Dear All,

First time I've posted on the E30 part of this forum, so Hi to all you guys who don't visit the E34 section!!!

Anyhoo, my 'journey' with BMW started many years ago, when my father got a 1980's 735I - BEAST of a car with all the refinements.

Later I went out with friends who had bimmers, one even had an E30 with a 2.8 B10 lump in it - what a monster!

Anyhoo - My first BMW was a rather clean 1983 E30 320I, which has been sitting in a garage for around 6 months since I got my latest bimmer, and E34 535I SE....

....So the other day I decided enough was enough and reaslised that the 320i would be perfect for a 'toy' - namely something I can use on my extensive estate for a bit of 'off-road' fun and 'drifting'.

I have started by completely stripping the interior. Everything - including the dash and head-lining have been removed. I have taken off both front and rear bumpers, all lights, glass, basically EVERYTHING..she now sits around 6 inches higher!!!

The engine has done 130,000miles (not bad for an '83 reg) and before laying her up 6 months ago I changed the timing belt, fan belts, and all the filters/fluids....

(will post some pictures as soon as I get round to it)

Questions;

1) Is there anything else I should be thinking about doing in order to get the best performance out of the 2.0Litre Straight 6 engine?

2) What difference (if any) will cutting the exhaust off from the down-pipe make?

3) Obviously, keeping the car at around 5-6000 RPM for extended periods of time in 2nd gear heats the engine up quickly - (and I have removed the interior heating system - having attached a 'U' tube to the engine block) - should I remove the engine thermostat and allow the water to flow from engine cold? - Are there any other ways of cooling the engine down 'better'?

I was also thinking about the viscous fan coupling - whereby the fan only comes on when the engine is hot - can I override this? - allowing the fan to turn from start?

Will any of the above **** my engine up?

Obviously this car is not meant to be road legal - It is merely a 'fun thing' for the weekends, but at the same time I don't want to spend too much on it AND I'd rather not blow the car up within 15 minutes of getting her back 'OFF the road' - so to speak.

Have also noticed that the gear change is a bit sloppy (gear lever moving around quiet a bit) - is there a bearing or something that is causing this?

What things are likely to fail quickly on the car (bearing in mind she will be going 'off-road' in some fields and burning rubber). I'm thinking suspension, clutch and (naturally) tyres.....

What can I do about this (taking into consideration the budget constraints). Can I just weld the suspension up solid? The extra ride- height is cool for off-road, but would I be better served cutting the springs and dropping her by 30-40mm?

All your help and (constructful) comments would be greatly appreciated.

Moo for now

Flamin'Cow