Turbo stock m20 or 24v swap?

[SacE30]

If you are not doing the work, I highly doubt you will end up with a worthwhile 24v swap for $6-700. Just sayin'.

Maybe I'm pushing it , it will be under 1k for sure though with the guy I'm taking it to.

[jaywood]

That still seems pretty dang cheap. Unless you're getting the engine for super super cheap or he's doing free labor.

[Farbin Kaiber]

That still seems pretty dang cheap. Unless you're getting the engine for super super cheap or he's doing free labor.

Maybe he is trying to make up for the paintwork.

[SwiftE30]

If you are not doing the work, I highly doubt you will end up with a worthwhile 24v swap for $6-700. Just sayin'.

agreed. no offense, but if you're not doing the work, then it takes the majority of pleasure and gratification out of it. (IMO) plus, if you arent doing the work, troublshooting will be expensive and time consuming.

nice looking car though.

[Woofer]

Sweet vid!!

[SacE30]

agreed. no offense, but if you're not doing the work, then it takes the majority of pleasure and gratification out of it. (IMO) plus, if you arent doing the work, troublshooting will be expensive and time consuming.

nice looking car though.

Yes I agree too, I wish I knew how to do work like that. Unfortunatly I don't yet, I'll Definitely go and watch and help with some stuff and learn. And thank you.

[SacE30]

That still seems pretty dang cheap. Unless you're getting the engine for super super cheap or he's doing free labor.

Since I know him he's giving me a great deal with labor. $350 is not bad for an m50 also.

[Farbin Kaiber]

What would you do if you ran the VIN of this m50 and found out it had 227k miles?

[SacE30]

It has like 78k or something around there

[Mr.SWISS]

If you are truly passionate about your car then take the time to learn the dynamics of the engine and what it needs to operate and what the various ancillary systems do and how they do it.


When you understand the fundamentals the rest starts to make sense. When I was 16 I couldn't do much more than change an air filter,tire battery and oil. But after solving my first no start with a bad fuel pump I got the bug and the confidence to start attacking car problems.

Get a Haynes manual for E30 and read it front to back, especially the preface about fasteners and right tool for the job.

[PeteD]

I remember when I was 16 and had big plans for my RX-7. I got advice from a friend's dad to learn how to drive the car first, before I worried about making my car faster. I took his advice, went to a driving school, did a few auto-xs in the summer, and did a few track days at the nearby track. While I know it's fun to tinker (mind you, your project goals are NOWHERE near "tinkering") and make your car faster, I have to give you the same advice I received. Learn to drive your e30 to its fullest potential and spend your money on making yourself better, before you worry about tackling such a huge project.

Chris

This. You have a lot of learning curves to assess before you dive into an turbo or swapped car. Though if someone is helping you and doing it correctly on the cheap, you might as well take advantage while you can.

I can relate to Chris's story. One of my friends dad's was an avid BMW fan/autocrosser and he got my friend into a 1990 318is with a complete H&R race suspsension set up early on. Alex, my friend, was killing it on the autocross courses. I remember being at one with him when I had my permit (I live on the MA/NH line and NH kids get to drive 6 months before MA kids. Sadly, I couldn't drive, but damnit I could change a tire quickly) and these two drivers in e36 m3s all shiny and fancy with the words Turner Motorsport in big letters across the car pulled up next to us and said, "alright let's see what's under the hood." We popped the hood to unveil the underwhelming m42, which really ticked off the guys in the much more powerful, seemingly sponsered cars.


Point being, take your time. Your car looks good (despite the bashing in your paint thread lol), you might as well learn to make it reliable and learn to drive it before you do anything else to it.

[squidmaster]

Dang, everyone starts hating on this kid right away.
Let him do what he wants, and he will learn as he goes, the way that most of us have.

Anyway, I've heard great things about boost on the m20's. Your money, HONESTLY, would be better spent at the track (auto-x), and on tires/maintenance. Save the money. Have an extra 30% that you are prepared to spend on whatever mods you want to do, it's just a good idea. When you replace one thing, you find something else that you'll need to do. Just the way 20+year old cars go.

Power is overrated. Driving skill is underrated.

[SacE30]

Wow theres some amazing advice on this thread. Great I just found a Haynes manual for the e30 available for download, I'm pretty excited to get my car back from the shop soon and get some nice tools and some goodies for the e30 and get to work after I read this manual. I will still have the m50 swap done, learn how to drive the car great before I get right at it with a turbo. I don't want to rush it and have bad experiences with a swap like my buddy Mohamadr89 on this forum with the FML threads lol, I think it's a perfect time to start learning, getting serious about .

[SacE30]

Dang, everyone starts hating on this kid right away.
Let him do what he wants, and he will learn as he goes, the way that most of us have.

Anyway, I've heard great things about boost on the m20's. Your money, HONESTLY, would be better spent at the track (auto-x), and on tires/maintenance. Save the money. Have an extra 30% that you are prepared to spend on whatever mods you want to do, it's just a good idea. When you replace one thing, you find something else that you'll need to do. Just the way 20+year old cars go.

Power is overrated. Driving skill is underrated.

exactly , e30s cant ever and will never be a "done" car with nothing left to do on it. You will always find something else to do!!

[Farbin Kaiber]

I would suggest the Bentley Manual. It's the name of it, not a manual for a Bentley. It is far superior to the Haynes or Chilton manuals. I suggest buying a paper copy, and downloading the .pdf file of it you can find here by using the search function.