Crap.
After seeing how cheap e30 BMW cars (not including the e30 m3 which is a whole different ball game) are going for, and how cheap parts for e30 cars are… I almost wish I hadn’t started making the Cooper into a track-ish car.
The brown MINI is almost paid off… what comes next? Stay with just one car? Get a beater / daily and make the brown MINI a toy? Try to make the brown MINI more tollerable on the street and get an e30 as a toy?
When I drove Ian (gbmini)’s GP, I was amazed at how quiet it was. And the GP is supposed to be noisy for a stock MINI. Ian may have added dynamat to his when he did the custom speaker box in the back of his, though. In any case, my Cooper is pretty damn noisy right now, with no interior in the back, the Borla exhaust, the rollbar (stones hit the mounting plates under the car and make a nice “ping” sound, and the extra stiffness makes more noise), the front camber plates, the poly front control arm bushings, and the mystery sound increase since the bushing install (probably a piece of sound insulation panelling that is gone or not attached properly anymore) - my car is LOUD. Putting the back seat back in will kill a lot of the noise, and if I find out where the extra engine bay noises are getting into the cabin, that would kill a lot more. But, it still will be loud.
And, ummm, e30… I’m close enough to Turner Motorsports that I could get it built up pretty well, or at least get parts. Turner ain’t cheap, but when you can get this:
Hands down the most complete track suspension available for the E30 from anyone, anywhere! Turner gives you a suspension that is perfectly suited to the track for racing or driving schools. Consisting of custom TMS springs, revalved Bilstein shocks, Suspension Techniques swaybars (22/19mm), camber plates, offset upper strut bearings, aluminum rear shock mounts, and all E30 reinforcement kits. We challenge you to find a better suspension.
for under $2000…. damn.
But would I really want to own two cars each with over 100,000 miles? Probably not.
