still looking for a car........so what you think?

[chev_chelios]

since my current daily isn't going to sell before i get a job, i might as well wait till mid to late summer to trade it in....................so what do you think about this one for now? maybe throw some bbs content on it and roll as is but with a better stance?

the guy wants $10K obo



A full list of what's been done to the car -

Drivetrain:
'98 OBD1 3.2L (s52) 6 cylinder motor from a 98 m3 (approximately 85k on motor, with 195-197 psi across all 6 cylinders)
ZF320 5 spd transmission from the same m3
2.93 LSD (perfect gearing for a daily driver)
A/C condenser, compressor and bracket removed. I still have the bracket and compressor, but no condenser/fan.
3.5" HFM
24lb injectors
custom intake set-up
ebay SS long tube headers
High flow, single 2.5" exhaust
13lb LTW flywheel
RMS custom dyno tune - roughly 230whp/225wtq
16" Electric fan

Suspension:

Front:
GC Coil-over sleeve, shortened strut tube, welded collar, and 350lb spring
Bilstein sport strut inserts
E30 M3 sway bar link conversion
Ireland Engineering 22mm sway bar
Polyurethane Control Arm Bushings
Polyurethane steering coupler
'97 e36 m3 quick ratio steering rack

Rear:
e36 m3 Eibach pro kit springs + dual thickness spring pads, 420lb progressive rate (much better than when I had 500lb coil-over springs, linear rate is too stiff for launching and would kick on corners)
Bilstien sport shocks
IE 19mm 2 way adjustable rear sway bar, with reinforced mounting tabs
IE polyurethane: rear trailing arm bushings, and control arm bushings

Brakes:

Front:
Ate Powerslot rotors
Mintex Red pads
SS brake lines
e21 modified brake booster (smaller booster required for motor swap)
Summit Racing vacuum reserve canister (to make up for the brak assist lost from goin to a smaller booster)

Rear:
Brembo blank rotors
Mintex red brake pads

Wheels:
17x8 et37 OZ Superturismo wheels powdercoated Satin Black
20mm hub-centric spacers all around
235/40/17 Falken FK452

Interior:
Mint black vinyl comfort interior

Exterior:
US ellipsoid smoked low beams, no highbeams
55w 6k HIDs
Volvo lip up front (lost my iS lip on the freeway a couple months ago
Zender rear spoiler
Smoked Hella ellipsoid low beams, with 6k 55W HIDs
Professionally smoked stock tail lights
Rear euro plate filler
Shadow line trim

yes/no think it's worth it?

[JSanders]

It sounds and looks nice by the description, but I don't think I would want to buy a car that is that modified. I like doing it myself so I can have an idea of the problem when something breaks.

[chev_chelios]

It sounds and looks nice by the description, but I don't think I would want to buy a car that is that modified. I like doing it myself so I can have an idea of the problem when something breaks.

i hear what you are saying but i'm no mechanic. been a fan of this body style since this hottie in high school had one and came across this looking for an e46. still up in the air about it but it'd be really nice not to have car payments for a few months once i got ride of my current daily.

[Nathan]

Its better to buy a car stock and the modify it yourself. Yeah, the spec sheet looks nice, but when you run into a problem, you won't know where to start looking... and you don't know if the last guy did a half as job on all the mods... in which case you would have to spend more $$ fixing his mistakes.

[Kielan]

It sounds and looks nice by the description, but I don't think I would want to buy a car that is that modified. I like doing it myself so I can have an idea of the problem when something breaks.

This especially when regarding BUILT cars.

[chev_chelios]

guess you guys are right so maybe i'll just wait a lil bit and get the newer car i want. would be sweet to build one like that but i'm not going to have the time or space coming up when i finally start working again.

[Bracknaphobia]

Find a Datsun 510

[Tuck&Poke]

take a look at it and see how well the car was put together. Its not like the motor is built, its just bolt ons.

[chev_chelios]

take a look at it and see how well the car was put together. Its not like the motor is built, its just bolt ons.

i think i'll just stick on the path i was heading down originally so i can avoid the headache. after my past experiences, i will never fully build or rebuild a car and i'm thinking buying someone's project might be just as big as a mistake.

[sixonefive]

i would rather modify a car myself (or pay someone else to do the work in your case) than buy a car that someone else has modified. a.) you can specify it exactly to how you want it b.) you know who has been doing the work and dont have to deal with people that are shady about who has worked on it and if they have done a half-ass job on it or not c.) buying a heavily modified car kinda seems like the cheap way out to me unless you know everything about the car. I know a kid that bought a twin turbo 350Z and doesnt know shit about his car. he doesnt know anything about the parts installed on it or what all of the parts do...kinda lame imo but hes a cool kid

[chev_chelios]

i would rather modify a car myself (or pay someone else to do the work in your case) than buy a car that someone else has modified. a.) you can specify it exactly to how you want it b.) you know who has been doing the work and dont have to deal with people that are shady about who has worked on it and if they have done a half-ass job on it or not c.) buying a heavily modified car kinda seems like the cheap way out to me unless you know everything about the car. I know a kid that bought a twin turbo 350Z and doesnt know shit about his car. he doesnt know anything about the parts installed on it or what all of the parts do...kinda lame imo but hes a cool kid

i can pretty much do everything but the engine so maybe i'll just start buying the parts for a e30 project down the road.

[Effin' Euro]

i wouldn't spend that much on any e30...non m of course.
buy something that will be more comfortable and reliable for daily use then buy a project e30 if that's what ya want.

[MikeG]

that looks like E30polak's old car from BF.C if so that car is DAMN quick BUY IT you wont regret it

[Stephen]

Oh hey, i've driven that car.

Ask questions away. Its not just "simple bolt ons" its an s52 swapped e30 with mods done on top of that. the 10k price point includes quite a bit of extras and has the suspension pretty well dialed in. I'm not talking out of my ass i know the guy personally, have spent many hours discussing the mods and have driven the car.

And yes 230whp on an e30 will put your ass in the seat.


That being said, what do you want out of it? A well dialed in s52 is going to be alot of fun but IMO not a stance candidate ( unless you do it very carefully)

Work is not shady amatuer stuff, the car has (had?) a sponsor ship with a small but reputable shop in LA, 99% of everything was done there.