First E30 Project - would you rather start with a basically stock car or a R3V'd one?

[Mwishlist]

Ok, I am a newb to this forum but not to cars. I had a 1966 mustang which I daily drove through high school and college and did a restoration on and finally sold. I currently have a 2008 e90 (328i) which I will keep but I have always loved and wanted an E30.

So in the next year or so I am planning on buying one to rebuild/restore/mod for a long term project. I was wondering, if you had to do it again which type of car would you rather buy:
1. A basically unmolested totally stock E30
2. One that has already been modded slightly or at least refreshed with new bushings, suspension, etc.

It seems there are a few things most everyone here does to the E30's and honestly I am no different. First a tune up or rebuild, refresh the suspension/steering, a drop, wheels, euro or m-tech body bits (no diving boards - cool in their own way but not my cup of tea) etc.

So I am torn on whether it would be better to start with as close to stock car as possible, maybe pay a bit more for the car and upgrades but know that everything done to the car would be done by me (hopefully right) OR try to pick up a tastefully modded one already and have less to do overall, but the car wouldn't be as personalized. I am toying with buying a beater and doing a ground up resto as long as the body is straight and as rust free as I can find but I don't know. I am still in the planning stages. Mechanically I can do pretty much anything, body and paint work though, not so much.

What are your thoughts on the best project car to buy?

[oliver.r]

buy one as stock as possible, you will have to re-do everything anyways.
that way at least you know it was done right.
if I were to do it again, I think I would just buy a totally stock slicktop and swap a s45 and call it a day.

[SmokeE30]

Either a well maintained stock car or a built car for a good price is what I prefer as long as you don't buy somebody else's mess your good

[lowsodium]

If i had to go back I probably would buy one for the best price that has the most good parts on it already, even if it was all done right. You could easily pick up something with $10k in parts for $6k.

[Wh33lhop]

buy one as stock as possible, you will have to re-do everything anyways.
that way at least you know it was done right.
if I were to do it again, I think I would just buy a totally stock slicktop and swap a s45 and call it a day.

S45, the most elusive of the S motors. :p

An otherwise stock car with an S54 would be scary, btw. Just the way I like 'em.

[Cletonius]

For a car that's going to be driven during the process is start with a unmolested car.

If you're going to strip it and go right away it doesn't matter. Get a parts car and go nuts.

[Mwishlist]

Awesome, just the discussion I was looking for. Yeah, I am really torn. I agree someone's partial project will save me a ton if they already have the right mix of parts on it since I plan on tearing it pretty far down and rebuilding it anyway. But stock is so nice, just a totally clean start.

I am going to try to hook up with a few local E30 guys once I get a little more serious and ride in / drive a few before I dive in. I don't need to drive it while I build it, but I would like to drive the one I buy enough to decide whether I am going to turbo it or not. Of course I WANT to turbo it, like a TCD stage one with minimal boost - nothing crazy. BUT when I rebuilt my mustang I reworked the heads and put a huge cam in it and while it ran great, it really changed the character of the car from being an enjoyable daily driver to kind of a street beast. I am not really looking for that this time. I am looking for something I can drive and enjoy on a daily basis with AC, power windows, etc. However, the stock M20 hp might be a little anemic for me, I just need to get some seat time and see.