How to find project cars

[MrRamen]

What is the secret to finding cars that are cheap as hell? I see so many people finding cars that are used as donors for their swaps, or with shot interiors. Autotrader and craigslist are only so helpful. There's got to be a secret.

I want a cheap-ass, ready to be stripped down to track day beater 97-02 BMW 540i 6-speed. I want the car to be on its last legs, wanting its pitiful interior to be stripped and the sound deadening gutted. A roll cage installed to stiffen along with strut bars. I also want the car to be worth the new bushings, M5 rollbars, etc. that makes it a track day beater. I want the engine to want a rebuild and/or supercharger and not blow up on me.

I know I'm daydreaming, but anyone have any advice?

[pitbulldrifter]

craigslist

[theseeker411]

It's gonna be pretty much impossible to find an e39 540i/6 "beater." And why you would want one as a track day car is beyond me, especially when there are many other much better options in the BMW line up for a track day car. Nothing about the e39 540i/6 is cheap man, especially the V8.

Don't blame you at all for daydreaming man, i do it all the time.

[fivefourzero]

e39 + track = why?


but try http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cg...mit=++++go++++

[stig]

Any particular reason you want to track an E39?

[MrRamen]

Dunno why exactly, just the daydream of stripping out and prepping a track/drift E39 hit me pretty hard. I know the E39 M5's are good track cars, so why wouldn't a massaged 540i with some more grunt be able to do the same? After the suspension is modded too of course.

Well, I am open to recommendations, even to those outside of BMW, but not outside Germany. I want me a German car. I won't be doing much impulse buying for a while, so if any of you guys could make suggestions as to the best non-daily driver, track/drift beater would be I would love to hear them.

EDIT: Preferably a car I can do most of the work myself. I guess a big ol' E39 isn't that piece of cake.

[theseeker411]

E30. Honestly for a German built track/drift beater it's hard to top.

[PMcD]

If you want a "cheap" track E39 your best bet is to get a car with salvaged title or a theft recovery, but as previously stated you will be paying out the ass to maintain an E39 dedicated to track usage. I'd go E30.