E30 Zone

I've always like the E30 and am finally in a position to get one, though as of yet I'm undecided exactly what I'm looking for so any advice would be appreciated.

I'm very tempted by a 325i sport M tech 1/2, but at some point in the future I'm thinking about doing a V8 swap. Would it be a complete waste of money to do a swap on a 325i sport because they command a significant premium (a few £k’s?) in the market, which I guess would be lost when doing an engine swap and the other necessary upgrades to accommodate the extra power?

From my point of view I have two options (though I would welcome other ideas):

1) Buy a 325i sport as use it as my daily driver (I'm a train commuter so wouldn't get that much use, 5k a year roughly). Then as and when time is available, upgrade the suspension, steering, brakes etc, as I go along, until I feel it is ready for the extra power of a V8. For a nice example I seem to be looking at roughly £5k.

2) Buy a less premium model E30, 316i etc, and have it off the road as I have plenty of space. Strip it down and build it from the ground up until it's complete. Around 1-2k for a rust free one.

Most of the work would be done by myself and a couple of friends (whom have a lot more experience than me).

Thanks in advance for any advice and thoughts.

Regards

P.s please move if this post is in the wrong place

If you're gping to take it away from oem condition, there is absolutely no point buying a sport at all. The special bits (lsd and body kit), plus a bog standard e30, can be bought for significantly less than a sport's asking price, while molesting a sport could completely destroy its value, especially considering the work involved in a V8 swap.

Grrrmachine wrote:If you're gping to take it away from oem condition, there is absolutely no point buying a sport at all. The special bits (lsd and body kit), plus a bog standard e30, can be bought for significantly less than a sport's asking price, while molesting a sport could completely destroy its value, especially considering the work involved in a V8 swap.

i would agree with that, besides if you can do most the work urself, i would imagine u would get far more enjoyment from it

I would go with option 2 as

Not taking a sport from the road
Very few nice sports anyway
Sports can be pricey
Smaller engines e30s are often cheaper
Smaller engines e30s are often in better condition as don't attract boy racers etc

If you bought a 5k tech 2 sport , expecting to spend money on suspension etc then a v8..,, you should also factor in a full strip down and sort out of rust before that ,Shame to ruin a sport with a v8, and if your to upgrade suspension etc no point buying a sport

Spend 2k-2.5 on a very nice 316 auto shell, then just build the car you want