Sam Webber's e21 320is

[TheNeek]

Always in for E21 content. Looks like a good one. I'm bagged, had a pretty epic coilover setup. Love the bags much more because I like parking hard and keeping my fenders / wheels looking good with a fender to lip setup. I'm also on 15x8.5 / 9. Looks right at home if you ask me.

[HUNTERMILLS]

I have shitty roads where i live and the oil pan lays pretty low on my e28 so i just went with bags. I have about $1800-1900 in my setup. Did the airlift universal struts with manual managment and i love it. I used to just have coil sleeves but for whatever reason i just had trouble getting low and on top of that it road like shit. I was probably doing it wrong but i was just over being under the car fucking with the sleeves and coils.

[Wyatt Lay]

Mk1 struts would suit it well. I believe the kit is both front and rear.

[SamuelWebber]

I was leaning more towards static suspension as well. you know if the gc kit comes with both front and rear sleeves/springs? i guess the aforementioned mk1 struts may suit it well?

[Wyatt Lay]

I wouldnt recommend bagging this car, but thats just me. As far as sleeves go you need ones that have 2.5 inner diameter. I would measure you housing with a caliper just to be sure though. I think GC sell a kit for like 400 bucks that includes springs and sleeves, which is pretty much all you need unless you would like to upgrade struts. A smaller front strut would be an advantageous buy because it would drop the car considerably as well as ride better with a smaller spring.

[SamuelWebber]

thanks guys!

Awesome looking platform. Looks super clean. I would buy generic coilover sleeves, then order custom springs from GC. You can pick your height and rate to your liking. You will have to cut and weld the front housing (which is super easy) but, the rears can stay untouched with the sleeve just resting on the stock perch. Also some 195/50s or even 205/50s might suit the car well rubber wise.

wyatt, where can I find "generic sleeves" that will work/fit? 195/50's sound good too, thanks.

you can bag a car for about just as much as gc coilovers cost

I didn't know that, have you done it? I wasn't looking into buying the full gc kit either. I was looking at the conversion kit for something like $500

[HUNTERMILLS]

you can bag a car for about just as much as gc coilovers cost

[99sil-teg]

Some guys shorten the strut housings and the run mk1 struts with GC's or of course you can always bag it. To get real low there are no cheap options. I had an e21 for a bit but didn't like it as much as my old E30 or the car I sold it for... my 2002. Looks like a damn nice one though.

[DinanDave]

Nice looking E21! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[Wyatt Lay]

Awesome looking platform. Looks super clean. I would buy generic coilover sleeves, then order custom springs from GC. You can pick your height and rate to your liking. You will have to cut and weld the front housing (which is super easy) but, the rears can stay untouched with the sleeve just resting on the stock perch. Also some 195/50s or even 205/50s might suit the car well rubber wise.

[e39hamann]

Looks like a fun project!

For coils I'd see if Broadway Static offers anything for the e21, can't beat them for the price

[SamuelWebber]

I had an account on here but forgot the pass so I made a new one. anyways I'm Sam, 19 years old from mass, and I go to (live) at school full time (umass amherst until pratt next year). I know some of you guys and follow (creep) some on instagram. username: samuelwebber

being at school 85% of the time means won't be making regular progress on this thing, as I'll be away from it and busy when I'm not on some sort of school break. essentially I'll accumulate cash, which will turn into parts, which will get put on the car. large posts/updates. fun stuff.

HISTORY:

so I had a BMW e28 less than a year ago, and wanted to trade for something smaller. At dubs on defrost 6 (i think 6) I met Taylor Carsch (tcturbo91) who longed for an e28. at that time, he was the owner of this e21 320is. upon seeing it, i knew i wanted it. The trade/deal didn't go through, good thing because taylor's current e28 is sick, and I said goodbye to this e21 for what figured was forever.

Fast forward several months, the e21 was sold off, and I sold my e28. We're in June 2013 now. I'm looking for a car, particularly e30's, when I get a random PM here on stanceworks. It was addressed to a "Sam" but it was about an e21 for sale that I had supposedly had interest in. Turns out I was the wrong Sam, but since I was in the market I figured I'd ask to see the car up for grabs. Sure enough, by some stupid luck or "fate" the e21 that had MISTAKENLY been shown to me was the same e21 I had seen months earlier. now for sale. shit. Told the guy that I'd be down to buy it the next day, as I knew it was a good looking, well performing car. bought it, and now it's here to stay.

I didn't take many pictures from June-September 2013, as I was enjoying the shit out of the car, but I wanted to start documenting now. This is a picture of the car when taylor was selling it, and it pretty much looked like that when I bought it except for that it came with the stock bbs mahle wheels and shadowed trim...



Updates that I don't have pictures for;
-patched some holes in the floor
-painted stuff
-fluids change
-rear bumper tuck
(general **** one does upon acquiring an old bmw)

found a euro front bumper for cheap.



the seller (and now friend, fellow e21 guy) fixed the dents and prepped the metal but the chrome was shot and I was poor. Since the trim was plastidipped because of "bad chrome" I figured I should go with black to match.






With his help, we welded the stock US-spec shock inserts to the euro bumper and bang. fits like a glove.




I took the rest of these pictures today, but here's the car and where I'm at now!



only thing missing from an otherwise mint recaro interior...


while I'm at school, the car will be residing at my friend Peter's house. Peter owns a 400hp slammed wrx. ideal north east monster.


Which is out of commission due to a spun rod bearing. rebuild time.


bought wheels; 15x8/9 with 185/45 all around which are IMO too small for my taste and massachusetts stance.



tested them;





lolgap



It will get there


But to be fair this is "stock" suspension. cut rear springs I believe, I didn't do it. Plans? Well, some m10 performance parts will come into the mix at some point, but my focus is tires and suspension for now. I'd like to hear what you guys think, because I'm at a loss for coilovers (can't afford air) and tires. I'm thinking about doing gc's conversion kit for e21's as that seems like the best deal. and maybe 195's with a slightly wider sidewall? idk.