The Ultimate $500 Driving Machine

[tigger]

I just can't drive some boring, reliable, cheap car. Like my Bonneville. Oh no.

I originally bought this BMW just to flip it for a little money ... and continue driving the Bonneville (despite it being a total microcosm for GM's failure as a car manufacturer), but damn, even in its terrible condition it's so much fun.

Anyway, this is a 1984 BMW 325e. It's a 5 speed with a ludicrously high rear axle ratio (2.9:1 I think). At 75mph it turns 3,000rpm in 4th gear. Of course since it has the 2.7l "eta" engine it only spins to 5,000rpm, but it does make nearly 180lb.ft. of torque. Which is pretty noticeable in such a lightweight RWD car.

The chassis has 200k miles on it (feels like maybe 125k ) but the engine was rebuilt 5 years ago and has less than 10k miles on it. Problem is that this car has basically sat in a field for 10 years. It looks like it, smells like it and acts like it.

So I'm just cleaning it up and taking it one step at a time. I might paint it white, rip those hideous bumpers off and do something with the exhaust, but that's the extent of my plans right now. Oh and the front seats ... it needs new/reupholstered seats.

I know a lot of you guys probably know much more about E30s than me (not saying much) so by all means educate me. I want to get this car prepped for some entry level autocross and I'm on a pretty limited budget at the moment.

[stevanford1]

That drivers seat looks like its been raped. The body looks like its in decent condition from what i can see. Get a shorter diff ratio if you want to compete in Autocross and gut it.

[Posmo]

Shorter diff, 325 crankshaft and a 50$ paint job would do wonders for that car

[LeMans GTR]

My reaction upon seeing the interior pic was; Holy Shit! what happened!

[Adunaphel]

Originally Posted by Posmo

Shorter diff, 325 crankshaft and a 50$ paint job would do wonders for that car

What this guy said. Just do a flat black roller job, you know you want to.

[efoolution]

I see potential greatness there ...

But only 10000 miles in 5 years after the engine was rebuild? That sounds fishy ...

[Symbotic]

Ed China says "A little leather conditioner and these seats will be good as new"

[public]

I knew E30:s usually have worn drivers' seats, but that's getting ridiculous..

[syncview]

^What? are the owners known to be sex machines?

[lv2xlr8]

Originally Posted by Symbotic

Ed China says "A little leather conditioner and these seats will be good as new"

Result!

[public]

Originally Posted by syncview

^What? are the owners known to be sex machines?

No, that would mean the rear seat would be worn. The drivers' seats' wear probably means the drivers are more of a self-pleasuring ilk

[Der Stig]

I totally knew you'd gotten an E30. Good choice

Strip it out, 325is crank, get a new muffler box, do an engine service (replace belts, A/C removal or recharge, etc.), and get some H&R springs/Bilstein shocks (about $660, but don't forget to get HD shock mounts). You can get away with just springs for a while, but they'll obviously shorten the life of the shocks.

UUC parts generally have a good rep, but I'd definitely spend a lot of time doing research before you spend more than the car's sale value

I also would like to give you this site as a reputable source:
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/

[tigger]

Thanks guys.

I don't know what the hell happened to the driver's seat but it is destroyed and the passenger seat isn't much better. Funny thing is that the rear seat only has one fairly small rip in it.

As for the low miles on the rebuild the car was basically a second vehicle. A spare, I guess. After looking it over I believe it. The block has been painted, the engine mounts look great, it's got a fairly new radiator, etc etc. Because of that I'm not too keen on ripping it apart to throw a 2.5l crank in it. I was thinking about a head swap and a new cam, if anything.

But anything that expensive will have to wait. Including the suspension, which is what I really want to do. I certainly wouldn't mind another 1,000rpm to play with but it's got enough get-up-and-go for now. Actually, I'll probably find a shorter ratio, limited-slip differential before any other drivetrain/suspension mods are done.

