Parked for 30 YEARS: Getting an E21 BMW 320i Running Again

[@nulldua8547]

we need more e21 youtubers!! I bought one earlier this year, its hard learning what every specific thing is on this car (this is my first car) i love videos that explain everything like this. massive help

[@OutMotorsports]

There’s more E21 content coming over the next few weeks, be sure to subscribe!

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Hey there! This is my E21 and me in the video. Please reach out if you have any questions about these cars!

[@AdamPE21]

The E21 youtube content is growing! We need the Legion of E21 you tubers to band together!

[@teevarley]

E21s are my personal favourite. I always thought the had the best looking front. In euro spec that is

[@merrickchristian9392]

Instablaster

[@ntwalipat2]

Meaning with slimmer front bumper

[@AliasHSW]

Had an ‘81 in my sophomoric years of driving. Bought used and equipped with 15x7 BBS. Then I added the S spoiler and white front markers and tucked the bumpers. Not much on power but was good enough for spirited driving - especially for me, a young kid driver.

[@OutMotorsports]

We'll be filming a follow-up piece on this E21 with Taylor - he's done some really impressive work since this was filmed and it's in pretty good shape. More to come, be sure to subscribe! Thanks for sharing your story, too - they are fun little cars.

[@joshuacompton1443]

Very helpful just picked one of these up yesterday.

[@e21forever]

E21 were the best bmws made to me especially the euro 323 models are absolute beast cars and look way sportier than a boxy e30

[@gearsandqueers]

Who lets a car sit for 30 years?!?! Glad she's being revived

[@TaylorGoesFast]

I like this guy

[@OutMotorsports]

We do too

[@sebg1224]

They’re like an e30 but with a shark nose. The m10s are bulletproof too. E21 love💕

[@OutMotorsports]

More videos on this E21 coming, be sure to subscribe!

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Yes! I've had many old E30s, but few have inspired as much confidence as this car. It's so nice to not worry about the engine while I'm restoring the rest of it.

[@tjaymelin921]

super happy to see this because im picking up almost the exact same car (same year even) later this week that has similar fueling issues (at least thats what the listing said) I've been pretty nervous about the project but seeing this made me super excited!

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

[@slowazbmwkilla3073]

@@TaylorGoesFast I’m having a problem that’s pretty wierd right now

[@Kampfmesser89]

Awesome vid. I have a pre refresh E21.

[@darrenmcgovern1969]

Probably the best car I ever owned. I finally had to say goodbye at 385,000 kms/ 240000 miles only because the electrical systems had major failure, the engine was still okay.

[@oldiesfm98.5stereolive8]

Long live E21 !!!😍 OO=[][]=OO

[@dhhtbdl]

Everybody hate it? I have never encounter anyone that said that.

[@Bryan-xx4xi]

I MISS my 1983 320i! A great car. It was my college car in the 90s. I'm looking for an '83 320i with a manual transmission. Good find!

[@TheWigglyman]

I have a '83 320is, 5spd. I am selling.

[@Bryan-xx4xi]

@@TheWigglyman How much?

[@TheWigglyman]

@@Bryan-xx4xi 6k+shipping

[@LightsaberMaker]

You gotta have the fuel pump priming and lift the air flow meter which is inside where your spraying starter fluid

[@TaylorGoesFast]

I did this. When the engine is turning over, the air flow will lift the flap as well, so no need for me to reach in.

[@slowazbmwkilla3073]

Prime ?

[@LightsaberMaker]

Pretty much jumper the fuel pump relay so both fuel pumps run with just the ignition so it builds fuel pressure makes for a easy start.

[@akramadel258]

did you upgrade the injectors? if so which injectors did you use. thanks

[@eduardoberumen1701]

Great buy. How did you do your timming trying to do mine and having a hard time with it. Have the timming gun and what are the steps to this. Thank's in advance ED.

