Well as a few of you know, i've been contemplating moving on from the ITR to something along the lines of an E30 M3. Turns out, a buddy of mine has been thinking just the opposite. His car:
88 M3, 200k on chassis , 20k on a fully built, cam'd, 11.25:1 cr 2.3 liter 220hp E36 M3 rollin' motor, full Turner J-stock suspension, 6pt cage, blah blah, basically a barely street legal race car. needs a new chip to run pump gas.

Now here's the problem, he wants my ITR quite badly, but the only way i could do it is if he throws in a few grand, since his car is still an 88 bmw with 200k miles...

we hadnt really talked seriously, but i got a call last night "Rob, its ben, my car is in the shop getting a new clutch and everything in the tranny fixed. Its costing me too much money, if you want to trade, lets talk"

so hmmmmmmmmmm, do i go from a pseudo race car to a real one without stickers?

gimme some thoughts guys, i am very intrigued by this situation....


edit: and btw the way, if I do go through with this, the first order of business will be to ditch the torque-free 4cylinder for a *real* motor


[Modified by Rob :190:, 1:12 PM 4/3/2003]

 

Everything sounds great except the mileage...

I the E30

 

Get an E36.

*waits for Alex to flame him*

 

read what it says above my avatar.

do it, otherwise, you'll regret it.

 

e36=girls car.

 

Boosted E36 M3 = ruined the spirit of the M3

Sounds vaguely familiar.

 

***I'm going to throw this disclaimer at the beginning of my post since some here have a tendency to take things I say as belligerent: I'm not a track ****, and whatever you do I hope you enjoy it in whatever manner you choose to use it.***

You say you've never tracked your ITR, right?

I don't see anything wrong with that, but I just am curious to know why you would trade your ITR, which is the ultimate in fun, practical daily drivers *IMO* for a car that is really set up to be a track monster. You've also got the 911, don't you?

IMO you've got the best of both worlds: A nice practical, reliable, fun daily driver and a vintage Porsche. Since you aren't into tracking your car at this time I don't see trading for your friend's M3 as a practical decision for you.

Now an E36 M3 makes more sense, as it is a newer car that manages to have a lot more concessions as an everyday driver than the E30 without sacrificing performance, and it is less likely to get stolen than the ITR. So if you really want a change and BMW is the direction you're looking, that's the direction I'd suggest.


[Modified by MK Ultra, 12:31 PM 4/3/2003]

 

E36's also hide signs of being a daily driver very well, in that they don't acquire the usual dings/dents as easily as other cars. Those side moldings are actually useful.

Get an E36 M3, upgrade to an aluminum thermostat housing, threadlock the bolt for the forward diff mount bushing, and you're good to go.

 

you sonuva.........

anyways, I know you already know this, but parts ain't cheap for those cars . some pluses are that you won't really have to worry about it getting stolen, and there are lots of knowledgeable M3 owners out there that can help with anything. Minuses are that the chassis has 200k and its a 15 year old car. it's a tough decision, and i know how much you want a propellar on your hood

Brian

 

Rob, if that's the car posted in kills the other day, I'd probably do it.

Can you afford BMWhore parts?

 

Actually, BMW parts are cheaper than Honda parts. A new water pump was $45, new radiator hoses were $12, etc.

Driving a racecar on the street is not a fun ordeal.

Keep the race parts for the track toy and keep the street car comfortable.

I only wish I could follow my own advice.

 

Thicker sheetmetal, too.

I had an '83 Mercedes 300D that was damn near impossible to ding. And slamming the doors felt good.

 

define fun.

 

Racecars are made for racing.

One cannot race on the street, therefore the racecar is out of its element.

 

MK brings up good points....

 

sure you can race on the streets.... get 2 big bottles and have fun

its even better when your entire family is in the car.


[Modified by Soup ****, 1:51 PM 4/3/2003]

 

Sell the ITR, pick up an E36 for about the same price and you'll have one less thing to worry about.

 

*cough*check the main bearings*cough*

 

Rob, can you stand the thought of never revving to 8400 rpm again? (10k rpm indicated)

 

Werd. I had a '77.

Got hit by a UPS truck. Bent the trim and one small dent in the quarter panel. That was it.

 

Revs up faster than ITR + 6500 rpm redline = lots of hitting rev limiter or narrowly avoiding it

 

I'm with MK on this one....

 

Rob, my friend may be selling this:



69k miles, very very nice car, lemme know if you are interested

Brian


[Modified by Brian*Blue95M3, 11:04 AM 4/3/2003]

 

this E30 runs to 8k, however a drive in any of the local 6cylinder swaps erases all memories of revs...


another thing, and one of the reasons i'm considering this, right now, i'm living at home for free, garage, tools, and plenty of time to do work, etc. I figure if i'm gonna have a 'rough' car (maintenance wise) now is the time to have it and get it sorted out.

aside from the motor, the race susp. is already spoken for in a trade for a nice street setup (HR/Bilstein), so i dunno.

E36: well they're nice, practical, fast, bla blah blah, but if i'm going for that, might as well keep the ITR. The attraction of the E30 M3 (to me) is that its like an older RWD version of the ITR, built in the same spirit....


bri- could you email me some info?


[Modified by Rob :190:, 2:01 PM 4/3/2003]

 

If you have a second car, I`d consider the car plus cash. If it would be your daily driver, I`d say hell fawking no.

Ryan