At a loss - I need advice/help/ideas

This post is going to be a mess, but please stick with me!  Not many people here know who I am other than the fact I frequent mazdeuce's threads, so let's change that!  I'm in my early 30's, work for one of the US auto manufacturers, and have a sickness when it comes to cars.  Not that I've had anything of particular interest, but I'm always mentally planning a "one day/dream" build that never comes to fruition and I want to change that.  I grew up in a household that worshipped at the alter of GM muscle/pony cars, so car culture is ingrained in my DNA.  My first vehicle was a '00 S10 Xtreme that you would have swore I was going to LS+T56 swap yesterday if you ever spoke with me, so this "sickness" has been around half my life. 

The most recent car I had that struck a cord with me was a '94 E36 325i that I owned/drove for just shy of a year.  If reliability, maintenance, and child seat issues weren't present, that car would have been my image of perfection: compact, balanced, RWD, manual... just a bit underpowered.  So here's where I want suggestions/ideas/concepts to plan a build.

Goals: I do believe in the old adage "Fast, Reliable, Cheap - pick two" and since I'm poor with minimal skills, I'm going with "Reliable and Cheap".  I want a compact/balanced sedan (or wagon) that's ideally RWD, so the E36 and E46 tend to be top of my list. That said, my fellow GRMers have been in/around/under so many projects that I cannot even fathom, that I'm open for suggestions.  Relatively modern is preferred from a safety standpoint, as I intend this to be a DD/backup family hauler.  Thankfully BMWs tend to chew up cooling systems and spit out warped heads, so it's possible to find swapable chassis pretty cheap.  The power question is where this gets interesting.  For years I've been saying "LS swap is cheap, reliable power" and then I drove my buddy's Ecoboost Mustang for a week as he was moving and needed my Escape.  This highlighted to me that I don't need crazy power to be happy, that little Ecoboost typically puts ~270hp to the rear wheels, and that is now my target (while hopefully running on regular grade pump gas).  While any junkyard 4.8L LS truck motor should accomplish this with no problems (once converted to a car intake/FEAD) I'm not sure it's the only option to be considered from a budget standpoint to get to my meager power goals, but a truck motor would also likely be happy to run on 87-octane so maybe?  I'd like to run a manual, but most options for an LS are easily double the cost for a rebuilt automatic, so I'm not going to be picky here, other than wondering what other options I should consider?  Maybe an RB25 with some light massaging?

I warned you this post would be a mess!  Am I going to regret it?  I don't know, but I hope y'all will be kind.

To summarize: I want to plan a build, maybe around an E36/46, maybe with an LS/SBF/RB swap, with a target of _just_ 270whp, with a "cheap & reliable" mindset.  No intention of racing, just a fun driver.  All suggestions welcome.

If you want cheap and reliable I'd say avoid planning to swap it.  Either find a factory hot rod that is already there or boost the existing motor of something that pushes all the other buttons.  You don't mention a budget, are we just thinking wagons or are sedans in the mix as well?  Used luxo-barges are a good way to get into fast cars.  BMW 540 perhaps?  If wagon, Audi S4?  Just some thoughts...

G35 sedan could be a good platform for that without needing the swap, and they're pretty cheap now.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

G35 sedan could be a good platform for that without needing the swap, and they're pretty cheap now.

I was going to recommend the same. 

Just a fun driver maybe go 540i6?

Here is the deal.

You say you have few skills at this point in time. No big deal.

The good news is that by the time you finish any drivetrain swap, you are going to have some mad fab skills. They just come with the package. You are also going to have a lot of tools and an empty savings account.

The bad news is that by the time you are done ( or before) you are going to realize how you should have done the swap; that is those new-found skills talking to you.

The safe compromise is to do a swap that has been well developed and for which there is aftermarket suppliers. Miata and BMW V8 swaps seem to fit this niche. So do Coyote Fox bodies and MGB V8 conversions.

I don't want my projects cars to be the DD car. It takes all the fun out of a crazy car if you need to rely on it to get you to work.

