My Hoopte30 Project Attempt #6 - the painless way to earn cash back every day

[moatilliatta]

I bet its awesome to hang in those chairs for a bit!

2005 - House always wins.

[AWDBOB]

I bet its awesome to hang in those chairs for a bit!

2005 - House always wins.

Those chairs make it all worthwhile!

A kind barber from Louisville bought a flywheel from me last week and saw TX holdem in the background of the photos. I sent him a build sheet and some videos, and he left with the car tonight.

Chapter closed.... onto the next.

[2mAn]

Chapter closed.... onto the next.

Whats next?

[AWDBOB]

Whats next?

Starts with M and ends with 3........ finally. Bringing it out after I'm fully out of my warehouse, which should be mid August.

I still have that '87 325i sedan sitting at someones house that I need to make run and then make disappear. That'll probably happen next week. I have struts/shocks/control arms/bushings I'll toss on it, change timing belt, fuel lines etc and move it along.

I've been stockpiling parts for the M3 to lessen the time it takes to get it on the road. I need to go through the S14 and the yoda machinist I have used forever retired a few weeks ago, so I'm debating putting an S50 in it so I can drive it for a while, or buying one of the more affordable "good used" S14s on the market to avoid the process of trying to rebuild one.

I don't particularly like the S14 and think the car would be better with a 6cyl in it. I was initially dead set on rebuilding mine until he retired. S54 is too much $$ for the fragile beast that it is, so the only things that currently make sense are:

S50/52 because I haven't built a 24v car yet
Used replacement S14 - lots of cheddar and risk
Rebuild my S14 - meh

[Panici]

Seems like for the money an E30 M3 commands, keeping it S14 makes sense.

[mjweimer]

Oh this makes me happy - the M3 will finally be getting some well deserved love.

I think you already know how I feel about your engine options...I am 100% on the page of a 6 cylinder swap. Done right* a M/S5x swap is 100% reversible.

Store all of the M3 and S14 specific parts properly for another day and enjoy the car. A tired S14 just sounds like a lot of $$$ for little return and as you know just the parts to do a proper rebuild is quite expensive.


* yes I say done right because there are choices to make that add some time and cost but do not require permanent alterations... Keep it OBD1 and keep the engine/tune as stock as possible because it is so much simpler to deal with longer term. Source a few key (bit more spendy) parts that will make the whole thing just work...such as wiring harness/tune from bimr84 and a full syncro designworks exhaust along with AKG engine mounts with Rouge trans mounts to match. Done and done.

Value is in enjoyment rather than a potential investment.

[moatilliatta]

2.5 S14 W/standalone or Linda.

Finding all the missing pieces will give you time to think. If you abandoned it, you just invested in gold. Not quite mutual funds..

[AWDBOB]

Seems like for the money an E30 M3 commands, keeping it S14 makes sense.

Market is down and will be for a while, so I figure I have at least 5yrs of enjoyment unrelated to value to do what I want within reason. I wouldn't sell the car for what I've seen some go for recently, which makes me excited to insure it properly and enjoy it vs make all of my choices based on future investment value. I've heavily considered putting a stroked M20 in it, if that tells you where I'm at

Oh this makes me happy - the M3 will finally be getting some well deserved love.

I think you already know how I feel about your engine options...I am 100% on the page of a 6 cylinder swap. Done right* a M/S5x swap is 100% reversible.

Store all of the M3 and S14 specific parts properly for another day and enjoy the car. A tired S14 just sounds like a lot of $$$ for little return and as you know just the parts to do a proper rebuild is quite expensive.


* yes I say done right because there are choices to make that add some time and cost but do not require permanent alterations... Keep it OBD1 and keep the engine/tune as stock as possible because it is so much simpler to deal with longer term. Source a few key (bit more spendy) parts that will make the whole thing just work...such as wiring harness/tune from bimr84 and a full syncro designworks exhaust along with AKG engine mounts with Rouge trans mounts to match. Done and done.

Value is in enjoyment rather than a potential investment.

