Resto-mod e21 BMW

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e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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Once upon a time I owned an orange 323i, to which I fitted an m52/2.8 & coilovers etc.



Then, one day, this happened....



An electrical issue meant the dash wiring shorted out and my car and 3 years hard work went up in flames.

A bit of internet action and I bagged myself a mint 316 which had spent a good few years stored in a concrete bunker in France. It cost a bit more than I wanted to pay, but the condition made it worth the extra.



Once it arrived home, I packed it off to my pal in Essex. He owns www.pristinebodyworks.co.uk and does damn fine work.



Over the next few months I spent my pocket money on a few parts, to add to the stuff salvaged from MIB.

Nytrex triple threat NOS system.



323i rear chassis rail (200 mile round trip!)



Meanwhile, the shell was stripped and went for blasting.



This is the only bit of rust on the whole shell. (below rad) So we let new metal in.



I'd always liked the colour of MIB, so stuck with orange again. It's BMW Fire Orange from the GTS M3.











Unfortunately, as the paint went off, it soon became clear there was a problem with the mix and the primer was still bleeding through. Gutted.

Whilst I thought about my next move, the postman brought these from the good people at Cat Camshafts. I had planned on fitting US spec M3 cams but these are a nicer alternative. Thank you Cat!



The diff mounts are came from the US and servo and brake upgrade were SVC & WMS Brakes respectively.

Stack gauges. I know they're only gauges but they're excellent quality.



The 6x9's were an eBay bargain at £11.00!



On impulse I opted for Laguna Seca blue.



While still more bits were arriving.



Keri @ WMS has done an awesome job on replicating the cosworth kit I was running on MIB.



The paint finish looks awesome.





NOS rear lenses arrived. I could have probably got away with using the old ones but inspired by the other builds on here, I figured I would go the extra mile - or try to anyway.



Custom brake install meant we could bin the OE servo and convoluted linkage.



The m50 inlet swap is done and the 6 branch is also on. The nitrous jets are going on and going to be hidden beneath the inlet manifold. There's also a lightened flywheel and uprated AP clutch.

It's going to look so much better with all the redundant e36 wiring being binned and no OE fuse box and clutter.









Brake kit from WMS. They're very nice and super light.







Opted the replace the plastic thermostat housing with a nice alloy one.



I know an e21 interior is pretty basic but opted to go for a stainless gearknob from Storm.






The super light flywheel eventually arrived.





Things are slowly moving along but with so much to do, and lots of custom bits, it's taking a while.









Well I went and saw MIB yesterday and there's been a fair bit of progress, with lots of the less obvious jobs now finished.

The e36 loom has been split and any superfluous wiring is being deleted. The OE fuse box is being junked and the whole engine bay will be much less cluttered. The Cat Camshafts have also been installed.



The new fuel lines, pump and sender are also in.



The cage has been painted, the floor strengthened and we are just waiting on new front coilovers from Gaz and the new front brakes can finally go on. Whilst there is still a bit to do, we are definitely making real progress now. In fact, next week it's off to Quest Motorsport for the exhaust manifold and system to be fitted.



So that's how things currently stand and I'm properly excited at the prospect of finally being just a few weeks away from finally having my car back.

Edited by e21Mark on Friday 31st May 20:39

Codswallop

5,250 posts

193 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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Wow! That is a proper job. Shame MIB died, but the new project looks just as fantastic thumbup

e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
Thanks. I'd never been as attached to any other car as MIB, so building a replacement was the only option really. I've tried to make this one about as bespoke as I can. I also treated myself to a few things I'd always promised myself, like the Nalkamichi head unit and custom retrim. I'm also going with a body colour rear cage.

M159V8

2,539 posts

145 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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Wow, fking hell. cloud9 I'm going to fall in love with this biggrin
Always liked E21's, would like one as my first car but no doubt insurance will be stupid.

Cannot wait for updates, and I'm loving the recent BMW epic-ness in Readers Rides of late, what with mwstewart's E46 and now this thumbup

ETA - I also remember reading about you acquiring an Alpina E21 a while back in PBMW mag? What's the story with that?

Oh, and your black E30 M3 looked the dogs, especially with the MIB plate
I know they're your initials but the first time I saw it I read it as Men In Blackbiggrin

Edited by M159V8 on Friday 31st May 21:03

HariboLecter

4,432 posts

174 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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This is going to be good. Very good.

