[JamesCaton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1-LH »

Believe it or not, 15k USD.. I knew a friend in the business. Been searching for almost a year. Ran across this, and let me say.. I about fell over collapsed. The guy didn't know what he was selling, really.. I was nice about it and offered him 18k. I thought it was a joke, he turns around and says "No, are you joking? I want 15k to be done over with. Been on the market for a year and a half and I am done. Take it for 15k, none more."
This was when I was shaking so bad of excitement, I gave the guy 7 bills to play with for being such a gentleman.

If your friends can help me find cheap Bimmers...

Sounds like you got the deal of the century, man.
Congratulations.
Can't wait to see where you go with it!

[chapsbk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesCaton »

Sounds like you got the deal of the century, man.
Congratulations.
Can't wait to see where you go with it!

Thanks man. Appreciate it. I will keep everyone informed.

[nrz]

An Evo lip in the front really finishes off the period correctness of the car. Either way, great deal/purchase. I had BBS RGR's on mine and loved them, I don't think any BBS wheel looks bad on an E30 M3!

[chapsbk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrz »

An Evo lip in the front really finishes off the period correctness of the car. Either way, great deal/purchase. I had BBS RGR's on mine and loved them, I don't think any BBS wheel looks bad on an E30 M3!

Thanks, sir.
Yeah BBS are great on E30 Bimmers.

[Clubber]

Thanks for the heads up guys, I can't believe I missed this thread.
First of all, Congratulations ! You have acquired a wonderful piece of motorsport history. As you may already know, E30 M3 is the benchmark M car that ALL M cars are compared with.. So you can imagine the supremeness..

I will do my best to share some of my knowledge on these cars..

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1-LH »

Hi all, I am somewhat a new member, noobie, what ever you'd like to call it. But, i am getting a hold of a e30 m3 BMW. I have never owned a BMW before, just driven them for short periods of time. I love the classic looks of the M3's. Any current owners/past owners know of anything to let me know as insight? What is some common miss-haps and some great pointers to look out for on such a car? Would like to hear the feedback from all of you. Hope to stay in touch on this post. Thanks.

The biggest and most important problem with these cars is the RUST ! Make sure your car is as rust free as possible. It doesn't matter if the car lived by the sea and garaged all its life.. It WILL rust !
The main areas are footwell on the floor, windscreen surrounds, wheelwells and boot floor.

Then make sure the car is running fine, the engine is everything of this car, if it underperforms, the car lacks its character big time and rebuilds are very very expensive, especially for a 4cyl car. (7-9K$)

Oil starvation is the biggest cause of s14 engine failures in these cars, check your oil level religiously ! And also definately replace your oil pump if it hasn't already. If it won't work, it'll be too late when you notice it. Oil light activates at the lowest level which is AFTER all the damage is done.

Try to buy spare parts in doubles as everyday another spare part ends its production due to the cars age and you may never know when you will need the silliest things and you may not find it even if you have the money for it. Very frustrating !

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1-LH »

2 of my buddies gave me that recommendation to me. Supposedly they had just a little problem with cooling and suspension?
Thanks everyone! The M3 has 90k miles (original owner), BMW dealer serviced when written by mechanics. As for selling, I plan on not doing so. I want to keep this classic BMW for as long as I can.

Try to enjoy the brilliant chassis and driving pleasure of the E30 M3 and never mind the resale and value and all that head blowing stuff..
If you take good care of your car it will always appreciate in value which should be the bonus to the ownership not the reason.

As for driving tips I would advice one very very important thing. Make sure ALL your fluids are warmed up properly before you blast away. That doesn't mean just the engine temp. I mean oil temp, trans temp and everything.. !

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1-LH »

@Alex- Thank you! I don't want to ruin the exterior since it already is beautiful as is, almost pristine as they come.
I want to do VSR Stromüng exhaust.
Koni Adjustables
HnR GrpG race springs
Put on some BBS CH wheels (powder coated black)
Basically, I don't want to go too over board where it looks like a Nurburgring champion.

For susp. the most common setup which I also have is the bilstein sport shocks and H&R Race springs.
I have custom backbok only in my car and I think it doesn't need anything else or it will be too drooling on motorway. If you really want noise, invest in a DTM Airbox which is AWESOME !

My car @the track

Passion Track Day Korfez

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1-LH »

Thanks for the recommendations. BBS RS look very nice, will look into that.
Very good info on the cooling; i will be having a local BMW dealer servicing the car, they gave me great quotes of things to do and are actually very reasonable. I only trust true BMW service centers, or cars in general.

BBS RS is the ultimate looker but I use the RC which is the lightest. I prefer go then show... just avoid CH's. They look so out of place and are the heaviest mono-block wheels.

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1-LH »

Thanks, sir.
Yeah BBS are great on E30 Bimmers.

It is a good idea to use the BMW services for parts but you better find a specialist for old M cars or old BMW to have the best work done to her. New employees would know much about your car as they would know of an UFO !
Find a good M shop if you can !

Let me know if you need any more help..and now go out and attack the corners ! You now own the road version of the most successful racing car EVER !

[HarveyMushman]

Spectacular buy and nice pics!

Those wheels are OEM BMW Style 5's. They came as an option on the e39 5-series. Great wheels and similar to the RS, besides lacking a stepped lip.

My only suggestion is to remove that tint ASAP. Enjoy!

[chapsbk]

Thanks very much clubber! Best feedback I've seen any where. I will be contacting you further future questions or problems. Appreciate your feedback very much, I copied your post into a notepad file, so I always got the advice.

Thank you harvey!

[chapsbk]

Oh clubber, is there a particular DTM airbox? Pulling up around 12 results. Which kind??

[Chris from Cali]

This is a great thread. I really want an E30 and this has lots of good scoop... I've found a bunch of super-clean, relatively low-mileage E30 M3s for about $20K. Is that too much? I plan on stripping it to the metal, cage it, repaint, etc. I'm budgeting about $15-20K for the car and another $15K or so for the build - is that realistic? Thanks - can't wait to see your finished car, F1-LH.

[yzracer931]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris from Cali »

This is a great thread. I really want an E30 and this has lots of good scoop... I've found a bunch of super-clean, relatively low-mileage E30 M3s for about $20K. Is that too much? I plan on stripping it to the metal, cage it, repaint, etc. I'm budgeting about $15-20K for the car and another $15K or so for the build - is that realistic? Thanks - can't wait to see your finished car, F1-LH.

I would plan on spending more like 20k on the build. If you strip the entire car, repaint I would plan on spending somewhere in the ball park of 6-8k. Now you will have the engine out, might as well freshen up, strip block and repaint etc. If you plan on taking the car down to bare metal, are you going to going to remove all suspension components like A arms etc and paint as well. Price on the cage will vary on how sophisticated you want it. Now you are on to suspension, wheels, interior, exhaust. You seem like a very meticulous person from your guns and vehicles, I am sure it would turn out amazing. Can it be done for 15k, yes, it all depends on how much work you want to do yourself.