I've been looking for a E30 325 for more than a year now and think I may have found one, but not having a deep understanding of M20 motors I wanted to get some perspective on the motor that's installed in it.
The current owner indicates it's a Pete McHenry-built 2.7L stroker. I've researched the late Pete McHenry and understand he's a legendary BMW motor builder, which (assuming there's proper documentation) makes the motor pretty desirable.
It apparently has been built with the appropriate cam, high-compression pistons, beefed-up fuel injectors, etc. and is reported to put-out shitloads of horsepower.
I could be wrong here (noob, remember?), but isn't a 2.7L an ETA engine? And wasn't it designed for economy versus performance? McHenry obviously liked this block for a reason. Can anyone explain why?
Also, does the high performance of the motor (e.g. cam, higher compression (12:1?) pistons, etc) pose maintenance issues that don't exist in say a 2.5L motor in an iS? I'm fearing the old adage - 'the candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long'. The current owner reports it's got 45K on it post-build and that all he's needed to do is change the oil. Is it realistic to assume that's all that will continue to be needed? Or does the nature of the motor require more 'care and feeding'?
The 325 I've been looking for will for the most part be a Summer / Autocross car and not a daily driver so I won't be logging thousands of miles a year. While I'm not apposed to twisting a wrench from time-to-time I found a reputable BMW shop called Body Werks here in the Detroit area that will likely maintain it so professional help is ready and close-by should I need it.
Not sure if you've looked for a super-clean 325 lately, but they're not terribly easy to find any more, so I'm pretty stoked about finally finding one like this (although the asking price is a tad high). Anyone else have a Pete McHenry-built engine in the 325? If so, can you comment on experiences??
Any thoughts, suggestions, insight, guidance, encouragement or warnings on what I could be getting myself into are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
The current owner indicates it's a Pete McHenry-built 2.7L stroker. I've researched the late Pete McHenry and understand he's a legendary BMW motor builder, which (assuming there's proper documentation) makes the motor pretty desirable.
It apparently has been built with the appropriate cam, high-compression pistons, beefed-up fuel injectors, etc. and is reported to put-out shitloads of horsepower.
I could be wrong here (noob, remember?), but isn't a 2.7L an ETA engine? And wasn't it designed for economy versus performance? McHenry obviously liked this block for a reason. Can anyone explain why?
Also, does the high performance of the motor (e.g. cam, higher compression (12:1?) pistons, etc) pose maintenance issues that don't exist in say a 2.5L motor in an iS? I'm fearing the old adage - 'the candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long'. The current owner reports it's got 45K on it post-build and that all he's needed to do is change the oil. Is it realistic to assume that's all that will continue to be needed? Or does the nature of the motor require more 'care and feeding'?
The 325 I've been looking for will for the most part be a Summer / Autocross car and not a daily driver so I won't be logging thousands of miles a year. While I'm not apposed to twisting a wrench from time-to-time I found a reputable BMW shop called Body Werks here in the Detroit area that will likely maintain it so professional help is ready and close-by should I need it.
Not sure if you've looked for a super-clean 325 lately, but they're not terribly easy to find any more, so I'm pretty stoked about finally finding one like this (although the asking price is a tad high). Anyone else have a Pete McHenry-built engine in the 325? If so, can you comment on experiences??
Any thoughts, suggestions, insight, guidance, encouragement or warnings on what I could be getting myself into are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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