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Proper way to time this is as follows: 1. Jam something in the throttle body cable cam to hold the idle at 2200 and loosen the lock bolt on the distrubtor 2. Make sure the car is warm 3. Hook up the timing light to the lead for spark plug in cylinder #1 4. Lean over the engine and look right in front of the middle of the firewall, you'll see a hole in the top of the bell housing the size of a nickel 5. Aim the timing light down into the hole and SLOW adjust the distributor 6. Watch for either a round "ball" or a "z" shape to appear in the strobe of the timing light in the hole in the bell housing The "ball" is standard timing which I believe would be 0 degrees of timing advance. The "z" will appear when you have the optimal timing advance. After this, you should check your fuel trim and you can continue to advance the timing until you get pinging on a hot day with heavy throttle pressure in a high gear, then back the timing back a little.

[@nanukvas]

where did you purchase the in tank fuel pump device?

[@lakeshorerides]

Love the e21's. K jetronic is a very reliable system, with ease of tuning etc. Looking for another late model e21 as I type this. Ive already got a turbo 318is e30 but am looking for a reliable daily and remembered how much fun I had with my rust belt special pos 83 320is.

[@AliasHSW]

Im working on a 318is too, but staying NA and want to run ITBs. Any recommendations for ITBs? What 🐌 and boost are you running?

[@lakeshorerides]

@@AliasHSW its a cx racing turbo, with a 360 thrust bearing and oiling upgrade, i can find the exact specs later if you want. I made about 300 crank hp on 13 psi, but since then ive torn the motor apart to build to hold 700hp. The pistons are the only weak link, as the rest of the bottom end can withstand that number, but all stock internals they max out at around 550. I reccomend sither s50b30 throttle bodies, s32 throttle bodies, or s54 throttle bodies can be modified to fit, if you do a quick search on google or youtube you can find several examples.

[@AliasHSW]

@@lakeshorerides - thanks for the info. 300 hp is quite a handful. 550+ is insane! What you using to beef up the drivetrain to put the power down?

[@224ibarr]

i have the same car, but ive been having hot start problems. Have to keep my foot on the gas a bit (around 2K rpm) for about 1 minute and then itll stay on, otherwise it'll just die. any idea what may be causing it? I have replaced external fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel accumulator, my next guess was the internal gas pump but being that its kind of expensive id like to be sure its that before changing it out

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Hot start issues are almost always ignition related (if vapor lock is ruled out). Check your spark strength on a hot start. Coil or ignition module may need to be replaced.

[@224ibarr]

@@TaylorGoesFast will definitely check those out next thanks!

[@kukurukuchudnoe]

How to install a Morden injector say from bmw or toyota

[@TaylorGoesFast]

That's a huge undertaking. The most common is using the Motronic injection from an E30 318i

[@mcm1411]

Good Morning. What model of pump inside the tank did you put in? Thank you

[@TaylorGoesFast]

The airtex model on rockauto. AIRTEX E8196H I believe I got one of the last ones in stock.

[@quinnthompsontv]

@@TaylorGoesFast yup, the Airtex E8196H pumps are sold out everywhere. There are others available at Turner and the likes but they are around $400. Do you know of any substitutions?

[@TaylorGoesFast]

@@quinnthompsontv I've been looking into swapping a universal pump into the stock pump carrier assembly. That may be the path forward.

[@fstlnj29]

Hey bud, thank you for posting this. Dealing with this issue now. Appears I have fuel up to the distribution block. Do the injectors just pull out or are they threaded in the head. Fro what I can see here it looks like the just pull. Correct? Thanks again

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Yes, they just pull straight up and out. There is a rubber seal around the injector in the manifold that should come out with it. Be careful not to crack the fuel lines as they are NLA. It should be a 14mm and as 12mm wrench needed to disconnect the line from the injector at which point you should blow air through the lines and the injector. New injectors can be bought in a set for less than $200 and are a good option. I just sent a set off to Injector Pulse for a cleaning (there is a mesh screen inside that can get clogged) and mine are leaking pretty badly, so I expect to have to just buy new ones.

[@fstlnj29]

@@TaylorGoesFast Thanks for the reply. I think it is my fuel pump that is out and I have ordered all the parts for back there to replace it. WIth plastic I use a hair dryer on low for a few minutes on the old stuff. If I need to pull them I will soak with Kroil or some ATF for a bit and apply light twist motion to help break them free. When I say twist I mean 10 degree or less. Blunt Tech is pretty good at finding obscure parts. Thank you for posting your video!

