Project: BMW E21
Discussion
First off, I'm new to the forum, so hello all 
This is a bit of a catch up post really, as I've already done some work on the BMW over the last couple of months.
So, the car is a 1977 (E21) BMW 316. Being from the earlier of the production years, it has the 1.6 engine, as opposed to the 1.8 that was later introduced.
I bought it from a guy not too far away from me, when I was looking for an E30. When I saw this, I fell in love with it and simply had to buy it.
Love it or hate it, I quite like the "stanced" scene, and this will be the direction the car will be headed. Having said that, it will also be undergoing a thorough restoration process.
I'm aware they're not strictly legal, but I fancied some black and silver plates, so grabbed these from eBay:
Most of the work will be done on my driveway:
The carpet under the drivers seat was very wet, and I wanted to ensure the entire cabin was 100% waterproof, of course this means stripping the lot of it out, so I could find any holes/points of leakage. Sorry for the hideous camera phone quality on these:
Wet underlay and carpet:
The engine then started to play up a little, struggling to start. We checked the plugs and the fuel lines and both 'seemed' fine. So out came the gazebo and a mate popped over:
Turned out to be the battery, it had enough power to make a spark in the spark plug, but possibly not enough to start the car. Little annoying, but at least it's an easy fix.
Another night of stripping:
Then I found the main culprit for the water ingress on the drivers side. This is behind the pedals, in the day, you can see the tread of the tyre on the other side!
Super simple loom:
A genuine BBS bodykit came up for sale at a pretty good price, so I snapped it up. I'll probably only be using the front end though.
Took the rear of the interior out too:
And my coilovers have arrived
They're Gaz Golds, fitted to 323 struts and have RPM adjustable top mounts. Just need a clean up and they will be good to go.
Also, got an email from one of the previous owners, this is how it was found in 2009, after being left in a garage for 12 years!
Anyway, that's it for now, next job is to get the final bits of the interior out so I can be sure there are no more water leaks. Then get under the car and strip back the many layers of Waxoyl, what a hideous job that will be
This is a bit of a catch up post really, as I've already done some work on the BMW over the last couple of months.
So, the car is a 1977 (E21) BMW 316. Being from the earlier of the production years, it has the 1.6 engine, as opposed to the 1.8 that was later introduced.
I bought it from a guy not too far away from me, when I was looking for an E30. When I saw this, I fell in love with it and simply had to buy it.
Love it or hate it, I quite like the "stanced" scene, and this will be the direction the car will be headed. Having said that, it will also be undergoing a thorough restoration process.
I'm aware they're not strictly legal, but I fancied some black and silver plates, so grabbed these from eBay:
Most of the work will be done on my driveway:
The carpet under the drivers seat was very wet, and I wanted to ensure the entire cabin was 100% waterproof, of course this means stripping the lot of it out, so I could find any holes/points of leakage. Sorry for the hideous camera phone quality on these:
Wet underlay and carpet:
The engine then started to play up a little, struggling to start. We checked the plugs and the fuel lines and both 'seemed' fine. So out came the gazebo and a mate popped over:
Turned out to be the battery, it had enough power to make a spark in the spark plug, but possibly not enough to start the car. Little annoying, but at least it's an easy fix.
Another night of stripping:
Then I found the main culprit for the water ingress on the drivers side. This is behind the pedals, in the day, you can see the tread of the tyre on the other side!
Super simple loom:
A genuine BBS bodykit came up for sale at a pretty good price, so I snapped it up. I'll probably only be using the front end though.
Took the rear of the interior out too:
And my coilovers have arrived
They're Gaz Golds, fitted to 323 struts and have RPM adjustable top mounts. Just need a clean up and they will be good to go.
Also, got an email from one of the previous owners, this is how it was found in 2009, after being left in a garage for 12 years!
Anyway, that's it for now, next job is to get the final bits of the interior out so I can be sure there are no more water leaks. Then get under the car and strip back the many layers of Waxoyl, what a hideous job that will be
From looking underneath the jacking points seem fine tbh.
The whole interior and carpet is out and we can't see any signs of rust/damage in that area.
That said, on the old photo's of the car I saw before, Ed, the rear drivers side sill seemed to have had work done in that area, which, if anything is a good sign.
The whole interior and carpet is out and we can't see any signs of rust/damage in that area.
That said, on the old photo's of the car I saw before, Ed, the rear drivers side sill seemed to have had work done in that area, which, if anything is a good sign.
The previous 3 owners before me, between them, restored the back of the car (rear of the doors and backwards).
The restoration work done, is for the most part of a very high standard, but I've found some evidence of rust that has been simply plated over, so that will be cut out and new metal welded in it's place.
The restoration work done, is for the most part of a very high standard, but I've found some evidence of rust that has been simply plated over, so that will be cut out and new metal welded in it's place.
tbc said:
the numberplates are legal on a car of that age
Pre 73 is legal, this is a 77. falkster said:
It looks too light, must be the picture/crappy iPhone screen.
Looks awesome either way.
It's had a respray at the back, and the front end has awful paint fade.Looks awesome either way.
It'll be getting resprayed in the new year hopefully
Last night I wanted to clean up the coilovers. This was unfortunately stopped when the top nut, holding the top mount and subsequently the coil on, was stuck solid. I couldn't move it.
So tonight I went and bought an impact gun, which simply laughed at the nut and it was off in seconds. The right tool for the job...
Also, the four adjusting bolts on the top mounts were also stuck solid, and due to the shape and size of the top mounts, I couldn't free them up. So I made a little vice/jig thing which stopped the top mount from rotating, and did the job perfectly
Perfect
So out came a couple of buckets of piping hot soapy water, and a load of Tardis & G101. Some elbow grease later, and they went from this:
To this:
The lowers (bottom of the thread and down) need some paint, as they've got some surface rust. Probably a couple of coats of black will sharpen them up.
I've only done the front, as I got hungry and didn't fancy starting the rears. Plenty of time though
So tonight I went and bought an impact gun, which simply laughed at the nut and it was off in seconds. The right tool for the job...
Also, the four adjusting bolts on the top mounts were also stuck solid, and due to the shape and size of the top mounts, I couldn't free them up. So I made a little vice/jig thing which stopped the top mount from rotating, and did the job perfectly
Perfect
So out came a couple of buckets of piping hot soapy water, and a load of Tardis & G101. Some elbow grease later, and they went from this:
To this:
The lowers (bottom of the thread and down) need some paint, as they've got some surface rust. Probably a couple of coats of black will sharpen them up.
I've only done the front, as I got hungry and didn't fancy starting the rears. Plenty of time though
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