89 325i have potential?

[capitan-d]

im thinking about getting a 89 325i and was just wondering what kind of potential they have. the one i found has 140k miles, salvage title, 5 speed and they want 1500 bucks for it. are they worth putting a lot of money into...easy to get some power gains? i would have about 4k to spend on it if i did get it. give or take a grand. let me know what you think! i just love bmw's :) and how much would a little better than stock rebuild cost if i took it somewhere? what kind of hp can i get from it? more info the better..just started researching bmw's about an hour ago

thanks
devin

[bimmerphile]

my advice, for $1500 walk away. learn more before you buy.


that said, I'll point you in the direction of where to learn. This site has a search feature. It would be a good place to start.


Cheers

[LikeCDoos]

i've got a 89 325i. Be ready to upgrade alot of things if you purchace that car. Since it's a salvaged title i'd try and stay away. Do what you like.

[capitan-d]

yeah i will prally avoid that car but how much do you think im goign to have to spend to get a decent 325i. and are any years or models better than any others? out of the 84-91's. how much should i expect to pay for a engine rebuild a little better than stock if thats possible...more info the better!!

thanks
devin

[randomtask37]

i saw an ad for a fantastic condition 88 325is the other day for $1950. it had 250k miles on it though. although, if i had 4g's to spend on it, i could easily make that a funnnn car.

for 4 grand (if u did the work yourself) u could get...

(what i would get)
H&R Sports w/ Bilstein sport shocks
IE sway bars
sparco strut brace

i would try and find an m50 for around 1k and spend the rest getting it to run correctly and smoothly

and if i had any left to spare i would toy with the wheels/tires, looks, or "fun factor" parts of the car. like a short shifter/flywheel/differntial/etc.

[Jon325i]

Delvin -

There is a lot of info on this site about the kind of car you're interested in. Use the search feature along the top......using various key word phrases to see what you can find. I'm sure some (if not all) of your questions can be answered.

These cars (the E30) shared a lot mechanically over their evolutionary lifespan. There were a few engines available and the exterior styling stayed pretty much the same with the exception of items like bumpers, lights and valances. Many of these items are interchangable from year to year.

If you're mainly interested in the 325i (or 325is), these cars first appeared in 1987 and continued on through early 1992. The engine in this particular model, the M20B25, can go for 250K miles easily if its been properly maintained and cared for. I have an '89 325i with just under 225K miles and its still running very strong and burns very little oil. I have a friend with an '87 325is with over 250K on the clock and he took his car to 9 track events last year alone and its still going strong.

So there's just a bit of insight for you....merely scratching the surface. Like others have said, spend some time educating yourself about these cars. There's tons of info out there for you to tap into. Best of luck.

Jon

[capitan-d]

m50? when did they go fuel injection? thanks for the info!

[e30Matt]

All M50s were fuel injected.

[EtaSport]

the m50 is the motor code for the dual overhead cam 2.5 liter motor that came in the 92+ e36 cars. The m20 is the of course the motor found in the e30, sohc 2.5 liter 6.

all e30s from 84-88 had large aluminum bumpers and 89+ had smaller plastic ones. The plastic bumpered cars are the ones to get. So we can be safe to say you should get an 89+ which leaves you with the options of 325i(s) or 318is with a dohc 4 cylinder motor. The best thing to look for is a 325i or 'is' (2 door) that has been taken care of and with relatively low miles.. 150k isnt retirement for bmws. Everything else depends on what you want to do with the car. if you want a sporty ride that has some speed and corners nice then you'll be happy. If you want a straight line car, it may not be the best thing for you... take all that into consideration.. good luck

[X2theZ3]

if you want serious power...engine swap

[capitan-d]

are any decent engine swaps easy to do? bolt in to the stock locations and bolt right up to the stock tranny? anyone have problems with rust and there older bmw's. im from iowa so i do have to deal with winters here...you think rust will be a problem? thanks for the info and keep it commin!

devin

[randomtask37]

a very popular swap is the m50.

just seach for "m50" and u should get a zillion results.

and if rwh chimes in he should have a ton of links saved up.

[RBBJ325is]

if you want a sporty ride that has some speed and corners nice then you'll be happy. If you want a straight line car, it may not be the best thing for you... take all that into consideration.. good luck

Yea E30's are Great in the Twisties but not as much for allout going really fast unless you do a motor swap.

[X2theZ3]

are any decent engine swaps easy to do? bolt in to the stock locations and bolt right up to the stock tranny? anyone have problems with rust and there older bmw's. im from iowa so i do have to deal with winters here...you think rust will be a problem? thanks for the info and keep it commin!

devin

The m50 is a good engine. I'm doing a m30 engine swap right now. Check out http://www.e30.de/335i.htm for more information, or ask me if you're interested.

[capitan-d]

would it be worth it to just have the engine and tranny rebuilt? im not looking for a really fast car so im prally not going to go through with the engine swap. im going to have to stay all motor too. so if i can rebuild the motor a little more performance that would be great...is this possible? then do all the bolt ons i can...exhaust, intake, ignition and everythign else i can think of...suggestions?

thanks
devin