To ruin or not to ruin

[TobyB]

Having been doing this shit for 30 years, the idea of a mass- produced car as somehow 'rare' is goofy.
There were hundreds of thousands of these things pooped out. Cool? Yes. Jag XK120FHC? No.

Having done this for 30 years, hacking the shit out of something original is stupid.
I have a shell sitting outside that would be perfect for that. It's a solid turd.
It could become anything at all, and that would be an improvement. Including a cage,
Viper motor, and Ford 9". Forgiveness is in the 'before' pix.
I have a shell sitting inside. It's nice. It came to me with 5- lugs.
It needs an M54 or N52 to make it nicer. This car
wouldn't be a good 9" candidate.

If you start with a nice car, make it nicer. An N52 is nicer. A 6 speed is nicer.
An S54 might be TOO nice, and would require a mature right foot to not turn everything un- nice.
Nicer is in the eye of the owner- we all have our standards, but one of the better ones is
'I didn't chop the shit out of it- look, the only giveaway is the 3" exhaust. Well, and the 9" tires, I guess'

But at the end of the day, the only one of us who has to live with you is you, so life's short- do what you
want, as long as it's not fucking up anyone else's life.

t

[E30 Wagen]

What I initially wanted to do was cut it up, tube up front and rear + roll cage, and throw a 13b rotary or LS and have myself a drift missile

I'm not going to hold back in saying that you would be an absolute moron to ruin your car this way. A slicktop 318is is indeed a special car, especially in the US. I don't think E30s were mass produced as much as other cars and the attrition rate was likely higher. If you've got a survivor that's in solid shape then I 100% guarantee you will regret cutting it up, ask me how I know. Trust me, it pays to think long term and maintain the nice examples for normal road use. It's not about doing it for the next owner, it's about your realistic long term enjoyment of the car and to preserve as much of its value should you decide to sell it. Drift cars always get crashed so just find something that's already been smacked or has some bad history so sacrificing it won't be such a loss. You'll have a lot more fun beating on something you don't care about as much.

Also, this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujm5Mq3Oi3g

[MrBurgundy]

Anyone else cringe at the word Drift-Missile?

Yeah- kind of an oxymoron

[moatilliatta]

Anyone else cringe at the word Drift-Missile?

[varg]

E36s are starting to be uncommon in junkyards in my area. Mostly E46s and early E90s popping up these days.

Same. I see hardly any E36s in the junkyards now, mostly E46s and E90s.

[ube91]

e36s are popping up more and more in drift circles too it seems - I’d go in that direction for a drift car. They’ve bottomed out and there’s still plenty of parts available for them.

E36s are starting to be uncommon in junkyards in my area. Mostly E46s and early E90s popping up these days.

[s-thetikz]

pretty much this brosephistan

[McGyver]

Do whatever the fuck you want.

[AceAndrew777]

I think I’ll do a restomod like a mature adult

Good. It sounds like you were starting to like the smell of your own farts there. You have to watch out for that kind of thing.

Coming from the 2002 world, there's been an influx of investor-enthusiasts who, rather than understand/learn all the nuances that have made them a popular car in the first place (they were almost engineered to be hotrodded, as evidenced by more than forty years of show/track photos), are much more inclined to promote the idea of being "all original" as a means to take the easy road with regard to perceived value and ease of restoration. I find most of them end up down a road of them trying to convince themselves of how "special" their car is ..... only to have the attempt to cash in on their "investment" end in a "reserve not met" situation.

It's sad .... but entertaining to watch.

[dbeast]

I think I’ll do a restomod like a mature adult 🤣

[lukeADE335i]

e36s are popping up more and more in drift circles too it seems - I’d go in that direction for a drift car. They’ve bottomed out and there’s still plenty of parts available for them.

[varg]

I don't care about 318is vs 325is, each has its merits for different people, but slicktops are cool. Don't trash it drifting. E30s in general don't deserve to get chopped up and wadded up as a drift car, which is their inevitable fate, as drifting eventually involves crashing. There aren't enough of them left. You want a good, cheap, out of the box drift car that's still common and nobody cares about it? S197 mustang.

[roguetoaster]

I agree. I don’t think it’s the actual value of it restored, but more of knowing I own one that IS different then a lot of the others and preserving a little bit of the history.

I am considering an s5x swap and a restomod with a few modern changes and maybe small tasteful mods as a compromise to both options.

It's not different from many others, sure it's a slicktop, but it's not special, it's a mass produced vehicle, and a few options one way or another do not matter. Also, after owning it for a decade you should know that the seats are vinyl, not leather from factory, and if it has a locking differential or not.

[dbeast]

I agree. I don’t think it’s the actual value of it restored, but more of knowing I own one that IS different then a lot of the others and preserving a little bit of the history.

I am considering an s5x swap and a restomod with a few modern changes and maybe small tasteful mods as a compromise to both options.

[MrBurgundy]

Let me tell you something dude.

Do whatever the fuck you want. Who is going to do the work if you do want to chop it up?

If you got money burning a hole in your pocket and that's what you want, go for it. Everyone here is going to give their opinion, but at the end of the day, your butt is going to be in the seat.

Yes a 318is with no sunroof is a desirable configuration. That car sorted out the right way will probably fetch more than doing a swap on it, unless the swap is done not in your backyard and by a really reputable shop with lots of documentation. In the long run, original cars will average much higher selling points than swap cars. Mostly because most swaps are DIY.

Complex swaps like a rotary or LS cost a lot of money compared to an S5x for example because of all the fab that goes into it.