e21 323i before/after

joey79 · 08-03-2011, 02:47 PM

I've owned my my 323i for over a year now. It was incredibly neglected and rough when I bought it. It has come a long way since then, and it's still a work in progress.

What I've done so far..

Bodywork: Two new front fenders, miscellaneous dents repaired, rear side signals deleted. Trunk por15'd and undercoated, floor pan patched por15'd and undercoated. $50 tremclad paint job.

Exterior: Euro bumpers, yellow highs, clear corners, all red tails, old window tint removed, new window lock strips, new badges.

Interior: New carpet (including parcel shelf), swapped near mint interior from my old 320i, reupholstered headliner, MPH speedo replaced with proper 220KPH speedo.

Mechanical: Cooling system overhaul including rad flush, new t-stat, fan clutch, water pump. Timing belt changed. Vacuum leaks fixed (I think). All new brake hardlines, stainless flex lines, rear calipers rebuilt, new handbrake cables. All new hard and soft fuel lines from the fuel distributor back, tanks removed, cleaned, por15'd and undercoated. New fuel filter. New plugs/wires/cap. H&R springs with new shocks. Diff rebuild with LSD internals from an e36 318is.

Future plans: New exhaust from manifolds back, new wheels/tires.

Before:

After:

Smitty · 08-03-2011, 03:10 PM

YES! Very nice!

Who did your diff rebuild?

MiroE36 · 08-03-2011, 03:35 PM

good stuff, coming along nicely

joey79 · 08-03-2011, 04:07 PM

I rebuilt it myself. Here's my thread regarding fitting the e36 internals into the e21 case.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1565138

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty

YES! Very nice!

Who did your diff rebuild?

damameke · 08-03-2011, 05:45 PM

amazing.. great work....

craz azn · 08-03-2011, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joey79

I rebuilt it myself. Here's my thread regarding fitting the e36 internals into the e21 case.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1565138

Awesome thread link! I'll have to give it a good read later tonight... I didn't even know the 2002/e21 diffs were 168mm. This would make for cheaper LSD option for the '02s.

Quickid · 08-03-2011, 06:21 PM

Great job!!!

joey79 · 08-03-2011, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craz azn

... This would make for cheaper LSD option for the '02s.

Definitely, but don't tell the e36 guys, they'll start asking more for their small case diffs.

craz azn · 08-03-2011, 07:15 PM

So you painted the entire car with tremclad? How its holding up? Durable? Looks perfect in pics!

73 Tii · 08-03-2011, 09:11 PM

Nice work on a rare car. I'm going to read that diff info tonight too!

DIY · 08-03-2011, 09:32 PM

Its so beautiful!!! Amazing work! Was it hard to find the 323? How's the dogleg transmission?

joey79 · 08-03-2011, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craz azn

So you painted the entire car with tremclad? How its holding up? Durable? Looks perfect in pics!

It's holding up fine so far. It's definitely not as good as automotive paint, but for what it is (a $50 paint job), it's great. It's not perfect, but it looks better than some amateur spray jobs. When I tell people that I painted the car with Tremclad and a roller, they laugh, and call BS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIY

Its so beautiful!!! Amazing work! Was it hard to find the 323? How's the dogleg transmission?

I wasn't actually looking for the 323i. I'm always searching kijiji, and I noticed the ad for an e21 323i, but I was skeptical. I went to look at the car, and it turned out to be the real thing. There were a few people tire kicking and whatnot, so I just handed the seller the $600(really), and told him it's sold. There was some kid there looking at it who didn't even know how to drive a manual. I don't even like to think about what would have happened to the car if I didn't find it. The dogleg transmission is cool. Takes a while to get used to it, but it's fun and very unique. It also shifts very smoothly, although I do need new shift linkage bushings (already have all the parts, just not installed yet).

DIY · 08-03-2011, 10:54 PM

Thank you for saving that beauty! Impressive work (and buy! that gear box is prob worth 1000 with how rare it is), I really want to have that type of gear box in my 325 but I've read its too short

... But racing developments are just awesome

craz azn · 08-03-2011, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joey79

It's holding up fine so far. It's definitely not as good as automotive paint, but for what it is (a $50 paint job), it's great. It's not perfect, but it looks better than some amateur spray jobs. When I tell people that I painted the car with Tremclad and a roller, they laugh, and call BS.

Awesome. I'm halfway through painting my 2002 with tremclad and I was curious how it held up. Spots with only one coat, it seemed to be rather fragile which kind of scared me, but with more I think its starting to hold up.

joey79 · 08-04-2011, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIY

... but I've read its too short

...

It just doesn't have overdrive, so the gears are closer together. 5th gear is 1:1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by craz azn

Awesome. I'm halfway through painting my 2002 with tremclad and I was curious how it held up. Spots with only one coat, it seemed to be rather fragile which kind of scared me, but with more I think its starting to hold up.

What color are you painting your '02? You'll have to post some pics when it's finished.