These days, it's very easy to find discarded examples of the BMW E36 3 Series in the big self-service junkyards of California, and its E30 predecessors and E46 successors are commonplace as well. The original 3 Series, the E21, was sold in the United States from the 1977 through 1983 model years. Here's a first-year-of-importation model that I discovered in a Northern California self-service junkyard a few weeks ago.
There were six-cylinder E21s, but all of the American-market ones had members of the M10 straight-four engine family, same as the BMW 2002. In 1977, this 2.0-liter engine was rated at 110 horsepower, which was a decent power figure in a year in which the most powerful new Camaro you could buy offered a mere 170 hp.
Volvo had made four-wheel-disc brakes standard equipment back in the 1960s, but BMW was still using rear drums on the early 320i.
171,768 miles on the clock, which is very good for a car from the middle 1970s.
In America, BMW made the transition from being a semi-marginal brand for weirdo car enthusiasts to being a mainstream status-symbol brand during the reign of the E21, so this car is the one that made BMW a star on this side of the Atlantic.
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![](https://edgecast-img.yahoo.net/mysterio/api/E75AC027FEA927DE7DDD5F58578D019AEE83A529F809A489B66158D0A30741BC/autoblog/resizefill_w1600_h898;quality_80;format_webp;cc_31536000;/http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/1600x898 0 0/resize/716x402!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/8ece0c7a59e28283cd3a1a16f2ae49f9/205169272/06 - 1977 BMW 320i in California wrecking yard - photo by Murilee Martin.jpg)
There were six-cylinder E21s, but all of the American-market ones had members of the M10 straight-four engine family, same as the BMW 2002. In 1977, this 2.0-liter engine was rated at 110 horsepower, which was a decent power figure in a year in which the most powerful new Camaro you could buy offered a mere 170 hp.
![](https://edgecast-img.yahoo.net/mysterio/api/D89B38160EBD3D9405AD56004E8E6B20CB9D1093E88696C02D4DD9761C367020/autoblog/resizefill_w1600_h898;quality_80;format_webp;cc_31536000;/http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/1600x898 0 0/resize/716x402!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/20cfdd331904901fb6666fda2881dbca/205169276/17 - 1977 BMW 320i in California wrecking yard - photo by Murilee Martin.jpg)
Volvo had made four-wheel-disc brakes standard equipment back in the 1960s, but BMW was still using rear drums on the early 320i.
![](https://edgecast-img.yahoo.net/mysterio/api/CEB95BF4D04E9E7C1C3B83A429BC63CAD666C923DF72E341F0D79A287F4A9055/autoblog/resizefill_w1600_h898;quality_80;format_webp;cc_31536000;/http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/1600x898 0 0/resize/716x402!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/b12cf9c7f423a08014d4d2113f8afccd/205169277/01 - 1977 BMW 320i in California wrecking yard - photo by Murilee Martin.jpg)
171,768 miles on the clock, which is very good for a car from the middle 1970s.
In America, BMW made the transition from being a semi-marginal brand for weirdo car enthusiasts to being a mainstream status-symbol brand during the reign of the E21, so this car is the one that made BMW a star on this side of the Atlantic.
Related Video:
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