05/17/10

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This web site contains information about my 1977 BMW 320i as well as general information about the model.  This first generation of the 3 series with the chassis code E21 was sold in the United States from 1977 until 1983. 

I'm driving down to Vintage at the Vineyards in Dobson, NC on May 27th.  If you happen to be at this event which has turned into the one of the largest shows of vintage BMWs on the East coast, please say hello!  There are over 200 cars registered for this show.  If you are in the area you might want to consider stopping in on Saturday May 29th.  I'll put up a photo gallery from the event after I return.

In this site you will find a detailed history of my car and all the projects related to it.  There are a large number of pictures showing virtually all aspects of the car.  The library section contains owner's manuals and the full service manual for my car. These two pictures to the right show the car as it looked about 4 years ago (top), and how it looks today (bottom)

Brief history of my car

This BMW 320i is a 1977 model year that was manufactured in October 1976.  It was purchased new by a family member and has been in my family since new.  It was never driven during the winters and was parked in 1993 with about 68,000 miles on it.  The car sat for just over 10 years when it was given to me.  There were a few patches of surface rust on the car but no rust-through anywhere.

From October 2003 to March 2004 I stripped the car down to the bare rolling shell and had the exterior stripped down to bare metal and repainted.  The car was fully restored with the exception of stripping the interior and undercarriage paint.
	During the winter of 2005-2006 I removed the stock kjet fuel injection and installed dual Weber DCOE 40 carbs.  I ran with this setup for a year and was not completely happy with the results.  I wanted to keep a vintage appearance in the engine compartment but was unhappy with the responsiveness of the dual carbs for daily driving.
Instead of continuing to work on the Webers, I decided to convert the engine to the Megasquirt EFI controller.  I have gone through several combinations of EFI hardware, making changes as I learned more about EFI.
	During the winter of 2008 I built a 2.2L engine using the crank and rods from a 2.3L S14 motor.

You will find detailed descriptions of these project plus several others on my projects page.

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