SOTW: BMW 325i E30
Shed spots the ideal tool for summer circuit driving on a budget
But for those wishing to take to the track on a Shed-sized budget, the agile Bavarian wonder that is the E30-generation BMW 3-series has been steadily creeping beyond the £1k SOTW budget for some time now.
Only a few years ago a tidy E30 325i was relatively easy prey for the experienced Shed-hunter, but in 2011 the E30 has been firmly moved into the realm of 'collectable' - with the result that sub-£1k examples are generally at the tatty end of the scale.
To go with the 170-or-so horses that the 2.5-litre straight six ought to be able to muster, you'll get a track-appropriate manual gearbox complete with short-shift kit, a stripped interior, H&R Cup suspension, proper seats, four-point harnesses and even polycarbonate side windows with proper racing-style sliders for that full faux-racer experience.
Heck, the original BBS cross-spokes even have some relatively decent rubber wrapped around them.
But it's well under a 'bag of sand', the MOT runs until June and - well - you're probably going to stick it in a gravel trap or two anyway if you buy it this summer. Buy it, please - before we do...
Advert is reproduced below
325i Coupe Manual Black Track-day Ready (1989)
147,000 miles £800
Our 325i is for sale. A veteran of both Le Mans and the Nurburgring, and in my possession for about 7 years.
Originally intended to be a shared track car and general toy, 3 marriages and a baby have meant that it has been garaged for nearly 5 years and sat outside for nearly 1.
In that time we've taken it to Le Mans, and to the Nurburgring, both without incident, and trundled it about a bit, but basically it hasn't had regular use for a good while, though it always starts and goes and stops fine.
It does have a current MOT until June, but currently no tax.
What have we done? H&R Cup suspension all-round. interior strip-out, removal of sunroof mech and bonnet hinges, installed 2 corbeau racing seats, 4-point harnesses, short-shift kit, M3 eccentric bushes to give proper geometry at the front, 15" orignial BBS cross-spoke alloys and Yokohama tyres in good condition. Polycarbonate front side windows with sliders.
What you'll like: Its great fun, pretty quick, sounds brilliant, very stiff and (we think) handsome, in a junk-yard dog kind of way.
What you won't like: a front wing (supplied) that needs a final coat of paint, and changing for the rusty one currently fitted. Some general scruffiness - its never going to be a convincing Warsteiner race-rep. A missing V5 - the victim of 3 or 4 house-moves since buying it.
The car is available to view in Stoke on Trent, please drop me a line and I'll talk you though it.
It's a genuine car and only for sale as we're rapidly getting old and dull. Some of us have started making odd noises when we sit
Surely no-one on PH can knock this shed, it's a fun thing.
There, get me, telling PH how to do SOTW
k track-prepped 325?Regrettably more and more track days seem to be turning into some kind of destruction derby.
But yes, in itself good entertainment.
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