[@TaylorGoesFast]

@@fstlnj29 Keep in mind there are two fuel pumps. One that is extrememly hard to find that goes in the fuel tank (I suggest you keep the fuel pump carrier for the future) that I bought the last stock of on RockAuto (airtex is the manufacturer) then you can use a generic fuel pump for the external one under the car. Replace your filter while you are under there.

[@fstlnj29]

@@TaylorGoesFast Yes, I think my lift pump is working. Not much difference than changing a fuel pump on any of the later models. I have everything coming except new injectors and they are not expensive but think ultrasonics will clean them up. Hardest part of the chase has been finding suppliers that have the parts. Going to replace all of the rubber lines as they are pretty nasty. Good call on the relay bypass as with all the bells and whistles going of it was hard to hear the pumps or lack thereof from outside the car.. WHen you drained the tank did you syphon or use the lift pump?

[@fstlnj29]

@@TaylorGoesFast One more thing. In the event you need new injector line you can get them custom made by a few shops that specialize in older Euro cars as that set up was used on them all.

[@ilianmladenov8542]

Iconic car ..but usa bumpers are DISGASTING..

[@TaylorGoesFast]

Agreed. I've tucked them since.

[@ACGc1063]

I’m trying to figure out the pricing on these, if anyone can give me a sense of direction. Thank you

[@clwilli]

Where do you find parts for these things at a reasonable price?

[@OutMotorsports]

It's been a mix of online networking to find parts cars, plus FCP Euro, RockAuto, and AKG Motorsport.

[@scott9494]

I own one thinking about selling it.

[@aydinvallejo2194]

Where did you find these parts?

[@TaylorGoesFast]

I parted out an E21 that was rusted out to find most of the parts I needed. A lot of parts can be bought new. The fuel pumps came from Rock Auto.

[@sms9106]

Mine has been in moth balls for 20 years, time to get it going again.

[@nanukvas]

How much should I expect to pay for a junkyard E21 complete but not running

[@TaylorGoesFast]

I bought my parts car for $300 complete. Expect to pay between 500-1000 on the fair market.

[@nanukvas]

@@TaylorGoesFast thanks for getting back to me. I found an 82 this weekend. I need some body parts and some other odds and ends. Let me know what you have any parts left to sell.

[@TaylorGoesFast]

@@nanukvas There's a few parts cars out there I'm aware of. I still have stuff if you have a list, but most is stuff I'd like to keep. Whereabout are you located?

[@nanukvas]

@@TaylorGoesFast North east PA

[@matttrotsky1614]

The e21 323i definitely wasn't the 3 series that nobody wanted and was loved in Europe.

[@OutMotorsports]

It got a different reception in Europe than in the United States, it seems. And while it may have been initially received well, in the US they are pretty often overlooked in favor of the 2002 and later E30. Kinda sad because they are good, fun little cars.

[@matttrotsky1614]

​@@OutMotorsports Yes the reason for this is the good one BMW's 3 series flagship model the e21 323i used the early M20 straight six motor that was later used in the E30. This e21 323i and was never available in North America. Also the euro e21 323i produced more power than later USA spec e30's due to North American emissions laws. Although the e21 323i was quite common in Europe at the time and was known to be a quick car.

[@kukurukuchudnoe]

For now it costs much more in a run and drive condition as it costed as s new one in 81

[@lawtowngirl85]

Whatever i want one

[@pyrotechnick420]

im not liking this video bc it has exactly 320 likes and I don't want to mess with it😆

[@freedomworks3976]

Those Germans are difficult to diagnose sometimes 😮

[@johndrake2729]

What???

[@ilianmladenov8542]

ЕТО МАШИНА ПРОСТО ТАЧКА В ПРЯМОМ СМИСЛЕ ЕТОГО СЛОВО ,ТОЛЬКО АМЕРИКОСКИЕ БАМПЕРА ГОВНО !