The late 1970s and early 1980s were a brave new time for the German automakers. A growing presence of Japanese sedans was beginning to encroach on the US, and consumers had more and more choices after the oil crisis came to an end. BMW had the aging BMW 02 series which was in need of modernization as so much had moved on in terms of safety and reliability since then. So BMW was tasked with replacing the 02 series and they came up with what we now know as one of the most iconic lines that BMW still produces to this day. The first iteration was the E21 3 series, which was introduced in 1975 in Geneva and is considered one of the ‘fifty cars that changed the world’ according to the Design Museum London. So if you wanted a slice of this historic action, then head over to eBay here, where bidding is at $1,050 with 4 days to go, and arrange your shipping from Myerstown, Pennsylvania.
You can see the iconic BMW touches, some carried over from the 02 series, and which almost carry on to today, although the kidney grills today have gone a little over the top. This was when BMW design was understated, iconic and really underpinned all BMW design up until the 2000s when Bangle started to move the design in another direction. Our 320i looks like it has been left, sad and alone for the last 12 years to collect dust. The seller states that it was running back in 2005 and was a dream to drive, but suffered a coolant leak and has been kept in storage since 2009, with the engine filled with oil to protect it.
Should you want to buy this – I would start with checking the engine as it clearly seems like the weak point here. Although this is the 320i, the seller states it has the 1.8l straight 4 engine producing about 110hp and its mated to the very attractive 2-door coupe body. Luckily it’s also mated to the manual 5-speed gearbox, making this all the more classic Bavarian motoring experience. Given that this car has 188,333 miles on the clock, I think most of the car will need a thorough overhaul – to check lines, brakes, and other consumables.
Luckily the body is in reasonable condition, just covered in a layer of dust and without any major problems apparent on it. However, we do not see any pictures of the interior, and the seller states there is a large hole in the driver’s floor pan suggesting rust could be an issue under the car. So do you think this BMW is worthy of a restoration or would you steer clear of bringing this car back to life?
Cool car for sure Elliot. It has potential but the ad is not helping anything. Maybe get a good buy if you are close. What’s the trick with the wipers? Protecting the blades during storage? And the new BMW huge grills, sad, sad thing.
BMW has had a fetish with their grilles long long time. 2000CS my fav.
The pads are under the wiper blades because the rubber is gone.
Thanks Skippy, mystery solved!
Imagine the horror of metal on glass sweeping across the windshield a few times when the battery is connected
Cosmetically the E21 was different than the 2002, but mechanically was it appreciably different? Same M10 engine. OK, 5-speed which the 2002 desperately needed, but otherwise, not that much different than a 2002 in my estimation.
Same is true for the e30. Other than changes in engine management, the 2002, e21 and e30 all ran the same M10 engine…which is a testament to how bulletproof they were as long as you maintain them
Two comments here. First, for some period BMW did indeed make the 320i with 1.8 l engines.
Secondly, on the question of 2002 vs 3-series. I did own a -74 2002 back in the day, and while fun to drive it could have been more comfortable for long distance drives. I was tempted by the 3-series but quickly found that the early ones were quite disappointing. More comfortable, but heavier and softer. Most concerning was the tricky handling at the limit, I well remember a big scare during a test drive where a mid corner bump created a wild oversteer slide where the 2002 would have been unaffected. I traded the 2002 for a used 520 instead. The 3-series got gradually better and by the time this car was made it finally had the 5-speed, the injected engines and a better sorted suspension. I came to own a few, and while good I still don’t have the same positive memories as I have of the 2002.
I don’t know the “for sure” answer but it may be for the change from the 2002 to the 320 may have been for a similar reason that Saab went from the 99 to the 900, and that was because changing nhtsa crash standards. For Saab, they actually had to release the 900 two years ahead of planned schedule so for 79 and 80 they had the same older generation of engine
I do agree that the 2002 was more fun to drive than the 320 but by the time the 318 came around the fun had returned…at least t’was my experience
Buy it. Sell the motor. Put the 5speed in my parents’ 2002. LS this thing. Profit?
Would be fun, not a ton of fun but fun to daily drive around town one of these again. Always enjoyed the wrap around the driver dashboard. Of the period never liked the seating positions, seats plenty firm & bouncy just too low. I’ll say this I’ve never parked a car with a coolant leak that didn’t get fixed pretty quick. What’s up with that ?
With a rusty floor pan, there is much more lurking around the windscreen frames, in the trunk, and around the backup lights at a minimum. Best bet is buy for parts if you already have an E21 and if you can buy it cheaply or buy it and part it out if you can buy it cheaply-otherwise the rust repairs are going to hurt your feelings.
If thats a 320-4 you have the chance to buy a rare car because
the most owners ordered the straight-six whilst the 4 cylinders
where something like a stock clearance by BMW for the old
2 litre inline-4 engines.
The E 21 was also avail in carburated and F.I. version, the 318i
entered later the model range as the carburated versions where
no longer available for 2 years
I had one that had the German spec engine brought back by an RCR based in London. It was exceptionally fast and a dream to drive.
Got 10 cents a pound for it when I lost my storage.
I collect BMWs and would love to own another E21, but this one is not it. The M10 engine in this car is modified from the 2002, (slightly shorter stroke) although they started putting parts from the E21 M10 engines (different heads for better emissions) in the 1976 2002 with a carb instead of fuel injection. As others have mentioned, these were not as peppy or cornering-happy as the 2002 For parts, the value here is the fuel injection, the brakes, the front seats and the 5 speed. I paid $1000 for a 5-speed gearbox for one of my 2002 restoration projects 2 years ago, so this would be a great car for parts profit if you wanted to go that way. Unfortunately, there are no images of the interior…. That said, these cars seem to be far more rare than the 2002 and they are considerably more comfortable, so there may be an upswing in value eventually.
Winning bid:
US $3,550.00
[ 30 bids ]