E21 323i - 1981
Discussion
EmptyCinema said:
The advert is still online and the other pics show that it's a lovely thing (colour is listed as 'Stratos Blue Metallic').
I don't mind the front spoiler; angles
I'd been watching the car for a while online. It was pitched at 2k more a few days ago. As soon as I saw it readvertised yesterday morning at the new price I was straight on the phone, as it was a direct comparison to the E21 for sale at 4 Star Classics - albeit their car didn't look as standard and had twice the miles. I don't mind the front spoiler; angles
Matt Bird said:
Now that is lovely! Always liked E21s and this looks fab in that colour. If you ever want to write a Carpool I'm sure the rest of PH would like to hear about it...
Matt
Until I find somewhere to keep it, I fear the next 3 months would read something along the lines of "I haven't got round to driving it yet because it's being kept in dry store 30 miles from where I live".Matt
The dealer has been a proper gent and has offered to keep the car for me free of charge until the end of January.
gforceg said:
Just realised! I think the mirrors are from an E30.
Sorry to pick. The car does look great. Is that French Blue?
I am pretty sure he has the facelift E21 which has those mirrors which are different to prefaceliftSorry to pick. The car does look great. Is that French Blue?
Congratulations OP
Absolutely love E21 323i
Does yours have LSD ?
Take it easy round the corners .... And watch out for lift off oversteer and power oversteer
I think these are cool as f00k :-)
Agreed with you get back to full OEM as per factory
Should be able to spec when was new by giving VIN to local BMW Dealer
Also get a full service to make sure is at least running correctly
And watch out for rust
Defo a future classic
cosworth330 said:
Nice car,love the colour.
I bought my first E21 320 in 1988 when I was 18 for £1400 it had the number plate BMW133V. It did feel quite slow after my Alfa sud 1.5 Ti. Did a straight swap for a Porsche 914 but within a few weeks went back to a E21 323i BGY 3T 1979 which had the Alpina wheels,front bumper & back panel. Sold this for a later Xreg E21 323i. Back in the day the 323 felt very quick but the handling was seriously dangerous,I remember having one really bad moment after carrying too much speed into a corner and loosing the back end over correcting and then the back going the other way and so on until the speed reduced enough to carry on my way.Stupidly when I was a teenager I used to drive like a maniac, I think it was just luck that I never crashed. Regards handling on the 323 I had a 2.8i Capri after and this handled brilliantly even felt good in the wet when they were supposed to have a bad reputation, must have been all the practice I had in the 323 !
Simon
Love your postI bought my first E21 320 in 1988 when I was 18 for £1400 it had the number plate BMW133V. It did feel quite slow after my Alfa sud 1.5 Ti. Did a straight swap for a Porsche 914 but within a few weeks went back to a E21 323i BGY 3T 1979 which had the Alpina wheels,front bumper & back panel. Sold this for a later Xreg E21 323i. Back in the day the 323 felt very quick but the handling was seriously dangerous,I remember having one really bad moment after carrying too much speed into a corner and loosing the back end over correcting and then the back going the other way and so on until the speed reduced enough to carry on my way.Stupidly when I was a teenager I used to drive like a maniac, I think it was just luck that I never crashed. Regards handling on the 323 I had a 2.8i Capri after and this handled brilliantly even felt good in the wet when they were supposed to have a bad reputation, must have been all the practice I had in the 323 !
Simon
For me the main appeal of E21 323i ideally would like E21 323i LE is all that RWD tail happy goodness :-)
Supposed to be more tail happy than E30 325i Sport :-)
161BMW said:
cosworth330 said:
Nice car,love the colour.
I bought my first E21 320 in 1988 when I was 18 for £1400 it had the number plate BMW133V. It did feel quite slow after my Alfa sud 1.5 Ti. Did a straight swap for a Porsche 914 but within a few weeks went back to a E21 323i BGY 3T 1979 which had the Alpina wheels,front bumper & back panel. Sold this for a later Xreg E21 323i. Back in the day the 323 felt very quick but the handling was seriously dangerous,I remember having one really bad moment after carrying too much speed into a corner and loosing the back end over correcting and then the back going the other way and so on until the speed reduced enough to carry on my way.Stupidly when I was a teenager I used to drive like a maniac, I think it was just luck that I never crashed. Regards handling on the 323 I had a 2.8i Capri after and this handled brilliantly even felt good in the wet when they were supposed to have a bad reputation, must have been all the practice I had in the 323 !
