Refreshing, the family '81 BMW 320i

In the fall of 2016 I decided to drive my car to work. It was a day that I was going to just spend in the office and as I have a short commute, for Southern California, of about a hour, I thought I would take the E21. Now I will admit that my drive does include about 25 miles of Highway 18, in the mountains above San Bernardino, CA. Going to work can be fun given the road and the view, coming home is a drive that melts the memory of a day and makes you focus on the road.

But, a dead battery at the bottom of the hill at the stoplight on 40th and Waterman meant that my drive home was not going to be the trip I was looking forward too. This was back in the day that you could still talk the AAA tow truck driver with the flatbed into dropping you off at other than a shop, and as my friends know I might have another car to switch to if the need arises.  It turns out I was able to get my self and the now dead car to the storage lot where I keep the things that no longer give my neighbors the excuse to label our home "Crazy Dave's used cars and appliances", that because of the washer and dryer that got stuck in front of the house because of the snow storm. Life at 5600' can give you weather, even in SoCal.

So, with the E21 in a safe place and work to do I started to pull together a plan, that has taken until yesterday to come together. Yea, thank God for, Daryl and sweat equity on his projects. More on that shortly.

This car has been in the family for a while. Purchased from a friend who spent much time and effort on it prior to our steward ship, it had the makings of something that could be enjoyed. It's first tour of duty was with my oldest, Katie when she wanted/needed a car while in college in Flagstaff, AZ. I still remember the day I dropped it off and she got to learn to drive a stick. On her way to work.

Then after it's time of duty it was replaced by to Subi' Outback, given Flagstaff and winter, it returned to my care to become what else, an auto cross car. Now in our local chapter of the SCCA we have a class for older cars, "Historic" as they call it. No, a '81 320i is not as old a cars that they had intended to run in the class but a '80 somethings that ran on "13 inch tires with suspensions that allowed you to almost scrape the door handles in a corner fit right in. The class is H Stock. The rules allow almost no changes from how the car was delivered from the factory. It was during this time that the supply of 13 inch tires dried up. Other than the most pedestrian of tires that where on the market, the SCCA allowed you go "plus one" on the rims. Now I had a chance to go to the then new on the market Falken 615's in a 195 70R 14, if I could find a rim. And as we all know the offset of our beloved E21 is an odd duck. Et18. Thank God, for BBS. They made a 14x6 that fits, yes for the 323, but they work. How I have ended up with 10 of these rims, with 8 center caps is another story.

That and the 323 struts are a larger strut and built for a heaver engine, given you have to run the stock springs in H Stock might keep you from scraping the door handles, as badly. Just remember to also use the 323 spring hats as they are flat. But now the car will run in FSP, on stiffer springs and with Kosi 15x7 rims with Brigstone RE 71R's.  This updated combination should keep the door handles that much safer.

As for last week, the car is again running. Now for the next chapter on life with the family E21.

David

Yes, a cell phone picture and  that is a 1965 Chevelle wagon getting a fresh SBC.

i heart e21.   i also heart 65 chevelle wagon, but i couldn't identify it as such from that pic.   did you pull that pic from a CL ad for tree trimming services?  because i see there's a tree in the background and, well, given the crappiness of CL photos sometimes...

Yes, an epically bad photo from my very old flip phone.  I keep it as everything I have to interact with via work will not open on it.  Both cars are under a RV storage cover in Corona, CA.   The Chevelle, has a Rancho Syspension system and will be a CAM challenger.  Less crappy photo's to follow.

David 

I don't know autocross.  I tracked an E21 chassis on road courses for a handful of years.  It was great to learn on, because I could feel what the car was doing the second I changed any input.  Nice and light.  I loved that.  It took a lot of suspension work before I could get it to really hustle.  Eventually it got to be about comparable with a Spec Miata car in terms of lap times, but a whole lot more drama.  It's no E30 in terms of handling.  I'm not sure what it will be like with all that dynamic back-and-forthing people do around cones.  Only one way to find out . . . .

There was I guy I ran autox with ages ago who ran a very modified E21. It was fast. He had it gutted, very low, and with tons of negative camber up front. Then he put an S14 in it. It became considerably faster, almost ludicrously so.

Well, the car is back at the barn.  Driven from Corona to Redlands, the tires are not quite round, yet.  But the plan is to drive a tank of fresh gas through the car, say a lot of nice things to the car and swing into the smog shop for the check that having an older car in the state of California provides a bit of stress.

Not that driving in a sea of distracted and self absorbed commuters can provide entertainment.  I try to drive defensively, in the E21 I have little choice.  

I have used the car at a track event as well as autocross events.  My first VARA University experience at Buttonwillow Raceway turned out to be a damp to wet, two day adventure.  I was on a fresh set of Falken 615's and they worked out really well.  They also were the tires I used to autocross, the car is not going to melt these but they worked at both events.

The drive today was a reminder that the car only has a 1.8 liter motor.  The current rims are TUV legal 15x7's, just means heavy, and 205/60 15 Bridgstone M/S street tires. All this adds up to a car that when you keep it between 3600 and 4000 RPM it makes great noises, just maintain your momentum.

And that is the key.  If you ever get the chance to go for a lap with Brian Moon in his 1970 BMW 2002 at any track he instructs at, do it.  Just remember the passenger door handle of his car is that old and you might need to find a more secure way to stay in your seat.  With the E21, I hope to get as close to his benchmark.  And stay on the track. 

Today was an automotive success.  One never defeats the state, of California, you at best work through the bi-annual test that allows you to drive on the roads by paying a tax inflated price and for a blend of gas not used by any other state.  And we are expected to embrace it all.

Ok, the BMW 320i has passed the test, created to verify that it and the owner remain a good citizen in the eyes of the state.  This time I can point to recent work that included removing the old gas and changing all the hoses that the fuel comes in contact with at the back end and fuel tanks of the car.  I do believe the alcohol content does, over time have a detrimental effect on the hoses allowing the fuel pumps to start pulling air into the system.  With the end result being a car that tries to compensate by running rich, then it no longer can pass the test to keep it consuming the gas that pays the taxes.

But, it makes me sound clinical. I really did enjoy the drive up and down Highway 18 this morning.  The test was again just a bi-annual inconvenience. 

I do like winning the test, too.

Nice, I did an e21 320i restore project a few years back (it's on here someplace), but since I had other projects I didn't finish it (though did M42 swap it). Kind of miss it now. 

E21