New Member 316 Restoration

[nostaticatall]

Hi - I've just joined the forum and it looks like it's the place to be for the E21. My son and I have spent months restoring his 1989 525i E34 and through doing that I rediscovered my love of BMWs. So much so that we went out and trailered back an 850i that needs some attention and then set our sights on an earlier BMW, thinking first of an E30 then when a 1981 E21 316 came up for grabs, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. This is a restoration project rather than a few repairs here and there so I setup a website so I could write-up the progress of the restoration as we go along. We won't get started for a few weeks yet but a picture of it on the trailer is there now.

http://www.bmw316.co.uk

Cheers
Steve

[e21-Mark]

Welcome Steve. Look forward to seeing your restoration.

I wouldn't set too much store by the DVLA figures though. I can think of more than eight 316's on here alone.

[nostaticatall]

Thanks for the welcome Mark. The DVLA figures are just for the 316 manufactured in 1981 - there are obviously more from other years. But you're right, there are discrepancies in the DVLA records making it an unreliable source of remaining numbers.

[e21-Mark]

With that said, there are a few modified 316's on here. Especially safari beige ones for some reason?

So what's the condition of your car like? Going by the reg' number it looks like it might have been first registered in Kent?

[nostaticatall]

Yes it was first registered in Maidstone in October 1981. I think it was a dealer transfer as it seems to have been in Scotland all its life although I need that confirming. It's done 104,000 miles. Both sills need replacing and both rear arches are crumbly. The rear valance needs replacing or repairing and there are a couple of isolated holes in the bodywork, one on the boot lid just below the plastic panel, the other just where the NS rear quarter light meets the body. The bonnet is very good, as are the doors, floors and boot pan.

Two years ago the last owner decided to make a start on getting the car roadworthy and had the wheels resprayed and new tyres fitted which is an odd way to start when all that bodywork needs doing! The car runs fine which is a bonus. As with all restorations, it will probably turn out to be worse than it is once dismantling begins - I can imagine a lot of bodywork will need repairing that I haven't seen yet. One front strut is bouncy and one rear shock too; the brakes work but they're not as good as they should be.

So all in all it's not a bad starting point; I've certainly seen worse. One thing in its favour is that it is totally original with nothing missing except the toolkit (aren't they always).

[e21-Mark]

Quite often you'll find rot beneath the window rubbers. My track car was supposedly mint but had gone in all 4 corners. The corners of the front footwells had also gone, along with ends of the sills. As you say, stripping down revealed all this stuff.

I might be able to help with any missing tool-kit as I junked mine. You're welcome to anything you need gratis.

Who was the dealer in Maidstone? I moved there is 84/85 I think? I know Waldrons were the Porsche dealership, but can't recall the BMW one. I bought my first ever BMW in Maidstone! A rotten, lime green 1502. It wasted my pals 1850 Dolomite though. It was about 2 years later I got my first e21.

[nostaticatall]

It's Ardens of Maidstone at the moment - don't know if they existed back in the day. That's just the kind of rust I'm expecting to find that you have on the white one! 'orrible stuff. Thanks for the offer of the tools for the toolkit Mark; that's really kind of you. If I chuck you some postage money and a bit besides, would you consider sending them in the post?
Cheers
Steve

[Jeroen]

Welcome here Steve! Nice project and we don't mind updates on the 8 series or other projects either. Enjoy this place! For now I'll just move this thread to the 4 cil section. Keep us posted!

[nostaticatall]

Thanks Jeroen. I did wonder whether you guys would be interested in the 850i - I'll certainly report on progress but that one is going to be more of a running restoration rather than a total strip down.

[pandemonium001]

Hi, Welcome,

looking forward to see what you can do with it.