1983 BMW 320i with an M20 engine swap. Reliable. FAST!

1983 BMW 3-Series

Technical specifications of BMW 3-Series 1983

Price: US $7,500.00
Item location: Randolph, New Jersey, United States
Make: BMW
Model: 3-Series
Type: 2 door
Year: 1983
Mileage: 140,000
VIN: Wbaag3300d9006747
Color: White
Engine size: 1990 M20B25 (2.5 Liter 6 cyl)
Number of cylinders: 6
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: 5 speed manual
Drive type: Rear wheel drive
Interior color: Black
Drive side: Left-hand drive
Options: CD Player
Vehicle Title: Clear
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Car description


1983 BMW 320i w/ M20B25 swapGood Drift Car. Not raced. Adult driven
Runs great. Reliablecylinders: 6 cylindersdrive: rwdfuel: gasChassis miles: approximately 140000Engine & trans miles approximately 93,000Rear differential: 3:91 Limited sliptitle status: clean
This is a long description. It’s a great car. Drives well. Reliable. But there’s a lot to describe. It’s a 36 year old car that has a 19 year old (low miles) engine and 5speed trans swapped in. It runs great. It’s fast. Lots of torque. But some finishing may be desired by the new owner. Such as; I’ve never opened the sunroof. It was taped closed when I got it in January 2017. Although the blower motor and temp control cables function, there is no heat & air controls (knobs). That controls assembly is missing from the dash. You have to pull a cable for floor heat. Think of this as a race car with some amenities. Like lights, turn signal, working wipers (no washer fluid), horn, rugs, backseat, power mirrors, radio. Really. It’s a race car. It’s fast. It’s loud. It vibrates (no isolator type motor mounts).
But a lot of recent work was done. The title shows that I’m the 3rd owner. The 2nd owner spent a lot of time and money to get the engine swap done and drivable. He owned it from August 2016 to January 2017. Then I bought it and finished the important mechanical work. I did about 70 hours of work. Timing belt, suspension, etc (read list below)
The 101hp 4 cylinder is gone. A 1990 M20B25 2.5L 169hp 6 cylinder engine is in it's place. Belt driven fan deleted, cat deleted. Removed heavy front bumper, a/c compressor and other parts. No power steering. Lightened racing seats. Battery relocated to the trunk. With the extra 60lbs of the 6 cylinder engine, My educated guess is this car weighs about 2200 lbs. There is plenty more lightening that can be done.

Hankook Ventus Noble S1 tires (6k miles)On xxr wheels
2.5" exhaust . Flowmaster resonator and magnaflow muffler
CoiloversI should’ve improved with stronger springs, when I did new kyb struts all around.
Custom driveshaft
Continental Timing belt (3k miles ago)Timing Belt tensioner
Hella water pumpWater pump belt
New Behr radiator (1993 325i)Silicone lower radiator hoseUpper radiator hose
Bosch ignition cap and rotorSpark plugs and wires (new from previous owner)
New front calipers and hosesEBC yellow stuff High performance brake pads
Front and rear kyb shocksLeft inner tie rod
Resealed crankcase vent tubeResealed oil pan
4 Bilstein cv bootsRear differential fluid (Mobil 1)
Newer Lower control arms and ball joints
When you do this swap, you lose the speedometer function. There is nowhere to hook up the cable. The original hooked up to the trans. The 1990 trans has no place to instal. They relied on the rear diff. I use a free GPS speedometer on my phone (no data) A real GPS speedometer can be purchase on eBay for $60.
Body:Remarkably straight. Some rattle can touch ups. Some thinned paint from buffing. The rockers are great. The floors are great, obviously not perfect. The whole 36 year old car looks like a nice 20 year old survivor

Rust:
Previous rust repair under tail lights (common)
It would be common to have rust at bottom of the doors and at the strut towers. This car has none.
There is some rust at the bottom left area of the windshield. The welding repair was quoted at $300 (including windshield remove and replace). I put electricians putty there. No leaks. And it looks like part of the molding,
There are some rust holes in the trunk floor. Nothing major, especially for the age.
Noises: You can hear the sunroof mechanism bouncing around over bumpsThe valves have the typical noise. They have been adjusted. I hear the same noise on the super clean e30s at the bmw club meets. Throw out bearing noise.
I love this car. I will miss it. But it’s time to get back into my Datsun.
Please ask all questions before committing to buying. In person inspection is highly recommended. Ask for specific pictures.
Ebrake cable broken or detached
I’d drive this car 200 miles with no worry.

A $500 deposit is required by the buyer within 24hrs of auction end. The rest to be paid within 7 days, unless otherwise arranged. The car must be picked up by the buyer within 2 weeks

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