FS: 1986 325eS 5-speed (Low Miles)

[halmotors]

I am not the seller of this car, nor am I affiliated with them in any way except wanting their car. If anyone's looking for a low-mileage eS in the New England area, or is willing to travel to get one, this might be the car for you. The car is currently located in Newport, NH.

I saw it on my way home from work this evening; stopped to look for giggles. I didn't have a camera with me, nor pen and paper, so I'll take some shots and note down the phone number for anyone who wants it.

For sale is a 1986 325eS 5-speed, Cardinalrot with black interior. From what I saw, the body is immaculate...not a spot of rust on it (and that's saying something, considering it's a New England car). The seats are slightly worn, but the interior looks to be in mint condition, as well. The car appears to be stock, with bottlecaps.

Now for the kicker...

The car has 52k miles on it, and it's obvious that it's been well taken care of and garaged. If someone's looking for a low mileage eS, this one seems worth the time to check out.

Asking price at the moment is $6000. I'm unsure whether they'll take less or not.

Pics will be up tomorrow.

[savage217]

I am not the seller of this car, nor am I affiliated with them in any way except wanting their car. If anyone's looking for a low-mileage eS in the New England area, or is willing to travel to get one, this might be the car for you. The car is currently located in Newport, NH.

I saw it on my way home from work this evening; stopped to look for giggles. I didn't have a camera with me, nor pen and paper, so I'll take some shots and note down the phone number for anyone who wants it.

For sale is a 1986 325eS 5-speed, Cardinalrot with black interior. From what I saw, the body is immaculate...not a spot of rust on it (and that's saying something, considering it's a New England car). The seats are slightly worn, but the interior looks to be in mint condition, as well. The car appears to be stock, with bottlecaps.

Now for the kicker...

The car has 52k miles on it, and it's obvious that it's been well taken care of and garaged. If someone's looking for a low mileage eS, this one seems worth the time to check out.

Asking price at the moment is $6000. I'm unsure whether they'll take less or not.

Pics will be up tomorrow.

Doesnt sound like a good deal at all. Maybe if it was an is or something like that. It's an E!

[///M3Augy]

What, you don't like a 4.5K redline Nick?

[halmotors]

eS, guys. They're infinitely more desireable than an E, simply for swapping on an I head and making more power and torque than the I engine has.

I agree that the price is a bit optimistic though, even given the mileage. They just put it out for sale today though, so I imagine after a while they'd be willing to haggle.

[///M3Augy]

Swapping the head would make it a 2.7 liter stroker..? Srs question is srs. What kind of power does that make?

[halmotors]

A number of folks are claiming around 170-180hp from the conversion, with similar torque, off of simple bolt-on mods. Obviously a programmable chip, higher compression pistons, 524d crank, larger AFM, etc. is going to net more than that. The hp/torque numbers aren't so impressive as the curve is...it's actually quite flat, and higher than the standard i M20.

Some people are stroking these things out to 3.0's, but then the cost/gain ratio is getting really screwy. I know we're not talking about ungodly numbers here, but some E30 owners like to keep it old-school.

*edit* And yes, you'd essentially have a 2.7i engine. Going with an overbore of 1mm on some custom pistons pretty much nets you 2.8 liters off of it.

[///M3Augy]

Interesting.

[M3Alpine99]

Doesnt sound like a good deal at all. Maybe if it was an is or something like that. It's an E!

Nothing wrong with a good ETA.

[halmotors]

http://www.strictlyeta.net/index.html if anyone's interested in more info about 2.7 strokers.

[M3Alpine99]

If you can talk the price down just leave it as is. ETA's are as close to invincible as possible. You can easily outrun an "i" car at the track or auto-x in an eS. They are not horrible :)

And they get good mileage for a 6 banger!

[halmotors]

I'm still tossing up the idea of an M50 or one of these 2.7 strokers to swap into my car this winter, so I'm not really in the market for this eS. I thought I'd through it out there in case anyone else would be interested...the E30's are such wonderful little cars.

