Help me to choose a project....

[m3nace]

Hi Fanatics,

With my little one now being 4 months old, I am getting rid of the E46 M tomorrow :bawling:. The M is going to be replaced with a E90 320iA which is purely for the SO. I now find myself in the position to start of a nice project. I would love to get an E30 and possibly go the FI route but due to the high asking prices I don't think its very feasible. Another option that I looked at (purely bang-for-buck) is a Golf 1:hammerhead: with a 2L 16v turbo conversion. What would you guys suggest and keep in mind that it is not going to be driven daily.

 

[moranor@axis]

i would not spend a cent on modding a FWD

what about an e36? there seem to be some bargains out there the problem with the e30 is it will be hard to find a clean one without a big price tag

 

[freerider]

a turbo e36 328i :drool: those things make some massive power

 

[Hellas]

Keep the M...

 

[Sankekur]

Keep the M...

+1

 

[anile8-zn]

tough choice
i have a 2.0l 16v turbo and havent driven it in over a year.
it only makes 360whp but its completely undriveable
wheel spin into 5th
so even as a toy it has its limitations
i say a e30 or e36 is a good base to start from

 

[m3nace]

Keep the M...

I would have but the main reason for selling is that the SO needs to be mobile now. But never fear, another M will follow soon - maybe a E92 DCT - as soon as my daughter's education is sorted out

 

[zaleonardz]

E34 540 FTW !!!

 

[Hellas]

E34 540 FTW !!!

+1 You cannot beat the smiles per mile from a nicely tuned V8

 

[rick540]

V8's rock, they just keep delivering the fun from idle all the way to redline....

 

[andrewbuch]

E36 316i Turbo & Proper suspension etc for a track car..

I know of one being sold soon

 

[Hellas]

Cant believe nobody told you already...

NOTHING beats a golf with a cone or a corsa with a chip. Toy plus more for under R30k!

 

[Coisman]

imp:
why not look at the older toyotas that were rear wheel drive?
like a cressida or something, then put in what you want in there. :dunno:

 

[Gizmo]

M3 to a golf? So you want to go from a 4 star Ncap rating to a 0 star Ncap rating? Go take a walk through a vw scapyard and take a look how compact a mk1 becomes in an accident. Im so glad VW have stopped making them.:thumbsup:

As far as a toy goes, E36 328i turbo hands down!

 

[clutchplate]

I'm 100% with gizmo on this one..

If I was in your shoes right now....

I would take an E36 328i as first choice, 1 because you can get mods/parts for it much cheaper than most models, 2 because its almost as fast as my 540i stock, 3 because those motors are virtually un-killable.

My second choice for FI/toy would be an E34 535i Manual, Perfect car to turbo, very strong (I wouldn't take the 540 if u wanna go FI, its a much more difficult beast to work, maybe if u were going N/A.. then its a nice choice to modify.)

You could allways get an E30 .. but I just wouldn't, its too far a step back from your E46 M3 .. otherwise get an older 4door E46 project.

looking forward to see what you get ..

 

[andrewbuch]

What about a 99 e46 328i? And turbo it. Its comfy. Safe. And can still drive the family around.

 

[moranor@axis]

with an e36 you can get an lsd cheap and an e36 is cheaper the e46 is pretty but if you building a track car an e36 would be better...
an e46 is a nice road car but im not sure its worth the price differance for a track car the chassis is stiffer on an e46 but you can just fit a roll cage to and e36 and get the same thing

you dont want to put huge power into it then have to spend 15k for an lsd to put the power down

 

[clutchplate]

nah, e46 is soft .. suspension will tear.. you will need ALLOT of mods to get that thing strong. just not worth it. E36 FTW.

 

[moranor@axis]

forgot about the mounting point yes they bad but the roof and the rest of it are supposed to be stiffer

 

[m3nace]

Thanks alot for all the input guys. So far E36 328 Turbo is in the lead followed closely by E34 540i. Now the search begins....