Michael.

It is facinating how a $2XX,000 car ends up like that We see it all the time with $1XX,000 cars from the 90s and early 00s left rotting away priced at pocket change money. But the 8 was worth twice that of most things.

Looks like a bit of a swamp car. Imagine the smell.

Wow, neglected much. Buy it Jooles.

Mmmm at least the active Tourer fits in with the small MPV / Hatch class. The 5er GT is just like what you said a, steaming turd. I've seen quite a few on the road, theres just nothing to like, huge, unattractive and badly proportioned. At a glance it could be a Ssangyong or some over obscure brand.

Mmm should be interesting. I'll keep a watch for updates.

Sounds good James. I had noticed this lack of Euro cars too. So that would be any European car with a sub 180hp factory power figure? Obviously that means 2.5 / 2.8 E36s would be excluded with their ~190hp figure. Although the 323i 2.5s with the de tuned 170hp / 245nm engine would make for a good runner?

100% parts car imo. With such water damage you're going to have to strip most of the car apart to asses it all. Various modules too could have shorted due to the water ingress

Should have used an S62, better noise!

Its the one BMW that should have kept its camo so it's harder to see...

In this situation you might appreciate the Ducks Garden Soarer body rework. Yes, that is what it's called. Only in Japan..... Not sure what they were trying to achieve other than to take design cues from Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin

Do tell more?

The 2k cup has always intrigued me, seems like such a cool racing class to be involved with. Who here does it regularly? I really like the appeal of using a 320i E36 1998 in dual vanos spec, they are are cheap, plentiful and make a good sound. Not going to be as quick as a Toyota Levin or similar but an E36 with a six does make for a fun drive. Reminds me of the early 90s BTCC... I guess the only thing to take into consideration will be the cooling system / headgasket possibly needing an overhaul before doing and heated racing work. Thoughts?

Hahaha. That is all.

Yes and no. While an M car is great, you're buying a 20K+ car that is high maintenance and because its an M car it would have been driven enthusiastically for most of its life. Typically you'll find a regular 330i M or something has just been driven casually by a mature owner will be in better condition - of course this is a generalization but I think the logic stands. At least with a genuine M car you will have all the unique features and the M suspension, quicker rack, LSD, big brakes and axles, something that most non- M cars don't have, you could spend at least 5k on an E36/46 upgrading the suspension and brakes to that of an M car standard so not cheap. A good buy for someone who doesn't want to have to modify or do custom work and doesn't mind dealer services costs. But if you wanted a project that takes a bit of time and money its hard to beat building something yourself starting with a cheaper car If you had a 328i, in factory spec they are a "191hp / 280nm" car. I would expect a 6-7 psi setup that is intercooled and ignition / fueling is tweaked to suit such boost a realistic 40% hp/nm gain should be expected on those figures, of course its just a general guide - removing the tuned M52 intake runners would affect things to a degree... but.... 140% of 191/280 does make for 267hp and 392nm - theoretically. Heck thats more torque than an E46 M3. That kinda flywheel figure is pretty realistic too, that would equate to at least 200-220hp at the wheels,.. Graham aka Bravo proved that too, I recall with his cars M20B25 S/C setup made150rwkw / 200hp. Blah blah blah.

Pretty sure the 330i SMG system is a lot duller than the M3 system, besides its 100hp down too. Stick with the regular 5 speed auto and manual E46s and you'll be better off in more ways than one! That car is about 7.5k too much IMO.

Nice work Martin. I've got a pile of wood trims to do for my Soarers but its rather tedious work I keep putting off. BUT, the results will be worth it. Perhaps we should have a group day of wood polishing?

Very tasteful.

They would be lumping the E46 in with the E90 year of 2005. I have the same issue with my Soarer in the 1991 year change over of models. Annoying but oh well.

Looks like an i8 + 8 series. I think the hydrogen fuel cell is the way to go for mass consumer vehicles, the petrol process with its 100 years of investment can't be any more difficult than it is to supply hydrogen in pumps. By comparison batteries seem archaic and extremely taxing on resources .

Mmmm more 7ers

Probably just base spec ones with M details. Nice and cheap

Nice little parking space at the new pad! I'd get some of those restaurant windbreak screens that can roll up like this to keep windy debris & side ways rain way from the car, would make a massive difference to your working conditions

Great looking car. We just got a similar one in the family too. Facelift motorsport... mmmmm. 330i?

Great idea. I think they offer quite a cool unique package. I'm playing around with plans to supercharge my V8 Soarer, using a cheaper roots type unit, but I've also pondered what an intercooler/supercharged setup would go on my 2JZGE straight 6 Soarer, Comes back to the same thing for M5X engines, certainly could do something quite effective. I would probably use an M50 iron block with the better head, or whatever it is they do, remove the intake and use that space to make a quality custom manifold to mount a water air heat exchanger and the supercharger etc. Just a modest 5-7psi would be pretty decent for a 30-40% gain. All comes down to how much you want to spend really / how much work you can do yourself locally.

Awesome! Glad to hear this has panned out well. Dyno time!