Flinch

While the white one may be cheaper, I personally would still be interested in the black car. Just comparing the two craigslist ads side by side its very obvious a lot of care and though went into the black car vs the white one, and I'm sure that reflects in the car itself. The chassis mileage is a tad high, but it looks like literally everything has been replaced. The car already has half of the SpecE30 suspension, which is the only thing that should be on that car, you just need to buy the H&R Race Springs. Pick up a set of TR Motorsport wheels with tires from Tire Rack and go hit the pavement. Bottom line though, if the car doesn't speak to you I wouldn't buy it "just because." The NASA season will be wrapping up in a few weeks and I'm sure people will be selling off projects or complete cars over the winter as they change classes or get out of the sport....the right car will come along. Just stay away from anything domestic: total money pit.


If you really want to drive a Miata I could probably make that happen, but my availability sucks. I briefly considered having a roll bar put in my Miata as a cheaper alternative to my Mustang for track duty....then realized how much interior space and comfort would have to be sacrificed to make it happen; and at 6'1" I don't have a lot to give.

blackout

Funny you mention that, as I almost feel like the car would have "spoken to me" if I would have driven it. It's been so long since I've sat in anything other than a late-model car that I completely forgot what it was like to have an unfinished interior and I think that put me off a bit too... but looking back on it I think it actually adds to the car's character. I have to remind myself I'm not buying this for concourse. It has a passenger seat, everything else is a bonus.

I greatly appreciate the offer to drive the miata, but between your and my availability it almost assuredly won't happen this week. I've got one more car to look at though- now that I'm considering raising my budget I've continued to look at other 240s that were initially out of my price range, and there's a promising S14 for roughly the same the E30 would set me back. It's totally stock, but it looks exceptionally clean. I still think I'd lean towards the E30 because I'd still have to prep the car for track use, but if it's in as good condition as it appears to be it would probably still be just fine for an HPDE or two before the season ends and I can attend to some stuff over the winter. The idea of building an immaculate S14 from scratch has its own appeal... but I have to of course verify the car is actually what the ad says it is.

BUT to add another factor into this whole process, my dog hasn't been able to keep food down for the past few days. She's 11, and has had some health issues in the recent past. I can't stretch my budget at the moment with a clear conscience until she's better. She goes to the vet today.

Rich

Send me the link to the S14 you're looking at.

And if you are ever in the Hampton Roads area.....you can drive my Miata as well. It now has a tune, full headers/exhaust, FortuneAuto coilovers w/Swift springs, Hard Dog M3 Sport rollbar, Racing Beat swaybars and very lightweight wheels. It's a swell driver.

blackout

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...07563489&Log=0

Again, thanks a bunch for the offer- if this thing drags on I'll be sure to try to take both of you up on it.

blackout

Lol. So I bought this instead-

https://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/5181735088.html

97 M3 for $3200 to save people clicking on the link. I honestly didn't think I'd find one worth a shit for anywhere near that price... Not my first color choice but the paint is clean, trim is like new, interior is clean as well but needs a driver's side door panel but the headliner is like new (which is AMAZING as it's the original headliner), everything works (including A/C!), runs perfect. Even has tolerable wheels and tires but they'll probably be the first to go. It's on coilovers but not sure which ones so they'll probably be replaced as well. It's got a ton of miles and I'll have to take stock of what needs replaced in the cooling system but FUCK it's half what I thought I'd be spending and 1/3 what I thought a decent E36 M3 would run.

I couldn't be more pleased with what I found at the price point. Now I have a month to get it ready for summit point.

jarrett2k

I'm an inch taller than you and the Hard Dog bolt in I had installed never bothered me. Then again I still had the soft top.

Carnine

Link has been deleted. 3500 is a great price for any M3. More money for parts and its on coilovers. Maybe just fix the lil odd and ends and take it out ASAP. Get a feel for the car and the way HDPE works.

Anyways lets see this bad boy.

blackout

INO INO. And they told me they'd delete the ad too, I'm dumb.

I should have shot some pics while I was looking at it last night, I'll get some up tomorrow.

blackout

Brought the car back late last night, so snapped a few pics this morning.









You can see the only significant dent and the only rust I could find in the rear corner shot. I stuck the aftermarket clear corner lens back in for pictures but it's broken and will need replaced. The interior shot shows the tear in the seat and the replica M contour wheels I picked up for an extra $600- I thought they were OEM but being the idiot trusting person I am didn't examine them beforehand so I'm in the process of asking the seller if I can give them back. If I don't hear back by today, I hate to do it this way but they accepted a check for the wheels and I'm considering just canceling it and dropping the wheels back off at their house. I was told they were authentic that's why I justified the price point- I could easily get some rep contours brand new for $600. I suppose they'd be ok for the track as even the OEM contours are cast and aren't necessarily lightweight but it's the principal of buying something only to find out they're fake... I'm not even sure the sellers knew they were fake so hopefully they tell me to just bring them back.

Aside from the fake wheel fiasco, I'm pretty pleased. It's rough but it's got potential. The motor is very solid. A couple things that will need pretty immediate attention before it can make its way onto a track-

- The shifter bushing feels loose and the clutch may need adjusted... or something. It's tough to get it into first from a stop (but it goes...), and second is a rough engagement too. Might just be worn syncros because 3rd-5th is fine. It's got a shitload of miles...

- It's got michelin all seasons on these aftermarket wheels with good tread... but it vibrates at highway speeds. I'm not entirely convinced it's the wheels/tires as it's fairly intermittent but it's the most likely culprit. I was considering keeping the wheels around to use the car as a winter beater; I'll likely not get to 60+mph if I'm driving in snow and I could attempt to have the wheels balanced but I kind of just wanted to get rid of them. Running out of space in the garage and they're probably barely worth $200... depending on what happens with the rep contours I'll have a different wheel/tire set on before I head to the track.

- Almost none of the lights work. It's got aftermarket headlights and corners, and I think euro taillights. The brake lights work at least and they did give me the factory headlights so this should be resolved quickly.

- ABS and airbag lights are on (but no check engine!). No clue what it'll take to fix it but it'll need to be addressed before it can pass inspection. I think I had to track the same issues down in my E36 as well and it was fairly trivial but who knows... the brakes honestly didn't seem to stop that well. Could have been because it had been sitting for a while (or I'm just used to an M4...), but I'll get some new pads/rotors on it and run down that ABS light before it gets driven any more than a few miles.

- Driver's side electric seat won't recline.

- The tint will probably have to come off

- Have to figure out if the tires are the root cause of the vibration at high speed, and take stock of anything else that needs to be addressed in the suspension. I'm guessing tie rod ends at a minimum, probably ball joints and we'll see how the control arms are. I figure I'll refresh everything that needs it back to OEM standards first and get it to the track as a baseline before any more modifications. If it needs bushings right away I'll go ahead and upgrade them. Still unsure about the coilovers but they felt fine on the ride back. Felt pretty good actually but we'll see what they are/what shape they're in. If I can squeeze anything more out of them they'll probably be left alone.

- Radio is showing "enter code" because the battery was recently replaced. Have to chase down the code or just deal with no radio- I won't waste time/money putting another one in.

- I thought the A/C worked- and it might- but the climate controls are inop. Possibly just a fuse but could be problematic.

First things first, it needs to pass inspection. It's a 97 so I can't register it as historic yet so I need to chase down all the things that could otherwise be overlooked on a track car (e.g., air bag light). I was hoping to get it ready to roll by mid-October but that's actually seeming fairly unlikely now. This might be a winter project to have ready in the spring. The M4 might have to do for my first HPDE...

Acrytet70

Good find man.. looks pretty solid.