Anyone know this e30?

[cbr]

So I picked up a nice 89 325is from SF Sports Cars last week and I was wondering if anyone on R3VLimited might happen to know this car? It's got a nicely done M50 swap, Recaro seats from an Evo, upgraded/massive Willwood brakes, and the M Technic body kit. Looking for to try and get some knowledge around the build (ex. I'm almost certain it has a e36 steering rack... but no clue which one, likewise the diff looks swapped, etc).

Thanks!

[kronus]

Interesting. I have not seen this car locally. Is it BAR'd?

edit: is that an accusump? what the heck is that?

[cbr]

It is not BAR'ed but does pass smog....

Not totally sure what that is (I assume you're talking the thing mounted on the front of the engine bay/passenger side). It's from Jegs (I haven't tried to track down a part number) and I think Edge, who did the PPI, flagged it as an aftermarket oil catch. It's about 1" diameter and ~3" long.

Based on what I see elsewhere on the car I'm sure it was put there for a very specific reason but heck if I know what it is...

Chris

[iwantspeed]

nice purchase it has a lot of nice upgrades on it.

[CarsonE30]

God those seats look comfy, great find! Come out to some Cars and Coffee meets or CCA events!

[KIRIEIW]

I saw that car when I was picking up one of my employees at work, it was over in San Carlos, CA I believe.

[kronus]

Would love to meet up and look around at stuff in your engine bay if you want any more info.

[2mAn]

How much did you spend? Looks pretty decent. Bigger MAF is on there, I wonder if its actually an S50 BAR'd as a M50 (which would be dumb IMO)

[MikeK]

Before it ended up in CA, i believe this car was in Oregon? If i recall correctly, it had Ronal Ls before

[cbr]

God those seats look comfy, great find! Come out to some Cars and Coffee meets or CCA events!

I'm hoping to be at Alice's next weekend! The seats are fairly comfy but a bit snug for me... I'm probably going to be replacing them with some Recaro CS's.

Speaking of seats anyone know a good adapter to use with aftermarket seats and the normal 3-point seatbelts? I need to pull the harness bar out (thankfully it's a bolt-in) so I can put kids in the back seats.

[cbr]

Would love to meet up and look around at stuff in your engine bay if you want any more info.

I'll definitely take you up on that. I'm new to the e30 world.

[cbr]

How much did you spend? Looks pretty decent. Bigger MAF is on there, I wonder if its actually an S50 BAR'd as a M50 (which would be dumb IMO)

I paid $8k for the car. I seriously doubt it's a s50 under the m50 valve cover. The thing that prompted me to question the engine (the ad originally said it was an M3 motor) was that the butt dyno said it was way down in power vs my E36 M3 Sedan. There's also a definite lack of a BAR sticker on the car ;)


And since I'm still figuring out the quote multiple quotes in a single message...

KIRIEIW- That was almost definitely the same car, I purchased it from SF Sports Cars on Industrial in San Carlos.

MikeK- Thanks, I'll check the title history and see if it recently came to CA. It does have new plates so that seems possible.

[2mAn]

I paid $8k for the car. I seriously doubt it's a s50 under the m50 valve cover. The thing that prompted me to question the engine (the ad originally said it was an M3 motor) was that the butt dyno said it was way down in power vs my E36 M3 Sedan. There's also a definite lack of a BAR sticker on the car ;)


And since I'm still figuring out the quote multiple quotes in a single message...

RE: multiple quotes.
-next to the quote icon, theres another smaller icon that is a " with a plus underneath :up:

do you plan to BAR the car? kronus just went through the process and is near, so he can tell you all the hoops he had to jump through on his. Im in SoCal and in the middle of the process myself.
Looks like a good car overall, just needs some love (but they all do)

[cbr]

RE: multiple quotes.
-next to the quote icon, theres another smaller icon that is a " with a plus underneath :up:

do you plan to BAR the car? kronus just went through the process and is near, so he can tell you all the hoops he had to jump through on his. Im in SoCal and in the middle of the process myself.
Looks like a good car overall, just needs some love (but they all do)

why yes so there is... thanks!

I'm probably not going to bother going though the BAR process until the M50 becomes a S52 OBD2

That being said I see you have an aluminum block M52, any thoughts on the lighter weight vs extra HP?

[2mAn]

Mine has dyno'd 225whp on a dyno up near you. My car overall weighs ~2450 and isnt gutted, I have a full interior and stereo actually. I love my setup, but it cost more overall because I did a full rebuild VS just buying a used S52 and being done with it. Mine also has S52 cams and builds power progressively and Im lacking the torque that the S52 made, but I am happy with the 205 that it put down to the wheels.

TLDR: I love my setup, but your results may vary