I bought this car as a 1984 733i in 1998 with 150k miles. A couple years later I got the hare-brained idea to take this car to driving school. I was hooked and was learning my apexes, but got tired of being passed on the straights. After considering several options, I figured my best one was to drop an S38 in the darned thing. The rest is history.
The conversion was completed in 2001 when the chassis had 201k miles. The car now has nearly 290k miles. The modifications include:
* S38b35 engine (80k miles at the time of conversion)
* Euro headers
* G280 transmission (40k miles at the time of conversion)
* 4:10 big case diff with 50% LSD (rebuilt by Blanton about 7-8 years ago with new 4.10 ring and pinion from Maxmillian)
* Dinan springs
* 28mm front sway bar (stock 27mm)
* 22mm rear adjustable sway bar
* Custom valved Bilstein struts front and rear
* Recaro SRD driver's seat
* Bav Auto front strut bar
* Short shifter (can't remember if it's M3 or Z3)
* Euro bumpers
* Slotted rotors with Porterfield Racing Pads
* Custom exhaust with E36M3 cats and 745i muffler (yes, it passes the CA sniff test...)
I can provide either BBS RX or Style 8 wheels, both with Kumho Victoracer tires.
The car has been very reliable on the track. The only issue I've ever had is power steering pumps, as E23 pumps don't seem to like regular trips to 6800 rpm. In the last few years, I've learned that upshifting at ~6200 (redline of the M30) not only doesn't upset the balance of the car, it saves PS pumps.
Of course, I have driven it on the street and cross country...with street tires the car is not too harsh.
The car was repainted stock Arctic Blue in 2004 and is a bit worn. There are a couple of scrapes but the car has not been in an accident in my possession. The interior is in decent shape, the HVAC doesn't work but the pieces are there.
I have had great fun with the car. If I had won the lottery, I would keep the car but alas such is life.
This is a difficult car to price as you can imagine. I put out about $20k to put together this car. The memories are priceless. I think a fair price is $7,500...
And now the pics:
More proof the E23s never get any respect...
) although gems sometimes do sneak through. Much less often in the last several years though.