E21: drop some knowledge on me

[blue plates]

I've been looking at one locally, '81 320i, 2.0 4 cylinder. Has a few issues and what looks to be surface rust in the pictures. Are there any inherent problems with these that I should know about? Has 200k on the chassis, so I'm expecting it to fail smog and need some work, but that's expected.

Thanks,
Blue

[hendrixvodu]

Very reliable cars hazard switches have huge problems do don't push the botton, normal bmw trunk rust and rear strut towers, common oil leak from the exhasut manifold bolts . besides that they are great

[bastianshaw]

dont press the red button

[TobyB]

And the front end likes to shimmy and shake. It's the only BMW that tried
(and failed)
to use the anti- sway bar as a suspension locating device. Urethane would probably help.

Otherwise, put an M20 in it, 1977 brakes on it, and love it hard! The bodies are probably the
toughest 3- series ever made...

t

[blue plates]

And the front end likes to shimmy and shake. It's the only BMW that tried
(and failed)
to use the anti- sway bar as a suspension locating device. Urethane would probably help.

Otherwise, put an M20 in it, 1977 brakes on it, and love it hard! The bodies are probably the
toughest 3- series ever made...

t

Were the 77 brakes better than 81 brakes?

[dirty30]

Were the 77 brakes better than 81 brakes?

They were vented, all the others had solid rotors.

I just picked up a 78 to do an M42 swap in. I've noticed a flurry of interest lately in the E21's.

[flyboyx]

there in an almost non existent aftermarket support network for e21's. probably less than a 10th of what you can find for an e30. decent cars they are. harder to soup up however.

personally, if there weren't an aftermarket support network for e30's, i would be really unhappy driving mine every day. i love my wheels, suspension, sport seats, etc.

its pretty hard to find an e21 with sport seats.

about, a year ago, there was a wrecked euro e21 in my local pick a part. all the rear disk brake suspension was there. all the original 2.3 m20 parts were there as well as the rear euro bumper. i wasn't interested in owning an e21 at the time. however, i wish i wouldn't have just left all that stuff laying there in the yard.

[greg1333]

I had a euro e21 which I dearly miss.

It is true that it is not as well supported in the aftermarket as any of the later models, there are still suppliers out there that have performance items for them.

As far as body modifications, in my opinion all you need is euro bumpers. The lines of the e21 are unique enough that it won't be mistaken for an e30 and odds are you won't see another one in your local mall parking lot.

Rear disc brakes are unique to the euro 323i model and require model specific trailing arms. The calipers are insane expensive, however e30 rear calipers are easily enough modified to fit.

Front brakes came in two styles vented and solid rotor. As mentioned the vented came only on the 77' in the US but also were stock on the euro 323i model. There also a common mod to use Volvo calipers up front for a 4 pot set up vs the stock 2 pot. Alpha also used the same caliper design but made of aluminum for a weight savings.

As mentioned above, replacing the rubber bushings up front with poly will reduce or eliminate the "shimmy" that plagues the e21. (it worked for mine)

E21 came stock with manual steering, power steering was a very rare euro only option.

Wheels are limited because of the off set. e30 wheels will fit but only with the use of spacers. Stock e21 wheels were 13"

Ireland Engineering, VAC Motorsports, and TopEnd Performance all offer a selection of performance parts.

Aadvarc Racing offered wheels, differentials, re-upholstered seats...

Like I said, I miss my dear departed e21...