[M3Alpine99]

I am interested so when you get pics or number or whatever let me know!

[halmotors]

Definitely. There's already one other person who's interested in it, but you'll both be getting the info at the same time...so amazing race GO!

[E30SPDFRK]

An es has exactly the same engine as an e- pretty much only the seats, diff, valence and wing are different.

Putting an i head on one will make it really low compression and will get you just about stock i horsepower #'s and a little more torque. You need to start with an 88 325e if you want to make a good budget stroker.

When you go take pics, try to get pics of all the common e30 rust areas- battery tray, front rockers, licence plate lights, inside top of the right rear wheel well, etc. This car sounds interesting, if slightly overpriced.

[halmotors]

The only reason people recommend to start with an '88 325 (not 325e) is because it already has the i head, albeit without the i cam. Using an '88 325's pistons will give you low compression, yes...around 8.8:1. That's why you end up either using the i pistons and shaving them, or getting a set of custom pistons.

The nice thing about getting an eS is that you're getting the upgraded diff, seats, valence and wing already, instead of having to upgrade to those in the future.

Alright, here's the pics I promised. It's not 100% perfect, but it's in really good shape. I was unable to get ahold of the owners, so I still don't know how flexible they'll be on price.

Keep in mind, I'm not selling this car, nor am I affiliated with them. Everyone can rant and rave and argue about whether the price is worth it or not all they want...I really don't care. I'm putting this out there on the off chance that there's an enthusiast out there who's willing to drop the money on a car like this.

Notes:



There isn't a spot of rust on the car, not even around the rear license plate.
The paint is, for the most part, in excellent condition. The front airdam obviously has some chips in it, and there are one or two more along the lower half of the body, but it's clear the car has been taken care of.
No interior shots; the car was locked and I couldn't get ahold of the owners, plus an uncooperative sun prevented me from shooting any through the glass.
Electric sunroof.
13-Button OBC.
The chrome trim has light oxidation, but it's nothing an hour's worth of work won't fix.
Carpet is immaculate, however the leather has minute cracks all over the surface; needs some care. No rips, tears, or open fabric.
Stock premium stereo.
As you can see in the photos, the front airdam needs to be set back into place along the back end of it; nothing seems to be broken or rusted out.
Roundels are so shiny and clean, you could eat off them.
Bottlecaps are in great condition, albeit slightly dirty. No curb rash.
Kidneys and front grilles are in great condition.
Rear spoiler is straight; no curves or distortion.
Rubber could use some forever black, however none of it is cracked.

Any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll attempt to answer them. Now on to the photos!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim12.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/halmotors/Bim9.jpg

[Lucid3ntr0py]

Looks nice- thanks for the pics!

[E30SPDFRK]

The reason you start with an 88 325e (its still an e even if it doesn't say it on the back) is because of the pistons. They are matched to the 325i head, so you wont have compression loss. The combustion chamber in a pre 88 e is much smaller, so the pistons are lower compression to even it out.


Looks like a very nice car, but I still wouldn't pay that much for it. If the owners could be talked down to around 4k it would be a great buy though.

[M3Alpine99]

Shoot I wouldn't pay more than 2-2.5 :)

[halmotors]

The price is pretty high for it, and hopefully whoever ends up buying the car is able to talk them down a bit. I'd say $2500-$3000 on the high end for it. I haven't driven it though, so I can't comment on the mechanical stability of the vehicle. I'm just wondering where they pulled $6k from...

*edit* There literally is not a speck of rust on this car, and considering it's a New England car, that's pretty damn amazing.

[M3Alpine99]

Yah I understand that. Like you said though 6K is way out there.

[M-technik-3]

Looks like a repaint definately not a 6K car. 2.5K max in my book, as it's clean and appears unmolested.

52K an a 86 has it ever had a timing belt job? Or a water pump.

[halmotors]

I know not the details of maintenance, as I was unable to get ahold of the owners to find out. If you're interested, I can shoot you their phone number.