NOR-CAL General Chat.

[salvuhdor]

sounds like you want #2
http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...37&hg=11&fg=35

Ya I was looking at this, I guess there is no "paper" gasket between the water pump and the engine block

[salvuhdor]

It's just metal on metal

[Wh33lhop]

M50 swaps are 4 deh gais

#troostury

word. who likes those POS anyway

[Cabriolet]

http://sourcefednews.com/jeff-bridges-master-of-the-selfie/

The "Dude" is awesome

[canakami]

Anyone know the going rate for a clean 885 head?

[Cabriolet]

$150 for pulled condition
$200 is pressure test
$275 cleaned, valves lapped and pressure tested and surfaced
$600 with cam
$1000+ for full rebuilt

[canakami]

$150 for pulled condition
$200 is pressure test
$275 cleaned, valves lapped and pressure tested and surfaced
$600 with cam
$1000+ for full rebuilt

Cool, thanks Cab. Picked up a head that's the cleanest I've ever seen inside but I only needed the rocker arms so its probably gonna get sold once I remove em.

[Vivek]

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/3773113546.html

Saw this car today. For a 22 year old beast it's overall pretty nice. He wants ~7.5k for it.
Here's all the issues off the top of my head in no order:
-few minor door dings
-missing kidneys
-minor rust, one bubble on the bottom of the driver's door
-various trim pieces were loose
-one spot looked bondo'd, a bit wavy
-dent in the hood
-orange peel in some areas (not as bad as my car for anyone whos seen it)
-missing fogs
-rear door cards were sorta loose/warped by heat

-steering box was loose
-vibration from driveshaft/diff when you either drove fast or got on the gas (more torque through it)
-zero records
-no clue when the valves were last adjusted
-all shocks were blown
-unknown lowering springs, made up for the dampers to an extent
-clutch seemed to be on its way out but not way too soon
-some minor unknown leaks


So guys...what do? Should I try to talk him into the 6k range and get rid of my e30, or is it not worth the headache? I only listed the negatives, overall it was a pretty nice car. Shifted well, nice wheels, nice exhaust, decent interior, seemed to pull strong, it's a fuckin m5, etc. My first thought when I drove away was "it's no e30, that's for sure" and I was glad to be back in my tiny little vert, but I'm not sure if I should go on a knee-jerk reaction. I feel like if I pour my summer and savings into it, it'll be a damn nice m5 when I'm done.

[decay]

Beat-ass body + suspension/drivetrain need work = most of the value is in the engine. Buy and swap to e30, part out rest of car to recoup.

[Vivek]

The body was definitely not beat. For it's age it was clean, but it wasn't anything like Farzad's car. As far as overall the body is similar to Eric's mtech. When I take a step back the only real mechanical issue the car has is that vibration. New shocks are like $600 for bilsteins/konis so that's no big deal. I just hope it doesn't need a new diff or driveshaft.

[canakami]

No no no no no no, for the love of god NO. That car was for sale of in Lake County or something earlier this or late last year for a couple grand less. There's a bunch of suspension/driveline shit that is M specific and retarded expensive. The biggest issue here is that the S38 does not suffer fools well. I guarantee that engine probably needs four figures of parts/work to be running right. Valve adjustments are a pain in the ass and the tools/shims are expensive. Balancing the throttles bodies is a pain, vacuum leaks are a bitch to chase, the timing guides probably need replacing(go on, price em out), etc etc. I would never buy an s38 car w/o proper documentation.

This is a money pit, period.

[decay]

The body was definitely not beat. For it's age it was clean, but it wasn't anything like Farzad's car. As far as overall the body is similar to Eric's mtech. When I take a step back the only real mechanical issue the car has is that vibration. New shocks are like $600 for bilsteins/konis so that's no big deal. I just hope it doesn't need a new diff or driveshaft.

I guess you and I have different definitions of a beat body then; I was just going off what you described (bondo indications, varying paint quality, etc).

High-level view: doesn't sound like an M5 I would buy. If it feels like it needs drivetrain work, it probably does.

[canakami]

There is no such thing as a sub 10k M car, unless its an e36 us M3(if those even count). Take whatever the amount is and double it, cause that's how much you'll be in to purchase + baseline. I sound like a preachy prick, I'm sure. But I'm saying all this for good reason and with a bit of experience in cheap dream cars.

[Vivek]

No no no no no no, for the love of god NO. That car was for sale of in Lake County or something earlier this or late last year for a couple grand less. There's a bunch of suspension/driveline shit that is M specific and retarded expensive. The biggest issue here is that the S38 does not suffer fools well. I guarantee that engine probably needs four figures of parts/work to be running right. Valve adjustments are a pain in the ass and the tools/shims are expensive. Balancing the throttles bodies is a pain, vacuum leaks are a bitch to chase, the timing guides probably need replacing(go on, price em out), etc etc. I would never buy an s38 car w/o proper documentation.

This is a money pit, period.

Thanks for that. I told the guy that buying the car with no records was a huge risk and he cheekily asked if I bought my e30 with any records. I said no, but if my m42 blows up I'm out $300. The M5 has a 5k engine in it. He then told me that the s38 is extremely cheap to rebuild and can be done for 2.5k and I was too appalled to even say anything. A rebuild on one of those is 10-15 grand.

Also do you know for sure it's the same car? This guy told me he'd owned it for a bit over a year (off the top of my head i think there was a title transfer in late 2011) and he was adamant about how his friend cared for it before him.

I guess you and I have different definitions of a beat body then; I was just going off what you described (bondo indications, varying paint quality, etc).

High-level view: doesn't sound like an M5 I would buy. If it feels like it needs drivetrain work, it probably does.

I am extremely, extremely particular when it comes to cosmetics. I hated the body on this car, but for the sake of comparing it to an average early 90's BMW, it was far from beat. I'll just pass on the car then. My gut instinct hated it, and I don't think I could be happy with it. After I drove it I had never been happier to drive my e30.

I find the most annoying thing about looking at cars is that there's no way at all to describe a car's body accurately. Everyone just says yeah it's clean but wtf is that supposed to mean? I'd consider my car's body to be pretty damn nice, but it does have a few little issues.

[YosemiteSam]

So my mom's '89 Volvo 240 DL is pretty much dead and my dad is now seriously looking for an E30. I'm pretty sure that once my dad gets a car my parents are going to scrap the Volvo. Do you guys think I should try and convince my parents to give me the car so I can strip it and swap in a V8 in my spare time?