E30 vs. FC3S RX-7?

[AndrewR85]

Well, in July i'll be getting rid of my Honda Accord (finally) and moving on to bigger and better things. I had the FC3S RX-7 in my mind for a loooong time but I seem to have overlooked the E30. I have about $5000 to spend on the car, and any left over might go to mods. As we all know, the rotary engine can (and usually is, in the wrong hands) unreliable. But, they can get great HP gains (in the turbo model) and are fairly quick off the lot.

My question to you all is, which would (logically) be a better choice? Obviously the answer might be a little bias, as this is BMW board. What do you love about your E30? What do you hate about it? If you had the choice, which would you pick (E30 or FC)? Can an E30 in decent shape be had for $5k or less? I'm not gonna bother asking for specs, because that could be had by a simple Google search. But any answers to any of these questions would be a great help. Thanks guys!

-Andrew

[ironman502]

My E30 feels premium. I don't know about the japanese cars, but I know you can't find an old American car that is as rattle-free as a BMW above 200,000 miles. Instead of the "worn out" feeling, you get the "broken in" feeling. Also, the torque the inline-6 puts out never ceases to put a smile on your face.
The most irritating things about the car are the driver's seats, which are notorious for twisting on their mounts, and the speedo, which only works a third of the time. That's nitpicking, though- the car is a hoot to drive hard.

[RACER D12]

Well if I had a choice I would pick the FC cause its more rare and worth more. Anyways though good luck finding an FC because they are few and far between. And even if you find one people dont part with them for cheap. So I would get the E30. Thats what im getting that or a E36 3series. Also with the E30 its easy to swap in like an M3 motor or a newer 3series motor If you want, but im sure its just as easy as the FC. In the FC you could put in the famous 20b motor or the lesser know but very cool V8 swap get a crate motor with 350hp right out of the box and stick that bad boy in the FC So its up to you. You can pick up a ok E30 for under 1000 or a pretty nice one for a little more. The one down the street from me is 1700 and it looks great, but its Auto Both are great cars though and you cant go wrong with either.

Happy hunting and tell us what you get.

[AndrewR85]

Originally Posted by RACER D12

Well if I had a choice I would pick the FC cause its more rare and worth more. Anyways though good luck finding an FC because they are few and far between. And even if you find one people dont part with them for cheap. So I would get the E30. Thats what im getting that or a E36 3series. Also with the E30 its easy to swap in like an M3 motor or a newer 3series motor If you want, but im sure its just as easy as the FC. In the FC you could put in the famous 20b motor or the lesser know but very cool V8 swap get a crate motor with 350hp right out of the box and stick that bad boy in the FC So its up to you. You can pick up a ok E30 for under 1000 or a pretty nice one for a little more. The one down the street from me is 1700 and it looks great, but its Auto Both are great cars though and you cant go wrong with either.

Happy hunting and tell us what you get.

Well, chances are I wouldn't be swapping in any engines, unless it's the stock engine. If I get the RX-7, more than likely i'll try to get one with a dying engine (working well enough to drive to one of the two rotary mechanics in town) and have a rebuild done for about $2000-$2500 which should last me at least 75k miles. I'd looooove to have an E30 with an M3 engine, but that would require quite a bit of money, same with the FC/20B combo (which, i've heard, can run up to $20k for a swap). And I wouldn't commit blasphemy by putting a V8 into an RX-7