After World War II, workers began production on the BMW 321 again. Between 1946 and 1950, just under 9,000 examples were built, some of which were moved to the Soviet Union as part of the reparations package. The example at hand is said to have 95k miles and is listed for auction here on eBay where the bidding ends on Monday, the 6th
The exterior is finished in black with red accents. The original wheels are badged BMW and have red accents as well. The grille and headlights are said to be original and in good condition. The car presents very well and has an aura of prestige. The curved front fenders are a personal favorite attribute. The car looks like something out of a time capsule.
The interior is finished in black with a red steering wheel. The black and red exterior and matching interior are a very appealing combination. Consistent aesthetics throughout a car produce a feeling of completeness. A classic car in this condition is hard to come by, especially from the ’40s. The interior is said to have been partially restored and appears to be free of significant damage.
An inline 6-cylinder sends power to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission. The engine is said to have been well-maintained and functioning. These cars don’t come up for sale too often. They are elegant and represent a piece of history. This example needs little improvement. The next owner may choose to clean up some small elements, but this 321 is in terrific condition overall. It’s always a good idea to have a pre-purchase inspection done, but it doesn’t sound like many issues will be found. If you are a BMW collector, this car could become the most historic part of your collection. If you want to take this 1946 BMW 321 on cruises or have it spark conversations at car shows, place your bid before the auction ends on Monday!
… that is not a 6 cylinder engine with that 4 spark plug distributor cap…
Even the eBay ad says six cylinder. I guess the other two are hiding in the trunk somewhere.
Spares!
Good eye!
The seller confirms that the engine is not original and has only four cylinders.
Well, this is kind of a BMW. In the 1930’s BMW had a factory in Eisenach which after WW2 fell in the Soviet controlled zone (which eventually became East Germany)
That factory picked up building cars based on the pre-war designs but they were quickly getting a bad rap for miserable quality. A lot of it just had to do with the materials available at the time. They were surprisingly common in Sweden as they were cheap and available when most Western cars were just unavailable.
I don’t know the politics involved, but somehow BMW eventually got the East German factory to stop using the BMW name, instead they started badging the cars EMW and the roundels got red fields instead of the blue. It went downhill from there, with the Eisenach business getting merged with the IFA (former DKW) and they started building things like Wartburgs and Trabants. So, in many ways more a predecessor to the Trabis than something actually built by what we see as BMW.
A trim little craft-wonder how it handles? Those whitewalls don’t work for me though.
That upholstery is TERRIBLE – quality and material akin to my weird uncle’s old dinette set and the engine raises more questions than it answers – it’s a four-cylinder push rod motor but is it even a BMW motor? I had expected the classic Fiedler designed six that went on to be used in so many classic BMWs and even some postwar AC cars.
I’m reasonably certain that, like early VW Beetles and just about every pre-’50s sedan that wasn’t either a factory taxi spec or British, it originally would’ve had cloth upholstery.
Just too vague interior shots, no shots of the dash and only one side glance of the engine. If he doesn’t know what’s under the hood, how can know the condition of the rest of the car? Nice appearance on the outside but sorely lacking in photos of more than that.
He has other Beemers so he most likely knows what it is
I reached out to the seller and asked about the engine. They confirmed it’s a four-cylinder in the car. I suggested that they might want to update the listing for any bidders who aren’t looking at the pics carefully enough. But given that mistake on their part, I’d want to look at this car very carefully up close and in person before I started bidding. This may not be at all what the listing says, most of which appears to have been cut out of the Wikipedia entry for the model.
So, what’s the deal, does this car have the wrong motor installed? We need a BMW expert to sort this out! WIKI claims the 321 is a 2L 6cyl vehicle.
At least we are promised it is in “fare” condition…
The wrong engine would make this a no-go for me.
It is sad that some sellers appear to skirt around important issues and facts with a vehicle such as this, everything ought to be documented, including all restoration done, along with any deviations from originality — and a different engine is one HUGE modification!
With Germany in rubble and any company capable of producing anything of value to the war effort being bombed out of existence (at least temporarily) it is astonishing this car could have been built at the very end of the war. Or maybe Germany was not in rubble.
To Robert Hagedorn: Germany was badly bombed — as were England, France, Italy, and others — but more things survived than didn’t, as one can see all over Europe to-day. Volkswagen, for one, began in 1938, and was able to re-start right after the War.
A pro touring candidate, 500hp 302, four link and M2 front suspension.
I would be very wary of buying this BMW 321, that looks like a stretched Fiat Topolino, without a visual tour and checking everything about the car and all the paperwork, registration/owner documents etc. as there is something suspicious going on here. Even a ten year old would know the difference between a four cylinder engine and a six cylinder engine. It could even be one of those sales where there isn’t even a car to be sold. My friend paid $14k for a 1925 Harley Davidson only to see another advert for the same bike in another motorcycle magazine but in another State far away from the State where the first seller lived. He phoned the advertiser who took pics of the bike and Watsapped them to my friend directly. He tried to contact the guy that he had paid sight unseen but never managed to contact him again! Caveat emptor!
The engine is a puzzle. Apparently there were 321’s with four cylinder engines but none of the pictures I’ve found look anything like the engine pictured here.
I don’t know what happened here as I posted a long write up, but it seems to have gone missing. Apart from the fact that it has a mysterious 4-cylinder engine, totally wrong wheels and a very custom interior, it’s really quite dishonest to write the ad around BMW post-war craftsmanship etc.
BMW had a factory in Eisenach which ended up in the Soviet controlled sector (which later became East Germany) They started building cars under the BMW brand name but after some political wranglings had to change the brand name to EMW and the roundels got red segments instead of the blue. They sold in quite large numbers in Sweden as they were among the very few cars that were actually available, but quickly got a reputation for terrible quality as the available materials were really bad. Eventually that factory started producing Wartburg cars, so it would perhaps be more correct to call this car ”a BMW designed pre-war model manufactured by Wartburg”. Perhaps doesn’t ring quite as well trying to drum up a higher auction price?
This 321 BMW makes no sense at all. I havea copy of Jeremy Waltons Great Marques . The Eisenach works were under Russian control and produced just 68 copies. Draw your own conclusions. The engine looks unlike any BMW engine I have ever seen. The engine in the photo has a hint of GM Vauxhall 12 but not quite right. Cansomeone please put me out of my misery on this one Thanks Roger.
The engine looks an awful lot like a Volvo engine. Not at all sure but I am very skeptical about it being a BMW power plant.
At this point in my wretched life, I’ve got the memory of a goldfish. I lived in Germany for 4 years in the early 60s and had the opportunity to see and drive several BMW 320 series, including one V8. Don’t remember seeing a 4 cylinder in any of them.
The listing has ended, but was then relisted. New listing still says it’s an
inline-6. Very suspect.
The only old school (push rod) 4 banger BMW made was the M68 1934 to 1936 and the motor in this car is definitely not an M68. The motor has to be a transplant, maybe a Volvo?
Hi. The engine is the USSR GAZ Volga 2.4l motor. Same transmission 3 speed from UAZ. Those are made in milion copy’s – easy to get. Headlights East Germany Ruhla made for Trabant and Wartburg. The car is a cheap “Russian” east restoration not worth half of the bid price. THX
Could it be that this car and others like it were manufactured in the Eisenach BMW factory in East Germany after the war. WIKI says 9,000 321s were made at the Eisenach factory but most ended up in the Soviet Union.