Gentleman I am new to the site but have been lurking in the bushes for a while. I have been looking for a class to go racing that still lets me get up healthy on Monday and go to work! I like the idea of spec to keep costs down and the group of Drivers involved are out to have fun. You guys genuinely seem to be that group. I am currently exploring cars and have come across an “87” 325i, whats the difference between an i and an is and will it really matter. The car has 195K and is described as being owned by a little old man who drove it to church on Sunday and lived at the BMW dealership where all maintenance was done. Will see… asking price is $1900 what do you guys think?? Thanks in advance for all the useful info I have been able acquire already.
Seeking Advice
Racrdave52 wrote:
The only difference you need to be concerned about is the i didn’t come with an LSD standard, but it was an option, so you will need to check. there is a metal tag on the right side of the diff cover. if it starts with the letter S it is an lsd. the next # is the ratio ex: S3.73.
87 325i I assume it’s a four door.
The only difference that matters between an i and an is is that all is variants came with a limited slip differential. That was an option on the i cars. Assuming the body and interior is in good condition, $1900 would not be an unreasonable price. You’ll strip the interior and if in good condition it has resale value.
Thanks for the info on the Diff. I forgot to ask if it was a four door! I’ll be talking to him and checking the car out on Friday. I would prefer a 2 door but the Blacks 4 door does look sharp!
Thks again
Racrdave52 wrote:
[quote]Thanks for the info on the Diff. I forgot to ask if it was a four door! I’ll be talking to him and checking the car out on Friday. I would prefer a 2 door but the Blacks 4 door does look sharp!
Thks again[/quote]
Nothing wrong with a 4 door, most guys with 2 doors would probably build a 4 door if doing it again.
2 or 4 door is fine just get one a a decent drovetrain and no rust. I believe 1900 is way high for a track car donor. I just posted two under 650 here in norcal off craigslist You can get an I and get an LSD for 150-200 bones. Welcome to the group and series.
$1900 means $1500 cash, if the shell is clean and you can drive it home with all the service records in the glovebox that’s not a terrible price. Remember, if the car is relatively nice you will be able to sell A LOT of the interior and other unneeded parts to the regular E30 crowd. I paid $1100 for mine and it wasn’t a pretty car, but a good solid runner. There simply weren’t any sub-$1000 donors in my area that weren’t eta powered cars.
Don’t get too caught up in the sub $1000 number. If you buy a car for $600 and have to spend $1000 getting it to run you’re no better off. A nice $1500 car is worth a lot more than a crap $900 one (IMO). Find a good solid car and get on with the build. It’s not like we’re talking the difference between $10K and $1k.
As mentioned before, don’t be afraid to offer a low-ball cash price and see what happens.
Looked at a couple of sub 1K cars today. Good point about how much would it cost just to drive it away! Whats ETA powered? I spoke to a guy today that said he had 325 E lower rpm 2.7 liter I assume its not legal, couldn’t find it in the rules as an allowed car type. Besides that it was an automatic.
the e in 325e stands for eta - it was BMW’s attempt at a low reving, more efficient engine. You are correct that it can’t run with spec e30 without doing an engine swap.
cheers,
bruce