E36 328i Track Car - Ballpark Figure?

[wattywat]

Hello forum

I'm toying with the idea of buying a 328i for track days (nothing too serious, just a bit of fun) - and need to be able to drive her to the track and back.

Was wondering if anyone on here has experience or knowledge on how much it would cost. I've seen quite a few E36 328i cars for sale, for relatively cheap (around the R50k mark). If I find one for R50k, what kind of issues can I expect? Do I need to consider a refurb on the gearbox, synchro rings, things like that? Or is that for the R30k range?

Not totally against a bit of a fixer upper, but just need to find out what a good ballpark budget figure would be to get one and get it reliable first, then some basic mods for track in order of priority:

1. Brakes
2. Suspension
3. LSD
4. Tyres
5. Aero
6. Turbo :fencelook:

Looking forward to (hopefully) seeing what you all have to say!

Cheers
Bryce

 

[Wes]

Have a look here:

https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=42600

 

[zabbo]

It all depends on how far you want to take it!

Do you have any track experience? Would this be your first track car?

Its nice to see that the turbo is so low down on your list - normally guys want to go for more speed first when really on track its all the other components which are more important to get sorted first! Get used to the car first and get as much out of the current setup as possible before spending mega bucks on upping performance.

Good luck and contact @BruceT for assistance and information!

ps. Get a decent cheapy which is mechanically sound and strip everything you don't need from the car, refresh all the fluids and key hoses and get onto the track. Take it one step at a time from there.

 

[wattywat]

Holy crap, 75 pages, how did I miss this :hammerhead:

Thanks man!

---

It all depends on how far you want to take it!

Do you have any track experience? Would this be your first track car?

Its nice to see that the turbo is so low down on your list - normally guys want to go for more speed first when really on track its all the other components which are more important to get sorted first! Get used to the car first and get as much out of the current setup as possible before spending mega bucks on upping performance.

Good luck!!

ps. Get a decent cheapy which is mechanically sound and strip everything you don't need from the car, refresh all the fluids and key hoses and get onto the track. Take it one step at a time from there.

Thanks for the response!

I had a Lotus 7 with a 1.6l Rocam motor in it that had some track time - but spent a lot of time in the garage with her trying to get her 100%, unfortunately the guy I bought it from was a bit shady and ended up selling me the car with a lot of defects that I missed. In hindsight I should have kept looking.

Is R60-65k a decent price for a mechanically sound E36? I'd rather save and up my budget if it's not big enough - don't want the same thing happening to me as what happened with the Lotus.

 

[Jeremy.d]

I think any e36 is going to need some work, unless you're willing to buy a perfect one which will cost a lot and doesnt make sense for your purposes.

I think you could probably find something suitable well under R50k. I'd put a cap on R40-45k...

 

[Donovan2412]

For 50k you are definitely able to get a mechanically sound one. Too far below 50k and you'll need to make sure it's running well.

Will just need minor cosmetics which obviously won't matter on a track car.

 

[Bernard///M3]

We built a car last year for the BMW Car Club, you in the correct ball park for the cost of the car, and you can look at spending another R50k at least to get it track ready, ours landed up as a full on Race Car, we recently sold it, to some of the committee members which I have a share in and we just finished building a 325i e46 Touring which we will use as a Track Taxi, Track school and as a pace car. It actually came out lekka

 

[Lizzard]

:blueCry: why are you guys using the 328i as a track car. Get a 320i and use that as a track car, rip the engine out and replace that but leave the 6 cylinders for us to use as daily :fencelook:

 

[Bernard///M3]

:blueCry: why are you guys using the 328i as a track car. Get a 320i and use that as a track car, rip the engine out and replace that but leave the 6 cylinders for us to use as daily :fencelook:

We don’t want to fall asleep down the main straight

 

[Lizzard]

:roflol::biglol::roflol:

 

[wattywat]

Thanks so much for all the responses. Cars look absolutely awesome.

Will keep in mind the R50k to get it track spec - hoping to find one that I can take to the track with minimal fixes and upgrades just to get seat time, then focus on upgrading the bits!

So I had a quick look (not really quick, spent a good amount of time going through the thread on his old E36) at BruceT's thread - and saw he's building an E46 - didn't even put 2 and 2 together, have been following that E46 build on Facebook for the past few months! :hammerhead:

 

[Inactive]

Hi wattywat.

