Might get a beater Z3 roady?

[Vanne]

Since my car is taking a more track oriented route these days, I was toying around with getting a z3 roady. (Owned a few before) just to jump in and hoot around on shopping/friends visit and such..

Theres a nice 3.0 latest model available with hardtop, for 4.4k us asking price. Looks in ok nick, but has white interior.. with (bonus) woodgrain... and some shitty aftermarket radio.. id recon my oem z4 rims would go nicely on that as would my imola M chairs. (Anyone know if thats a straight swap?).

I know the missus wont be happy about having another car hanging around..

Any thoughts guys?





200kms on the clock..

[Vanne]

Just bought it for 14750 ead, thats 4k US. lol haven't even seen it in RL yet.. hope its okay

[Vanne]

[N55_Mike]

Congrats bro! Hope shes in great nick!

[kaybat]

nice ride,like the hardtop!

[Huz-Z]

Looks good Vanne!

[Vanne]

Doh! Sale fell through.. :-(

[elerner61]

Too bad. How much do the six cylinder Z3s weigh? I've never driven in one, I wonder what it rides like.

[Vanne]

1300kgs they flex a lot..

[Westersund]

Buy a Coupe instead Vanne, I'm looking for a 2.8 Coupe to have as a beater/track car for the summer.

[The HACK]

I've toyed with the idea of picking up a nice, 2000-2001 Z3 roadster just for fun. Something I can take my girl to go cruising around town in.

Alas, 5 cars in a 2 car garage would mean constantly having to move a car just to get out, unless I park the Z3 on the street all day under cover.

[pokeybritches]

1. Find an aluminum block 2.8 liter Z3.
2. Remove engine. Swap for iron block 2.8 + cash on their end.
3. Install built bottom end and giant turbo.
4. Enjoy 1000 hp.

[Vanne]

Lol actually hasnt completely fallen through, were bitching about the price atm.. backwards and forwards..
Any idea what this thing is worth? I would have prefered a red or imola one, not really sure what colour wheels work with silver vert?

[Vanne]

Lol 1000hp, that would be cool ;-)

[Finnegan]

My two cents based on having quite a few cars at one time, especially older German cars that need care. This is a great idea if you have the time to spend fiddling with the car, or the money to have someone else do it, or have that option on one of the two "fun" cars.

Working on cars can be great, relaxing, and enjoyable if it's not competing with other projects or life, or getting in the way of driving them! I just don't have the time required to work several project cars, enjoy them, and stay on top of the rest of my life. When I don't do the work I need to or should do on the projects, it becomes a weight (time debt) because I'm thinking "I should have this or that done". I've actually sold off some projects and scaled down to tackle the time debt problem so I can enjoy driving and focus my project time on one.

Again, if you have the money or time bases covered then it's a great idea!

[Vanne]

Ron, you know what mate, your spot on!!!

i guess rather along the same lines as what my wife was trying to tell me, i still have so much work to do to complete my zed4, another project (no matter how cheap initially) is going to cost time and cash.. and i don't really have enough for either with a house/property purchase later on this year/early next year.. and the kids to play with..

Thx Ron, once more, its nice to hear from someone with a level head.



Ill put it off.

[RobMCoupe]

Originally Posted by Westersund

Buy a Coupe instead Vanne, I'm looking for a 2.8 Coupe to have as a beater/track car for the summer.

2.8 Coupe is more rare than M3 Coupe. They are up there in price as well. I stay with roadie for day to day beater.

[Huz-Z]

No interest in a 2003- 2005 Z4, Vanne?

[Westersund]

Originally Posted by RobMCoupe

2.8 Coupe is more rare than M3 Coupe. They are up there in price as well. I stay with roadie for day to day beater.

Are you talking about an E36 M3 or an E46? In Sweden the Z3 2.8 Coupess are pretty cheap while the 3.0's cost a bit more. You can get an 80K mile car for about 9 grand. That's E36 M3 territory, but no where near the E46.

[Westersund]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

1. Find an aluminum block 2.8 liter Z3.
2. Remove engine. Swap for iron block 2.8 + cash on their end.
3. Install built bottom end and giant turbo.
4. Enjoy 1000 hp.

Or just use the aluminium block, they can handle the power. Maybe not 1000 hp but close to it. I know because I went to see a Z3 Coupe with 800 WHP with the aluminium block. What you need are slightly longer head bolts (so they thread more) and a copper ring head gasket, that's the secret. The head had gone on that car once, but that was because the first version of the engine had a heavily ported head. Second version had a stock head and was running fine. Stock drive line as well, except for the clutch and fly-wheel.

The engine had forged pistons and H-profile rods of course, stiffer valve springs and M50 non-vanos cam shafts...

[Ryan13]

Get a Z4. The Z3 suffers from the same "spot weld" issue the E46s had/have. Minimum of $2k to repair and unless you are a welder, it's not DIY.

Trailing arm suspension is out of a 318.

Z4 roadster has less flex than the Z3 coupe...about double the stiffness of the roadster.

Z4 Transmission is much better...plus it's a 6 speed.

The stock shocks/struts were crap...it I they haven't been refreshed, add another $1.5k.

Lot of parts are NLA. You can go junkyard diving, but it is getting harder.

Plastic rear window. You can try to save it with a pool noodle, putting on the cover, etc, but the one time you forget, it will scratch.

Subframe bushings are a must.

I could go on, but I would find a Z4 roadster. If you really need the nostalgia of the Z3, go for it.

[Ryan13]

Or, go get a 128i convertible. I put $3k into a stock 128i coupe and have a little rocket. My wife tracks it and I beat the crap out of it during the week. I added another $3k for the LSD from Diffsonline, and it will pin you to the seat. You can do all the work yourself.

Way more versatile than the Z4. Find one with a sport upgrade (for the seats) and 6-speed.