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E30 vs 2002 for long-term ownership & driving experience

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    #31
    Originally posted by LateFan View Post
    Another thought - do you guys have a mental list like I do of target cars you want, classics you'd like to drive, fun projects to build?......but then, what are they like to actually drive? You love the looks of them, but what about the interior and driving experience...are they a pain in the ass??"

    I have wanted a 914 for a few years now, but we'll see if I ever actually get one. I'm about to take my recently purchased classic on a 500 mile journey home to LA. I will also be daily driving it to work next week. It's a 10 mile drive each way and I can take city streets or the freeway so I will likely take the city streets a few days and the highway at least once or twice to see how it does. I'll report back next week with an accurate report

    Some pics for you since Will (BlackbirdM3) put some elbow grease into polishing it







    Simon
    Current Cars:
    -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

    Make R3V Great Again -2020

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      #32
      Hug your timing chain and grease the front suspension weekly
      (metal threads on other metal threads).

      They drive great. But keep in mind, you're less visible than a motorcycle.

      t
      now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

      Comment


        #33
        the suspension is still not as good, IMHO, as the e30.
        I'd hazard that the E30 you drove had fresher bushings. The suspensions
        are very similar, and neither likes anything other than good rubber.

        Having said that, the stock 2002 spring rates, I agree, are dirt- road- with- chuckholes soft,
        and even big sway bars don't completely fix it.
        But the E30's no tarmac rally monster either.

        I'm always surprised (e30 with no power steering vs 2002) how good the 2002
        steering is, given the antiquated box and link design.

        Volvo 122 suspension's pretty good, for what it is- a- arms up front, "truck arms" in back. Odvar's... well, aptly named. He raced (races?) a 240... You can stick a turbo
        onto a b18/b20, you know, or bolt in the B23t with that 1975 bellhousing...

        t
        now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by Stanley Rockafella View Post
          Oh yeah, that's right. SA's first BMW since the Apartheid days was the e30.


          It was a huge hit with my family down there in the 80's. I still have some family pics with their e30's!



          Practically ANY 4 cyl. Volvo from before the 90's can be referred to as a tractor. Especially the 240 series.
          I wouldn't say first BMW, we did have the E12's and E23's.

          Can you share any of those pics of your family with the E30's?
          1990 325i
          2004 330i Individual 6-speed
          sigpic


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            #35
            Or maybe it was the first 3 offered...I can't remember where I read something to that effect.

            I wish I could, my parents have those pics and live half way across Canada from me. I'd get them to email me pics, but they are in their 60's-70's and haven't mastered using email/scanning (basically anything computer related...I know they are old school! LOL).
            If it's got tits or tires, it's gonna cost ya!

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              #36
              Probably the first 3-series offered since I don't think we got any E21's too. I have seen a few, which I think were special imports.

              Yup, Old school or not, Cherish your parents! :)
              1990 325i
              2004 330i Individual 6-speed
              sigpic


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                #37
                Answer to the OP question... split the difference with the e21 :D

                More rare than either the '02 or e30 due to being almost completely forgotten, has all the good bits already on it that the '02 owners pilfer to upgrade their cars (disc brakes all round, more reliable fuel injection, M20 engine an option).

                Like the '02, parts starting to get harder to get but still possible from Europe.

                My e30: OEM+ with M30B35

                Comment


                  #38
                  more reliable fuel injection
                  not sure if srs?

                  I don't know what you got in Oz, but the CIS we got was terrible.

                  Also, in the US, the bumpers alone were enough to guarantee chastity,
                  and the anemic de- stroked M10 only added to the pain.

                  I have one sitting in the barn- it's going to have to get Euro bumpers and some sort of
                  drivetrain transplant before it comes out!

                  t
                  now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Ah - true - I'd forgotten about the abominable differences between Euro and US spec in the e21.

                    We got euro spec down here - basically an '02 tii high compression M10 engine with a 'dirty' version of the CIS (which was pretty reliable, certainly better than the klugelfischer injection on the tii) or a 2.3L M20.
                    My e30: OEM+ with M30B35

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                      #40
                      I did not enjoy my e21 because of how slow and uninspiring it was to drive. Of course, maybe I wasn't giving it a fair comparison to my ix because I hadn't redone anything, but I sold it regardless.

                      I think they look ok, but they are slow.
                      AWD > RWD

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                        #41
                        02 : classy look and feel ! Fun to drive and people loves to see it on the road
                        E30: it has the handling and it has more of a "modern" look and features. A/C if you live in FL
                        Miss both of them. More the e30 M3





                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                        Rolando
                        My73bimmer
                        Deerfield bch, Florida
                        1992 BMW 325i Convertible - (sold)
                        2006 Mini Cooper S
                        1973 BMW 2002tii (Sold) , 1988 M3 (Sold),

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                          #42
                          So, I just spent a long weekend in Seattle, on fast freeways with semis on both sides, on clogged freeways crawling along, on urban arterials with very aggressive drivers cutting in with no signals, in dense neighborhoods with very tight streets and no parking.

                          I don't know that I'd enjoy driving a heavy clutch / heavy steering / fragile bumpers classic in those conditions regularly.

                          I think my view of "daily" has been skewed since we moved out of that. I might go to work, a mile downtown, go to a meeting across town, run errands, go to the hardware store, go on a drive through the mountains....but I'm not driving it in any of those urban conditions really. We do have rush hours, we do have bumper-to-bumper in some areas, but I can usually stay away from that. We take long distance fast trips. In the winter, we need a car that can handle slop snow ice.

                          SO! A better question might be "Which affordable, reliable, beautiful, great-driving classic would you like to keep for a long time?"

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Originally posted by LateFan View Post
                            So, I just spent a long weekend in Seattle, on fast freeways with semis on both sides, on clogged freeways crawling along, on urban arterials with very aggressive drivers cutting in with no signals, in dense neighborhoods with very tight streets and no parking.
                            I also just drove Seattle in those same conditions, top down in E30 vert. Got a perfect Blue Angels flyover while on an elevated section - made the trucks seem pretty quiet by comparison :)

                            With the E30 lifted 1" and the seat lifted 3/4" I ride pretty high. In a lifted 2-ton E30 the modern-car traffic is not so intimidating. Would be nice to be in a smaller car for parking, but at this point I would not trade away from an E30 'vert for the 2002.

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                              #44
                              a heavy clutch / heavy steering / fragile bumpers
                              2 out of 3 of those do not describe a 2002... until you try to parallel park...

                              And an E30 is a few hunnert short of 1.5 tons, which is one of the NICE things about them.

                              t
                              now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

                              Comment


                                #45
                                I currently have both and they equally split my DD duties. However, if I could only have one car to tackle whatever I threw at it, I'd go for the e30 for many of the same reasons already stated in this thread.

                                Easy answer is just get both. A 10-15k budget would be plenty to get it done. And putting maintenance/restoration funds aside, you won't lose anything if you had to sell them again. Both these cars will only go up.

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