1981 BMW 3-Series

323i Coupe

6 - Cyl.

Manual

WBAAH3101B7792812

Gasoline

First of all I would like to say that this e21 is so unique and regretfully, I have to sell it. I have not driven this car much since I got it because of the nature of the drivers and the quality of the roads here in the SF Bay Area. I purchased this car in late 2007 right here on Ebay from guy in Eastern Washington who imported it from Holland. During the mid to late 70's Paul Braque drew up a masterpiece that exemplified his signature trademark of rugged simplicity mixed seamlessly with stunning elegance and the BMW e21 was the result. A car that gets little respect sitting between the 2002 and the E30 as the bastard child having won many a race in Gruppe trim. The US version of the e21 was a slow, down tuned version of what Europe got, with ugly "diving board" bumpers, and strict emissions control. In Germany and the rest of Europe, you could get a 323i with a 2.3 inline six packing 143bhp and smoke all of the four bangers. You could also get it with a CLOSE RATIO DOGLEG giving you pinpoint accuracy with shifting and a sharp increase in durability due to less work done by the syncronizers and for the strong of heart a 3:1 MOTORSPORT STEERING RACK which now days is a nearly impossible item to find and unrealistically expensive for even more traction a 3.45 completed this unhumanly smooth and precise drivetrain to make what was the predessesor to the E30 M3 and the successor to the 2002tii. My 323i is machine that is made for the alpine roads of Bavaria because it has every part that I listed plus a 170bhp of electronically fuel injected M20 goodness under its Germanic looking bonnet. This car is pretty serious business and looks like it with its TSW Hockenheims and Motorsport airdam and nearly perfect Recaro sport seats. I swapped the engine because I liked the fit of the late model M20 and the fact it made good even power, it is lighter than an M30 requires less "hacking" than a DOHC and is era specific. It is years more reliable and efficient than the catastrophy called "K-Jet" which is in my opinion why few e21s remain on the road today, it was a travesty that CIS was ever used in any great engine. The engine I chose to swap in is not a junkyard engine but was sourced from the most reputed BMW parts sources in the state; 002 Salvage and has a new Victor Reinz head gasket and seal kit on the head as well as an even 185 compression across all six cylinders. The engine starts right up,sounds great, delivers great power while delivering 25mpg and not burning a drop of VR-1 with MOS 2 due to the tight bottom end and new valve guide seals. The CR Dogleg trans shifts crisply and is happily running fresh Redline MT-90. The front end has the trademark e21 shimmy at EXACTLY 45mph no more and no less. The steering has the response of an f-18 and can startle those who are not ready for it. The engine has a new Hepu water pump, fresh BMW coolant, new Conti German timing belt and tensioner and freshly adjusted valves, brakes have fresh ATE Ohne Blau DOT 4 brake fluid, new rear wheel bearings (which are NOS and took me a month to find!) packed with Mobile 1 grease, fresh Redline 75w90 in the diff, fresh MT-90 in the trans. The battery is brand new and I moved it to the trunk for better weight balance and the car is sitting on a unknown brand of lowering springs and has a larger than stock front sway-bar and a racing dynamics brace across the front strut towers. All vehicle documentation is included and complete with importation papers from 1985, service records etc. I wanted to mention that the car passed Calif smog in early 2008. I have the VIR from the smog station. Please remember that this is nearly a 30 year old car and is not perfect, the paint, as far as i know is original Stratosblau Metallic and shines very well other than a few little chips from driving and a noticable chip on the drivers door about half way up. All of these can be repaired with Dr. Color chip. The hood's clear coat is begining to fade a bit and may need a wet sand and a fresh coat of clear but the car is still beautiful. There is a spot of absolutely minimal rust on the left rear fender that has always been the same size. The rear emblem. The brake rotors need to be replaced as the are badly worn, but the car still stops suprisingly well. The shift linkage is a bit loose but not sloppy. There is a huge following with these cars and finding information on how to remedy these things is very easy and fun and would make a great father and son project even though they are of minute importance. Also, when the guage cluster was switched to US standard during importation, I don't think the gear that runs the speedo and odometer was switched to miles meaning that the actual mileage is about 98k. The Odo will read almost twice the mileage actually traveled. I will provide current Ca smog if the car sells to CA!! This car needs someone who will care for it and drive it as well as I did and the thing really is a conversation piece and head turner. This car will run for another 20 years and make someone very happy and you will actually look forward to driving and passing generic looking Hondas and Mitsubishis in a 30 year old classic BMW. I described things in the best way I could and any questions are welcome, I am sure there are a lot. Good luck to you with the auction! I have lowered the reserve for the final time & also included a BIN price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!