1980 320/6 baur

gazzab1978
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My E21(s): 320 baur

1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

Hello everyone, here is my new toy which i picked up from ebay for £750, there is no mot,tax or even any keys.
The fella i got it off had bought it a couple of years ago and when it was delivered the truck driver who delivered it let it roll int his truck bending the bonnet and grill so he lost interest in it and parked it up untouched for nearly two years.
heres a pic of the damaged front end
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The car is generally sound with not to much rust, underneath is good with only the drivers wing and passenger door needing replacing in time.
There are leather seats from a e36 inside which seem to fit well and they are growing on me.
I cant get her to start at the moment, i have changed plugs,coil,dizzy and rotor arm and still she wont fire so will compression test it then tow it to see if she will bump start.
If thats a no go then ill have to take the carb off and give it a overhaul.
heres some pics of how it looks
Being delivered
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roof off and give it a look over
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Gave her a bit of a wash
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the paint work under two years of grime doesnt look too bad
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then i polished up half the boot for a before and after shot to see the difference
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Plans are to get her moted and just drive her as is for the summer with maybe a change of wheels then start sorting the body work over winter and possible a engine change.


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Jeroen
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by Jeroen »

Doesn't look all that bad indeed, congrats! As for not starting, just check if you have a spark and if the fuel pump is pushing out any juice, you can also check the plugs if they're wet after starting attempts. Wouldn't be surprised if the engine is not getting any fuel.

Nice project to spend some time with during the dark months!
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
LeeLee
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by LeeLee »

Lookin good!!! A real nice colour got any other plans?
gazzab1978
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My E21(s): 320 baur

Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

plans for this year is to get her mot'd and enjoy her, maybe a drop in ride height and change the wheels but mainly using her and tiding the body work up.
LeeLee
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by LeeLee »

Drop me your number and il try and come round and have a look ;)
gazzab1978
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My E21(s): 320 baur

Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

i have started to get her ready for the road. first up is to replace the bonnet as its a bit bent.
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so i bought this
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the last paint job on it was awful, it had blistered all over so i rubbed it back to bare metal and repainted it.
just starting
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all painted
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and fitted
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i have wet sanded the middle section so far and will do the rest this week. i also popped the kidney grill on but i need to get the bumper off and straighten the front panel as it is sitting to low. i think maybe that will have to be changed in the future as im not sure i can get it straight enough for the grill to sit right but for now it will do till i get her mot'd.
LeeLee
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by LeeLee »

Nice update,nice job on the bonnet,looks like you got experience in that department?!
gazzab1978
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

not really that experienced, just bought myself a compressor and a gun a couple of years ago and had a practice, i have painted a couple of cars and they came out ok but takes a bit of flatting back to get a nice finish. could do with doing a night course in painting to hone up my skills. Im just tight so like to have a go at doing everything myself rather than paying someone else to do them..
gazzab1978
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

wow i cant believe how long its been since i did an update on this,
i have been running her since i got her but havnt really done much as i have been collecting some bits.
this is how she stands at the moment.
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well i say at the minute, that how she stood up until last night when this happened.
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up on ramps and stands ready to be stripped down.
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bonnet off
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bumper, grills and lights off
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wing and front spoiler off next.
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just this little bit of rust found so far but not really had a good dig around yet.
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front valance of and thats it for the night as its getting late.
tomorrow the other wing is coming of to see what that looks like and hopefully its no worse than this side.
i know the front slam panel will need replacing as it has accident damage on it and its going rusty but the inner wing isnt to bad so will be patched up, just need to learn to weld now.
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uwbuurman
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by uwbuurman »

Just ont good suggestion on that welding job to come: just buy a good welding machine. Not the first piece of cheap junk, but a good one. That will help you to learn quickly! Get a good machine and start on some old pieces of iron, just start welding som angles, dom bolst on a plate and start working on carmetal.

That strip of metal in the middle of the front is supposed to be welded to the valance, by the way. With two spotwelds.
It's the man next door!

1978 BMW 323i
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gazzab1978
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My E21(s): 320 baur

Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

uwbuurman wrote:Just ont good suggestion on that welding job to come: just buy a good welding machine. Not the first piece of cheap junk, but a good one. That will help you to learn quickly! Get a good machine and start on some old pieces of iron, just start welding som angles, dom bolst on a plate and start working on carmetal.

That strip of metal in the middle of the front is supposed to be welded to the valance, by the way. With two spotwelds.
thanks, that strip of metal was broken when i got the car because it had been crashed on the front so i screwed it in place not knowing how it was originally, it needs replacing so hopefully i can get a new piece for it, it needs the slam panel too.
i can borrow my friends welder to start practising on as he has a good welder and i have some old panels to cut up and practice with too.
gazzab1978
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

took the other wing off today and its much the same, a bit of rust in the corner of the inner wing on the other side of where the wiper housing finishes so must be a water trap up there. checked the other side and it has a matching rust bubble too.
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this is the offending rusty bit, gonna be a bit challenging to get at.
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jimbob
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by jimbob »

Good progress so far. Im going the same route as you with learning to weld
Good luck with it and keep us posted
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gazzab1978
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My E21(s): 320 baur

Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by gazzab1978 »

well some more has happened on this, first i had to knock up a temporary support for the garage roof rafter so the whole garage roof didnt come down instead of the engine.
then unbolt, disconect and unplug everthing linking the engine to the car. then start to drop the engine down.
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and then drag the engine gearbox ect out from under the car.
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i chose to lift the car up high enough to drag the engine under the front panel rather than pull it out up through the top so i could drop the subframe and everything out in one hit then ill split the box from engine then the subframe on the garage floor.
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then i stripped out the braking system and just need to take out the steering coloum so that i can get the last bit of the braking set up out through the cabin then its on to some welding. first bit needing attention is the chassis leg.
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it looks like its been repaired before, the back bit seems sound but looks like crap so will grind the welds back and see how it looks afterwards then decide if it needs redoing.
im not sure whats going on at the front of the leg as it looks like the rust is trying to explode out of the leg so that needs chopping out and a panel putting back in.
thats it for a little bit as i need to go learn to weld now.
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Jeroen
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Re: 1980 320/6 baur

Post by Jeroen »

But there's enough movement! Just watch your head in there :wink:
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
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