1980 BMW 3-Series

1.8

Manual

WBA17330007167151

Clear

Gasoline

Up for sale is a 1980 BMW 320i. I bought this car a few months ago with a friend of mine because we were looking for a car to race in the 24 hour of lemons. Once we got the car home plans changed, my friend got a new job and doesn't have the time to race anymore, and I picked up another project car. Plus this 320i is too nice to rip apart and make into a racecar. So its time for the BMW to go to another home. It is in great shape with a few items that need attention. Most questions can be answered by reading the whole description, but if you do have questions please ask me. The Good: It has a clean title and it is in my name(its titled in Nevada because that is where my friend lived, the car is located in Sacramento CA) The car is also rust free. The floor pans are solid, and there is no rust on the shock towers. There are no dents on the body either, the car is very straight. The interior is in great shape as well. The only blemishes are a 1" tear in the backside of the passenger seat, and the headliner piece for the sunroof needs to be installed. I have it, I just haven't made time to put it in. The car is a factory AC car and everything is there, but the ACC does not blow cold. The 5 speed shifts smoothly through all 5 gears and into reverse without issue. I've replaced a few things with new parts such as the fuel pump, battery, oxygen sensor, and the rear wheel cylinders. The brakes work great. The engine has 145-155lbs of compression on all 4 cylinders, and when you start it up the oil pressure light goes out right away. However... The Bad: The car starts and runs and you can drive it, but once the engine gets warmed up it stalls out when you try to give it gas. Before it gets to normal operating temperature it drives ok. It hesitates on acceleration a bit, but it is driveable. I'm not sure what the problem is, I've replaced some engine parts with ones I got from the pick and pull (cold start valve, fuel distributor and air meter), but nothing so far has fixed it completely. I've only driven the car in my neighborhood, and for only short times, so I can't really attest to how road worthy it is. The steering does pull to the left. The passenger front wheel sometimes rubs on the fender as shown in the picture. And, there is no in tank fuel pump. The 77-78 320i's didn't have them at all, and you don't really need one unless you have hot starting issues. They are about $125 new, but since I'm not keeping it there is no point in me buying one. All the lights and electrical work, but the wipers are kinda lethargic. They work, but not at the speed that they should. And I'm not sure if its a problem or not, but there might be a draw on the battery. I make time to work on the car every few weeks, so the car will sit for 2-3 weeks and the battery will still have power.(Its a brand new battery as of April) But other times it was dead after a few days. I don't think I left anything on either. The Ugly: The paint isn't in bad shape, except in a few spots where it is cracking. The worst is on the passenger side as shown in the picture, and the roof is cracked a bit around the sunroof. But the only spot where the paint has separated from the body is in the picture. All in all the car looks pretty good. If you were to take the time and buff the paint you it would look super shiny, except for the few spots mentioned. So all in all, the car needs some engine work and it should be a good driver after that. I have another project car that is eating up all my time and money, and I just don't want to spend the time to try and diagnose why this won't run properly. If I lived in a state that didn't suck I would simply put a trusty Weber 2 barrel on it and be happy, but for now I'm stuck in CA. And if you do live in CA, all the smog stuff is still there, meaning the catalytic converter. So once you get it running properly then smogging it won't be a big deal. It was a CA car until we titled it in NV because it was easier and cheaper that way. This is a no reserve auction. It's not often that you find a rust free E21 anymore. Don't let this one pass you up. Buyer is responsible for shipping the car, I'll be happy to coordinate with a shipping company, but ultimately shipping is on you. Unless you live somewhere on the west coast. I'm due for a vacation and I could tow the car if you are near a good mountain biking spot. Talk to me about that first. Thanks, and good luck!!!