BMW's galore!

"I also managed to get MIB back from the salvage yard. I've put too many hours and pound notes into it, to just give up so easy. Hopefully it will make it back from the brink."

Put simply: Excellent. I have my fingers crossed for you.

The black E21 is certainly beginning to look rather special indeed. Lovely thing that is . Great to hear that you have claimed 'MIB' back. I shall be watching this space .

Just read all of this and my heart sank when I saw it on fire truely gutted for yah
New one looks a gem great work on getting another

Will be following the progress

The black car is off to a new owner next week. I've just never really been that keen so am going to get on with the rebuild of MIB instead. This time I plan to fit an S50 3.0 from an e36 M3 though and yesterday I did a 540 mile round trip to pick one up. 300 brake should make performance brisk!

So, today I decided to really inspect the new shell closely. I thought it was all pretty straight but it's even better than I had hoped. It really is super clean and is going to make an excellent starting point.

Thanks Rob. I did think about getting something different but I really do enjoy owning & driving an e21. They're not that common here in the UK anymore. Mind you, there are a few coming up on here recently.

My old MIB is going to be stripped of all the bits I need for the new build. The coilovers will have to go back to GAZ but everything else should be fine after a blast with the power washer. I'll have to chop out where the boot floor was altered to accept the e12 diff carrier. When I bought back the salvage on MIB after the fire, I saved an absolute fortune. Including tax, auction charges etc it cost me nearly £1 500 but the rear beam, LSD and adjustable ARB would have cost me that much to replace! By the time you add the custom rad, coilovers, big brake kit etc, I just wouldn't have been able to rebuild another e21 to the same spec, without saving for a year or 2 first.

What I do want to do this time around, is make some subtle changes to the overall look. I think I will use a Ronal front spoiler instead of the Alpina version as I haven't seen another - yet. I think I'm going to stick with deep dished 13'' wheels too. In the past I've always just gone for 15's but I fancy doing something different. I'm also going to do away with the rear seat and just carpet the whole rear. I'd like a black headlining too, like the e30 M3 & 320is, and maybe a rear cage in orange?

Engine is going to be a 3.0 s50 from an e36 M3. I have the same engine in my track e30 and absolutely love it. I know the 3.2 evo engine makes a bit more power (according to the factory figures anyway) but the earlier engine seem to suffer less problems with VANOS etc. My e30 makes a dyno proven 300 brake with just a couple of simple mods and that sort of power will be great fun in an e21.

Well last night we managed to transport the 316 via the M25 to Essex. It's not the only way though! On route the bloody trailer lights blew though, so we pulled into Clacket Lane services and had a go at repairing the broken wires. We tried and failed. Fortunately the lights on the 316 worked and the battery lasted long enough to allow people to see there was actually a trailer there, despite the bloody rain!




Seeing MIB sat there is more than a little bit depressing to be honest. I know it's going to donate a huge number of parts but so much time and effort went into that little orange BMW. I also covered well over 30k miles in it and have owned it longer than any other car I've ever had.

Anyway, next weekend it's out with the detergent and hot power washer. I want to clear away as much of the curse word and soot as I can before getting stuck in and pulling MIB to bits. I imagine it's going to be a grotty job.

Good luck with this new car. No doubt It'll be a winner!

Thanks chaps. I must say it means a lot when people put positive comments. Especially when at times I have felt like just throwing in the towel. I also owe a lot of thanks to the guys that do the work that I simply cannot manage myself. I know some folk think I simply throw wads of cash at my projects and just let others do the hard graft, but that simply isn't so. Like us all, I have to scrimp and save, sell stuff and spend hours searching for elusive parts at the right price. All easier said than done sometimes. Anyway, thanks.

Thanks fella.