BMW e36 vs Volvo 240

Hey John, all your stuff is still here and safe. But you keep buying stuff on ebay UK so I get unexpected "presents" every now and then which is and adding to the pile.
This means the box needs to get bigger and weight goes up for shipping.
If you want it shipped asap then let me know and I'll look at options for shipping and the ball ache of customs forms.

Oh, and hi Dave. Don't let John know all the stuff you've got or we'll need a bloody container to ship stuff over!

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Disappointingly not yet a Jackass

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danster

If you want it shipped asap then let me know and I'll look at options for shipping and the ball ache of customs forms.

Upon the request of one of the voices in Dictator for Life Dumpsterfire's head, I declare a State of Emergency which declares the need for customs forms totally null and void, bigly.

And we need a wall for Brexit. Or something.

Looks like I picked the wrong morning to have magic mushrooms with my coffee.

What was this thread about again?

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

Quote
fiasco

Quote
danster

If you want it shipped asap then let me know and I'll look at options for shipping and the ball ache of customs forms.

Upon the request of one of the voices in Dictator for Life Dumpsterfire's head, I declare a State of Emergency which declares the need for customs forms totally null and void, bigly.

And we need a wall for Brexit. Or something.

Looks like I picked the wrong morning to have magic mushrooms with my coffee.

What was this thread about again?

Painting the walls in the stairs and clear polyurethane for the wood hand rails???
couple Jocks stumblin doun pissed as can be?

Oh yea E36 M3s that cost only a couple of hundred bucks more than 240 Volvos.....


yeah
That's the ticket...Cult-person is the new Joe Isuzu

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

All I know is Tim O'Neil posted a vidgeo of Volvo 240s in Sveden on the book of faces.

And after this mud season, I'd like a high ground-clearance something to drive...hmmmmm...then I look at my budget and cry.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

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john vanlandingham
Oh yea E36 M3s that cost only a couple of hundred bucks more than 240 Volvos...

Ah ah ahhh. I never said e36 m3...

Just checked the local craigslist. E36 328i with manual trans is in the $900-$2500 range.
You can get an e46 330i, 6spd for $2k-3500. If you spend $4K the car will have less than 100k miles.

Volvo 244 manual will set you back a minimum of $1500 for a running car, with 200k miles.
The hipster BAT surge price is hitting Volvo 240s hard right now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2019 09:09PM by culberro.

The e36 m3 is a waste of money is it not? Unless it's a euro spec one with the adult engine.

I have a 240 rally car and an e46 330 6 speed daily driver. However that does not make me any sort of ex-spurt on this and I am not claiming to be, so take what I say as you wish. The e46 is neat, the steering is excellent out of the box, and the motor works well. Hell the zf 6 speed actually has 2-6ths ratios near identical to the quaife t5 gear kit... Cool! Unfortunately, the gear box and motor are let down (for rally use) by the very tall rear end ratio and the lack of a lsd blows. From what I know there are solutions to these set backs but real ratios are extremely expensive as are diffs. (whats this about putting a supra diff in one?!) Single shear shock mounts on the rear scare me for rally use. The 300$ CAD remanufactured alternator for the damn thing was also a piss off. Truthfully I am not sure how much of this applies to the e36 but figured it was mentioned here so why not throw this in.

Got to also say the front suspension setup was easy to work on. Undo 1 pinch bolt on the knuckle and the top hats to remove a strut... nice. Wheel bearings look stout-er-ish? Maybe? Didn't have a good look at them come to think of it.

The 240... well it was free. and the parts car I used to repair the entire side of it when I wrote it off was... 250$ CAD for a no start 1989 5 speed complete some but not terrible rust. Thanks to parting it out I didn't end up loosing much even after a trip to the body shop to get it pulled and pushed a bit prior to welding everything in. My 242 shell was 300$. My point is you can be crafty and run these cars on a budget. Also dead simple to work on. If I can figure it out I would argue that gopher could too. There are reasonable solutions to the slow steering, the motors in stock form are stout and in a modified form you will find them in heaps of rally cars where rallying is far bigger... and rallycross cars, many times not volvo rwd chassis'. They are plenty roomy if you're tall. All in all I like them. At the end of the day which ever way you choose to go do some work searching for the problem areas of the chassis you have chosen. If it is a common structural issue with the car IT WILL show itself in a rally environment. And do something to rectify them prior to doing an event. In the case of the 240 control arms need an extra plate on the bottom, and AT LEAST some fresh motor mounts. Hope this is of some use.

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Eric Ewert
The e36 m3 is a waste of money is it not? [...]

Thanks for your reply dude.
It's actually refreshing to have some intelligent feedback from someone with actual first hand experience.

