Hi guy's,
I am in the market for a car. I was looking at a 95 M3 but it looks like that is going to be out of my price range, so I am now looking at an E30. I want a car that willbe fairly competitive at the track and auto-x, while still maintaining some luxury.
I am looking for all of the basic info on the E30 M cars. Engine spec's, color's available, interior options, prices and the such. I also plan on modifying the car, so some hints there would be helpful. Any other websites with info would be great.

Thanks guy's,
James

Here are some informative sites. Start here.....



http://www.bimmers.com/m3/

http://www.artglenn.com/bmwm3/

try www.grmotorsports.com
They started a project '88 M3. You can buy the set of 5 or so issues that take you from the history of BMW Motorsport, to finding their car, and what some common problems are.
They also did some suspension mods, wheels, and electronic fuel injection :D All this for around 20 bucks!
Good luck with your hunt...also, they did an article on a 320e, swapping out heads and whatnot to make a 2.7 liter autox'ing beast!!!
Nick

If you are serious about buying an E30 M3, look into spending 15k+ for a car. They are not cheap. The parts are expensive, and labor is expensive as well. If you are good with your hands you can save a lot of money by doing the labor yourself (what I do).

You might want to also look at 89-91 E30 325is. These are very good cars and almost as fast as a stock e30 M3 off the line. They are a LOT cheaper and parts/labor is cheaper too.

Ask any questions if you have them!

Also read this thread (James' contribution mainly) for info on the E30 M's.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20772

Thanks for the great replies. My only concern with buying a car that's 10+ years old already, is having to replace a bunch of parts right after I buy the car. I would like to go the forced induction route as well for some big power. I don't know that a motor in the E30 with high miles would hold out to well. What types of FI for the E30 M's are there. Anyone make a SC or turbo kit?

Thanks again,
James

$15k+? you can find them (around here anyway - atlanta,Richmond) for 8-10 grand....and those are in pretty good condition! Only needing 0-1200 bucks to get the car up to speed.
Must suck to be in Texas looking for one.
Nick

http://www.e30m3performance.com

this is an awesome site and has pretty much everything about the car.....

If you do end up getting it, I recommend joining the E30 M3 SIG

I agree, make sure you buy one in good condition because if you save money up front you will put it in the car later...might as well save yourself the trouble....

congrats on choosing an excellent car to purchase!

:redspot

One thing, the S14 motor (E30 M3 motor) is a very finiky motor. It doesn't like SC or Turbos because of the compression ratio. People that have done forced induction usually wearing out their motor very quick.

The best way to get power out of the S14 is a 2.5L motor rebuild. It is kind of costly though (10k)

Originally posted by E36 Fanatic
$15k+? you can find them (around here anyway - atlanta,Richmond) for 8-10 grand....and those are in pretty good condition! Only needing 0-1200 bucks to get the car up to speed.
Must suck to be in Texas looking for one.
Nick

Has a mechanic looked at these cars? A car can be very good cosmetically, but bad mechanically. A mechanically bad car is a LOT more expensive to fix than a cosmetically bad one. This holds true for E30 M3s.

Again thanks for all of the input guy's. I have decided to wait a little while longer in my search for a car. I am really set on an E36, preferably a 95.

James