A bit of knowledge required, I am looking for a very good E30 318iS, there are 2 up for sale just now which I am very interested in- a 318iS Baur with 2 owners/69k in very good condition and a std 318iS with 3 owners/48k in show condition, both asking prices in the region of £3000.

Not sure about the Baur as very little data available, I would expect the conversion to add to the weight due to the strenghthening mods, but as I understand, Baur used a roll bar for rigidity, my problem is, if this were the case then the fun of the driving charachter of the 318iS would surely be ruined.

I suppose it is a rare beast but I am really after something as a show toy for the weekends as my everyday 525Eta is not exactly sporting.

Anyone and ideas or opinions on the Baur?

Thanks in advance.

i saw an average condition e30 baur at the aberdeen motorshow last year, but like stevie says we don't think theres anyone active on the forum who has one

btw does the 1600E in your handle refer to ford orion or cortina, or neither?

Thanks Spokey, I also like the look of the Baur but the main issue is power to weight ratio being affected, i've no data on the weight differential of the conversion, I am assuming that it was not as heavy as the factory effort due to not requiring the big sills etc.

Plenty info on the BMW convertible, just not on the Baur.

thought it would be one of them, i'm a nosey bugger sometimes

Neil McDonald from the convertible register agrees that the Baur does not weigh as much as the factory job.

Looks like a superchip will cure an performance sap

Only problem is the 700 mile round trip

spokey wrote: m3Cecotto wrote: I think the E30 318is Baur is very, very rare. I must admit, I was kind of surprised, because I didn't think there were any! A 318i Baur is much more likely. 1600E man, I wouldn't worry about the power-to-weight ratio too much. The fun factor of having a droptop is soooo much greater a few extra horses.

Well, if I remember correctly (it's a long time ago), the factory cabs were available before the 318iS which appeared right at the end of E30 production.  I doubt the there were many Baurs made after the factory cabs went into production, but I've definitely seen something about one or two - a magazine article somewhere I think about one prized from some poor unsuspecting old dear who'd had it from new.  White if I remember.  I'm pretty sure it's Brian Jordan's.

There is a chap on the Irish region forum, jrafferty, that has an e30 323i Baur.  Could be worth a PM to him for his view on the Baur bit.

I would have thought that the weight penalty for a Baur would be less than a conv because the Targa roof bar would provide structural rigidity that otherwise requires a good bit of heavy reinforcement on the conv (have a look at the thickness of the sills on a conv vs a saloon.

I would agree that a Baur iS would be a rare thing (what year is it?), but if the saloon you are talking about is the one on the For Sale section here then it does look like something special.  In the short and medium term, a mint low mile iS will be a relatively close second to a mint low mile 325i Sport for collectibility.  Both are getting very hard to find with good provenance.  From that point of view, even the rarity of the Baur probably doesn't bring it to the same level of perceived desirability as these (as far as the market is concerned).

Its also an 1990, 3 tiny blemishes, one on each sill and one on a rear wheel arch, 10mm of stiching undone on drivers bolster (vinyl sided sports seats) and slight dicolouration of the perspex rear window.

Apart from servicing, its had the clutch and the head gasket changed at 50k and 2 exhaust sectons.

http://www.335itc.co.uk/ - http://www.335itc.co.uk/

A friends mad 340i m3> conversion. were all nutters.

Got the details from Mick Golightly, also found a cutaway drawing of the Baur framework, i doubt the Baur is much heavier than the 2 door after all. Thanks all, will keep you posted.