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E30 GTR: Nissan Skyline powered BMW 325is rb26dett

For sale: 1987 BMW 3-Series GTR

Technical specifications

Item location:
Lake View, New York, United States
Make:
BMW
Model:
3-Series
SubModel:
GTR
Type:
Coupe
Trim:
GTR
Year:
1987
Mileage:
5,000
VIN:
wbaaa1309h2321597
Color:
Gold
Engine size:
RB26DETT
Number of cylinders:
6
Fuel:
Gasoline
Transmission:
Manual
Drive type:
RWD
Interior color:
Black
Vehicle Title:
Clear
Contact the seller / ! Report

Description

I've been halfheartedly toying with the idea of selling this car for a few years but I've got another project that I’d like to start on and this simply has to go.

The chassis began its life as a 1987 325is was stripped to a bare chassis sand blasted seam welded undercoated and reassembled with almost entirely new parts. Every single part that has been put on the car has been refurbished repainted or replaced. All wear items were replaced: new suspension bushings motor mounts etc. All hardware was replaced usually with stainless steel. All suspension members have been powdercoated. There is no rust on the car. A 10 point cage helps stiffen the chassis tying into suspension members front and rear. An OEM MTech1 aero package has been installed. This is aero that is not available in the US and is very rare. OEM Euro bumpers complete the package. The aero package has been modified slightly for a more modern look: normally there are grooves that run around the edge of the aero these have been removed. The result is a very clean OEM appearance. At the bottom of the front valence a custom aluminum splitter has been installed. I will include one spare with the sale in case of any future damage. In addition to the OEM aero I removed the door and side molding this complements the overall look. Euro “smiley” style headlights have been installed with HID lights in the low and high beam locations. Euro grills complement this. A carbon fiber hood has been installed as well as a carbon fiber insert in the rear trunk wing. A custom hybrid GTR/BMW badge sits on the hood and is a subtle hint at what lies inside. Ireland Engineering fender flares have been fitted to allow a much wider than factory wheel to be mounted. The car is painted in a unique paint which appears very green in certain lights and very gold in others. The sunroof and fuel door have been removed and filled. There are some chips in the paint from use but none detract from the overall appearance of the car. Rubber I leave on the rear bumper as a badge of honor will come off. The decals on the side of the car can be removed as well. I have some touchup paint available as well.

Certainly the most defining part of the car is the engine. Removed from a running R32 Nissan skyline the RB26DETT it was nevertheless completely disassembled and rebuilt. Klispie Machine bored the block to 87mm to accept new Wiseco forged pistons. Eagle rods connect them to a reground OEM crank that also had an HPE oil pump drive collar installed to prevent potential damage to the new OEM oil pump. ACL calico race bearings are installed on both the rod end and main bearing locations. At the end of the crank sits an ATI Race Damper. Machine work to the head was again done by Klispie Machine; the work here being a 3 angle valve job and installation of new bronze valve guides and a full Ferrea heavy duty dual spring kit complete with titanium seats locks and retainers. The lifters were all re-shimmed and new buckets installed. All OEM gaskets were placed between mating surfaces with the exception of the head and intake gaskets where metal upgrades were used from Cometic and Trust respectively. ARP high strength hardware holds the motor together in the following places: head studs flywheel bolts exhaust studs. Spitfire coil packs a high strength trust timing belt and a new OEM metal impeller water pump and cooler Nismo thermostat complete the engine’s internal upgrades. On the exterior of the motor the valve covers have been powdercoated the custom high-flow fuel rail has been polished as has the alternator. A carbon fiber spark plug cover is fitted along with an OEM R34 engine ornament. A Bings oil cap seals the valve cover which are modified to vent through braided lines into a Steph’s baffled oil catch can.

A Vipec ECU running via speed/density (no MAF) controls the spitfire coilpacks and 870cc Seimens flow calibrated injectors. The injectors are feed by a Bosch -044 fuel pump that is in turn fed by an 8 gallon fuel cell. An Aeromotive rising rate regulator controls fuel pressure and a Billet aluminum fuel filter makes sure the injectors stay clean. Stainless braided lines connect every portion of the fuel system together.

Feeding the Garrett GT35R ball bearing turbocharger (which has an A/R of .82) is a custom built stainless sch10 manifold. The manifold is well braced and was CAD designed and is equal length to within .125”. The induction and exhaust system are entirely custom all built from stainless steel and aluminum. The 3 inch exhaust uses stainless v-band junctions and flex-sections. The Tial 38mm wastegate is recirculated into the downpipe and has its own flex section. The exhaust is routed over the transmission and to the rear before exiting through a hooker stainless muffler. The sound is perfect. Contrary to popular belief the exhaust never runs through the cabin of the car. A second firewall is part of a custom-built removable aluminum transmission tunnel. Stainless piping connects the turbo to the intake manifold passing through a PWR 24 x 11 x 3 intercooler with custom end tanks. It should be noted that this is a high quality name brand intercooler not a generic eBay one. A tial 50mm blow-off valve is mounted just before the throttle body.