Simon
Love your postI bought my first E21 320 in 1988 when I was 18 for £1400 it had the number plate BMW133V. It did feel quite slow after my Alfa sud 1.5 Ti. Did a straight swap for a Porsche 914 but within a few weeks went back to a E21 323i BGY 3T 1979 which had the Alpina wheels,front bumper & back panel. Sold this for a later Xreg E21 323i. Back in the day the 323 felt very quick but the handling was seriously dangerous,I remember having one really bad moment after carrying too much speed into a corner and loosing the back end over correcting and then the back going the other way and so on until the speed reduced enough to carry on my way.Stupidly when I was a teenager I used to drive like a maniac, I think it was just luck that I never crashed. Regards handling on the 323 I had a 2.8i Capri after and this handled brilliantly even felt good in the wet when they were supposed to have a bad reputation, must have been all the practice I had in the 323 !
Simon
For me the main appeal of E21 323i ideally would like E21 323i LE is all that RWD tail happy goodness :-)
Supposed to be more tail happy than E30 325i Sport :-)
Congratulations on buying a seriously cool car. (Great colour!) As previously mentioned, these have been so undervalued in recent years, although prices are rising pretty quickly.
The early cars had the chrome door mirrors, while the later got the black plastic and a different window surround to suit.
E21 got a lot of stick for being tail happy but the problem is the stupidly dimwitted steering. A ratio of 4:1 makes oversteer tough to catch, but I have managed to persuade a UK supplier to build a quick-rack with just 2.7 turns. Combined with an LSD it'll transform the handling without spoiling it. A set of BMW sport springs and Bilsteins are another nice addition.
If you tire of 143bhp, simply drop in a 2.5 and you'll have 170!
I've been driving E21 since 1990 and if ever you need any help, advice or parts just say.
This is my current 316 (kind of 316 anyway
) > http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I've seen some expensive, dealer advertised examples recently and I would tread very, very carefully. If anyone is looking at possibly buying, please feel free to mail me.
The early cars had the chrome door mirrors, while the later got the black plastic and a different window surround to suit.
E21 got a lot of stick for being tail happy but the problem is the stupidly dimwitted steering. A ratio of 4:1 makes oversteer tough to catch, but I have managed to persuade a UK supplier to build a quick-rack with just 2.7 turns. Combined with an LSD it'll transform the handling without spoiling it. A set of BMW sport springs and Bilsteins are another nice addition.
If you tire of 143bhp, simply drop in a 2.5 and you'll have 170!
I've been driving E21 since 1990 and if ever you need any help, advice or parts just say.
This is my current 316 (kind of 316 anyway
) > http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I've seen some expensive, dealer advertised examples recently and I would tread very, very carefully. If anyone is looking at possibly buying, please feel free to mail me.
e21Mark said:
Congratulations on buying a seriously cool car. (Great colour!) As previously mentioned, these have been so undervalued in recent years, although prices are rising pretty quickly.
The early cars had the chrome door mirrors, while the later got the black plastic and a different window surround to suit.
E21 got a lot of stick for being tail happy but the problem is the stupidly dimwitted steering. A ratio of 4:1 makes oversteer tough to catch, but I have managed to persuade a UK supplier to build a quick-rack with just 2.7 turns. Combined with an LSD it'll transform the handling without spoiling it. A set of BMW sport springs and Bilsteins are another nice addition.
If you tire of 143bhp, simply drop in a 2.5 and you'll have 170!
I've been driving E21 since 1990 and if ever you need any help, advice or parts just say.
This is my current 316 (kind of 316 anyway ) > http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I've seen some expensive, dealer advertised examples recently and I would tread very, very carefully. If anyone is looking at possibly buying, please feel free to mail me.
Thanks for the info The early cars had the chrome door mirrors, while the later got the black plastic and a different window surround to suit.
E21 got a lot of stick for being tail happy but the problem is the stupidly dimwitted steering. A ratio of 4:1 makes oversteer tough to catch, but I have managed to persuade a UK supplier to build a quick-rack with just 2.7 turns. Combined with an LSD it'll transform the handling without spoiling it. A set of BMW sport springs and Bilsteins are another nice addition.
If you tire of 143bhp, simply drop in a 2.5 and you'll have 170!
I've been driving E21 since 1990 and if ever you need any help, advice or parts just say.
This is my current 316 (kind of 316 anyway
) > http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...I've seen some expensive, dealer advertised examples recently and I would tread very, very carefully. If anyone is looking at possibly buying, please feel free to mail me.
Out of interest what kind of price range is E21 323i in currently ?
Also how many E21 323i LE were made ?
Did many 323i have factory fitted LSDs ?
Good point about the steering.
e21Mark said:
Congratulations on buying a seriously cool car. (Great colour!) As previously mentioned, these have been so undervalued in recent years, although prices are rising pretty quickly.
The early cars had the chrome door mirrors, while the later got the black plastic and a different window surround to suit.
E21 got a lot of stick for being tail happy but the problem is the stupidly dimwitted steering. A ratio of 4:1 makes oversteer tough to catch, but I have managed to persuade a UK supplier to build a quick-rack with just 2.7 turns. Combined with an LSD it'll transform the handling without spoiling it. A set of BMW sport springs and Bilsteins are another nice addition.
