SOTW: BMW 325i E30
Shed spots the ideal tool for summer circuit driving on a budget
Say the words 'E30 325i coupe' and, for a large proportion of the PH community, the words 'track' and 'slag' will almost inevitably feature in the following sentence.
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.
So today's SOTW is pretty much manna from heaven: a tidy 325i that's already been track-prepared... no other SOTW candidate is really going to get a look-in...
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.
It's not perfect: the V5 is missing, you'll have to add tax to the £800 asking price, and the guys selling it freely admit that it ain't exactly concours.
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.
I drove this as a 'normal' car for my daily driver for about 2 years from 2004-6, and since then it has been owned by a group of 4 friends (including myself) and used, basically, not at all.
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.
The basics: it started life in 1989 as a BMW 325i 2-door Manual in Diamond Black. It has done about 147,000 miles. It runs very nicely and was quick and fun when it was as standard. Its now a bit quicker, and a lot noisier.
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
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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