If you need any advice you are welcome to give me a shout anytime although I am no expert. I would like to say that the biggest mistake I found people make is that they throw lots of money at the project to get faster rather than spending time in the seat. Some of my friends that race BMWs have gone through 4 or 5 cars in 3 to 4 years and one actually went through 3 motors (upgrading not breaking) in one year trying to get fast. He was still slow as he needed to focus on his driving. So keep it simple - suspension, brakes, x-brace, LS diff with correct gearing (which i have if you like), wheels and semi's and cage and yes a standard motor. My 328 standard ran 12's at Zwartkops eventually. They have so much potential.

My e36 was a real budget build and therefore didnt have the best of anything and was not the best built, but it ended up being a great track car that won many trophies and a few titles, and gave me buckets of fun.

Anyway, good luck with it and have a jol. Thats more important than anything else.

 

[individj]

i know weight counts for a lot in racing...with that being said though...would you choose an iron block or alloy for racing? Not thinking of weight

 

[wattywat]

Hi wattywat.

If you need any advice you are welcome to give me a shout anytime although I am no expert. I would like to say that the biggest mistake I found people make is that they throw lots of money at the project to get faster rather than spending time in the seat. Some of my friends that race BMWs have gone through 4 or 5 cars in 3 to 4 years and one actually went through 3 motors (upgrading not breaking) in one year trying to get fast. He was still slow as he needed to focus on his driving. So keep it simple - suspension, brakes, x-brace, LS diff with correct gearing (which i have if you like), wheels and semi's and cage and yes a standard motor. My 328 standard ran 12's at Zwartkops eventually. They have so much potential.

My e36 was a real budget build and therefore didnt have the best of anything and was not the best built, but it ended up being a great track car that won many trophies and a few titles, and gave me buckets of fun.

Anyway, good luck with it and have a jol. Thats more important than anything else.

Hi Bruce

That E46 is looking epic, looking forward to seeing it on the track!

I'd also be looking at a budget build for sure... And yes, definitely not looking at setting lap records or anything - I just want to get a bit of seat time. Priorities are definitely not power-related so I feel like I'm already in the right mindset. I just want a reliable car that I can drive to the track, throw around, and drive home with a big smile. Even keeping it stock for a little while isn't a problem for me.

Will definitely give you a shout when I find the right base car :smilebounce:

 

[Inactive]

Cool. Good luck finding one. That’s half the fun.

And thanks for the compliments.

 

[PaKiMoNSTeR]

This is the exact same mind set I have for my build. Drive it to the track, race it and then drive home. I found my '96 328 for R20K. Cost to have it built will be in the region of R 20k and this is including a cage & complete paint inside & outside. I probably put another R 50k worth of items into the car. But this is a full track car with proper coil overs & all the goodies.

Now that I'm adding it up it doesn't seem so cheap anymore... :skit: Take your time & collect stuff as you go along. I'm not doing anything to the motor, keeping it stock. I'm spending my cash on proper rubber.

With the Jetta we race I think just on new rubber you could get about 1 - 2 sec a lap around Scribante and it's a relative short circuit. So this is where you should spend you money. I think...:fencelook:

 

[Inactive]

Agreed. If you can keep it so that you can drive it home brilliant. I have a few friends that do that. If you start racing it you could still do that but should you crash or break something it is a problem.

I cant remember what my e36 cost to build but I was lucky as I got the car for R20k and had to only do minor things to it to get it driving.

My e46 is another beast all together and I sometimes sit back and wonder if it all is actually worth it as I really enjoyed my e36 at a fraction of the price.

 

[Captain_Stealth]

Try find one where the motor and gear is very healthy and runs great.

This is a race car so suspension, brakes, etc will be upgraded anyways.

 

[moranor@axis]

cant agree more with they guys saying getting as much seat time as possible... i know plenty guys have have been building the ultimate track weapon for years only to abandon it before even getting to the track

work out what you can afford to race then build to that budget

EG turbo is pointless if you cant afford tires and brakes to control the power...

biggest running costs are brakes and tires so build the car around what you can afford to run there

a good driver will make any car fast way cheaper than trying to build a fast car and you will also have more fun getting there

 

[PaKiMoNSTeR]

And don't skimp on safety! I got a proper Sabelt seat & 6 point harness. My cage is also not a backyard job. This is also where most guys don't see the need to spend money. Not so nice when you sliding on your head heading for a wall...

So safety, then tires... :thumbs: