Getting out..

Ryan...

e36s do blow. Anyone who says differently hasn't owned another BMW.

The only worthwhile thing e36s have provided are motors and 5 lug swaps for e3os.

I vote e30 + s50 swap + turbo.

I also vote for e30 + s54 + 6 speed + weight reduction = good lord I'm in heaven.

e92boost

Hahaha bring it!! With your e30 boost.. You could always do a s50 swap and boost it lol

Ive had 3 e36s. 2 Ms. Its my fav BMW chassis.. Just need to get a clean one. But they do require hella mateinnace and and pre cautionary bullshit. But they still are the best drivers IMO

Ryan...

nnnnoooooooooooooo

Even well maintained ones are plagued by having the worst interior ever built by BMW.. I also cant get over how flimsy the coupe windows & window regulators are.. No doubt they drive nicely, but EVERY bmw should drive nicely.

alexw

M50 + boost in an E30 will give your 335 a run for it's money. Don't be silly.

Chadley

Wait. So Ryan, you're leaving BMW for the time being all together, but you hate E36? Weirdo. E36s are win. Especially mine

Ryan...

Correct Chadwick. The Subaru bug hath bitten me hard.

I would rather eat my own fist, raw, than spend over $1000 on an e36.

Boris3

Ryan, check over in the NASIOC forums, especially the midwest regional subforum. More likely to find a wrx in the area that was owned by an enthusiast and taken care of instead of one that has been beat to death. Also a good way to get a sense of the issues to watch out for.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/

$6k is probably low though, 2002s are still pulling in $8-9k if in good shape:

Here's a few:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2205431

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2229311

Ryan...

Thanks Boris, I just joined up there about 3 hours ago

I've really gotta stick to around $6500 for the car though. I know it will have higher mileage, but as soon as I get it I'm going to be doing a timing belt/water pump deal, replacing most of the cheap-ish wear n tear parts, and getting a PPI done to ensure that it will be somewhat reliable for the foreseeable future.

Another reason for the $6500 cap is the fact that I will be financing it, and I want there to be wiggle room in my budget for any unexpected occurrences. I'm moving soon, and although I could "afford" to make payments on a $9000 car, it just wouldn't be a good idea really..

piku 0

I just drove my Audi A4 [2.8 nt..] from Milwaukee to Justin's house [98.2mi] on about $7 or $8...sooo you should probably go towards an Audi I'm sure you'd get better mileage with the 1.8

Ryan...

ooooooooooooo Piku and Justin sitting in a tree.....

I dont doubt the Audi is a nice car, I liked my ex's A6 a lot. But the subaru is not only lighter, a little sportier, makes more power, and mods are cheaper being its a Jap car.. However, I know I can get an A4 for much cheaper with similar miles

piku 0

Yeah...a4s are RIDICULOUSLY cheap, apparently..mine was only $3500..

Ryan...

Thats why this is even a debate lol

I like the fact that a good A4 can be had for so cheap, and that would give me money to play with (mods, maintenance, etc..), but the Subie looks better and has more going for it.

e92boost

alexw said:

M50 + boost in an E30 will give your 335 a run for it's money. Don't be silly.

There's no denying it.. But it' takes alot of hp to run low 11s in older bmws. I drove a s52 318i and it felt so fast and it was so dangerous lol it didn't need boost at all!

Boris3

Hey Ryan, these are on CL as of the 25th.

A 2002 in your price range

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/2566411144.html

Another one though the tranny issues would be a problem

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/2564825503.html

Ryan...

Thanks again, I just saw that blue one, definitely gonna go check it out sometime soon.

The silver wagon would have to drop the price significantly for me to consider it: rebuilt title + grinding transmission sounds like a big headache.. if he would drop a grand off the price I would 6 speed swap it, but I doubt he'd bite on that big of price reduction..

This is the one I'm going to check out this weekend, he's willing to drop the price a bit (around $300 he hinted) - http://rockford.craigslist.org/cto/2553933007.html

He's a mechanic, and has some records from the PO; including a receipt showing that the timing belt/thermostat/water pump was done at 130k miles. I've read a couple places that timing belts on these were usually good up to 100k miles too.

straight6pwr

love the bug-eye subaru chassis, fun to drive too.

Ryan...

^ that's basically what I've heard so far.

There are a ton of BMW owners that currently own a bug-eye on the Subie forums. They all recommend a rear sway bar as the first mod, and replacing worn out suspension with coilovers.

GunMetalGrey

Dan clean out your inbox!

Ryan...

Bump, gonna go look at a promising candidate tomorrow

2002 WRX with STI motor swap

Ryan...

Well as you guys all know, I already have a Subaru. I've accumulated a buncha crap for it, and i'm now just waiting on getting my wheels back from the repair shop before I start slapping all the goodies on. I want to install them all in the same day or two, for that complete transformation feeling

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=292492&d=1315676991

With an el cheapo tune (that's Spanish for you bilingual peeps out there), I should be sitting at right around 270 bhp and 265 ft lbs.

Here's some of my crap

KYB GR2 struts (f/r)

Tein H tech springs (1.2" drop front, 0.6" rear)

RE Sport strut bar

17x8 RL limited wheels (getting powdercoated black by applesauce)

Gruppe S shifter bushings

M2 full 3" turbo back catless exhaust w/silencer

CRXracing catless uppipe

4" carbon fiber STI scoop

STI replica wing