[SaMaster14]

Tbh, I'm not too good with the codes for the old BMWs. But when I moved into my garage (college apartment) I saw this parked there. Looks to be in quite pristine condition, but again, not sure if it's anything special or just a really old car... (sorry for photo quality)

320i

[Chihuahua]

It's an E21 3er, which technically was the first generation 3 series. Production ran from 1976 through 1983. It's powered by the M10 four cylinder, and it was replaced for model year '84 with the E30 chassis.

I had an '83 320i for a very short time. The E30 is superior to it in every way imaginable. It's hard to say specifically what year that car is, but you get the idea.

It's special in the sense that it's a really clean E21, since most of them are either rotting in a yard somewhere or beat down into oblivion. Other than that it's a run of the mill 320i that we got in the US. You'll see some grey market 323i cars from time to time, they're a bit more rare.

[SaMaster14]

Originally Posted by Kyle B

It's an E21 3er, which technically was the first generation 3 series. Production ran from 1976 through 1983. It's powered by the M10 four cylinder, and it was replaced for model year '84 with the E30 chassis.

I had an '83 320i for a very short time. The E30 is superior to it in every way imaginable. It's hard to say specifically what year that car is, but you get the idea.

It's special in the sense that it's a really clean E21, since most of them are either rotting in a yard somewhere or beat down into oblivion. Other than that it's a run of the mill 320i that we got in the US. You'll see some grey market 323i cars from time to time, they're a bit more rare.

Thanks for the response!

[Efthreeoh]

While I agree with Kyle B comments overall, I'd offer this. I've spent probably a good 6,000 total miles behind the wheel of several different E21's from the 1976 (pre-emissions car) through 1982 model years. An E21 was one of the first cars I ever drove and I will never forget the steering feel through the wheel over gravel; it was just exquisite and no BMW I've driven since has had the steering feel of the E21. That said, I owned an '89 E30 for 18 years and 250,000 miles, so I know the E30 chassis as good as anyone. While the E21 was not fast, it was light, agile, and just fun as hell to drive fast, back in the day. The visibility and ergonomics of the E21 were outstanding; you could drive it at high rates of speed for very long periods of time without feeling fatigued. Outside of a BMW, not many cars back in the late '70s and early '80s, regardless of price, had the high-speed stability of a BMW; especially the E21.

Just my two cents.

[M6-Coupe]

Originally Posted by Kyle B

It's an E21 3er, which technically was the first generation 3 series. Production ran from 1976 through 1983. It's powered by the M10 four cylinder, and it was replaced for model year '84 with the E30 chassis.

I had an '83 320i for a very short time. The E30 is superior to it in every way imaginable. It's hard to say specifically what year that car is, but you get the idea.

It's special in the sense that it's a really clean E21, since most of them are either rotting in a yard somewhere or beat down into oblivion. Other than that it's a run of the mill 320i that we got in the US. You'll see some grey market 323i cars from time to time, they're a bit more rare.

^ This.
I remember this car because it was my favorite car when I was teenager.
I also remember some of them were 6 cylinder (I guess 1978 model and later).