Tell me what's wrong with this!

Recently I made a forum post asking about cars, and what would be a good candidate for autocross other than miatas! I found a car that I would look into more if I knew what I should be looking for, and obviously that I need to knock the price down a bit on it.

The car! http://www.viponeimports.com/view/1545/Red-1985-BMW-325e-in-Tampa-FL

You guys are the gurus of knowing all about cars from pictures haha. I am going to take a loot at the lot tomorrow and see what is around there, I know the basic things to look for on an old car, what in specific do you guys feel is the most important factor when looking for a car at a E36 M3ty little dealership lol. I've been trolling CL for about two weeks now and nothing has really sparked my interest that is in my price range...

(Barring http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/cto/4024484700.html)

Which is an entirely different animal...

Thank you all again for your input!

-Future Rally/autocrosser

I don't know much more than the fact that the 'e' after 325 stands for economy. I don't know if it's a de-tuned engine, taller gears or what helps it be more economical. For an autocrosser, the tall gears would be a bigger obstacle than the de-tuning.
That's all I know about that, and that being said, I'd bet I'm totally wrong.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/cto/4034108666.html

Can you push harder and try to get this. At least it can evolve to a spec e30 car. The 325 e needs a motor swap to qualify. Plus all the wires in the footwell make me nervous. That listing you posted has been on cg forever now.

I see haha, the wires bothered me too! Do you think that $2500 is about right for the posting you made there? or would I be able to shoot for about $2000? I'm a budget minded person and I have money set aside in small increments for different parts of the car, as well as the whole car itself. That's the only reason I was trying to stay under like 1500 for the car, which would allow wiggle room in another department or for maintenance parts and bits.

What I would do is grab the 325e, then hit junkyards to find a 325i head. Swap them out, along with the manifolds and other odds and ends. This creates what is called the 328 stroker. It takes the best of both engines and makes a nice solid motor.

Unless you are looking to go spec E30. In that case grab the 325i.

Seeing wires hanging from under the steering column does not give me warm, fuzzy feelings. Still, if it runs OK and you can get the price down to under a grand, it might be worth risking. "e" cars don't like to rev much - think diesel-like redline. They make for good E36 engine swap candidates, tho.

Be warned: While E30's make for decent rallycross cars, they aren't so great for autocross without a few modifications that put them into uncompetitive classes. The autobahn-oriented slow steering rack and low 2nd gear top speed hurt it in many autocross situations. Granted, the car isn't competitive in any class, so if you just want to have fun, a steering rack swap will put it in Street Mod where engine swaps are also allowed.

It really depends some on how much of a project you can take on right now. If you're looking for a car you can just drive and have fun with, save up a bit more cash and find a later "i" car.

Gotcha haha. I don't mind doing a bit of work to get it to be more fun, however I'm not going to want to be competitive with other people. Only my girlfriend and I are looking to share this car for the dirt, and track and just have fun. It's a toy car and a hobby haha. However, I had no idea that the e-models had a low redline. Almost a deal breaker! Really I am just looking for a fun car that isn't over the top hard to fix and fun suspension options. I plan to keep the car for a couple years as at first a DD/Backup DD and rallycross car. Then move it into a solely cross car.

What input does anyone have on the festiva? Maybe not that particular one, but since I can't seem to find a fiesta anywhere that is in remotely workable condition then I must move on to the fiesta. There are a few other small cars like a festiva that I have been looking at... Like the starlet, however the starlet is consistently out of the price range that I would like to spend on the car.

Thanks again all

The E30 really fits the bill on fun to drive. There is a reason they are so popular around here. I would really recomend one. Just find the best one in your price range. If you were to bring 2 grand in cash to that ad in tampa, i would bet you would ge the car.

If you are at all mechanically inclined I would pick up that 325e. You would probably get it for 1000$ if you wanted.

The ammount of information out there on these cars, and awesome aftermarket parts makes these a really fun car to own.

I would say there is nothing wrong with an e for auto cross and rally cross. But I wouldn't get one pre 87. The redline is about 4500 rpm. Later Ed go to 6200. While the e is intended to be economy bmw did that by axing .2 liters of displacemnt and giving it lots of low end torque. Significantly more than the I variant on the assumption that lower rev requirements equal fewer cylinder fillings as the car goes stoplight to stoplight in the city. For auto cross this isn't a bad thing.

You DO want to either get an ES model of find an LSD to add. This is by far the most significant add for auto crossing. There are a zillion ratios out there to fine tune your range and all but the 3.73s are cheap.