I know nothing about BMW but...
Discussion
Check the usual suspects, history, electics, rust, smoke. Mine was very reliable. Listen to engine, sound OK? How does it drive, smooth, jerk free? Gearbox select gears OK? Do check for rust! Not very quick but very smooth engine, this should reflect through the car. i.e. smooooth. 139bhp and 120odd torque IIRC, depending upon age. Check clutch, some can suffer from the wobbles and will bounce until up to speed if very bad. Just make sure everything works, nothings leaking and it's not smoking.
Edit - did i mention rust (wheel arches, skuttle panel, sun roof, rear number plate lights area)
P.S. Is the boot dry? seals around the rear lights can go.
Edit - did i mention rust (wheel arches, skuttle panel, sun roof, rear number plate lights area)
P.S. Is the boot dry? seals around the rear lights can go.
Edited by m3evo2 on Wednesday 7th February 21:15
Any reason your targeting the 320? They are no more econimical than the 325 and you get quite a bit more power with the 2.5 (170 brake). Okay the 2 litre is a smoother engine but the 2.5 wins hand down in my book.
Look for rust in the front scuttle where it meets the wing (view with bonnet open). Check for damp carpets (another good sign). Rear arches rot (but less than fords) as does the rear of the cills. Cills also can hole where the meet the floor pan underneath. Lower parts of front wings behind the wheels suffer badly especially if the car has had factory mudflaps, mud build up behind the flap put together with the fact that the flap chafes the paint away equals problems.
Look in the history for head gasket problems and ensure the problem has been sorted. At about the 100k mark, 9/10 of the M20 6 cylinders need a head gasket. Heads can crack so close check is wise. Ensure the temp gauge reaches temperature and the engine does not run cool (a sure sign that the stats been removed to mask overheating). Apart from that (and the odd idle issue) they are pretty bomb proof.
Interior trim is easy (loads on eBay and down the breakers).
Everything is available from the dealers and places like GSF. Buy a good 'un and you won't regret it.
Look for rust in the front scuttle where it meets the wing (view with bonnet open). Check for damp carpets (another good sign). Rear arches rot (but less than fords) as does the rear of the cills. Cills also can hole where the meet the floor pan underneath. Lower parts of front wings behind the wheels suffer badly especially if the car has had factory mudflaps, mud build up behind the flap put together with the fact that the flap chafes the paint away equals problems.
Look in the history for head gasket problems and ensure the problem has been sorted. At about the 100k mark, 9/10 of the M20 6 cylinders need a head gasket. Heads can crack so close check is wise. Ensure the temp gauge reaches temperature and the engine does not run cool (a sure sign that the stats been removed to mask overheating). Apart from that (and the odd idle issue) they are pretty bomb proof.
Interior trim is easy (loads on eBay and down the breakers).
Everything is available from the dealers and places like GSF. Buy a good 'un and you won't regret it.
tdo said:
do any of them come or can they be fitted with a LSD?
Most 'Sport' models came with LSD as standard or an option, 325i Sport and last of the E30 line 318iS certainly had them. The E34 525i Sport also came with one and should be a fairly straight forward swap into an E30 as well.
LSD's from other contemporary BMW models should fit, though there are sometimes small variations between models and even within models. Look underneath on the diff case and look for a letter S, the code should be stamped on there and be something like 'S 3.25', which would indicate a Limited Slip Differential with 3.23:1 ratio. There are quite a large number of variable ratios around though, this link will give you a vague idea of what's possible and easily interchangeable.
http://data.bmrparts.com/bmwparts/326
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