Subject: It depends, but more than likely, it's a four-cylinder car. Author: bcweir as bcweir750 : member since January, 2006 : 4824 posts Posted on: 2008-11-14 20:27:53

There is another model known as a 320i/6. This had a 2.0L inline six cylinder (an M20 baby-six to be specific). These are very rare and likely sell for a few thousand dollars more than the much more common four cylinder cars. The more common (but still rare) six cylinder cars were known as 323i's. These are easily identified by the dual side mirrors and the twin outlet rear exhaust pipes.

The front subframes for the four cylinder cars and six cylinder cars are totally different. They are not interchangeable between engines, although they have the same mounting points on the chassis. Only six cylinder cars will have six cylinder subframes.

Depending on what year the car is, it either has a 120 hp 2.0L four cylinder (US 1977-1979) or a 108 hp 1.8L four cylinder (1980-1983).

All E21 six-cylinder cars are known as "grey market" cars because these were never officially imported into the USA by BMW. There were a few that were imported in through Canada, then fitted with a US style exhaust to meet emissions, borrowed from the E12 5-series cars. They were also likely to be fitted with US style lighting and front bumpers but some were not. Unless it was a carefully done conversion, it's likely to be a bit of an electrical mess by now.

If you find one with a six, expect to pay between $4,000 and up for one in decent shape. You might want to try looking for a four cylinder model to convert to a turbo. Doing this to a rarer six cylinder model will decrease its resale value considerably. Buyers who pay top dollar for these models are real sticklers for originality.

Just my $.02. Hope this helps

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• 320i a 4cyl or 6cyl? - ((((BIGANT)))) 2008-11-03 00:00:09 (81 views)
  • It depends, but more than likely, it's a four-cylinder car. - bcweir750 2008-11-14 20:27:53 (36 views)