A custom built Moxies radiator cools the engine. A custom surge tank and catch can complete the package which is joined with steel hardlines and stainless braided hose as opposed to rubber hoses. A Flex-a-Lite E-fan is mounted to the radiator and is operated by the ECU.

Power is transferred to the ground through an Exxedy 3 puck clutch attached to a nismo flywheel into a rear wheel drive R32 RB26DETT transmission. This is uncommon and achieved by removing the center dif from the car and replacing it with a closeoff plate. A custom Driveshaft Shop driveshaft connects the transmission to the BMW 4.11 LSD rear end. New OEM axles drive the wheels. The transmission shifts well though occasionally has a very slight grind in second gear but it does not inhibit shifting at all. The clutch master cylinder on a reinforced mount and clutch slave cylinder are both brand-new and are joined with a braided hardline.

The suspension as mentioned before has been fully updated. All suspension parts were powdercoated many outright replaced with new then powdercoated. New Ireland Engineering (IE) Road Race springs were installed along with Bilstein HD dampers. Swaybars were new IE 22/25mm units with brand new endlinks. Trailing arm bushings and subframe mounts were replaced with IE polyurethane pieces while the wheel bearings and upper strut mounts were replaced with OEM parts both front and rear. Suspension adjustment is made via IE camber and toe adjusters integrated into the rear subframe.

The brakes on the car are huge and completely custom but utilize off-the-shelf wear items. Wilwood Billet Forged Superlite Narrowbody calipers with differential bore pistons grip Willwood 13” GT48 rotors. In the rear Wilwood Superlite 4 pisston calipers act on Wilwood 11.75” HD rotors. The rotor rings are attached to Custom rotor hats in the front and Massive brand rotor hats and parking brake rings in the rear. Speaking of the parking brake all components from cables to springs and pads and clips and retainers were replaced with OEM components. The main brakes are fed by fully stainless lines. Rigid lines on the chassis and stainless flex hoses where applicable. A Wilwood brake proportioning valve is located next to the driver’s seat and is adjustable in-car. The car utilizes a power master cylinder that’s been polished and is fed from a custom billet reservoir that also feeds the clutch system.

The wheels are custom built Work VS-XX in 17x10 and 17x8.5 fitment. Falken Azenis tires are installed in the front and NT05R drag radials are installed in the rear. The car hooks great in every gear. Vorshlag extended wheel studs are installed with open ended lugnuts. The rims are in perfect shape and the tires have lots of life left.

Sitting in the Status Ring Kevlar seats the driver is held in by genuine Takata racing harnesses. A Sparco 300mm steering wheel which shows a slight amount of wear has a working horn and an NRG quick release wheel hub. From the driver’s seat you can monitor the engine via a RaceTech Dash2 digital dash displaying speed engine ROM oil and coolant temp. An AEM Uego gauge monitors fuel mixture while 4 greddy warning gauges allow you to monitor the boost exhaust gas temperature oil pressure and fuel pressure. It should be noted that while the car was tuned with the aid of the EGT gauge the Greddy control unit has failed on that particular gauge. Despite lacking HVAC the car does have a basic radio with four speakers and CD head unit. The entirety of the car has been rewired and updated with Molex connectors and a kwikwire fuse panel. Rare for a custom car is the inclusion of a CAD drawn complete wiring diagram. A few different shift knobs are available to choose from including a few 3D printed one-off pieces and a JDM Yashio Factory unit. Front and rear striped carpets are custom fit to the interior with all other surfaces painted body color or wrinkle black. Carbon fiber front door skins and rear closeoffs are installed as well as a few custom aluminum closeoffs in the dash. The pedals are custom made and say E30GTR. The dead pedal is a Massive brand and is very nice. The windows are manually operated.

The car is an absolute blast to drive. It’s fun fast handles well sounds great turns heads and weighs very little. Running 93 Octane I made 500 whp with plenty of room left to go but that was plenty fast for me. It always starts easily never stalls and always pulls hard. All turn signals exterior lights hazard lights and horn function as intended with factory controls. Inspection has never been an issue for it and the car has been registered and inspected yearly as a 1987 BMW. That said it is not what I would consider a daily driver. It’s a very stiff car. Polyurethane bushings are prone to squeak there is no power steering and the cage makes getting in and out less than simple but these are compromises made for performance and it shows. I’m not interested in trades unless you have an OEM Harley Knucklehead with paperwork. That’s it. Please do not ask me to trade. There are over 48000 dollars invested in this car and that’s not putting any price tag on the labor that I did myself which totals in the range of thousands of hours.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me: ctnewman@gmail.com or message me for a phone number.

