Ownership Verified: 1979 BMW E21 316

e21

New Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2015
Messages
3
Location
Croatia
Car(s)
1979 BMW E21 316
Greetings to all!

Beginning of April 2014 I was all set on buying a 90s French hatchback on a 1500 EUR budget and after a whole morning of online search I failed. Instead, I went to check out the only car that caught my attention. Got my BMW e21 316 from a 90 year old gentleman who bought it new in 1979. The car had 90 000 km on the clock and a clean service history. I love it, it is also my very first car.

Conveniently, my uncles 20 square meters garage with a service pit was available for the whole summer, what started as a good wash, soon evolved into what I now refer to as 'STAGE 1' of my resto-mod project.

With some help from my friends, I managed to wrap up the the first and most challenging phase of the restoration just before the winter came and drove the e21 to a smaller garage where it still waits for the spring to come and me to source the rest of the STAGE 1 parts:

Water pump
Heater valve/ cable
Thermostat
Valve cover gasket
Engine oil
Oil filter
Transmission oil
Differential oil
Urethane alternator bushings
Main driveshaft centre bearing
Polyurethane engine/ gearbox mounts
15x6.5 wheels
205/50R15 tires

Few days ago I took the first shots after the car was tucked in for the winter.
I will include the photos of the actual restoration in my later posts.

Ivan










 
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I could guess who's in question here from the headline. :)

Welcome to the forum, and I'm glad the car is making progress, unlike mine. I did dig up the HVAC unit for you, but I keep forgetting that I need to source the parts from it..
 
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nicjasno's croatian cousin! :lol: - Welcome to Finalgear.

Is that a actually a garage or a time machine? Because that BMW underside looks like it came just out of the factory. :blink:
 
This car is in many ways better than mine. I haven't been chemically scraping off all underbody protection and rebuilding it completly. Ivan has. :)
 
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that must be cleanest underside on an E21 ever :shock:
 
This car is in many ways better than mine. I haven't been chemically scraping off all underbody protection and rebuilding it completly. Ivan has. :)

You'd need to with an E21, given their tendency to dissolve! Nobody wants to think about the horrors lurking under underseal after 30+ years...
 
Very nice car, the interior looks like new!

Welcome to Finalgear:)
 
Thanks for the welcoming comments.

Here are some black & white photos which show that the front end of the underside was restored as well.

Ivan




 
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