As I was doing further body work on the 320i this evening I decided to run the VIN # on the left front strut panel (driver side). The VIN there was "07970597" and on either end was a stamp version of the BMW logo. This is a mark for a euro car. Turns out that this part of the car came from a 316 dated 9/82 also noted to have right hand drive.
Use this link to decode your BMW. It works great for older Bimmers. It asks you to input the last eight digits of your vin. US and Euro models work on it.
www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cg
This car must have had some rebuilding after an accident sometime after 9/82 and acquired a panel from the 316 donor car. That would explain the minor misfitment of my two new wing panels. The driver side panel has too much gap between the door and the wing. The other side fits just fine, except that the grille doesn't fit as tight as it should. This spells out a slight misalignment of the two front strut panels. Not much I can do except adjust the wing panels to fit or get the frame straightened. I never noticed a driving issue with the car so I may just need to make the 3-5mm adjustment to make it work.
If it weren't for the euro VIN, you couldn't tell the car had work done on it.
I test clear-coated the front valance and wing panels. They look great! The mettalic paint definitely deepens with the coating and brings out a wonderful luster. The panels look like a shop did them. I can't wait to buff them out.
If this is the way the Toredor Red looks, I'm keeping it instead of going back to the Chestnut Red. Ford paint or not, the color looks hot on the E21.
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