Learn me E30's

HStockSolo wrote: I don't get the fixation on the E30 on this board. It doesn't make sense. They are fairly poor handling. The steering is slow. Gas mileage is horrible. The I6 engines are weak and heavy. Sure, they are nice, classic looking little bricks. It just takes a lot of work just to make one perform close to an E36.

...or leave them in the dust.

Easy to work on, good looking (well, not mine...) and used to be cheap as dirt. Big trunk, seating for 4, and really easy to make fast/handle well affordably. That ugly POS in the photo above cost me less than $10k to buy, drive for 3yrs, change into a full-blown race car and compete with. It is capable of top 5 finishes in BMW or NASA (the driver managed to screw that up every single time this season, however).

So the real question is why aren't you obsessed with E30s?

Take E36 M.

Steal the good stuff and swap into an E30. Add a dash of suspenions/brakes/tires. And you have an E36 that's smaller, looks better and weighs 500lbs less.

An E30 with 235whp (like my OBD-I S52) is an INSANE amount of fun.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: So the real question is why aren't you obsessed with E30s?

I was for awhile. Then I realized my folly and bought an E36. :P

All this e30 talk has me rethinking if I should keep my '87 325is or sell it.

I bought the car 22 months ago with intentions of making it into a track car. Two summers have passed and it is still mostly stock, just the way I bought it. The biggest work I have had done is a refresh of the trans with new bushings, coupling, guibo and Z3 short shift. Rear pads. New catback muffler just last month. Bought with 139k, now has 149k.
With changes at work, I no longer have a company car and the BMW has been in daily driver status since late Sept. I am torn with the idea of do I want to start winter driving it or should I sell it. My daily driver needs could be better suited by a Volvo V70. Of course, the BMW is in great shape for daily driving and I could easily drive it anywhere but it seems sort of wrong to "use the car up." It would be a perfect track car.
Here is an album on the car shown in chronological order. Some pictures have captions under them and the last group of photos were taken today without prepping the car. A lot of the pictures highlight the slight rust which by Ohio standards would be called pretty much rust free.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/576561728HNsaAD

HStockSolo wrote: I don't get the fixation on the E30 on this board. It doesn't make sense. They are fairly poor handling. The steering is slow. Gas mileage is horrible. The I6 engines are weak and heavy. Sure, they are nice, classic looking little bricks. It just takes a lot of work just to make one perform close to an E36.

Poor handling? Easily remedied by stuff GRM guys live to do.

Gas mileage? Mine was pretty good on the highway. On the track, yeah, it gobbles fuel like a V8, but really, I don't care.

I6 may be heavy, but weak? In what way? They are pretty much indestructible if you keep timing belts on them. Power-wise they were darn good for the 1980s with displacement usually seen in 4 cylinders.

It takes lots of work to make on perform like an E36? Yeah, okay. Please tell that to the Spec 3 guys that seem to constantly be in my way. And I'm only a mid-pack driver. The E36 is a decent car but it was the beginning of the 'built to a price' trajectory BMW went on with their entry level cars. I've been completely underwhelmed by the E36's I've driven (compared to the E30 for more money). I love me the E30, and this is from a guy who used to dismiss them as overpriced yuppie mobiles.

Why hasn't an E30 M3 dominated the SCCA STX class? It seems like it is always behind the E36 325s and 328s. The lighter weight of the E30 is a red herring. The front tires of a M20 powered E30s have to handle as much weight as the front tires of an E36, and the E36 has room to run wider tires.

I agree there is lots about the E36 that is kinda junky--it's just faster junky.

z31maniac wrote: Take E36 M. Steal the good stuff and swap into an E30. Add a dash of suspenions/brakes/tires. And you have an E36 that's smaller, looks better and weighs 500lbs less. An E30 with 235whp (like my OBD-I S52) is an INSANE amount of fun.

Or you can get an E36 with the E30 rear suspension. a 318ti

mr2peak wrote: You guys are crazy, there are plenty of $2500 E30's out there. I bought my old car for $3800, 318is with a vanos M50 swap, full suspension bushings and bilsteins, HIDs, and euroweaves. $6k can get you an S50 swap car...

$6k, eh?

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110422

...not an S50, either.

What the heck. Did they double in price in the last two years? I almost bought a 91 318is with an m50 swap and fresh suspension no rust for $4000 in north carolina.

Again, not everyone bases their car choice based solely on SCCA classification and auto-x.

HStockSolo wrote: Why hasn't an E30 M3 dominated the SCCA STX class? It seems like it is always behind the E36 325s and 328s. The lighter weight of the E30 is a red herring. The front tires of a M20 powered E30s have to handle as much weight as the front tires of an E36, and the E36 has room to run wider tires. I agree there is lots about the E36 that is kinda junky--it's just faster junky.

njansenv wrote: Again, not everyone bases their car choice based solely on SCCA classification and auto-x.

Yeah, SCCA, who are they? Oh right, that other racing organization... With the great number of places to race E30/E36 cars in NASA and BMWCCA I sometimes forget people may still try to run one with them.

The one reason I still hesitate on selling mine is it does make for a good track car, where the slow steering is less of an issue. However, for the foreseeable future my focus is autox and aroundhere that means SCCA.

Taiden wrote: What the heck. Did they double in price in the last two years? I almost bought a 91 318is with an m50 swap and fresh suspension no rust for $4000 in north carolina.

Not double, but GOOD cars are up a good 30-50%.

There are some good, cheap examples here in TX. Spec E30 hasn't really taken off in the region that I've seen.