Its all come down to this...

[Il Duce]

basically, here's my problem.

I love my E30, (1985 325e 5spd) and lately the chip and suspension have yielded a ton of fun for me in my local twisties (rancho sante fe) BUT something is wrong.

Here is the situation: my car is immaculate, interior is awesome, exterior is hot. but the engine though it runs perfectly and is very torquey, i feel its not enough.

I am going to be getting about $1500 spendable dollars and i have been debating buying a LM 325i/s for about 6 months, so should i do it? or keep my ETA. I need more power, and i feel that the m20b25 is going to be a nice start for future projects, the ETA just isnt going to cut it.

keep in mind i will transfer everything from my ETA that i can, so it wont be like i will be buyin g a stock car, and have to start from scratch.

thanks for your opinions guys!!!!

[e30sd]

get rid of the eta.

[Addissimo]

keep the eta and spend that $1500 on a turbo or an m50 or both. If the shell and interior are clean, why not? I mean, $1500 will get you fairly deep into an m50 swap if you shop around.

Example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33615&item=7953135153&rd=1

depending on shipping cost... that could actually be a pretty good deal. Mate it with the standard e36 tranny for about 300 shipped, get some e36 mounting arms about $50 new from bma, clutch kit $200, ix or e21 brakebooster $50 (from wrecking yard) and a few various cooling bits... i think you're there.

-Addis

[LikeCDoos]

yes, eta = suxor IMO

[DEV0 E30]

M50 I'd say. I know exactly what you mean.

[James Crivellone]

a chassis is a chassis, go with a LM if you want the updated rear end and the plastic bumpers, otherwise swap motors into the ETA.


its not like an M20b25 would cost alot of money.

Plus if your car is clean it would be kinda dumb to buy another e30 just to get an engine that only yields a bit more hp

[E30ownerwithanopinion]

yea you can get an I motor for 300 ish

[Matto]

Do work yourself
i motor $300
+$1200 left over for turbo project :twisted:

[Mystikal]

Ha, looks like my thread pushed a few extra buttons.

what the fuck is the point of this post, does it make you feel good about yourself?
my ETA would own a stock i, so i am content with it.

Just 1.5 hours before this thread. Hilarious.

[parkerbink]

If you otherwise love your car swap the motor. A new car is an unknown quantity, it may have problems that you have no way of forseeing. Seems your car is in great shape and it's only issue is not enough power.

[Ryan Stewart]

get rid of the eta.

Ditto. Yeah M20s are cheap but since you can transfer your mods get the updated car. Id only stick with a chassis if it was perfect and finding another decent one is hard (in my case).

[nando]

unless you plan on sticking with the diving boards, I'd probably get the newer car and transfer the suspension over. euro bumpers are nice on early cars but getting them is not simple or cheap!

either that, or do an M50 swap with M3 cams and have a nice ugly sleeper :)

[Jon325i]

If your car is clean inside & out....and all you need is more power, then keep what you got and just think about some kind of HP upgrade. Perhaps a Super Eta bottom end with "i" head. A good budget oriented 2.7L stroker. With that you will have the torque you love and better mid-range punch. You could locate a build up a separate motor and then drop it in once its ready to go. This way you're never without a car and the downtime for the swap should be minimal if you plan carefully and make sure you have everything you need before you start.

Just my

Jon

Edit: The twin-cam swap is a viable option, but if you're looking for the simplest route to better gains with your current car, the 2.7L stroker will be the most straight forward option. Plus you won't have to do a lot of changes to the chassis (brakes/suspension).

[Digitalwave]

Ha, looks like my thread pushed a few extra buttons.

what the fuck is the point of this post, does it make you feel good about yourself?
my ETA would own a stock i, so i am content with it.

Just 1.5 hours before this thread. Hilarious.

Haha I was thinking the same thing.

I voted to get a late model.

[Il Duce]

thanks guys,

lol yeah mystikal - I know but believe it or not i was planning on doing this a while ago.