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BMW E21 Racer – An Australian-Built Asphalt Weapon

This BMW E21 started life as a factory-stock 323i, however it’s now a fire-breathing race car designed to dominate tarmac rallies, circuit racing, hill climbs, and time attack events.

It’s now powered by a 2.5 litre BMW M20B25 engine producing considerably more than the original 170 bhp, and it benefits from a comprehensive rebuild focussed on making it a weapon in the right hands.

The BMW E21

BMW introduced the E21 model series in 1975 as a replacement for the outgoing BMW 2002. The 2002 was one of the most beloved vehicles ever made by the German automaker, so the E21 had its work cut out for it. Rather than reinvent the wheel the engineers at BMW instead took the features that made the 2002 so popular and added to them.

Like its predecessor the BMW E21 has steel unibody construction, a front engine / rear wheel drive layout, independent front and rear suspension, seating for five adults and a trunk that can accomodate a reasonable amount of luggage. The basic three box styling remained similar though updated for the 1970s, and whereas the 2002 had a maximum engine size of 2.0 litres, the E21 could be ordered in 323i configuration with a 141 bhp fuel-injected, six-cylinder engine.

The E21 model family would stay in production from 1975 until 1983 with over 1.3 million produced. Today we see the E21 as being bookended by two of BMWs biggest hits – the 2002 and the E30. As a result of this the E21 is often overlooked by collectors and enthusiasts, which means they can typically be bought for less – but it’s important to note that they’re no less fun.

The BMW E21 Racer Shown Here

The car you see here is essentially a four-wheeled greatest hits album of 1980s BMW classics. It started life as a top-of-the-line 323i which is important as it means the car came with four wheel disc brakes from the factory – the models beneath it all had discs up front and drums on the rear.

Over the course of its life the car has been completely rebuilt into a track-focussed racer with a wide body kit, a deep chin spoiler, and there’s a discreet spoiler in the trunk lid. It’s wearing 15″ RS Watanabe 8-spoke matt black alloy wheels shod with sticky, track-ready Nitto rubber.

The original 2.3 litre engine has long since been removed and replaced with a larger and higher-performing M20B25 engine. Advanced Tech Automotive imported and supplied the engine, it’s now also fitted with a cold air intake system and it was fitted with new gaskets, a clutch kit, a new flywheel, and a new exhaust system including Hi-Tech headers and a performance exhaust system.

The interior has been stripped for weight reduction, it’s fitted with a six-point roll cage, two racing seats with five-point Sparco harnesses, and a Sparco steering wheel. The suspension was rebuilt by the team at Suspension Technology Australia specifically for track use and it’s now fitted with Bilstein shock absorbers.

Due to the track-focussed nature of the car it’s not road-legal, as the modifications required to get it road-legal would cause too much of a performance compromise. As it stands it’s an ideal race car for anyone passionate about BMWs, particularly BMWs from the golden age when the kidney grills were a reasonable size.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Throttle Trader.

The post BMW E21 Racer – An Australian-Built Asphalt Weapon appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bmw-e21-race-car/
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“Pink Pig” ‘71 by Rawcar.com Photography...

“Pink Pig” ‘71 by Rawcar.com Photography www.rawcar.com/blog https://flic.kr/p/2irYwzx

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/633851249275568129

The Lego Creator Expert Mini Cooper – A 1,077 Piece Kit

This is the Lego Creator Expert Mini Cooper, it’s a 1,077 piece kit that includes a detailed engine bay (including engine) and a detailed interior, there’s even a little picnic basket that fits in the trunk.

Despite its humble beginnings, the Mini would become one of the most influential cars of the 20th century. Its unusual transversely mounted four-cylinder engine included a gearbox driving the front wheels – a layout that has since been adopted by many other automakers for the countless models from the 1960s to the present day.

The Lego version of the famous Mini is larger and more complex than the Lego cars many of us are used to, a kit with over 1,000 parts is no joke after all, but it might be just what many of us need due to social distancing and isolation during Covid-19.

Once completed the Lego Mini is surprisingly detailed, with period-correct Minilite wheels, fog lights on the bumper, a veneer-style dashboard, a turning steering wheel, and a moving gearshift and handbrake. The roof can be removed to showcase the interior with its tan colored and patterned seats.

The kit is capped off by a nicely detailed engine bay showing the correct inline-four cylinder engine and as mentioned above, there’s a picnic basket and blanket in the opening trunk.

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The post The Lego Creator Expert Mini Cooper – A 1,077 Piece Kit appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/lego-creator-expert-mini-cooper/
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ZIL-112S - Soviet Cobra by Rawcar.com Photography...

ZIL-112S - Soviet Cobra by Rawcar.com Photography www.rawcar.com/blog https://flic.kr/p/2izgg8F

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/633806202115178496

GAZ-21. Another view. by Rawcar.com Photography...

GAZ-21. Another view. by Rawcar.com Photography www.rawcar.com/blog https://flic.kr/p/2iDndoW

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/633783374324105216

The Datsun 2000 Sports – The Little Japanese Car That Beat Carroll Shelby

The Datsun 2000 Sports is a remarkably important car in the history of Datsun/Nissan, it was the first Japanese production car to break the 200 km/h mark (124 mph), it won the SCCA D Production Pacific Coast championship in 1968, and it finished a strong 9th in the 1968 Monte-Carlo Rally from a field of 243 cars.

By the standards of the 1960s the 2000 Sports was quite an advanced automobile, it was powered by a SOHC inline-4 U20 engine designed by Kenichi Sasaki of Nissan Motor’s First Institution Design Department. Much of its competition was still using pushrod engines, so the combination of a high-revving overhead cam and the car’s 5-speed gearbox put it leagues ahead of its rivals.

Known as the Datsun Fairlady in the Japanese and Australian markets, the car was never originally going to race in the 1968 SCCA D Production Pacific Coast championship. The car was chosen by Peter Brock to compete with the Toyota 2000GT in the racing series as a way to get back at Carroll Shelby – Brock was a former Shelby employee and he had originally been tapped by Toyota to run their racing efforts in the USA.

Toyota changed their minds at the last minute and went with the more established Shelby outfit, and Brock went hunting for a suitable Japanese sports car to beat both Toyota and Shelby to get even. He settled on the Datsun 2000 Sports, and using some old contacts he managed to convince Nissan to sponsor the effort.

By the end of the season Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) had successfully claimed the championship with Frank Monise behind the wheel.

Nissan sold the Datsun 2000 Sports from 1967 till 1970, it was directly targeted at European roadsters like the MGB, the Triumph TR6, the Sunbeam Alpine, and various offerings from Fiat and Alfa Romeo. The Datsun used independent front suspension with coil springs and tubular shock absorbers, in the rear the car used a traditional live axle on leaf springs with tubular shock absorbers.

Period magazine reviews of the little Datsun were overwhelmingly positive, praising the car’s advanced engine and its 5-speed gearbox, as well as its sharp handling. The engine was offered in two states of tune, the first was capable of 133 hp however the competition package was capable of 148 hp thanks to dual Mikuni/Solex carburetors and a special “B” model camshaft.

The car you see here is a 1969 Datsun 2000 Sports features color-matched wheels with chrome hubcaps, it has a tan soft top (manually operated), as well as chrome bumpers and chrome trim. Inside you’ll find a two-tone tan and black interior, and a 3-pod gauge package with a speedometer, tachometer, and combo oil pressure, engine temperature, fuel, and ammeter.

Classic Japanese sports cars like this have been surging in popularity in recent years so it’ll be interesting to see what this one sells for when it crosses the auction block with Mecum in mid-November in Las Vegas. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing, the car is being offered with no reserve.