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You don't ruin cars by engine-swapping them, regards Workshop Manuel
The Internet has been awash with random people claiming Marty and MOOG have "ruined" their E30 BMW by replacing the 125kW 2.5-litre six-cylinder with a 320kW 6.2-litre all-alloy LS3 V8. However, I would wager nearly all the people raging online haven't actually driven an E30 BMW, let alone well set-up LS-swapped one. The basis for a good engine swap is finding something easy to source, light and powerful that improves the car's dynamics in the way you want. Marty wanted a well-rounded street car he could take to track days and skidpans, but also something reliable and docile enough to drive to the Slop...
Workshop Manuel explains: how South Africa built 2 of the coolest E30s you've never heard of
As Marty and MOOG dive into modding their E30, I'm going to take you on a trip to South Africa back in the 1980s and '90s. South African arms of car manufacturers have a long history of building their own special-edition hot rods, like the Ford Perana and XR8, as well as the BMW 333i and 325iS. Because they - like Australia - missed out on getting the E30 M3, BMW South Africa came up with their own special model to homologate the E30 BMW for their local Group 1 racing regulations, all built at the local Rosslyn plant. From 1985-1987...
A new project car: our first BMW!
So we've bought an E30 BMW! For those of you who know nothing about these awesome little Germanic boxes of fun, here is a quick rundown on the car which BMW used for everything from basic transport to Group A race and rally success. There were eight petrol engine options, with in-line four- and six-cylinder options, ranging from 66kW (89hp) in the early 318s up to 175kW (235hp) in the M3 Sport Evo, the ultimate incarnation of the E30 and a Group A homologation special. The most powerful six-cylinder was the 125kW (168hp) M20B25 2.5-litre unit, as found in our car....
Should you buy a new project, or reinvent the car you have?
Deciding to sell the machine you've poured your heart, soul and every penny you've earned to move on to a new project is a moment that comes to us all at some point, and when it occurs you just know it's time. But should you go out and build different cars, or reinvent the one you already have? MOOG recently sold off his multi-talented Golf R for the impractical (but brutally fast) for a new platform to modify... but would you have stepped up with a new platform, or modified the Golf to be faster than a Lotus? MOOG spent plenty of time...
Workshop Manuel explains - the difference between supercars and hypercars
The term supercar gets thrown around a lot today (especially if you watch this NEW EPISODE and see MOOG's new car!), but what makes a supercar super over a regular car? And what makes a hypercar better than a supercar? And why hasn't anyone brought me that sandwich I asked for 10 minutes ago? Today, I'll try to answer all those questions for you. **NOTE** if you haven't watched the new episode, watch that first as this story will make a whole bunch more sense and you'll avoid the massive SPOILER ALERT at the end of this article. You have...
