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1980 BMW 320i E21, rust free California car

1980 BMW 3-Series for sale in Sacramento, California, United States

Condition: Used
Item location: Sacramento, California, United States
Make: BMW
Model: 3-Series
Type: Coupe
Year: 1980
Mileage: 175,000
VIN: WBA17330007167151
Color: Black
Engine size: 1.8
Number of cylinders: 4
Power options: Air Conditioning
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: Manual
Drive type: RWD
Interior color: Black
Drive side: Left-hand drive
Options: Cassette Player, Sunroof
Vehicle Title: Clear
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Description for BMW 3-Series 1980

Up for sale is a 1980 BMW 320i. If you are too lazy to read the entire description then just read this: It runs and drives well, the interior is in great shape, the body is dent free, and the paint is in good shape with a few bad spots here and there. The body and undercarriage are rust free, and the car has a clean title. Its your chance to get a solid classic BMW before they really shoot up in price, and they are going up in price.
Now for a more detailed description. A friend and I bought this car with the intention of racing in the 24 hour of Lemons, but we felt that the car was too nice to butcher up for that purpose. So I bought out my friend for his share of the car, and I fixed a few things on it and now it is time to sell it and move on to the next project.
The mechanical fuel injection was having lots of problems, so i just took all it off and put a Weber 32/36 on it. The engine has good compression, 150-160lbs, on all 4 cylinders. I gave it a tune up with new spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor. I also jetted the carb per the guide on BMW2002FAQ.com The car starts up easy, and once it is warmed up it idles so very smooth at 700rpm. The 5 speed shifts smooth, and the clutch feels strong as well. When you are driving the car stays mostly straight when you take your hands off the wheel, but it drifts a little to the left. The brakes work good, I installed new wheel cylinders for the rear brakes.
The electrical is pretty good, just about everything works. The heater motor blows, radio works, although the front speakers are not there, horn works, turn signals work, but the passenger side front light is out and it blinks fast for a right turn, left turn signal is fine. Tail lights work, but a bulb is out on the passenger side, reverse lights work, and the wipers mostly work. When you turn on the windshield wipers they do move, but slowly. I'm not sure why. So they do work, but if you were driving in the rain they wouldn't be effective.
The chassis and body are in great shape. All the floor pans are solid, trunk and spare tire well are solid, shock towers are solid, there are only a few spots of surface rust. One is in the trunk gutter, where the trunk lid closes on the car. And the other one is shown in the pictures. The paint is peeling in that spot and there is surface rust beneath. If you broke off the paint chip and took a wire wheel to it it would be rust free in less than 5 minutes. The rest of the paint is mostly in good shape, there are some cracks in the paint near the passenger key hole, and on the sunroof. The car looks good tho, and the paint still shines and you can see yourself in the reflection. It would look quite a bit better if you waxed and buffed the car. All the trim pieces are there as well. The interior is also in good shape. The carpet is good, seats are good, there is only one small tear on the back of the passenger seat. The only flaws are the glovebox latch broke like they all do, so you open it with a screwdriver, and the dash is cracked like every other 320i. But there is a dash topper to cover it.
There are a few things that can be improved upon. The sunroof works, but it needs help to open. As in you have to push with your hand while turning the crank. I'm sure it just needs to be lubed up. So when you are doing maintenance on that, you can install the headliner for the sunroof. The headliner in the car is in good shape, but it was missing the headliner for the sunroof. I got a replacement one, but I never got around to installing it. The vacuum advance for the timing was doing too good of a job, and it was advancing the timing so much that it made the car undriveable. So it is blocked off for now, however, the engine still runs strong and pulls hard. The odometer doesn't work, so I'm not sure exactly how many miles are on the car in total. And speaking of mileage, the car is registered as a non-op in Nevada. Like I stated above, the title is clean and in my hand, but I never planned on actually using the car so I never registered it. Which means I haven't driven it around much. Mostly just in my neighborhood, so I have put maybe 10 miles on it.
So, to wrap this all up, you are bidding on a rust free, running and driving classic BMW 320i. It has a few minor problems, but its a good car for someone to drive around and use. I didn't want a car with the potential it has to be gutted for racing, I'll go find another car for that. E21's are gaining popularity, and they are getting harder to find in good shape. It has a clean NV title and it is in my hand, but the car is located in Sacramento CA. I have had 3 320i's over the years, and they all were great cars. I'd like to keep this one for fun, but I don't have the space.
If you do not plan to actually pay for the car, please do not bid on it. Don't waste my time, or yours.
A $500 non refundable deposit is required within 3 days of the auction ending, to let me know that you are serious. You the buyer are responsible for shipping the car to your location, and I will gladly coordinate with a shipping company of your choosing. If you want more pictures of have questions please ask me. Thanks for looking and good luck!!!
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