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Tag: Turbo

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Tuner Tuesday: 1988 BMW 535is Turbo

When did the BMW tuning crowd become the new Volkswagen tuning crowd? I must have missed the memo, but it appears that it certainly went out. In my search for modified cars, I come across quite a few; it seems that for every well modified car, though, there are a few examples that leave you wanting for more. More attention to detail, more refined taste, and in some cases more money spent. That money doesn’t have to be spent poorly – we’ve seen, for example, cars which aren’t the best examples but have great photographs somehow be more desirable than good examples with bad photos. Heck, in one Volkswagen post I even pointed out how the seller was at a car wash (and photographed the car there being washed – a new, and also completely pointless, Volkswagen tuning crowd trend) but then failed to vacuum the car out. Well, it would seem that some of the hallmarks of the Volkswagen crowd are spilling out into the all-too-popular 1980s BMW bandwagon. List out loud the details of this E28 and you’ll have the enthusiasts drooling; Zinnoberrot 535is with black leather, Brembo brakes, M-System II throwing stars, Bilstein and Racing Dynamics suspension, Alpina cam and cluster, and a custom 400 horsepower M30 under the hood. But in this case, I don’t think the result is greater than the sum of the parts:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 BMW 535is Turbo on eBay

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1987 BMW 325is Turbo

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Are you in the market for some cheap, silly fun? If so, today’s your lucky day. This bronzit 325is, a healthy performer right out of the box, has had turbo slapped on the inline-6 and now pushes out E46 M3 power to the wheels. It’s certainly no garage queen, but that’s clearly not what this bronzit brawler was built for. A little worn paint is no problem when you’re spooling up a fat turbo and drifting on an abandoned racetrack. Any turbo/project car should be approached very carefully, but the seller’s price makes it a little easier to take a gamble. There aren’t many E30s out there for $4k these days, and those that are are probably ready for some hooning. In that case, it might as well have a big turbo!

Click for details: 1987 BMW 325is Turbo on Craigslist Rhode Island

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1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 Euro-Spec – REVISIT

The stellar looking two tone 1978 European specification Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 with unique Ronal Racing 3 piece Turbos is back on eBay, this time with a “Buy It Now” of $30,000. That puts it about about a condition 2 price level by Hagerty’s valuation guide, which overall seems pretty appropriate. Appreciation of these big Benz models is growing and it’s expensive to repair one to properly sorted level. Period mods can go very wrong, but somehow I really love the look of this car – it may be the coolest 6.9 I’ve ever seen. What do you think?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site July 2, 2014:

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1997 BMW 525tds Touring

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We’re raised in the US to think that all BMWs are all full-leather, optioned-out, powerful luxury machines. Then we ‘Mericans set one foot in Europe and see BMW cabs and dented city cars running around on steel wheels and get thoroughly confused. Unfortunately for us, BMWs standard of engineering and handling extends much further than just catering to yuppies. Fortunately for us, some zealous souls bring these oddities over, like today’s diesel E39 wagon. Sure, I’d love a 540iT or even a 528iT, but wouldn’t it be sweet to get Prius gas mileage with the good looks and handling of the E39 longroof? Today’s your chance with this double-import, first to Canada and then officially to the US. Cloth seats and celsius temperature readings mean this is no American Bimmer, and that makes it an interesting proposition indeed.

Click for details: 1997 BMW 525tds Touring on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday Ruf-off: 1978 Porsche 930 Slantnose v. 1987 930

Just as AMG is synonymous with early tuned Mercedes-Benz models, Ruf seems to be inseparable from the Porsche 930. It’s almost cliche to upgrade the 911 Turbo to Ruf specs; but they’re the go-to tuner for all things air-cooled. But for every Yellowbird that an enthusiast wishes they had created, there are many more pretenders that bolt on some Ruf parts and claim they’re Ruf-converted cars. Does that make them more valuable? Probably not, in general – faster, yes, but as we saw with last week’s 1979 930, although well executed more people are looking for either real Ruf cars or all-original examples. Today I have another two “Ruf” cars to face off – which wears the mods better and which is a better deal?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 930 Slantnose on eBay

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