A complete bulid blog of the car is available here:

blog post Here’s a list of what’s been done to the car and pricing and does not include any smaller items hardware etc:

• 1987 BMW 325IS (manual)

1500

•Blasted and Seam Welded

500

•Vito Antonicelli DOM 10 Point Cage

1500

•Every suspension member powdercoated

500

Chassis Total

4000

•Ireland Engineering Fender flares

300

•OEM Mtech1 Valences and Sideskirts Euro Bumpers

2000

•EurostopUSA CF Hood

650

•EurostopUSA MTech1 CF wing

250

•Body work Shaved Side Moldings fuel door sunroof

1500

•Custom paint

1000

•Newman Engine Mount

0

•Newman Transmission Mount

0

•Custom Tunnel/closeoff

0

•CF firewall closeoff

100

•Custom 5052AL Front Splitter

200

•Smoked Euro Smileys

200

•Euro Grills

75

Body total:

6275

•R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R RB26DETT

4000

•87mm bore/3 angle valve job

1500

•Wiseco 87mm Pistons

500

•Eagle Rods

600

•HPE Crank collar

200

•ARP head studs

220

•ARP Flywheel Bolts

60

•ARP Exhaust manifold studs

100

•EPP valve guides

80

•Ferrea Dual valve springs retainers locks seats

1100

•ACL Calico coated main and rod race bearings

300

•Garrett GT35R .82 A/R

1500

•Spitfire Coilpacks

400

•New OEM Water Pump

200

•New OEM Oil Pump

180

•Trust Timing Belt

90

•Powdercoated valve covers

80

•OEM gasket kit

150

•Cometic MLS Head gasket

140

•Polished alternator

0

•ATI 1000HP Race Damper

495

•Custom valve shims

50

•GTC Racing CF spark plug cover

200

•Steph's Baffled Oil catch can

100

•Trust metal intake gaskets

30

Engine:

12275

•Modified RB26DETT Transmission

600

•Nismo Flywheel

360

•EXEDY 3 puck clutch

660

•Drive Shaft Shop Driveshaft

800

•E30 M3 LSD 4.11

400

•E30 M3 Axles

200

Drivetrain total

3020

•Bosch -044 800HP fuel pump

190

•Seimens 870cc injectors flow calibrated to w/in .5% of each other

400

•Summit 8 Gallon Fuel Cell

100

•Custom Fuel Cell hold down straps

0

•Custom Fuel Rail

100

•Braided fuel lines

600

•Aeromotive Rising rate regulator

160

•Summit Inline fuel Filter

60

•Custom filter and pump mounting brackets

50

Fuel Total

1660

•Newman 304SS heavy wall manifold (parts only)

450

•Newman 304SS exhaust dual vband dual flex section (parts only)

550

•Tial 38mm wastegate

150

•Vibrant SS muffler

100

Exhaust total:

1250

•Newman 2.5" 304SS IC Plumbing

100

•PWR 24X11X3 IC core semi-custom endtanks

400

•Tial 50MM BOV

240

Induction total:

740

•MOXIES/Newman Radiator

500

•Newman catch can

50

•Newman Surge tank

50

•Flex-a-lite 12" Electric fan

60

•Stainless braided lines and hardpipes

200

Cooling total:

860

•Vipec Speed Density Engine Management

2200

•AEM UEGO controller

160

•Racetech Dash2

1100

•New Engine Harness

300

•Kwikwire Chassis harness

300

•(4) Greddy warning gauges (Boost EGT Oil Fuel)

400

•DTM 35W 6000K HIDS hi & lo

110

Electrical/Management total

4570

•Ireland Engineering road race springs

295

•Ireland Engineering poly trailing arm bushings

62

•Ireland Engineering Poly Subframe mounts

110

•Ireland Engineering 22/25mm swaybars

440

•Ireland Engineering Camber/rear toe kit

170

•Bilstein HD Dampers

530

•New OEM wheel bearings

100

•New OEM F&R strut mounts

150

Suspension total:

1857

•Work VS-XX wheels (17X10 17X8.5) Custom Offset

3200

•Falken Azenis RT-615 275/40/17 Nitto NT05R

500

•Vorshlag 90mm wheel studs

120

Wheels total:

3820

•Status Ring Seats

3500

•Takata Harnesses

900

•Sparco 300mm steering wheel

250

•NRG Quick release hub

100

•Performance-Trim CF door panels

300

•Performance-Trim CF rear panels

200

•Custom window winder cranks

50

•Custom striped carpet

50

•E30GTR and XXX custom pedals

100

•Massive dead pedal

50

Interior total:

5500

•Wilwood billet forged superlite 6 piston calipers (front)

550

•Wilwood superlite 4 piston caliper (rear)

260

•Wilwood 13X1.1 GT48 rotor (front)

350

•Wilwood 11.75X1.25 HD rotor (rear)

200

•Cutsom machined rotor hats and brackets

200

•Massive rear hat ebrake ring and bracket

200

•Wilwood Q pads

150

•New OEM ebrake setup (backing plate springs adjusters cables pads actuator pin)

300

•Wilwood Prop valve (installed next to driver’s seat)

40

•Custom Fit Integra GSR 10" Brake Booster

50

•Polished Integra GSR 1" Master cylinder

0

•-4AN stainless brake hardlines

50

•-4AN stainless braided brake hoses

200

Brakes total:

2550

Car total:

48377

Video startup and walkaround: Allegedly eBay has blocked imgur hotlinking.

All images are available in this album:

http://imgur.com/a/VOFiD ALL BELOW PHOTOS TAKEN 05/20/15 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

Exterior:

Engine:

Interior:

Wheels:

Trunk:

Underside:

Misc:

Taken 05/15/15:

Misc Old:

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