1987 BMW E30 325IS Coupe Track Drift Built Suspension LSD 2 Engines Project NJ

1987 BMW 3-Series IS Additional Info:

Please Read all and feel free to come check out the car before bidding. First I'll give a brief history and then I'll get into all the suspension and engine(s) details.
This E30 was my first car purchased 13 years ago when I was 15. I drove it daily for 5 years until I decided to build the suspension back in 2010. Once the suspension was fully done I drove it for a few more months and took one fatal trip down to DC on oil that should have been changed. On the way home we started to hear a rattle in the engine which to me sounds like a spun connecting rod bearing or a very angry valve. That day the car drove for another 2 hours like that and got us home. Since then it started and moved on its own power from garage to garage while I rebuilt a spare engine I had bought from a small enthusiasts' group in Eastern PA. The engine was just about ready to go in so I started taking the existing engine out of the car. As it sits - the engine is ready to come out - all that's still holding it in are the motor mounts and the trans bell housing (radiator and all auxiliary parts are out of the way). The reason I never finished this car is that my priorities shifted back then and I decided to go back to college. Now; 8 years, 2 degrees, 4 states, 5 jobs and 3 girlfriends later I find myself back at my parents' house staring at my love affair and wishing I had the time to do her justice and finish her. But alas life happens and I am moving again, this time across the country, in less than a month. Car has 135k miles.
Suspension: I built this car specifically for autocross and drifting. Spent over $3000 on suspension components and the wheels. All 4 corners have Koni Yellow adjustable race strut inserts paired with Ireland Engineering Stage 3 springs rated up to 540 inch pounds or something crazy stiff. The front also has Treehouse Racing Eyeballs (these are reduced size tephlon control arm mounts that minimize roll and maximize steering response. Front corners are adjustable even further with a set of Vorshlag Camber Plates. The last bits up front that were new 5000 miles ago but not upgrades were new control arms, sway bar end links and mounting bushings, tie rods... basically all wearable suspension parts that weren't upgraded were replaced with new high quality stock stuff. Same goes for the rear, all non aftermarket stuff was replaced with high quality stock. And in the photos you'll also see a set of Vorshlag reinforced rear strut tower mounts that at the time of the suspension build I somehow forgot to install. The wheels are very light Sportmax 16 inch. The tires cost about 800 for the set and have less than 5000 miles on them but since the car has been sitting they are showing some age and should probably be replaced if you plan on driving this as hard as I planned to. The suspension being adjustable was great; the springs are so stiff that if you couldn't adjust the rebound rate on the struts it'd be a hard car to drive on the road. But the Konis are awesome, I'd leave them loose driving to the track and once I got there within 2 minutes you could tighten up the whole car and be race ready. Which reminds me, the last time I did autocross I blew the motor mounts and replaced them with some aftermarket thick and stiff race ones - I think these were from Ireland Engineering too and not cheap. All 4 wheel bearings/hubs have less than 5k miles on them.
The Engines: All engines and parts included with this car are the 2.5 liter straight 6 M20B25 engine. Not the 1.8 318 engine, not the 2.7 or ETA m20b27 slug motor from the 325e. Its all the high revving high output M20B25. As stated above, the engine in the car has what I've determined to be a lower end issue. It will still start but I wouldn't suggest using it as is. The engine on the stand in the photos is the one I bought from the enthusiasts in PA. When purchased they showed me photos of the car it came from, which had 110k miles and had been smashed in the rear at a stop light. Since then I rebuilt it from the shortblock up, meaning all gaskets and wearable parts are new like ARP head studs, the water pump, thermostat, heat shileds etc etc. The engine block has not been rebuilt with new rings etc, compression was great in all 6 cylinders when I got it so I left it alone. All seals are good. The rebuild kit I bought came with front and rear seals and a handful of other gaskets and parts for the block which haven't been put in yet. There's a lightweight aluminum adjustable camshaft timing gear on there. And in the photos you'll see all sorts of other new parts for the engine like an ignition coil and some other Bosch and Bremi parts yet to be installed. Parts like the power steering pump, alternator, oil pump and other auxiliary parts and covers have been thoroughly cleaned prepped and painted with high heat paint. Everything thats black or silver came out well. The red on the intake manifold has started to flake off a little bit and the valve cover didn't come out well so I stripped it back down to bare metal. I think the red may have been a bad batch since I prepped those parts just like the rest, not sure. This motor is ready to go in as is, 90% rebuilt, or you can decide to finish the paint job or more importantly complete the rebuild or both. You'll see lots of spare engine parts in the photos. There are enough spare parts to build a 3rd engine minus the engine block.