Brett748

919 posts

165 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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Brilliant project. I'd love to have the free cash, time and knowledge to do something like this.

e46acs

548 posts

190 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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That is going to be fking awesome! bow

Amirhussain

11,486 posts

162 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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Love it, shame the first one died though.

e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
M159V8 said:
I also remember reading about you acquiring an Alpina E21 a while back in PBMW mag? What's the story with that?

Oh, and your black E30 M3 looked the dogs, especially with the MIB plate
I know they're your initials but the first time I saw it I read it as Men In Blackbiggrin
Sadly it had to go. It's a long story but it just became a chore. The M3 was nice, but I just prefer an e21, and with a bit of vision they can be great fun and out perform a lot more expensive cars.

Thanks for the positive comments chaps.

Although I'm just sort of managing this build, searching out parts has been hard work but rewarding. I really like the seats I found up north.



Some of the billet stuff, like the diff mounts, came from the US.



Plus I found new chrome in Cornwall that was still in the BMW wrapper.



I opted for something a little different when it comes to rim choice. Staggered 8 & 9 x 15's



I do have a thing for e21's though....


mwstewart

7,554 posts

187 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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Awesome cool

Ruskie

3,982 posts

199 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
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Love it. Top work bow

e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
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As I rarely (as in never) have anyone in the back of my car, I decided to delete the rear seat and install a rear cage.





The cage came from Germany and is a really good fit. In fact, it's so tight to the B pillars the inertia belts have had to go.



I've also decided against replicating the Alpina spoiler on MIB so opted for RONAL instead. Just need to cut out the vents and fit mesh.



Engelmann mirrors that I actually bought just for the fitting kit. You just can't get original parts but as the mounts are hidden, the pattern ones are fine. I think these work really well on e21's. The devil is in the detail. I also plan to convert to a single wiper taken from MIB.





I opted for these rims as they're a bit different to the usual BBS or Alpina etc. We went a bit further with the arch mods though and modified the suspension, so that I can run lower but still retain proper damping. It also means I can run wider rubber and the staggered rims give a really squat and aggressive stance, compared to a more stock car like this.





The whole shell has been extensively checked and thoroughly protected, so should last a few years. I know he's a pal but Pristine do awesome work.

















I'm glad I went to the effort of finding a good base car to start with though. Welding up a rusty example just isn't economically viable.





This was the worst of the rust.





The decambered rear beam just needs a fresh coat of paint and the rear discs have new pads from HAWK. The sideloader LSD is taken from a E12 M535i, hence the beefier dual mount. The 3:07 ratio makes it a little longer legged than stock, but it works well in such a light car with over 300bhp per ton.









E21's are an absolute steal right now, but there are quite a few being rebuilt here in the UK. I think their days of being an unloved old smoker are numbered.

tjlazer

875 posts

173 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
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I remember seeing MiB at Bedford (pretty sure on more than one occasion?). Absolutely loved the look and this appears to be even more special...can't wait to see this in the flesh, beautiful cars. Definitely like to get an e21 one day but not my wife would sign off on this level of commitment! First class smile

Papa Hotel

12,760 posts

181 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
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thumbup

Love it.

e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
quotequote all
tjlazer said:
Definitely like to get an e21 one day but not my wife would sign off on this level of commitment! First class smile
I hate to think what my Mrs is going to say?! paperbag

Papa Hotel

12,760 posts

181 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
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e21Mark said:
I hate to think what my Mrs is going to say?! paperbag
Just remember, the car will never say "it's me or the wife." The car will never put you under that pressure, the car will never nag, the car exists only for your pleasure.

e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Sunday 2nd June 2013
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In fairness, she's actually pretty supportive, but a strategic bunch of flowers or box of chocolates usually keeps her happy. wink

northandy

3,495 posts

220 months

Sunday 2nd June 2013
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Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.

Was your other car magazine featured? Im sure i have seen it before.

e21Mark

Original Poster:

16,205 posts

172 months

Monday 3rd June 2013
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northandy said:
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.

Was your other car magazine featured? Im sure i have seen it before.
Yes, in was in a few mags over the 3 or 4 years I had it.

http://www.corbeau-seats.com/news/news-63/Total-BM...


rossi1

773 posts

201 months

Monday 3rd June 2013
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What is the "Mpower" cam cover off of ? Doesn't seem to be US M3 as the filler cap is at the rear.

Interesting find smile