Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » I want an E30, and I blame you. 1 2

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  Dec. 2, 2011 12:31 a.m. BoostedBrandon HalfDork

  I find this online and I'm really interested.

  http://www.kyclassifieds.com/ad152958.htm

  Good deal?

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  Dec. 2, 2011 5:11 a.m. ddavidv SuperDork

  Wow, what a terrible advert. It only says "325". If it's not a 325i, then no, I wouldn't bother. A 325 has the yawner 2.7 eta engine with the forklift rev limit. If you're going to do it, do it right.

  Awww...I could've had a falcon!

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  Dec. 2, 2011 5:31 a.m. speedblind Reader

  For $1,200 it's worth a look. Most E30s in that range are either poorly-done track wannabes or are covered in glow sticks and colored wire loom. Sometimes a poorly-written ad is the sign of an owner that doesn't know what they have.

  Loved my E30s, all of 'em. Miss the little buggers sometimes.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 6:41 a.m. jrw1621 SuperDork

  I would look at it for reasons noted of poorly written and the buyer not being a pro at selling a car.
  I stumbled onto my e30 because the seller listed it only as a BMW 3 series. Never did he mention "325is" or 5 speed but did reference a recent clutch. The picture showed the "is" front air-dam (if you knew what you were looking for.)
  

  It does likely have the slower 2.7L engine.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 8:06 a.m. z31maniac SuperDork

  Engine swaps are easy enough.

  I'd be much more interested in the condition of the shell vs the motor in it.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 8:58 a.m. kreb SuperDork

  I've been perusing the market. e30s bottomed a number of years ago and are now increasing. It pisses me off that I could have bought a cherry 1987 325is with upgraded suspension 10 years ago for $4000, and the same car costs as much or more now! That car's definitely worth a look though. At that price point, you don't have a lot to loose.

  It is better to wear out than to rust out.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 9:37 a.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  ad is dead. what year was it?

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Dec. 2, 2011 9:55 a.m. jrw1621 SuperDork

  belteshazzar wrote: ad is dead. what year was it?

  '87 4 door in dark blue
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  Dec. 2, 2011 9:58 a.m. failboat HalfDork

  are teh 325e's really THAT bad?

  For your health.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 10:13 a.m. ditchdigger Dork

  The eta motors feel like a diesel. All grunt and they give out at 4000rpm. The ports and valves in the head are tiny compared to the M20B25 pieces. There is a 50hp difference between the I and E motors.

  Yes with a good chip they get better but they still have that diesel feel.

  "Sweat is what makes it rock and roll, otherwise it is just folk music with drums"

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  Dec. 2, 2011 10:28 a.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  i was making sure it wasn't an '88 SuperETA. I mishmashed one of those with 325i parts and made something better than either.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Dec. 2, 2011 10:36 a.m. z31maniac SuperDork

  belteshazzar wrote: i was making sure it wasn't an '88 SuperETA. I mishmashed one of those with 325i parts and made something better than either.

  That ones a rare piece of kit.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 1:38 p.m. BoostedBrandon HalfDork

  All this BMW stuff is greek to me, but what I've read on here I've heard they're a fantastic little chassis, and it had a good price point and has the right number of pedals.

  This is where I would put my signature if I had one...

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  Dec. 2, 2011 1:55 p.m. speedblind Reader

  BoostedBrandon wrote: All this BMW stuff is greek to me, but what I've read on here I've heard they're a fantastic little chassis, and it had a good price point and has the right number of pedals.

  Pretty much, though with age and cheapness comes the usual Internet nonsense. It's tough to get a straight answer when modifying them, though you can usually get decent info if you stick to the track sections of the forums. Go too close to the Reader's Rides sections and before you know it you'll have 205 tires on a 9" wheel that you recently painted neon yellow. Hard to come back from that.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 2:57 p.m. Brett_Murphy HalfDork

  I picked up a SuperETA (Bronzit, two door, local to Raleigh, NC since 1988) for $500 with the intention of selling it to my younger brother, who needed a car at the time. That didn't work out, so. I sold it for $500. I should have kept it and put the 325I top end on it, but it was an auto, and I was playing around with a 325ix at the time.

