1979 Euro 323i (with an m20!) transmission?

[ColdAccord]

A '79 323i from Europe has lived blocks away from me for many years, belongs to a friend's stepdad. It came from Europe and the only previous owner was the owner of Fisher-Price.



It's at a buddy's shop now, trans is out and bad, they said it had no fluid in it (reasonably reputable european shop in the area).
"Getrag" and "M60" were stamped on it, looking at this page it looks like it may be a Getrag 242

http://www.bmwe21.net/?page_id=124

Looks like because of the mechanical speedo drive no other transmissions are interchangeable, besides maybe one from an e12.

Are any transmissions available anywhere? 4 or 5 speed variant? I was offered the car for $2500, but he may have some room to negotiate there.

(I can post some pics of the motor and trans when photobucket stops being a btch)

[kronus]

for 2500 that's a steal. the transmission may be a little tough to find. I have a dogleg that would fit it (245/11), but it needs a rebuild and at that point you may as well rebuild the original one and not have to dick with the rear end ratio.

toss a regular 260 in and get a GPS speedo?

[SkiFree]

for 2500 that's a steal.

X2. If there isn't a lot of tin worm, buy it quick.

If you have any pictures of the transmission, it would help me identify the actual transmission you have.

This car would make a great swap candidate. The M20 that came in these (and it's injection system) isn't great, but a later M20 can be put in for loads more giggles.

[ColdAccord]

The rust isn't brutal, but it's there. Could probably be ground away and por15'ed, hopefully those fuel lines aren't too corroded

Untitled by Andre Sadoff

Untitled by Andre Sadoff

Untitled by Andre Sadoff

Untitled by Andre Sadoff

[TobyB]

That's a deal. Yes, finding a trans may be hard-
but you SHOULD be able to use any M20/42/5x trans with that engine.
And there's room in an E21 tunnel.

t

[ColdAccord]

That's a deal. Yes, finding a trans may be hard-
but you SHOULD be able to use any M20/42/5x trans with that engine.
And there's room in an E21 tunnel.

t

According to what I’ve read if I use any other trans it will render the speedometer useless.

[SkiFree]

^Yes.

Whoops.... hold the presses. That is a 4-speed, not the 5-speed.

[ColdAccord]

^Yes.

Whoops.... hold the presses. That is a 4-speed, not the 5-speed.

Aye. The scarcity of the trans, the rust, I'm left wondering if the car is even worth it

[SkiFree]

Bummer. It's always easy for someone else to say how "cool" or how awesome a deal is.... but in the real world sometimes it just doesn't make sense.