New BMW Owner - Questions
 

I've had my 1983 320i (e21) for about a month. I traded my Nikon D50 for it.

Anyway.. its in mint condition.. baby'd by its previous owner (mom)... she replaced alot of stuff on it.. its all "stock".. but brand new old parts.. if you know what i mean...

Anyway.. I'm looking to mod it more to my liking. I like the classy/old feel to it.. but I'd like some newer options, such as power windows/sunroof/locks.. keyless entry.. thats just interior crap though. id like a different body kit.. maybe lower it a bit (suspension work).. and im big into speed (have a 06 gsxr 750) so i'd like, eventually, to swap the engine. maybe some initial work for now to make me happy till i can afford to swap engines.. s14 looks like fun.. but again, im not a car buff.. im a software engineering major.. i know about electronics and such (mostly)..

anyway, any direction/help/all that would be greatly appreciated! ill be taking more pictures of the interior (its so clean.. no cracks in the ORIGINAL leather/seats/all that.)

oh.. jettronic is the... what is it? its in the glove box.. looks like some kind of CPU unit to something.. im assuming.. that oxygen sensor on the dash? or something to do with the fuel pump (i googled jettronic)..

and under my steering wheel is an "AUTOSAFE" box.. it has a single switch, im assuming on/off.. and a little hole.. maybe an LED in there? but it doesnt seem to do anything.. thoughts? the wires extend from the back of it to behind my center console.. im going to have to go in and figure out what it does.. wondering if yall have a quick answer to that though.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...m/363a08a6.jpg

File is too large to post.. and its a low res/small one.. and i dont feel like editing it.. so thats the link to the only pic i have online right now!

Also.. if anyone likes my avatar you can use it.. i randomly took it in my car the other day.. i have a really really high res (good for backgrounds) version.. i suck at photography but i ahve to brag it turned out awesome! so yeah

sorry for long post. ::goes away::

Welcome to the forums :wave Jettronic is the name of the E21 fuel injection system, so that box is likely the engine management CPU :)

does that mean i can tap into the cpu? like through a serial and bust out one of my laptops?

sorry i watch too many movies.

I don't think that's possible. May risk damage to the CPU. Very beautiful car :shades

Thanks! I'm looking forward to modifying it. I want to keep the original look, but throw new things on. I want to start saving towards putting newer lights on it (angel eyes perhaps?).. although without an electronic system to aim them down.. like my bike has.. i dunno.. dont want to blind people haha

Do you know anything about the electronic systems i asked about up on the top (keyless entry, remote start, autosafe, power windows/locks/sunroof).. just wondering if there are already kits for any of that, or if im going to have to mod it from scratch. its fine iether way, just want some info :)

and your car is cool too.. although i can only see the front in your sig.. still a beauty. white rules! :)

Thanks :) I'm sure adding electric to windows and a sunroof would be very complicated and engine swaps will depend on which engines will fit the existing mounts unless you're into welding new mounts :deal

Welcome and sweet e21. You can swap a s14 into it I have ridden in one and its a total sleeper.

how much does a s14 generally cost? i can start doing some research into it.. just wondering.. and could i do the swap myself? ( i don't know a ton about cars.. but im very quick at learning new things)

Some info: http://www.bmwworld.com/engines/s14.htm