  If brute force isn't solving your problem, you're not using enough.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:19 p.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  the 325e has an engine known as an ETA, it is a 2.7 liter straight six that has a power curve and efficiency that reminds people of a diesel.

  the 325i motor is the same but different. it's only 2.5 liters, but the whole top half of the motor is designed to breath a lot better.

  if you combine the 325e block with the upper half of a 325i the combo will have very low compression.

  in '88 bmw consolidated a bit. they still offered the 325i engine as the year before. the 2.7 ETA engine for that year had the same actual head casting as the higher horsepower 2.5 motor, and came with pistons designed to work with it. the only things that are "ETA" about it is the camshaft, they did not include the inner valve springs, and the intake manifold/throttlebody/etc is a lot smaller. an '88 325e engine (or 528e) is called a SuperETA for this reason.

  i dyno'd my stock SuperETA, and again once i had put 325i parts in it. at no point did the stock engine make more hp or torque than the hybrid version.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:24 p.m. irish44j Dork

  you guys can all suck it......me and my M10 will go to a quiet corner and sulk by ourselves...

  Josh 91 wheel horsepower 318i

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:41 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  My problem with the (now-appreciating) E30, is that the (still-depreciating) E36 exists.

  Kinda like the 924 vs 944 argument. When the superior-in-every-way car is the same price, there is no reason to settle for the lessor.

  Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Javelin 360 / GoKart / 86 944 Sport / 01 Grand Prix GT / 06 Mazda5 M5

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:42 p.m. 93EXCivic SuperDork

  Javelin wrote: My problem with the (now-appreciating) E30, is that the (still-depreciating) E36 exists. Kinda like the 924 vs 944 argument. When the superior-in-every-way car is the same price, there is no reason to settle for the lessor.

  Except the 924S exist as well.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:44 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  93EXCivic wrote:

  Javelin wrote: My problem with the (now-appreciating) E30, is that the (still-depreciating) E36 exists. Kinda like the 924 vs 944 argument. When the superior-in-every-way car is the same price, there is no reason to settle for the lessor.

  Except the 924S exist as well.

  Which is a 944 in drag, so the point is moot. Also 931's, 924 Carrera GT's, etc not included (ditto with E30 M3's). I'm talking the base-old plain-jane stuff we can buy for $2000 all day, anywhere in the country.

  Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Javelin 360 / GoKart / 86 944 Sport / 01 Grand Prix GT / 06 Mazda5 M5

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:45 p.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  i greatly prefer the size of the e30.
  

  the quality of the e30 also seems superior to me, inside and out.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Dec. 2, 2011 3:48 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  belteshazzar wrote: i greatly prefer the size of the e30. the quality of the e30 also seems superior to me, inside and out.

  While I generally agree with you on size, every BMW I have ever had to deal with (and that's been a lot of them) has had serious "quality" issues (mostly wiring/electrics), so I wouldn't rate any of them "superior"...

  Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Javelin 360 / GoKart / 86 944 Sport / 01 Grand Prix GT / 06 Mazda5 M5

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  Dec. 2, 2011 4:28 p.m. kreb SuperDork

  i dyno'd my stock SuperETA, and again once i had put 325i parts in it. at no point did the stock engine make more hp or torque than the hybrid version.

  Did you dyno the hybrid? If so, what sort of output did you get?

  It is better to wear out than to rust out.

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  Dec. 2, 2011 4:33 p.m. belteshazzar SuperDork

  the hybrid peaked at around 160whp and roughly equal torque, on a dynojet. it's been a few years now, so the exact numbers are a little hazy. i do remember people telling me i would loose that crazy low-rpm pull that the ETA's have, and the dyno proved that inaccurate.

  spending money I don't have to buy parts I don't need to impress people I don't know

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  Dec. 2, 2011 4:43 p.m. friedgreencorrado SuperDork

  failboat wrote: are teh 325e's really THAT bad?

  It's a BMW that doesn't rev. The eta was an attempt to increase fuel economy by reducing the operating range of the engine.
  

  

  How can it be a midlife crisis, when I've driven sportscars my entire life?

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