Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyS9
Certainly are a practical classic with the red block 360s being the most fixable and durable but fewer were made and these are often fairly rusty and into restoration terratory and so not many registered for road use now. New panels are mostly not available, but still many donor cars with good parts.
Spare parts are not need often, and there is a good community with professional carb rebuilts and upgrades, but not as numerous as Ford or VW, and a few specialist suppliers dotted around the EU.
Best gems are;
1-Barn/Garage find low milage 340s
2-No rust 360s (any milage), GLT (injection) is the most desirable, and saloon probably more than Hatch.
I've restored my 360 Saloon, upgraded to GLE spec and then modified with a 940 Turbo engine and various other mods for track days and shows.
My person pet hate is the 1.7 engine, too many issues.
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I've a feeling that the OP may have had second thoughts, Tony, his last post in these forums being his reply to me (post #3 above) of April 21st. I don't know if my response to his original request for information put him off; that certainly was not my intention.
FWIW, I agree with you regarding the redblocks, but then we've owned quite a few of them in other marques as well as the 3-series. Also agree regarding rust issues - we found that out the hard way on my MIL's 360 GLE! My 360 GL was quite nippy stock, so I imagine that with a 940 turbo under the bonnet, it is a very quick car.
A friend had a 360 GLE saloon, which was quite refined and a nice car if you didn't need the load capacity of the hatch. I also ran a 1.7 GLE saloon as a business tool for a year in the late '90s, covering over 20,000 miles without issue apart from a broken throttle cable (in Sweden, of all places!). While more economical than the two litre, I much preferred the 360 in all other respects.
The one I would be least inclined to buy would be the 1.4, especially in CVT guise, but that is purely personal choice and no reflection on the car.
Regards, John.