Messages

1

General Topics / Beater - advice needed

« on: July 30, 2008, 04:04:00 PM »

hehe, thx John. The Miata.net crowd is very specific - a little too much so - but therein lies the fun of ridiculing their misconceived notions. It's an older more mature crowd though w/decently heavy traffic. Taking a look at a 318is tonight. Price is a bit high for me, but supposed to have a good amount of parts replaced. I'll update you guys as things develop.

2

General Topics / Beater - advice needed

« on: July 30, 2008, 07:43:25 AM »

318i is fine as long as its an 90-91 and not a 84-85.

90-91 318i = 4 door M42, 318is  = 2 door M42
84-85 318i = 2 door M10

I was under the impression the M42 only came in the '91 model year. Were mid-year + later '90 318's equipped w/the m42 as well?

If these are your only requirements, don't rule out an early Miata. A lot easier to find than an m42 powered e30, damn near indestructible and when equipped with konis and sticky tires more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Of course the e30 is great and should be findable in your price range. You may just have to look a while for a decent example.

I've thought about Miatas for a long time - miata.net is my "home" forum despite not having one. However, since the gearing for the car is so short, I've seldom heard of anyone averaging 30 mpg or better... even in a NA.

3

General Topics / Beater - advice needed

« on: July 29, 2008, 03:19:08 PM »

Thx. I've been scouring all the forums and C-list as far as NC. Lots of 318i's not so many 318is'...

4

General Topics / Beater - advice needed

« on: July 28, 2008, 02:14:08 PM »

Hey guys,

I'm looking into purchasing/building myself a daily driver/beater. I need something that will avg. 30+ mpg in mixed driving and is rwd. Budget is $1500-$3000, but a lot closer to $1500 (I figure I'd blow through $1500 worth of parts right away).

Ideally, I'd love to find a '91 318is, but these things are getting harder and harder to find.

Also thought about picking up a 1970's 2002 and swapping in an M42, but that's a much bigger project than I want to take on right now.

Soooo... question is... since the e30 platform was sold in the states from about '84 to '91, how interchangeable are the various engines that came in these things?

What parts are involved with swapping out an M20 and installing an M42 (aside from the motor)?

I was thinking about just picking up the first e30 I came across (well, acceptable one anyway), and driving it while I sourced/rebuilt an M42.

I know 30 mpg might be a stretch, but this thing's going to be a daily beater/track rat~ so I'd probably be gutting it except for two front seats and a few interior pieces.