As for painting it black, man it's tempting, but I've done it to oh ... 3 cars now? Time for something new.

[EyeMWing]

Oh thank god, when I first opened this thread I was thinking "Someone else thinks it's a brilliant idea to race an E30 in Lemons."

Also, please assure me that you have NOTHING to do with the hood on that Saturn.

[tigger]

If I was going to run something in LeMons, it would be the Bonneville.

I actually put that hood on the Saturn ... after it was driven underneath the back of a lifted truck. He hit the truck so hard that the trailer hitch put a hole in the windshield. The core support is trash too, but we just replaced the hood and windshield. You can even see how the front of the fenders are actually lower than the hood. I guess it's been unintentionally riced .

[Posmo]

Originally Posted by tigger

Thanks guys.

I don't know what the hell happened to the driver's seat but it is destroyed and the passenger seat isn't much better. Funny thing is that the rear seat only has one fairly small rip in it.

As for the low miles on the rebuild the car was basically a second vehicle. A spare, I guess. After looking it over I believe it. The block has been painted, the engine mounts look great, it's got a fairly new radiator, etc etc. Because of that I'm not too keen on ripping it apart to throw a 2.5l crank in it. I was thinking about a head swap and a new cam, if anything.

But anything that expensive will have to wait. Including the suspension, which is what I really want to do. I certainly wouldn't mind another 1,000rpm to play with but it's got enough get-up-and-go for now. Actually, I'll probably find a shorter ratio, limited-slip differential before any other drivetrain/suspension mods are done.

As for painting it black, man it's tempting, but I've done it to oh ... 3 cars now? Time for something new.

WIth a 325i crank you'd get around 2500 more rpm to play with. It transforms the whole engine from an eco-pussy one to a screaming german straight six. The 50$ paint job doesn't have to be a flat black one, you could, you know.. paint it red..?

[tigger]

Originally Posted by Posmo

WIth a 325i crank you'd get around 2500 more rpm to play with. It transforms the whole engine from an eco-pussy one to a screaming german straight six. The 50$ paint job doesn't have to be a flat black one, you could, you know.. paint it red..?

2500 more RPM? ... Goddamnit, no, no I can't do that now. Even though that would be a-fucking-mazing. Maybe down the road I'll have the funds to build a fresh, modified 2.5l, convert it to MegaSquirt, build a proper exhaust, etc etc. But everything is on a shoestring budget right now. Story of my life.

I've decided I'll go ahead and paint it with a dark gray primer/sealer. I actually want to paint the car white, but I think a red or silver would go down a lot better on the gray primer. Hopefully I'll get to the primer here in the next few days (the weather is supposed to be perfect this week).

[Der Stig]

Lachssilber. The end.

[Posmo]

Originally Posted by tigger

2500 more RPM? ... Goddamnit, no, no I can't do that now. Even though that would be a-fucking-mazing. Maybe down the road I'll have the funds to build a fresh, modified 2.5l, convert it to MegaSquirt, build a proper exhaust, etc etc. But everything is on a shoestring budget right now. Story of my life.

I've decided I'll go ahead and paint it with a dark gray primer/sealer. I actually want to paint the car white, but I think a red or silver would go down a lot better on the gray primer. Hopefully I'll get to the primer here in the next few days (the weather is supposed to be perfect this week).

Excuse me, I checked, it's only 2k rpm extra Anyway, that, a chip and an exhaust are the first mods you should do to a 325e. If you keep the original dials, you even get the awesome sight of the rev counter overlapping the economy gauge I suggest youpaint the car with red rustoleum, and paint everything else in gloss black, sort of going for this look:



The bonus with painting the car red is that you don't need to worry about the interior &engine bay being a different colour to the rest of the car Besides, white e30 are so 1990's..
Tips for the painting:
http://www.rickwrench.com/index79mas...llarpaint.html

[LeMans GTR]

May I suggest a really dark blue? With silver or black on everything else? BMWs work great in blue.