October 24, 2009
1989 BMW E30 M3
Adam is on a roll, he unearths yet another gem from the collection, his 1989 BMW M3. You might be asking yourself “wait, is that two cars in a row that are German” Yep, seems we are on a roll. And as we say here at CarCast “Bitte Füllen Sie bitte den Tank”
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Adam,
Love the car. Have a silver on myself.
Tyler
Pretty abundant, huh? How about the 325iX?
My first car was a ’88 e30 325i. Maybe the best first car ever.
I had an 84 e30 325e as my 2nd car. It was a great 2nd car so I am sure it was an even better first car!
I should add that I got my ’88 e30 as my first car in 1998. That’s important info when talking “first cars”. The “silver bullet” as we called her was far from new, I got her with 298,000 miles on the clock and sold her to this Mexican fella that was gonna use it as a “work car” for his gardening business with 420,000 miles on it. The engine and transmission/clutch were so tight and solid in this car I would’ve drove her cross country the day I sold her without hesitation. I can just see my poor old baby with a fucking lawn mower hanging out the trunk.
Adam buddy you need to do some quick homework before talking about YOUR OWN CAR like that, I dont know if I can still listen to your carcast after hearing that
At least he got the color right…..
Props to you for owning a cool car, but you really need to get your facts straight buddy! haha. I’ll help. Only 5000 of these made it into America, they are not THAT common. The rear window deal you were talking about was for aerodynamics. Everything you see on the car is functional, and was built with racing in mind. The flares were to fit bigger wheels and tires, the spoiler was for downforce. There are a ton of differences between a standard 3 series and the M3. The front and rear windshields are bonded to the frame and are structural, it has 5-lug instead of 4, the flares, the trunk area, the bumpers, the engine and tranny and a slew of other differences. The engine in US spec form makes 192hp. The E30 M3 was meant to be a ‘momentum car’ and regularly outpaced cars with almost twice as much horsepower due to it’s ability to keep speed through the corners. And with the racing bit of it, the E30 M3 is the winningest touring car in history. Quite a legend everywhere else in the world. Come see us at http://www.s14.net it’s an all E30 M3 enthusiast website.
Thanks for sharing Adam! -Aaron L
Cut Adam some slack on the details, who do you think he is Jay Leno! 🙂
I am glad to see lots of comment about Adams gaffs about the M3, I am another owner, mine is 88 silver, red leather.
E30s weigh in at 2800 lbs. The spoiler/rear decklid is totally functional, which you can see if you drive in the rain! They found during testing that by raising the trunk lid and adjusting the angle of the windsheild that there was a significant aero improvement, and in order to get it on the race car they had to modify the production version. Ditto the windsheild, it is the same piece as the standard e30, but the gasket is special, and makes it the aero equivalent to a more modern bonded in windshield.
Ace, you also didn’t mention the unique sound of the engine, the clatter of the solid lifters and the injectors fireing, nice.
The block is iron, the head is of course aluminum, of course.
I forgive you Adam, but it is my baby…
Jay
2 questions:
1) Is this the same one you drove off the back of a tow truck?
2) We ever gonna see the car in the backrgound that looks like the car that a guy working with Ford in the 60’s built to beat up on the Ferraris, I dont have the cash to actually say “his” name. Also, which kit is it and what are you running?
Haha, you a are good, and you saved 10 Cents by not mentioning his name. That is my car not Ace’s. It may get up on a featured car as soon as we run out of Adam’s cars 🙂
It is a Herb Adams VSE monocoque aluminum chassis, not that common and they don’t do them really anymore.
Some images here
CarCast Cobra Images
as well as
GTSparkPlugs VSE Cobra
Sandy
Hey Man,
you don’t know anything about the E30 M3. Can you even drive this car? LOL
ace-
nice ride. i looked for one for a long time that was not too beat up. finally gave up my search when i got my 1988 E28 M5. that was a fun car too, until some hit and run took it off the books…… do you get into any of the older BMWs? i would like to give props to the 2002. affordable, fun, and buildable. like a go-kart on the streets. keep up the great carcasts.
herb
While everyone is piling on about differences between the E30 M3 and regular 3 series, don’t forget that the front suspension mounting points were relocated for the M3 to sharpen the handling. The tires wear out quicker, but so what?
I think it’s bizarre people give adam crap for a mistake here and there…wtf…would you rather he stop doing the podcast for crissake?
Having Ace and a podcast about cars is like finding free money in the podcast world so for you critics out there..stfu.
Please stop nit picking the body styling and engine specs, take her out and let her out and strech her legs. M cars are mediocre cars when they sit in a parking lot or are driven for a daily commute. They are made for one thing singing above 4,000 RPMs as they crest an apex and you roll your foot further when you dare. You can have more fun with 192hp in this M3 than 400hp in camaro SS, no doubt about it. I have a lowly 325es and do not lust over any of the high hp sports cars I have driven (C6 Z06, 997TT, E60 M5). I can beat the daylights out of my 325es and not worry about the huge collateral damage if anything breaks. Heh, just drive it.
Ingrates such as youselves, those of you who must break Ace and company’s balls, will bring around an end to the carcast. Would you nitpicking jerks piss on a twenty dollar bill if you found it on the street? These guys bust their balls to provide this service at NO CHARGE TO YOU, and make very little or no money at it, and all you see fit to do is complain. Shut the F*#CK up, please.
There is, btw, a polite way to point out gaffs and or technical errors, however, if you have nothing good to say, don’t say it.
Have a nice day.