E30 M3 ID help needed

[basketweave]

Hi, I am looking at an e30 M3 to buy, it is in pretty poor shape, but it has all the good bits, like dogleg box, LSD, s14, 17 bbs wheels and it has been converted to rhd which is good for me down here in Aus.

I have put the vin number into realoem and it comes up as a 1986 diamond Swartz m3, which matches what I can see on the car.

Almost bought it, but what was strange was the passenger side firewall (lhs) has no signs of having a steering column through it previously. I want to know if this car is dodgy?

[Demlotcrew]

You would have to pull the carpet back and the sound insulation in the transmission tunnel to see, was this done at the time of viewing?

There are also other telltales for LHD to RHD conversions, mainly the wiper mechanism bracket welding and clutch stop and door looms, and under dash column brackets etc.

Andrew

[basketweave]

I have some pics I will upload soon. no hole in lhs where it should have. there is no carpet in car....

[basketweave]

Here are some pics I have posted in my local forum:

http://forums.eurocca.net/showthread.ph ... ght-it-but.....

I have beem looking at buying an M3 for a while now, I think I want to bring an original unrestored Euro spec one in from the UK or Japan.

[pacerpete]

My money is on it being a lesser E30 with all the M3 bits swapped over. I have seen it done on several occasions when the original car was completely foooked or the owners starting point was just paperwork .......

Most converted cars (including the Birds ones !) are pretty grim when you start digging under the dash, and don't hide their origins well.

A good check in the boot area will reveal all ,as to graft on all the rear panels ' invisibly' is nigh on impossible.


PS The biggest issue with these cars now (apart from dodgy IDs !) is RUST . Do not for one minute assume that Jap cars are mint and rustfree as many do. The worst M3 , and i have seen some really grim ones, was a Jap car in Perth. It was fully molested civic stylee with loads of nasty 'JDM' crap all over it AND it was completely rotten. Some craftsmen had cut floor pans out of another E30 and bogged/ riveted/screwed them into place over the rusty ones . The inner wings were twisted and rotten as was the boot floor. The victim had just dropped 22k on it (3 years ago) and was not a happy camper

[Demlotcrew]

This brake reinforcement bracket was only fitted to late (> 87) RHD cars, I think this is a Replica, too many RHD features.



Andrew

[Andyboy]

The worst M3 , and i have seen some really grim ones, was a Jap car in Perth. Some craftsmen had cut floor pans out of another E30 and bogged/ riveted/screwed them into place over the rusty ones . The inner wings were twisted and rotten as was the boot floor. The victim had just dropped 22k on it (3 years ago) and was not a happy camper

Geoff Bloody Wilson!

[adit]