What's up with the 240?
Going racing soon?

I might be working in Alberta from August to October this year.

Oh and look what me and John did to my "street car"






















Evil Laugh

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Ask for work.
If they don't give you work, ask for bread.
If they do not give you work or bread, then take bread.

- Emma Goldman

Quote
Eric Ewert
The e36 m3 is a waste of money is it not? Unless it's a euro spec one with the adult engine.

I have a 240 rally car and an e46 330 6 speed daily driver. However that does not make me any sort of ex-spurt on this and I am not claiming to be, so take what I say as you wish. The e46 is neat, the steering is excellent out of the box, and the motor works well. Hell the zf 6 speed actually has 2-6ths ratios near identical to the quaife t5 gear kit... Cool! Unfortunately, the gear box and motor are let down (for rally use) by the very tall rear end ratio and the lack of a lsd blows. From what I know there are solutions to these set backs but real ratios are extremely expensive as are diffs. (whats this about putting a supra diff in one?!) Single shear shock mounts on the rear scare me for rally use. The 300$ CAD remanufactured alternator for the damn thing was also a piss off. Truthfully I am not sure how much of this applies to the e36 but figured it was mentioned here so why not throw this in.

Got to also say the front suspension setup was easy to work on. Undo 1 pinch bolt on the knuckle and the top hats to remove a strut... nice. Wheel bearings look stout-er-ish? Maybe? Didn't have a good look at them come to think of it.

The 240... well it was free. and the parts car I used to repair the entire side of it when I wrote it off was... 250$ CAD for a no start 1989 5 speed complete some but not terrible rust. Thanks to parting it out I didn't end up loosing much even after a trip to the body shop to get it pulled and pushed a bit prior to welding everything in. My 242 shell was 300$. My point is you can be crafty and run these cars on a budget. Also dead simple to work on. If I can figure it out I would argue that gopher could too. There are reasonable solutions to the slow steering, the motors in stock form are stout and in a modified form you will find them in heaps of rally cars where rallying is far bigger... and rallycross cars, many times not volvo rwd chassis'. They are plenty roomy if you're tall. All in all I like them. At the end of the day which ever way you choose to go do some work searching for the problem areas of the chassis you have chosen. If it is a common structural issue with the car IT WILL show itself in a rally environment. And do something to rectify them prior to doing an event. In the case of the 240 control arms need an extra plate on the bottom, and AT LEAST some fresh motor mounts. Hope this is of some use.

Thanks for the well thought out reply to this discussion, Erik.
While the US Spec m3 isn't as cool as the Euro spec, it does come with a fancy LSD and 240hp stock. The e36 325 328 has a measly 190hp. Add a set of M3 cams and a tune and that jumps back up to 230-240hp. It's really hard to make that on a Volvo engine unless it has a turbo, and you're not going to be making that much power for under ~$2k in a Volvo

The stock ring and pinion on the BMW do leave a lot to be desired, but if you swap in a 3.9 ratio from an automatic car (or a supra diff), the 1-5 ratios are within a few percent of what a T5z and a 4.88 ring and pinion are. Swapping to a 3.9 diff in a bmw can be done in a few hours. Swapping a T5 transmission and a 4.88 r&p into a Volvo takes a whole lot longer, and at a significant cost increase as well.

I think a lot of people don't realize that the Volvo cars seen at the upper levels of rallying in Europe are using Evo 8 valve motors, which will set you back $10-15k for a motor that makes 280hp-320hp. They're also using $8k sequential transmissions.

Either way, a Volvo 240 or a BMW e36 would make a great starter rally car.

To the other 3 chuckle heads that constantly derail threads... I'm just waiting for you to actually post up something that is technically relevant or correct.

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Vincent Gagnon

Oh and look what me and John did to my "street car"

Vinnie, How's that Volvo hot rod running these days?

How about your vw... is the decade long project still alive?

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Philippe Bellefleur
How about your vw... is the decade long project still alive?

Yep! I just moved it back into a spot where I can work on it.

I’ve been focusing on other projects for the past few years as we’ve been paying off all our debt from college.

Co-driving has allowed me to get my rally fix, and building/prepping cars for others has allowed me to enjoy the mechanical side of rally as well.

Well then keep up the good work, you'll get there some day!

Awkward DP



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2019 04:36PM by culberro.

...This a new way of speaking in the third person?

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Philippe Bellefleur
Well then keep up the good work, you'll get there some day!

Out of curiosity... where is 'there'?
'Cause Cluberro is definitely 'there' at most of the events within a reasonable distance from him either co-driving or crewing. (maybe even volunteering... gasp)

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Last Updated, May30, 2022