E30 Zone

Ok so it aE30 325e coupe with 165000 kms or 102526miles.
Full service history and in imaculate condition, not even a spec of surface rust. all for A$3500 or £1700. Im the 3rd owner and the last guy was a old fella so its had a easy life.

The car is a USA car so it has shitty bumpers but that will all change soon enough it was converted in 1987 but im not to sure if the biuld year is 1996 or 1997. The compliance plate says 1997 but thats was put on the car when it was shipped here. (Australia) So im not sure if its a eta or a super eta. How can I tell the difference? I know the eta has a 200 head and the super eta has a 885 head. ( I hope its a super eta)
Didnt take any pics but here is a link to the advert with some pics.

http://www.drive.com.au/used-cars/BMW/3 ... 19391&pt=1

Oh and the guy thought it was a 325i..... Poor bugger he bought it believing it was a 325i But the first owner rebadged it...
The give away is the exhaust, 4500 rpm tacho, inlet manifold and throttle body.

Well done! Exhaust side of the head should have the casting marks.

That's a tidy looking motor! I didn't know that these could come with a manual gearbox.... good find mate


And to my untrained eyes, it looks like an >87 model, due to the early tail lamps and shallow rear skirt.

That's a propper nice colour!
If you can find some 'euro' chrome bumpers for it, it'll be mint!!

daimlerman wrote:Well done! Exhaust side of the head should have the casting marks.

Can you read the markings by looking in the bay or does the manifold have to come off?

m_jermyn wrote:

daimlerman wrote:Well done! Exhaust side of the head should have the casting marks.

Can you read the markings by looking in the bay or does the manifold have to come off?

Should be visible above the manifold,on the eta head in my garage above number 5 exhaust port is cast 'eta 2.7'.On the inlet side,above 3 and 4 is cast 1264 200.

cool thanks for the info..... Let me guess if its a super eta the numbers should read **** 885?

If it is a eta. Then just find a 2.5 head and your off.

Yeah but if its a super eta it already has the 325i (885) head... If not ill have to buy a 325i head

What is a 'super eta'? Are we saying it's a factory 2.7 with 325i head?

super eta as i understand was a us spec only car.... It was made from 87 on. It had the eta bottom end but a 325i head (885) it still retained the eta manifold and throttle body..... Correct me if im wrong

m_jermyn wrote:super eta as i understand was a us spec only car.... It was made from 87 on. It had the eta bottom end but a 325i head (885) it still retained the eta manifold and throttle body..... Correct me if im wrong

Sounds resonable to me,but if you have a 'super eta' I bet the exhaust side of the head will not be marked 2.7! Did the super eta use the 4 bearing cam,like to standard one with the 200 head? Be interested to know,just whip the rocker cover off and count the cam bearings...

Ok got his from the wiki.......
(Super Eta
The facelift 325e. As well as looking different, big changes were made under the bonnet too. The old 200-derived cylinder head was deleted, and updated with one based on the newer 885. This change was made to keep the car in line with changing emissions regulations. In spite of the upgrade the car was only marginally more powerful, and was theoretically slower in acceleration than the older model)

Thats as much as I know

That is an early non 885 eta. Worringly, the conversion looks a bit shonky judging by the LHD wipers. Surely cooking E30s are not so rare in Australia that people import yank stuff ?

Point is,IF the eta version of the 885 head also uses a 4 bearing cam,there will be no cast in lubrication to the other three bearings.These will need to be drilled out if you decide to fit a more,erm,interesting cam As I understand the 'super eta' spec,it also uses 325 shape pistons,so a cam swap will release more top end power

Pacerpete... Checked the conversion and it all looks ok except like you said the wipers.... How can you tell its a early non 885 eta? Why it was imported? I dont know... The story I got is the original yank loved his little car...

Daimlerman..... Very interesting and good point...... First I have to work out if its a super eta or just a regular eta.

Thanks for the help guys you are great

what power does the eta and super eta put out - bhp/torqu?

Also is this a 2.7?

R4N_S_S wrote:what power does the eta and super eta put out - bhp/torqu?

Also is this a 2.7?

Comparisons Between Models
MODEL Displacement Power Torque Compression Ratio Bore/Stroke Acceleration 0-60 Top Speed Fuel Economy
325e 2693cc 121 hp @ 4250 RPM 170 lb-ft @ 3250 RPM 9.0:1 84mm/81mm 8.4sec 116mph 21cty/28hwy
Super Eta 2693cc 128 hp @ 4800 RPM 170 lb-ft @ 3200 RPM 8.5:1 84mm/81mm 8.8sec 122mph 21cty/28hwy
325i 2494cc 168 hp @ 5800 RPM 164 lb-ft @ 4300 RPM 8.8:1 84mm/75mm 7.7sec 136mph 18cty/23hwy

This is what the wiki says

Picked it up tonight and it goes real well, very very pleased. Plenty of torque, 5th gear will pull up most hills even doing 40mph.. 4th gear pulls up hills and the tacho never goes above 1800rpm.. Its a torque Monster

R4N_S_S wrote:what power does the eta and super eta put out - bhp/torqu?

Also is this a 2.7?

it's a 2.5. My Alpina has the eta out of a 525 in it

Felix79 wrote:

R4N_S_S wrote:what power does the eta and super eta put out - bhp/torqu?

Also is this a 2.7?

it's a 2.5. My Alpina has the eta out of a 525 in it

Is that right? I thought all etas were 2.7s?

I also thought a C2 2.5 used a stock 325i block/bottom end, with Alpina cam and six-branch etc? While a C1 2.5 was a bored/stroked 323i with a different capacity, not the usual 2494cc - I'm basing this on an issue of TBMW last year.