If you tire of 143bhp, simply drop in a 2.5 and you'll have 170!
I've been driving E21 since 1990 and if ever you need any help, advice or parts just say.
This is my current 316 (kind of 316 anyway ) > http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I've seen some expensive, dealer advertised examples recently and I would tread very, very carefully. If anyone is looking at possibly buying, please feel free to mail me.
Were you tempted to fit an e36 m3 engine instead?The early cars had the chrome door mirrors, while the later got the black plastic and a different window surround to suit.
E21 got a lot of stick for being tail happy but the problem is the stupidly dimwitted steering. A ratio of 4:1 makes oversteer tough to catch, but I have managed to persuade a UK supplier to build a quick-rack with just 2.7 turns. Combined with an LSD it'll transform the handling without spoiling it. A set of BMW sport springs and Bilsteins are another nice addition.
If you tire of 143bhp, simply drop in a 2.5 and you'll have 170!
I've been driving E21 since 1990 and if ever you need any help, advice or parts just say.
This is my current 316 (kind of 316 anyway
) > http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...I've seen some expensive, dealer advertised examples recently and I would tread very, very carefully. If anyone is looking at possibly buying, please feel free to mail me.
There have been a couple of really well specced examples make circa £10k, but 323i are pretty thin on the ground and even the lowly 316/320 are worth a punt. As with any old BMW though, condition is everything. There are a couple of rather expensive 323 out there, that are far from being a worthy investment.
LSD's were an expensive option and not common. If you can find a used one now, you'll be looking at circa £450 - 550. Sometimes more. An E30 'small case' LSD can be coaxed into an E21 casing by using a Dremel to open up the aperture a little. Obviously you then need to set the backlash etc.
I did consider an S50/3.0 for my car but the M52/2.8 is a cheap lump. Mine was only £200, although the Cat Cams, Jenvey ITB'S, DTA management etc mean it's no longer all that cheap. If it goes pop though, it's easily and cheaply replaced. If an S50 went pop, it'd be way more expensive. Added to which, this is my daily driver (or will be) and maintenance is also cheaper. I like the fact there can't be many M52's of the same spec either.
www.bmwe21.net/forum is another good place to find parts.
LSD's were an expensive option and not common. If you can find a used one now, you'll be looking at circa £450 - 550. Sometimes more. An E30 'small case' LSD can be coaxed into an E21 casing by using a Dremel to open up the aperture a little. Obviously you then need to set the backlash etc.
I did consider an S50/3.0 for my car but the M52/2.8 is a cheap lump. Mine was only £200, although the Cat Cams, Jenvey ITB'S, DTA management etc mean it's no longer all that cheap. If it goes pop though, it's easily and cheaply replaced. If an S50 went pop, it'd be way more expensive. Added to which, this is my daily driver (or will be) and maintenance is also cheaper. I like the fact there can't be many M52's of the same spec either.
www.bmwe21.net/forum is another good place to find parts.
e21Mark said:
There have been a couple of really well specced examples make circa £10k, but 323i are pretty thin on the ground and even the lowly 316/320 are worth a punt. As with any old BMW though, condition is everything. There are a couple of rather expensive 323 out there, that are far from being a worthy investment.
LSD's were an expensive option and not common. If you can find a used one now, you'll be looking at circa £450 - 550. Sometimes more. An E30 'small case' LSD can be coaxed into an E21 casing by using a Dremel to open up the aperture a little. Obviously you then need to set the backlash etc.
I did consider an S50/3.0 for my car but the M52/2.8 is a cheap lump. Mine was only £200, although the Cat Cams, Jenvey ITB'S, DTA management etc mean it's no longer all that cheap. If it goes pop though, it's easily and cheaply replaced. If an S50 went pop, it'd be way more expensive. Added to which, this is my daily driver (or will be) and maintenance is also cheaper. I like the fact there can't be many M52's of the same spec either.
www.bmwe21.net/forum is another good place to find parts.
Nice thanks for the infoLSD's were an expensive option and not common. If you can find a used one now, you'll be looking at circa £450 - 550. Sometimes more. An E30 'small case' LSD can be coaxed into an E21 casing by using a Dremel to open up the aperture a little. Obviously you then need to set the backlash etc.
I did consider an S50/3.0 for my car but the M52/2.8 is a cheap lump. Mine was only £200, although the Cat Cams, Jenvey ITB'S, DTA management etc mean it's no longer all that cheap. If it goes pop though, it's easily and cheaply replaced. If an S50 went pop, it'd be way more expensive. Added to which, this is my daily driver (or will be) and maintenance is also cheaper. I like the fact there can't be many M52's of the same spec either.
www.bmwe21.net/forum is another good place to find parts.
Any idea how many 323i LE came to UK and how many remaining ?
I think 323i LE with 42k mileage was advertised for £10k in 2014
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