a few pics on the forum beforehand

A lot of blood, sweat and tears but almost there now!

[Duracel79]

I'll put the car on a dyno eventually but would guess at about 260'ish BHP?

If you make it to Sharknose there is a mobile dyno there

Will be good to finally see it finished, for you it will be

Ben

[e21-Mark]

Well Mick has been working hard to get my car fitted up and finished but unforeseen problems with the cams have meant sharknose is out. A rasping noise/vibration from the inlet side, which lessens when the vanos is disconnected, leads us to believe Cat have supplied the wrong cams! Apart from the obvious disappointment, this also meant lots of wasted time! I spoke briefly with the tech' guy at Cat in Belgium and I think Mick was hoping to speak with them also. Unfortunately, unless they can now supply the correct cams, we will simply have to re-fit the stock items. Right now though, I'm waiting to hear if they came up with a solution or not?

Other than that though, we're getting incredibly close now.