Introduction and question

[McD18]

Hello gents. I've been lurking for a little while and wanted to come out of the shadows. Really love the site and the E30s.

So, I picked up a beat ass '95 E36 M3 about a year ago and have been tinkering with it for fun over the last few months. I essentially got the car for free since the owner couldn't take care of it and it's a salvage title. However, the S50 is actually in really great shape so I'm toying with the idea of finding a good e30 body from CA or NV to swap it into rather than fully parting out the M3 and selling the motor (which is option B).

What kind of E30 would fit the criteria? I'm thinking some variety of 325 would do nicely I don't want to pick up a car with a nice stock motor because I'd feel bad yanking it out of the car. Also, I have no desire to do any body work for rust or damage. I'm happy to refresh/upgrade any suspension components and to a lesser extent fix up the interior along with the motor swap.

What am I missing here?

Thanks,
McD18

[clydesdale]

I like 88 and 89 325is. They don't have the chrome bumpers and use steering wheels without airbags. They also have the sport package. There are 318 sport models that would work as well.

[McD18]

Thanks for the response... I was thinking a 325is is the car for me. I guess it's time to start trolling craigslist etc... as well as this forum of course.

Anyone have a 325is with a blown motor and a straight/rust free body?:)

[M3PO]

They will all work nearly equally well, it's just preference more or less. Early vs late for example, little different look. Different front and rear valances, rear fender arches, tailights, and bumpers. Early cars don't have the same rad mounts. Later cars, the E36 rad will slot right in. Will you be using the trans from the M3 because that makes a difference? 325s typically have diffs more suited to 6 cyl cars (obviously) where as 318s usually have diffs that are too short.

[McD18]

I was thinking I'd use the trans off the M3 unless there's a good reason why I shouldn't. I also have a UUC SSK and DSSR that I'd like to use as well so keeping the trans would make that easier too.