School me on E30's

[White.Lightning]

Hey guys. Currently I drive a 98 Trans Am. It's a heads/cam car making about 430rwhp/400rwtq. I am thinking of selling it to get into something completely new, completely different- a 2door E30 BMW.

Plans for the car would be a secondary vehicle (I have a work truck) that is used on nights and weekends to take the girlfriend out and head over friends houses/etc. The goal would be something 400-550rwhp range, turbo, manual trans.

I wanted to see what everyone's opinions were on the following:

-Engine choice- explain reasons to choose the one you recommend
-Turbo 'kit', turbo size, intercooler, etc
-Engine management
-Wheel options- which look best on E30's
-Places to buy parts for these cars

Basically, anything you can tell me about them would be appreciated. If there are specific things to stay away from or if there are specific things that should definitely be done to improve the vehicle. Chance are I would grab a stock car with 100k+ miles and start rebuilding from there.

Thanks for the help!
Andy

[Bin_jammin]

Well for starters, e30tech and r3vlimited are your new best buddies. Those two sites will keep you in the info on e30s all day long and all night too. R3v is full of douchebags, but there's a ton of great info too.

Best engine you'll find for that car is the m50. I believe there's strong points on either side of the vanos/non-vanos argument, you'll have to look that up, but either will support your power levels with a turbo kit. I don't know of any affordable kits in that price range, for example 666 fabrication will sell you a manifold for something like $1600. DIY will get you a lot of value when it comes to BMWs. Personally I'd go with an m50tu (vanos) as they're the most plentiful and cheapest. It will make a ton of power, and when you blow it up you can get another one for $400.


The tranny you'll be looking for is a ZF320z, or 310z. Either will work fine, came in early m50 powered e34s, and in e36 m3s. Lots of different clutch setups available.

Wheels is all up to you man. Couldn't even begin to guess what you like.

Lots of people shop Bavarian Autosport, but places like BMAparts.com, Autohausaz.com, pelicanparts.com, fcpgroton.com are good places to start. If they don't list something you need, shoot them an email and ask, they can probably get it.


There's always stuff to stay away from, but that's stuff you'll find on e30 specific boards, you should check those out.


Pics of girlfriend?

[White.Lightning]

Thanks for the reply!!!

Here are some pics of the T/A:

[Bin_jammin]

Nice!