u/TurboCessna

I'm thinking about checking out this drift car. It's street legal and registered. He's selling it for $9,000. It has a good amount of mods, apparently about $20,000 worth. I asked the seller if he would be okay with me getting a pre-purchase inspection or something like that to have some shop look it over. Basically so I can make sure that the engine is not terrible and the frame is not damaged. But he refused and says he doesn't see the need to take it to an inspection because I can take a look at everything myself. I asked him if I can do a compression test. He said no unless I'm willing to pay for a tune-up while I'm there. And he doesn't want a shop to do a compression test on it either. I'm getting mixed flags about this car because it looks like some quality parts were installed on it, but I don't know why he would be against having a shop look at it.

I have a 330i automatic with about 200k miles. I bought it cheap, around $2000, and I’ve been slowly turning it into a drift/track car.

It was basically stock when I got it, so it was not already beaten on as a drift car. It currently has BC coilovers, a welded diff, and a refreshed cooling system. It also has new engine mounts and tie rods. I’ve taken it to a couple drift events and driven it home from track days without major issues. As far as I know, it does not have rear subframe cracking.

The main thing holding it back is that it’s automatic. I’m trying to decide if it makes sense to manual swap it, or if I should stop putting money into a 200k-mile chassis and start with something else.

Estimated costs:

• Manual swap kit: around $1000
• Labor: around $600 if family does it
• Clutch/flywheel/trans maintenance parts: $1000
• Power steering rack/hoses and other steering refresh stuff, maybe ebay angle kit: maybe around $800
• Other small drift prep / maintenance / subframe reinforcement,  bushings: $1000

Realistically, I think I’d be about $6k–$6.5k into the car by the time it is a reasonably sorted manual drift car.

The argument for keeping it is that I know this car. The engine seems good, the cooling system is done, it has not been abused its whole life, and I already own it. I also like that I can fix/upgrade things one at a time instead of buying someone else’s mystery drift car.

The argument against it is obvious: it’s still a 200k-mile E46 chassis. Even if the manual swap goes well, I’m still putting another few thousand dollars into an older car that may not be worth much when I’m done. I just want a reliable track/drift car.

Would you manual swap and keep building this car, or sell it and start with something else?

Is a 200k-mile 330i chassis worth putting this much money into if its just for drifting? 

For comparison, the other option I’m considering is a built 350Z drift car that I could maybe get for $6k–$7k.

It already has:

• VQ35DE / 6MT
• Full cage
• Seats and harnesses
• Hydro brake
• BC coilovers
• GKTech angle kit
• Front/rear arms
• Solid subframe and diff bushings
• 370Z axles and hubs
• Z1 clutch/flywheel
• Clean title, non-op

The 350Z is appealing because it is already caged and basically ready for track use, especially if I eventually want to do tandems. But it also has drift history. Seller says he bought it stock and has done around 25 events over 8 years, with only 4 events in the last 2 years.

Concerns with the 350Z:

• Original engine blew because the seller didn’t check oil and seized it while drifting
• Current engine is supposedly from a 60k-mile rear-crashed G35
• Seller says it runs well, no overheating, no knocks, no smoke
• But he suspects it burns some oil, maybe less than half a quart per drift event
• He runs 15W-40 and changes oil/filter before every event
• Oil sometimes smells a little burnt
• Car was crashed into another car Passenger door/front fender were crunched, front knuckle broke, brake line got pinched
• Seller says alignment is straight and it drives well
• Rear knuckle bushings are worn, but he has new GKTech spherical bushings and install tool

So I’m basically deciding between:

1. Keep my known E46 and manual swap it, ending up around $6 -6.5k total into a 200k-mile chassis
2. Spend $6k–$7k on a much more built/caged 350Z, but accept the risk of buying someone else’s drift car

I’m trying to decide whether it makes more sense to buy an already-built drift car or keep building my current E46.

Current car: 200k-mile automatic E46 330i. I bought it for around $2,000. It already has BC coilovers and a new cooling system. The engine seems healthy and the car was stock when I bought it, so I at least know it probably wasn’t abused as a drift car before me.

To make it drift-ready, I’d need to manual swap it and do the usual drift prep/maintenance. The manual swap would cost me about $2,500 total. By the time I do bushings, reinforcements, steering/rack stuff, and other drift-related repairs and maybe ebay angle kit, I’m guessing the entire car would have costed me around 5500.

The other option is an already-built 350Z drift car for 6-7k. 6MT VQ35DE with a cage, seats/harnesses, BC coilovers, GKTech angle kit, hydro/dual rear calipers, solid bushings/mounts, Z1 clutch/flywheel, welded 370Z diff, and 370Z axles/hubs.

The Z looks well-maintained from the listing and seems like a good amount of time and money went into it. The seller says it will pass tech, alignment is straight, and it drives well. Clean title, but currently registered non-op.

My main concern is wear. The seller says the car has around 25 drift events total, and the newer engine probably has around 10 events on it. The first engine apparently blew because it was run low on oil, but the seller says he has been more careful since then.

Is 25 events a reasonable amount for a drift car, or is that already getting into “beat to death” territory?

One thing I’m wondering is whether buying a car that has already survived drift events is actually an advantage because a lot of weak parts have already been replaced, or whether it’s the opposite and I’d just be buying someone else’s problems.

I’d like to do tandems in a year or two, so the cage is a big plus. I’m not worried about cosmetics. This would be a track car.

What would you guys do?

Option 1: build my 200k-mile automatic E46 into a drift car
Option 2: buy the already-built/caged 350Z that has seen drift events

I’m mostly trying to figure out which option is less likely to turn into a money pit and which one makes more sense long-term.

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