cant say no to free

[vipercrazy]

i might be getting an 80 or 81 320 bmw, its stick and its red, the engine is in good visual condition, but a window is broken.
I havent went to see it yet.

nutz what should i look for? like vin and engine code location. 
floors are supposedly rusty is it still worth it?

[cheapold280ce]

If it runs and you can get it home then it's worth it right? Nothing lost...

just patch the holes and replace the window

[vipercrazy]

the people who live there got the car with the house so it hasnt been run in god knows how long...
it would be a good idea to tow it, cause the drive is about 20 minutes of highway.

oh and nutz if you see this what should i expect for mileage? its a 4cyl engine

[nutz4benz]

E21's are fun little cars but it seems you have the all too common rusted floorpan issue. If it is rusted at where the seats bolt down then I'd say just let it go but if it is only rusted at the foot area then put some pans cut from another. The fuel injection is K Jetronic and if you just cruise it,you may get 20-22 mpg.

Other problems are trailing arms that rust leaving the rear wheels to break off so make you you investigate. I also am not a big fan of the manual gearbox found on these. Leaking slave cylinders and master clutch cylinders are common. Drum brakes on the rear  which still blows my mind to this day considering most European automobiles used all wheel disc.

What is nice is that the M10 engine in it is the same as the one found in the 84-85 E30 318i, as well as the brakes and other items.

But hey, it's free 

[vipercrazy]

by trailing arm you mean its a semi independent rear?

is there a way to fit discs on the back or swap in a cheap rear end? this car might be used for track down the road

[nutz4benz]

by trailing arm you mean its a semi independent rear?

Yes 

The area circled in red is one of the trouble spots and you see its significance.



[img]

is there a way to fit discs on the back or swap in a cheap rear end? this car might be used for track down the road
[/quote]

Sure! Great BMW forum if you get the bimmer 

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=940747

[vipercrazy]

well i had high hopes but after i went to see it i doubt anyone would give it a chance.

the passenger window was 100% missing and not covered from the elements, a bullet went through the windshield, you could see the heater core right in the middle of the dash, the headliner around the back window was completely off and rotted around it, needed two new tail lights, hood had alot of surface rust that was pretty deep, looked like the moon, the body around the windshield had bubbling, alot of it, all the weather stripping had dirt from about 10 years of seeds sitting under a tree.

but the rims looked nice, and the car was fixable but not something to be proud of.

engine was "fairly" decent looking and had 164,000 miles, but ill defiantly keep looking for something that gets 20+ mpg

but good news is the newport is finally insured, so its on the road "legally"...

[cheapold280ce]

20 mpg,

doesn't your euro or american 280CE get 20mpg or better?

I know I can get better than 20mpg out of my euro if I keep my foot off it and slowed down.

But I just can't help myself is that your problem?

Today I was turning 4,000-4500 RPM on highway and I was playing with manual shifting when not on highway there is so much power in the 4000 to 5500 rpm range and car sound so awesume there, I just can't seem to stay away from that rpm band.  (I limit myself to 5,500 as I haven't adjusted the valves yet, after I adjust the valves I may play with 6000 rpm)

I have that economy guage and I am always putting it deep in the red. 

Today I filled up with 87 octane gas as 93 was $3.90 and reg was $3.67 ( 23 cents more for 93) I put in 15 gallons and added a bottle of octane booster from the dollar store.  (cost me 6.7/gallon  cents extra for additive so I saved 16.3 cents a gallon or $2.45 for the 15 gallons.

Ran like a charm no pinging at all with the additive.   

[vipercrazy]

the most ive gotten on a tank until the light comes on for good was 270 miles, and the tank was topped off

so thats just over 15mpg, not that i drove slow or anything but thats my best tank

also my odometer only worked for 3-4 months until it broke again, and last week i fixed it yet again, and broke in another spot

you dont need to manual shift to get to 5k, it wont shift into fourth until you hit 70mph with your foot anywhere close to the floor

[cheapold280ce]

Yeah when on on ramp it stays in third a long time. I was taking about stop light to stop light  traffic. Starting in low and the bunping the handle to shift gears 2-4.  It did not  work out to good for me becasue my shiffter needs new bushings or alignment it's all off.  My car will not start in Park unless I press shifter to upper right corner. and nuetral is in between reverse and nuetral.  I have to go to S to get car into D.  Next time at farm I will see what's happening down there.