It's been a long time coming, but the timing feels right, finally.

I agree re: the tired/unknown S14. Once I took the "originality" blinders off, it started looking worse and worse as a potential option. 24v is both reversible and affordable, and parts are plentiful, which ultimately I think would lead me to driving the car more than I would if it had an S14 in it.

I also think the S14 would be fun to nut and bolt on a stand in the garage over a couple years at my leisure, while I enjoy the car with a 6 in it.

Should this be the route I go, I'll be taking notes from your build thread!

2.5 S14 W/standalone or Linda.

Finding all the missing pieces will give you time to think. If you abandoned it, you just invested in gold. Not quite mutual funds..

Kevin retired a few weeks ago, which foiled my "S20" plans that we spoke of when I was down there, causing me to reassess the whole gamut.

I want to simplify things/reduce cost of my car hobby as much as I can while still achieving what I want, and when I can get an S50 for the price of S14 timing chain guides and a water pump, it stops making sense almost immediately to build an S14.

Happiness = satisfaction / desires

It's either I somehow make way more money, or cultivate a lifestyle of simple desires. The latter sounds most appealing to me, currently, so that is what I'm working towards.

[moatilliatta]

Put the s14 in a bubble and toss in a k motor.

[Panici]

Market is down and will be for a while, so I figure I have at least 5yrs of enjoyment unrelated to value to do what I want within reason.

I also think the S14 would be fun to nut and bolt on a stand in the garage over a couple years at my leisure, while I enjoy the car with a 6 in it.

...when I can get an S50 for the price of S14 timing chain guides and a water pump, it stops making sense almost immediately to build an S14.

This sounds like the way to go then.
S50 swap to make it an enjoyable driver, then take your time restoring an S14.

[craz azn]

I also second the 6 cyl swap route. I've contemplated swapping my car multiple times during ownership, and this is coming from somebody who has a car with all the 'holy grail' items ie 2.5, dogleg, alpha N, CF airbox, etc... As long as its done in a way that's reversible, and doesn't hack up the car at all, you're in a good spot! Enjoy it as much as you can, however you can, dude! We all aren't here forever.

[2mAn]

Put the s14 in a bubble and toss in a k motor.

This is the only logical solution

[Northern]

What's the purpose of the 3/4" OSB on the ceiling? Walking on the topside?

[AWDBOB]

I also second the 6 cyl swap route. I've contemplated swapping my car multiple times during ownership, and this is coming from somebody who has a car with all the 'holy grail' items ie 2.5, dogleg, alpha N, CF airbox, etc... As long as its done in a way that's reversible, and doesn't hack up the car at all, you're in a good spot! Enjoy it as much as you can, however you can, dude! We all aren't here forever.

This is good data, and more or less what I suspected. Thank you!

Put the s14 in a bubble and toss in a k motor.

This is the only logical solution

I like watching other people K swap stuff. The value to fun ratio isn't there for me. Kmiata swap kit alone is $5100 without exhaust, a/c, power steering, finding/upgrading a K, etc. Most folks I know with K swaps are in them 12k+. Too much for too little.

Maybe I'll just cut the car in half and turn it into a rolling hot dog stand so I never have to decide.

What's the purpose of the 3/4" OSB on the ceiling? Walking on the topside?

Rafters are 8' apart, so when doing anything less than 3/4" all of my construction buddies said it would sag over time, so I took their advice and put some thick stuff up. Hanging 36 of those over our heads was quite the endeavor. I likely could've ran boards between the joists to run an additional row of screws into, but the price difference between 7/16" and 3/4" wasn't much, so I just went for the big boy stuff. The bonus is that it'll make the building quite a bit stiffer which I like the idea of for longitudinal wind loads that the building was previously poorly braced for. Where I'm at here in the midwest, the 50' (longer) side of the building runs the same way that our prevailing wind does, so the stiffer I can make it, the better it'll be long term.

[MrBurgundy]

3.1 m20 w ITBs in an e30 M3?

Giga Chad move