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Tag: 1988

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Coupe Week Feature Listing: 1988 BMW M6

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I think it’s fair to say that there are quite a few of our readership that came of age in the 1980s, and the cars from that era hold a special appreciation in our minds; this author included. As we work our way through our celebration of “Coupe Week”, I went bank into my memory banks a bit. Growing up flipping through car magazines every month, I studied and memorized the horsepower figures, the 0-60 times and scrutinized the driving impressions of every single car, but there were some that caught my attention. Admittedly, in the early 1980s I had a predisposition to the Porsche 928. It looked so futuristic, and with its big aluminum V8 the performance figures seemed otherworldly to someone who grew up with Toyota Tercels and learned to drive on a early ’60s Beetle with no clutch. But towards the late 1980s, a car came to my attention that I had largely ignored up to that point; the E24 BMW. Sure, they were good looking 2-doors, but to a young man power was everything and the 928 was top trump. But then my father sold his RT1100 BMW motorcycle and bought something the family could enjoy; a 1982 633CSi. My appreciation for the BMW instantly grew. The long hood and delicate A and C pillars were a symphony of design; the sharply angled nose and BBS Mahle wheels hinted at a connection to motorsports. Inside, I still remember the smell of the luxurious leather and the sound of the M30 heading its way up the tach. Solidly in “Camp 6” now, my new favorite car was the fastest version of the E24 that was available to U.S. customers – the M6.

Later on, my father’s priorities changed slightly and heading to the track more, he opted to get into a 1988 BMW M5. But as much as I respected and liked that car, the M6 still had my fascination. I still remember the first time I got to drive one; I detailed the car for a friend of the family. It was not my car to drive with reckless abandon, but still I was able to revel in the growl of the S38, the directness of the steering, the way the transmission seemed to perfectly slot into each gear. It was driving bliss and I felt invincible. Unfortunately, at that time M6s commanded a strong premium over the M5 and M3, and all were far outside of my income bracket. Fast forward to today, and the M6 has become perhaps the best performance bargain from BMW in the 1980s; find a good example, and they’re sure not to disappoint still:

Click for details: 1988 BMW 635CSi at Sun Valley Auto Club

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1988 BMW M5

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As we saw last week, higher-mileage M5s are starting to get pulled upward. Shredded front seats, a dirty engine compartment, and lost history were the main gripes with last week’s, but it still got snatched up locally, indicating the seller got something close to his $15k asking price. This one has a more complete history as it belonged to the seller’s father, but its story includes several missteps. The most-referenced in the ad is a decent-but-not great respray after a hailstorm. Next are the recovered seats – better than having them torn up (I guess) but the black piping makes them look cheap. Mechanically and electrically, however, it appears sound, running strong at a mileage where many receive rebuilds (though for some unknown reason the top end was already rebuilt at 125k miles). With no reserve and sitting just over $10k, this could be a good chance at driver for someone who doesn’t care too much about originality.

Click for details: 1988 BMW M5 on eBay

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1988 BMW M5

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The classic E28 M5 has experienced a recent uptick in values for clean, middle-mileage examples. Even the most beat, 200k-mile, no-documentation examples can command $6-7k, though they will likely require twice the purchase price to make presentable. While I appreciate the ambition of keeping as many of these glorious beasts on the road as possible, there is still a middle ground between the lower-mileage M5s in beautiful condition for $30k+ and the total basket cases. Today’s is right in the middle – $15k for a clean but higher-mileage example that lacks history yet looks good enough to spend some time on.

Click for details: 1988 BMW M5 on eBay

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Is there a replacement? 1986 944 Turbo v. 1988 944 LT1

Contemplating these two cars, two phrases came to my mind. The first is the old adage “there’s no replacement for displacement”; a saying which certainly could be questioned poignantly today given the plethora of high output turbocharged motors that are available. The second is a advertising campaign that Porsche has now utilized for several years – “Porsche – there is no substitute”. Combining these two expressions of automotive certainty and black or white belief systems has been the Porsche 944, which amongst other models has become a popular platform to swap American V8s into. Quick power, good balance and cheap parts seem to justify the swap, and in the case of some of the more recent LS motors the weight difference is negligible compared to the turbocharged inline-4 that came in the 951. What you get is instant power – a lot of it. So for comparison’s sake, today we have two Stone Grey Metallic 944s that take different routes. First is an original 944 Turbo from 1986 followed by an F-body LT1-swapped ’88 944. Which is the better option?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo on eBay

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Motorsports Monday: 1988 Porsche 944S Firehawk

If you were a sports car racing enthusiast in the 1980s, Group C might have been the top of the heap but there was some great action in the Firehawk support series. Here was a category of cars you could actually go buy, in very close to their original specification. Looking back, they are the cars we often write up today – BMW M3s, Volkswagen GTis and Corrados competing against everything from Camaros and Firebirds to Honda CRXs and even the occasional Peugot 505. The names that raced the cars were just as famous – and some are still active. Jack Baldwin, for example, ran Camaros back then and I believe it getting ready for another run at the Pirelli World Challenge with his Porsche Cayman S in 2015. Names like Scott Sharp, Randy Pobst, Dorsey Schroder, Andy Pilgrim and even Paul Newman weren’t uncommon sights in 1988. But there were other notable race names from the 1980s; BMW fans would recognize David Hobbs, Ray Korman and TC Klein, for example, and for Porsche fans Dave White combined forces with Bob Akin. Both had extensive race history with Porsche, and they took some Porsche 944s with the paint still wet to Sebring in 1988:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 944S Firehawk on eBay

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