Motor swaps are always a lot of fun, especially when someone else has done the heavy lifting. In the case of the E30 platform, it seems there is no end to the different motors that get swapped in. We’ve seen S14 retrofits into 325s, plenty of S50, S52 and even a few S54s pop up. But let’s say you really like torque. And aluminum. What’s an E30 enthusiast to do? Well, of course you could swap a M60 4.0 V8 out of the E34 540i into a 325es. In its original form, the 325es was a bit of a slowpoke good handler looking for more power. The E34 540i was a great motor toting around a fair amount of weight. Couple the two together, and Viola! You make the folks at the local tire depot quite happy. Take a look at this tuned 325:
Tag: 1986
If you don’t know about the Rothmans Cup 944s, you’d be not the only one. As one of the lesser known single-make race series from the 1980s, the Canada-only Rothmans Cup series didn’t have the flashiest, fastest cars on the planet. It wasn’t even as crazy as the later Turbo cup, where the cars had magnesium and unobtanium bits. No, what the Rothmans Cup was all about was the bare-bones racing. Some of the best drivers in the world signed up, proving the idea was a good one – and the sealed motors ensured a level playing field. It was all about the driving! To help a bit though, the Rothmans cars were stripped to the bones; no A/C, no power steering, no sunroof – and they were beefed up with the M474 Koni suspension and M220 limited slip differential. This isn’t the first time I’ve written up a 944 Rothmans car, as last year we saw a Rothmans Cup in need of a restoration that had trouble trading hands. In much better overall shape and ready to race, this car looks splendid in its original colors:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Porsche 944 Rothmans Cup on eBay
4 CommentsFor German car fans, Porsche so defined endurance motorsports that BMWs serious efforts in the late 1970s and early 1980s often go overlooked. But if you really wanted to go racing with the big boys in the 1980s and the premium rides from Zuffenhausen were out of your reach, you might just have looked towards March engineering for the solution. March was cutting edge then, a staple in the 1970s F1 scene with some unorthodox designs. With the new prototype categories in the 1980s, March produced a series of prototypes that were developed out of a customer BMW M1 that March modified. After some development, the March 83G and later 86G proved not particularly competitive to the much more highly developed 956/962s, but did win the 1984 Daytona 24hrs with Andial Porsche power. BMW also signed up with March for a run at IMSA GTP with a development of the 320i Turbo Group 5 and Formula 1 engine producing up to a reported 800 horsepower. In qualifying trim for Formula 1, these M12/13 motors could twist around 1,400 horsepower out of that small displacement. With Formula 1 and sports car racing legends David Hobbs and John Watson amongst the ranks of drivers, it looked like a sure bet for some wins. It was for naught, though, as Porsche and later Nissan and Toyota dominated IMSA into the 1990s. BMWs efforts are nearly forgotten, and that spells value in the used prototype market today:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 March 86G on Race-Cars.com
2 Comments6er. E24. The Shark. Whatever you want to call it, the E24 6 series coupe has ranked up there with some of the best looking BMWs of all time. Many of these coupes were equipped with an automatic gearbox, however, this 635CSi for sale in California has the rare 5-speed manual option. Also included in the package is a Dinan chip and M6 rear differential.