320i

[JTE]

I recently purchsed a 1979 BMW 320i. It's in very good condition and relatively low miles.I hope to turn it into a ITB class car. I'm looking for opinions and suggestions.

I would really like to do this so my hope is I won't be shot down

[itb320i65]

Originally posted by JTE:
I recently purchsed a 1979 BMW 320i. It's in very good condition and relatively low miles.I hope to turn it into a ITB class car. I'm looking for opinions and suggestions.

I would really like to do this so my hope is I won't be shot down

I think you should build it. We are building 2 320i's right now. There are a lot of them out there so replacement parts are cheap.

Good luck, Douglas

[lilwillie]

Go for it. Sounds like a fun idea.

I also have a 320i, one thing, anyone ever see a Roll cage available for these anywhere? I've checked all the popular sources but have yet to find a bolt in cage.

[poller]

IO Port Racing (www.ioportracing.com) has a u-weld-it cage for the '77-83 320. Please call Ken Myers at:

Order phone: 1-800-949-5712
Technical Support: 1-925-254-RACE (7223)

He'd be more than happy to discuss this with you, and to help you acquire a cage.

Tell him I sent you.

Jack
[email protected]

[lilwillie]

Thanks Jack, I will call him. Great info. Thanks again

[nasa]

Nothing about this car would be legal for IT but it sure is inspiring if your talking 320's. This car is sweeeeeeeeeet!

http://www.davidmcintyre.org/the320.html

[JTE]

nasa, what do you mean by nothing would be leagal? as long as we adhere to the GRCs the skys the limit. if you know of something specific please share that with us.

Originally posted by nasa:
Nothing about this car would be legal for IT but it sure is inspiring if your talking 320's. This car is sweeeeeeeeeet!

http://www.davidmcintyre.org/the320.html

[lilwillie]

I am also curious as to why it would'nt be legal. In the GCR they list the 80-83 1.8l 320i as ITB. And also the 77-79 2.0l for ITB.

My car in paticular is a 82 1.8l. Makes it legal as far as I can tell.

[JTE]

I'm going off of memory but i recall 77-79 320i listed under IT ( also. I would not have purchased the car and spent as much time and money on it as I have without checking into it first.

Originally posted by lilwillie:
I am also curious as to why it would'nt be legal. In the GCR they list the 80-83 1.8l 320i as ITB. And also the 77-79 2.0l for ITB.

My car in paticular is a 82 1.8l. Makes it legal as far as I can tell.

[Knestis]

I think nasa was talking about the winged beast in the pic at the link he posted.

Kirk

[lilwillie]

Ahhh, now it makes sense, excuse me while I bang my head off the wall

[nasa]

That particular car is not legal, it is prepared far beyond ITB allowances. In general I would say 320's are an excellent choice, they are cheap and available, and they are BMWs, nuff said.

[JTE]

does anyone know what the minimum weight of a 320i is? does that include the driver?

Originally posted by JTE:
I recently purchsed a 1979 BMW 320i. It's in very good condition and relatively low miles.I hope to turn it into a ITB class car. I'm looking for opinions and suggestions.

I would really like to do this so my hope is I won't be shot down

[Knestis]

Have we had the GCR talk yet? If you are spending ANY money on this project and don't have the GCR in hand yet, you are begging for your first event to be a painful experience. It is very easy to do something that will be illegal and expensive to undo...

Spec weight is 2510# with driver. But how do you know that I'm not confused? If you show up underweight and plead that some faceless entity on the 'net told you what to weigh, the tech folks will get a huge laugh at your expense.

Kirk

[JTE]

I do have a 2001 GCR and you are correct it tells me 2510#. I was a little confused because Car and Driver report from 1979 tells me that curb weight on the car is 2480#s. I just wasn't sure about the driver. Thanks

Originally posted by Knestis:
Have we had the GCR talk yet? If you are spending ANY money on this project and don't have the GCR in hand yet, you are begging for your first event to be a painful experience. It is very easy to do something that will be illegal and expensive to undo...

Spec weight is 2510# with driver. But how do you know that I'm not confused? If you show up underweight and plead that some faceless entity on the 'net told you what to weigh, the tech folks will get a huge laugh at your expense.

Kirk

[Craig_S]

I'm also planning on possibly getting into ITB with a 320i. Like everyone has pointed out they are relatively cheap AND common.

Another option is Pro3, though the cars in that class tend to be quite a bit more pricey.

Is there a preferred year for the 320s? In other words, do the 2.0s do better than the 1.8s, or vice versa? In my internet searching I've only come across 318i and 325i/e information, the 320i seems to be absent.

Thanks.


------------------
-Craig

[This message has been edited by Craig_S (edited October 11, 2002).]

[WannaBITB]

This is good info! I just picked up an 83 320i for a song, and I'm giving up on my Golf. FWD sucks. What parts/mods, etc. will make this car competitive? What's a good source for parts? What are some of the problems associated with the 320? Keep the info coming!

[This message has been edited by WannaBITB (edited October 12, 2002).]

[lilwillie]

WannabeITB,

Check out www.bmw320i.com, or www.kormanfastbmw.com.

Those seem to be the sites I'm in the most when I'm dreaming bimmer thoughts.

I'm up to 2 320i's now for less money than the price of a 12 pack of German beer. Working on getting a third for favors owed. All of them needed about 20 minutes of work to get running again.

I just wish I could find a website with build pics or even better detailed pics of the 80-83 320i's.

I do know from looking at the GCR that you need to have the 1.8l in the 80-83 320i and the 2.0 for the 77-79. Make sure what ya got

I think one of the problems with the popularity of the 320i was the 325's and 318's where a little wider, so handling was much better, also the 320's where a little down in the horse dept. around 100hp if memeory serves me correct. I don't see any of these to be a good reason not to build one. Our plans are for a season of solo2 to shake down the car and get some wheel time then move into ITB. I would like to find a ITB legal 320i to buy, hint hint, then I could run that while building one in my spare time. So many ideas, so little room in the shop

[nasa]

http://www.davidmcintyre.org/the320.html

this guy takes pics of everything from the parts in the box, the broken part and the new one installed. Sweeeeeeeeeet!!

[lilwillie]

Nasa,

Dave's car is the bomb. I've gone over his site so many times I should owe him for admission. Very well documented and he does'nt BS you on what it will cost to do.

I think I got a line on a 320i that's around 75% complete. But missing motor and tranny, excatly what I'm looking for. Could you still call a car 75% complete without the motor and trans? I guess if your talking about ready to race stuff but we will see. Hopefully when we go to look at it before buying it's everything the pictures show.

All I know is I finally got my brother, the co-driver, to get some time away from work and we went down to Blackhawk Farms and he was drooling like a kid in a candy store over the cars.

And the people there where the best, many congrats to Chicago Region SCCA, that's the second time I've been treated like a king when I've shown up to spectate.