NOHOME said:

You say you have few skills at this point in time. No big deal.

Thanks for the response NOHOME (and the others as well).  I should have added that while *I* personally don't have many skills, any work would actually be done in the workspace my brother & dad have at their place, which has a two-post lift and lots tools.  They've done various classic car restorations/teardowns, Jeep rebuilds, truck chassis swaps, etc. so the project as a whole won't be handled by virgin eyes/hands/whathaveyou, but metal fab/welding might be pushing their expertise.  I guess part of me was/is simply looking for a project that could be not overly-complicated for me to spend some time with my old man in his retirement days, since he and my oldest brother have shared that experience multiple times but I don't really have the desire/budget to pursue a classic car (weekend/fair weather driver) build...

Define 'cheap'...What's your all-in budget limit to having a complete "reliable and cheap" car?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

G35 sedan could be a good platform for that without needing the swap, and they're pretty cheap now.

Not a bad consideration!  I loved the G35C back in they day, the sedan... not so much.  The newer G37S isn't half bad though, I just seem to remember the interiors being a few steps behind the Germans.  If I'm to rule out a build/project I'll likely just hold off until my family hauler lease is up, and consider something like a W204 C350 Sport / E90 335D if I can find one cheap enough and tack on an extended warranty...

Driven5 said:

Define 'cheap'...What's your all-in budget limit to having a complete "reliable and cheap" car?

Since mechanic special E36/46s + engine swap has been the target for a while, I'd say under $10k and the further below, the better?  I have a feeling my old man (and likely my mom as well) would look at the whole experience with the viewpoint "can we replicate this and make money off it" based on the way my brother has been flipping old Jeeps (but none of that is important for this thread)...

Just buy an E46 M3 and you get reliable performance greater than your swapped goal. 

The Artist Formerly Known as Giant Purple Snorklewacker said:

Just buy an E46 M3 and you get reliable performance greater than your swapped goal. 

 

 

Needs to be a sedan/wagon but still not the worst suggestion

Foxbody ford or G body GM sedan could be done well under your budget and power goals but will lack the safety your looking for.  Can you get an ecoboost taurus sho that cheap yet? 2wd 90'S cherokee maybe. 

I did the E36 SBF with a T5.  For WAY under $10k.  There are plenty out there in the forumsphere to look over as you decide how to solve the various issues that arise.  It's easy to hit your HP number with a junkyard EFI Explorer V8, a new set of valve springs, and a camshaft.  The motor and transmission are a good fit for the chassis and they're of comparable weight to the stock equipment.

It was my second swap car, and it still took me a long time.  Then again, a good chunk of that time was focused on track-related setup issues that you won't face.

A couple of my friends have taken it out for several sessions too.  They said they didn't really appreciate how special it was going to be, until they got behind the wheel.  It's crazy, having an E36 with that kind of torque on tap & no turbo to spool up.

JBasham said:

I did the E36 SBF with a T5.  For WAY under $10k.

Awesome to hear, thanks! SBF is definitely in the cards since the supply of T5s seems to be more favorable than T56s.  I had read into the alphabet cams and whatnot a while ago, it might be time to revisit... Is E36V8 still the only commercially available mounts?  I had read some less than promising impressions on their quality and didn't see a whole lot of feedback on NVH but maybe I'm just failing to recall.  Even my old school GM loving family enjoyed driving my E36, so it remains high on my list.  I also appreciate that installing/upgrading the diff is worlds easier than on the E46...

Is RWD a must? You could get a nice WRX or MazdaSpeed 6 well inside your budget and skip the difficulty of a swap for a novice. Each would have a decent enough aftermarket that you and your pops could spend time wrenching together adding power and making it your own.

I guess technically, you could convert a Subbie to RWD too.

I know the swap is kind of the whole point here, but $10k can get you a 1st gen CTS-V which is everything that you want right off the shelf.

If a manual isn't required, I'm seeing Chrysler 300SRT8s well inside of your budget too.