e21Restoration

This project might be better described as a renovation rather than a restoration because it's been a rebuilding of the car with many performance and cosmetic upgrades.  So, it's not being returned entirely to it's original condition. For the most part, I'm using period correct performance and accessory parts that are the kind of enhancements I would have chosen back when the car was new.

    

Overview

I drove the car only a few thousand miles a year from 1997 (when I got the car) to 2001, upgrading and rejuvenating it as I went. In the Fall of 2001, at 96,283 miles, I disassembled the whole car and began inventorying and boxing up parts; researching and collecting upgrades; rebuilding and restoring various components and assemblies. It has been a long and satisfying project and I'm constantly reevaluating my goals for the project.

 

History

    Serial number WBAAG3303D9004006 has been in the same family since it was new. It began it’s life as a 1983 USA spec Graphit Metallic 320i and was a wedding gift to my wife’s brother and his bride (from her father). The car spent it’s early years along the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast and throughout it’s life, has never been driven in snow. When my brother-in-law replaced it with a new Lexus in 1990, it was parked alongside the garage where it baked in the Houston sun for seven years. In 1997, his oil company career took him to Norway and the car was put up for sale. The clearcoat was peeling off and the interior was turning to powder, but the car still ran well, having travelled only 75,000 miles up to that point. However, it’s sad appearance made it too unattractive to any would-be buyers. I flew to Houston, put in a new clutch, cleaned the fuel tanks, and drove the car home without incident to North Carolina.

    At first, I just wanted to get it looking better and use it for daily routine transportation. But as I drove the car more and thought back to the 1977 320i I owned in the late seventies, I remembered how much I had enjoyed the e21’s mechanical simplicity and how impressive even it’s stock handling is. 

 

 

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    I owned a Malaga 2002tii (VIN 2760605) that I bought brand new in 1972 for $4673.10. I later met a guy in my town who owned a 1969 1600 and he introduced me to the BMW Car Club of America which I joined in early 1973 and I have been member number 3392 ever since. In 1977, I replaced the tii with a new 320i ($9250) when they first became available in the US. I ordered it with several sport options: 3-spoke steering wheel, Recaro seats, limited slip differential, alloy wheels, AM-FM Cassette, and sunroof. I added an Alpina front air dam, Alpina wood steering wheel, and the Alpina FD2 chassis kit from Miller & Norburn to make it more distinctive. I worked for a specialty hi-fi company in those days and I put in a Nakamichi/ADS cassette system that produced pretty impressive sound for the times. I bought a Chevette Scooter for daily transportation and kept the 320i garaged and covered. 

 

I took the care and cleaning of that first e21 to absurd levels and won the Concours competition at the 1978 BMWCCA Oktoberfest. The car even made the cover of the February 1980 Roundel with a photo I took of it on the way to the 1979 Oktoberfest in Boston where I placed third in the Concours. I sold it for $500 more than I had paid for it new and used the money to buy my first house. In retrospect, it was probably a prudent decision, but not one that I was content with at the time.

   

Entry level BMW’s were doubling in price every five years between 1972 and 1982; my income couldn’t keep pace with BMWNA’s marketing strategy and I was bimmerless for several years. These days, I work on the 320i as often as I can and I also own a 1999 323is (e36) that is shared by my three daughters when they are home to visit, but I get to drive it when they aren't around.  Two of the daughters have chosen Mini Coopers for themselves. The third shuns cars and refuses to live anywhere that requires her to own one.