323 vs 320is

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bavbob

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My first BMW was an e21, 320i. I am looking into looping back and buying an e21 again and am considering the 320is or a 323. I know the difference between the two but I have a fear that parts for the 323 will be hard to find here in the US. Wanted to know if anyone has thoughts on this as I see people struggling with their euro e24's wrt parts on the e24 forum.
 
I think a 323I upgraded to a 2.5 with Motronic would make quite a car and would be easy to maintain. I would worry a bit about engine/fuel injection parts availability for an original E21 323i.
 
bavbob,

I own a 323i undocumented Alpina C1 that is for sale. Too many cars, not enough garage space, some have to go. ;-(
At my shop in NH we regularly service several E21 323i cars and haven't had any difficulties finding the critical parts. We have 2 cars scheduled for extensive winter service work.

Mario L.
VSR1.com
 
A friend had two E21 323i's years ago that I had the pleasure of driving for an extended time. I think one was a '79 and the other an '82. An E21 320i can barely get out of its own way but those 323i's M20's were fast. Smooth quick high revving motors. The 79 was faster for some reason but the 82 had a bunch of Hartge styling, suspension and wheels added and it looked amazing. Dark blue with a light tan interior.

323i has my vote.

Dan
 
Thanks for all the comments. I located a 323 project car that was out of Oregon, unmolested 79 with the usual rust but solid overall. I am negotiating price and we'll see what comes of it.

Mario, I appreciate the heads up on the 323 but for me, it's the restoration journey. I too have too many cars, my car to garage ratio is above 4 to 1 and so far all I have heard from family is "another car?". Dare I try to sell one:

86 635: bought with the help of my girlfriend in 1990, now wife. Sentimental
88 M6: my oldest son would disown me
72 Bavaria: Per my wife, I go before this car goes
67 Mustang: Youngest son would disown me
73 CS: I would disown me

Then there are four daily drivers.
 
i've worked on many over the years. a few of the e21 m20 specific parts are a little more difficult to locate these days (namely, the timing belt, at one point in time, unsure today), but are largely still available.

if one felt like, you could convert the timing components over to e30 325i parts (which were shared between m20 powered e28 and e34 cars), and if you really felt like it, you could install the Motronic harness and controller, etc, off the same e30 325i. in my opinion, it would be easier to track down parts for those cars, since they made a lot more of them. of course, at that point, one could make the argument for installing the whole 2.5 liter engine, but that's up to you.

either way, the e21 323i are really a special car. congrats on your newest acquisition. post some pictures!

A
 
bavbob said:
Thanks for all the comments. I located a 323 project car that was out of Oregon, unmolested 79 with the usual rust but solid overall. I am negotiating price and we'll see what comes of it.

Mario, I appreciate the heads up on the 323 but for me, it's the restoration journey. I too have too many cars, my car to garage ratio is above 4 to 1 and so far all I have heard from family is "another car?". Dare I try to sell one:

86 635: bought with the help of my girlfriend in 1990, now wife. Sentimental
88 M6: my oldest son would disown me
72 Bavaria: Per my wife, I go before this car goes
67 Mustang: Youngest son would disown me
73 CS: I would disown me

Then there are four daily drivers.
Click to expand...
I think you missed planning for the grandchildren, no better time to acquire another than now!

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com

Mario L.
 

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Mario L. said:
bavbob,

I own a 323i undocumented Alpina C1 that is for sale. Too many cars, not enough garage space, some have to go. ;-(
At my shop in NH we regularly service several E21 323i cars and haven't had any difficulties finding the critical parts. We have 2 cars scheduled for extensive winter service work.

Mario L.
VSR1.com
Click to expand...
Mario, I’m interested in your 323i C1. Pm sent.
 
Does anyone here have the ability to access this site (has info on this 323 I am looking at)? I have no issue paying the 10 bucks but since I have never seen or heard of this website, I am hesitant. There are a few discrepancies between current advertised stats on this 323 and what may truly exist. Tx

https://bid.cars/en/lot/0-34867749/1979-BMW-3-Series-WBA30710006544633
 
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Were they trying to sell it through IAA or did they buy it from IAA and reselling now? I no longer have access to auction historical data.
 
It was sold through IAA to the current owner in 2022. I am trying to see what they paid for it since nothing has been done since purchase to give me a sense of what I should offer fairly.
 
alprada70 said:
I understand that going from 2000 to 2300 cc in an M20 engine is very easy...
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Probably best to keep the original 6-cyl 2.3 liter motor. These are very very smooth and eager reving engines. Much much better than the 4-cyl 2 liter motor.
 
bavbob said:
It was sold through IAA to the current owner in 2022. I am trying to see what they paid for it since nothing has been done since purchase to give me a sense of what I should offer fairly.
Click to expand...
We didn't use older auction data much so we stopped paying for that service. We have to pay $10 per car now to see it. Bid.cars has been around for a long time but I've never used it.

How much does he want for it? That will probably give you an idea if what he paid. And the market is probably weaker now than over two years ago.
 
that car looks really really familiar, but i cannot place it. the Oregon BMW ACA badge tells me someone really cared about that car. hope you can strike a fair deal on it. neat car.
 
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