Rest of Drivetrain: The trans is a stock automatic with Sport mode which is pretty neat for 1987. It revs the engine about 2 to 300 rpm higher in any given situation and doesn't allow the car to reach overdrive. Its fun. I had planned on doing a swap to manual trans when I put the fresh engine in. There are companies that provide a complete package specifically for converting E30s from auto to standard, including the trans itself, for around $1000. The rear is a 3.73 or 3.71 LSD (can't remember exactly) and its fun as heck coming out of corners even with an auto trans. Has drilled and slotted rotors with Kevlar composite brake pads.
Interior: All suspension and other goodies are fun and get your blood going, but my favorite part of this car has always been the interior. When I bought the car it was all tan with the exception of the black dashboard and some trim. It had the original tan bucket racing seats that only the IS models came with but the driver's bolster was pretty beat up and the passenger and back seats were showing their age as well. I spent over a year searching for the right replacement ones. I didn't want ones that wouldn't look original to the car, didn't wanna pay a fortune for shipping, and didn't wanna downgrade to a set from a less desirable trim E30. Finally I found a full set of black leather seats out of an 88 325IS at a junk yard across the state and practically flew there the same day. Now I think the car looks incredible with the two toned black on tan interior. Has an M Tech steering wheel (these are not cheap). Sunroof works, Sony head unit works, 13 buttom OBC works great. Dash isn't cracked like most E30's and if you know these cars you know a dash will run you a small fortune. Headliner is tight. Rear deck looks like new and has the original premium speakers, I think Bose. All glass is in great shape. Replaced the kick panel under the steering wheel with one that looks brand new. Base carpet is pretty clean and the Bavarian Autosport carpets clean up nicely after a wash. Door cards are the only thing left in the interior that look a little tattered but I've never tried to clean them and I'm sure they would come out nice after some effort. Oh and I can't find the leather E brake boot but it could turn up by sale time.
Exterior: When I got this car it was all original Bronze Beigite Metallic and it looked like someone sanded it instead of polishing it one time. The only rust anywhere was on the passenger fender so I replaced it with a perfect used one. Then my idiot friend decided to roll over the hood of the car one time while I was trying to romance a lady friend, so I fixed a dent in the hood. After that I started to prime the car and found other imperfections and attacked them one at a time. That was when I added bigger wheels, so I trimmed and rolled the inner fenders and they came out pretty damn well if I do say so myself, you can't tell unless you stick your hand up in the wheel well. At one point this car was just about ready for paint. Then Hurricane Sandy came along, broke off the top of a telephone pole, and played a little batting practice in the wind with the rear passenger quarter panel and trunk deck. I was away at school when this happened so my father, trying to be nice, "fixed" these dents. They need to be redone; first of all they should have been popped out, he did the best he could with some poorly mixed Bondo which is now coming off. The trunk deck hasn't had any repair attempts yet and the dent is very shallow - should pop out. You'll see in the photos that I've got every and all trim and body pieces that were removed from the car. I have the IS front splitter that needed some fiberglass work and is just about ready for paint. I've got the IS trunk lip. I even have the original fender I repaired then decided to replace anyway. As the car sits there is a little surface rust starting underneath just where some jacks have worn away the rubberized undercoating on the frame rails from working on the car. The rest of the car really just needs a wash then you could eat off it. Only place there is rust that's an actual concern are the drilled and slotted brake rotors which haven't been used in years. They should be addressed before being relied on. Lastly if I remember correctly the sunroof had a slight leak when it rained hard and I replaced the seal.
I hope I'm not forgetting anything. Selling this car is a hard pill to swallow, I basically grew up with it. A true E30 person will know this is an incredible opportunity for a project already well on its way. Including what I paid for this car back in the day, I'm into the car for well over $10,000. I obviously have no intention of trying to get all of that back, I just don't want to take too huge of a loss and I'd love some extra cash for my move Westward. Even if you don't finish this car, for the price it'd be an amazing donor for your existing E30 project. Title is in my name, in hand and clear. Lastly you will see in the photos there are lots of spare new and used parts you can sell or hold onto as spares. Plus 4 photos worth of parts I couldn't even fit in this listing.
Again, please ask any and all questions and arrange to come see the car before bidding if you can.
This is for local pickup but I do have a friend with a car trailer, depending on his availability and your distance we can deliver it for a fee discussed before you bid.
Please find another E30 if you have no ability to pick this car up or have questionable intentions of following through with the transaction. I'm trying to move and am under the gun and therefor will require a PayPal deposit of $200 within 24 hours of the auction ending. If I don't receive this deposit or some form of communication from the buyer the sale will be cancelled and the car will be relisted. I don't have time for games.