MY $2500 E30M3 "Levi"

[M3TROY]

Absolutely awesome. Great find mate, trust you will look after it!

Whats with all the S14 hate guys!?!?!?

motor is worthless to anyone looking for any power what so ever.
very costly to mod with minimal power gains even then.
only purest care about the motor but if you can swing it you can pull the motor and store it away till your ready to sell (that's what i did).
reliability was never the S14s strong suit either but properly maintained high mileage examples 200k+ are out there but are not the norm.
ive owned several and its fine at first but like most people you'll want more power.
the feeling of need for more power will never be more prevalent then when a 16 year old pulls next to you in his Honda and leaves you in the weeds.
but if your just buying the car to cruz around and enjoy a track day or two you cant go wrong with a stock e30 m3.
either way great deal and congrats m8

[mr2peak]

Nice find.

I Wonder how much it will actually cost to get it in reasonable shape? I know restoring a sitting car can get very expensive... Of course once you are done you will have a near-new car so taking that into account maybe it's not so bad. You do get the fun and satisfaction of working on the car which is amazingly gratifying when you finally drop the car off the stands after a long day/week/year.

S14 = Heritage
My M50 makes at lease as much hp and way more tq, but the whole point of an E30 M3 is it's heritage. There are many faster cheaper cars, like a fourth gen mustang... but the M3 looks much better.

[e30orDie]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkk me!!!! You must be an angel to come across a 25fuckinghundred dolla M3e30. >_< truly badass man, truly badass-

It appears to be weathered down on body work, no? More pics maybe :D I hate bodywork, so I feel for ya there-

And I'd have to agree with dude above^^ Yank the motor and keep it. They are worth money, and they do cost too much to have as much fun as you can on a cheaper, higher HP motor- let the enthusiast keep these motors on the tarmac =D

You could make killing off this thing though, if you did your own body work. How many miles on the motor? May have skimmed over that- but the biggest problem I think you will have is gaskets- That car sat for 6 yrs, which means gaskets could have dried and become brittle :( I'd tear the motor all the way down, and replace tran seals- or, yank it and keep it, sell it later for a larger turbo on your future s54 swap.... Right? :)

[karzrtoyz]

I have a rebuilt S14 in my M3, makes a nice cruiser... but I hate it when my buddy smokes me off the line in my old 325is!

[blksuperman2]

Whoa, what an awesome find. No offense to you but I hate to hear stories like this. Jealous and envy fuel the hatred. NoWhatImean?

[accident]

The S14 is definitely slow, but man is it nice revving that bitch up to 8 grand.

[e30s50dan]

I don't plan on this being my daily driver,I drive a company car...lucky!.

I plan on it as a weekender,and plan on tracking it.I drive a S50 325 now,so I know the power from the S14 is going to feel like a bitch.the S50 has great power and the torque is crazy,compared to a small 2.3 liter..so I am wanting to keep the spirit BMW intended.I think this will make a decent NASA TTD runner.I know some that are very competitive in TTD.still working on the Porsche 944 3.0l beast.thanks everyone.on vacation for 2 weeks,so know one steal LEVI. Haha!:D:D

[NZM3]

Hi,
Nice find and good to see it has the correct engine in it, on that the M3 is a factory built race car and and won all the races in the 80s and 90s under S14 power and has history and pedigree which is unmatched.

Most M3 owners know of the development history of the S14 and BMW Motorsport chief Paul Rosche designed it.

Sure a big six would make a nice drive and if you brought a rolling shell would be a good option, but removing a sweet running S14 to install a sweet running six I am not sure about.

Seems to me there will be a shortage of original M3s, with some conversions which wont be finished for various reasons.

I don't know of the the development history the of the BMW six cylinder engines other than the S 38 engine and if any of them have won any races to speak off.

[freeride53]

Do the S14 up like this man, and not give a shit anymore:

[IronJoe]

Congrats!!!


I started a similar journey back in October - bought mine non-running and had sat for the better part of 6 years. Turns out my injectors were gummed up from old fuel, so add those to your list of things to check.

Good call starting with brakes. I had several electrical issues that all got cleared up by replacing a few relays and cleaning up the grounds. Now all my lights, instruments, and power stuff (central locking) works.

Check out my project thread if you want, I have been keeping it up to date with all the jobs done so far.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=2266983

Best of luck and keep us updated! Enjoy the ride and keep it S14 ;)

[e30s50dan]

Do the S14 up like this man, and not give a shit anymore:

All that beautiful work ,and you kept the mechanical fan...he'll that's one of the first things on my list to do...after brakes,suspension,etc

[CleanAzzE30z]

Dang, where do you get that? Track? I have trouble even finding 93 octane in Kansas City!

There are some 76 stations that have it. Sunoco's have it too. I personally go to the 76 at the end of the 110 freeway and Glendarm in Pasadena. Its much harder to find in SoCal, I imagine its easier to find in other states seeing as Cali is absolutely a car-hostile state.

Do the S14 up like this man, and not give a shit anymore:

Hey thats mine! haha. Yeah, if you want to race in a straight line, this isnt the car for you. This car is about balance in the corners. And please believe, that even off the line, my 210 lb/ft at the wheels and 245 wheel hp is no slouch.

All that beautiful work ,and you kept the mechanical fan...he'll that's one of the first things on my list to do...after brakes,suspension,etc

Ive had no problems with mine. And your proceeding suggestions have been done. My car was Car Of The Month a couple months back you can read up on my mods. Ive never found it necessary to change to the electric fan. Id like to hear your suggestions as to why though. I know it supposedly gives 5hp.

[SA E30]

I personally think an electric fan looks much cleaner compared with the viscous, I've done it to all my e30's. I'm not sure though if it's as efficient as the viscous due to not having a shroud.

That said, even if it gives me 1hp I would probably still do it for the 1hp.

[reelizmpro]

I deleted my fan during the rebuild. I don't want to buy a new one and whatever weight or drag I can shed from the S14...the better. I installed an aluminum radiator with electric puller fan (operated by stock temp switch), deleted the AC condenser (more air flow) and have a 318 temp switch with the stock Aux fan. As some of you know, the euro spec M3's didn't even have fan clutches or a puller fan. However, in warmer climates like CA, it's nice to have that fan clutch just incase but if you've upgraded to an Al radiator, puller fan, deleted condensor, and the aux fan works, there's no need for a fan clutch.

[CleanAzzE30z]

I deleted my fan during the rebuild. I don't want to buy a new one and whatever weight or drag I can shed from the S14...the better. I installed an aluminum radiator with electric puller fan (operated by stock temp switch), deleted the AC condenser (more air flow) and have a 318 temp switch with the stock Aux fan. As some of you know, the euro spec M3's didn't even have fan clutches or a puller fan. However, in warmer climates like CA, it's nice to have that fan clutch just incase but if you've upgraded to an Al radiator, puller fan, deleted condensor, and the aux fan works, there's no need for a fan clutch.

Hmm. I also have none of the A/C accoutrements (piping, condenser, compressor, etc.). This may be my next mod to delete the clutch fan since I also have an aluminum radiator as well.