M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

GENERAL => Off-topic discussion => Topic started by: deansweet on April 07, 2014, 04:17:23 PM

Title: Yes or No...
Post by: deansweet on April 07, 2014, 04:17:23 PM
Do I really want another 1991 BMW...

http://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/4391479705.html


Dean
Title: Re: Yes or No...
Post by: DesktopDave on April 07, 2014, 09:01:04 PM
The E38 is a great car, especially that M30 model. The M70 versions are entertaining too..more options (and more problems, I've heard). Solid, placid, excellent highway ride. I prefer the shorter version, especially with the 5-speed, but they're incredibly hard to find. OTOH the long one has a limousine-class ride with just enough BMW handling to keep things entertaining.

The only mechanical problem I recall with them is the thrust arm bearings, like all the bigger BMWs. My E34 shared a lot with the E38, including the quirky automatic heating system. Final stage resistor tends to be quirky too. Once I installed 750iL arms along with Bilstein HDs and Eibachs, it was a whole different car.

If you go get it and the head is cracked, I have a perfectly flat M30 head...just some bent valves to sort out...