Tempting as it may be, we promise we won’t let the site devolve into a pre-1989 BMW fansite (although…it appears fuckyeahpre1989BMWs.tumblr.com is available), but we need you to bear with us on this one. This was originally going to be a post about a certain pair of 6-ers: one shell with no drivetrain and another with a built motor and wrecked body, but then we came across a cornucopia of e24s with impressive condition for their price. The thing is, finding piles of sub-$10k or even sub-$5k Sixers in great shape is a remarkably common occurence. So common, that we may declare the Six as the best budget sports car out there. Hit the jump for an examples and explanation. Straight away, the e24 Sixer‘s mix of styling, handling and power is hard to beat. The parts commonality with the 5-series means there’s no shortage aftermarket, replacement and salvage parts offerings. This is no 68 Nova, but it’s dang close. The M30 six cylinder can easily be modified to over 300hp and is nearly indestructible in stock form. Bosh Motronic fuel injection’s no Holley four barrel, but with a basic understanding of auto electrical systems (and some help from the forums), it’s rather easy to work on. Follow along as we indoctrinate you into our cult. Starting at the bottom end, for $1700 you can have not one, but two stick-shift 633csis. One runs, the other’s a no-title “parts car” special that’s currently not running. LeMons gold, right here.

Taking it up a notch, we’ve got this gorgeous burgundy-on-black example, running, with a bunch of recent work done for $2200

Provided you’re willing to travel to Hesperia, you could have this (admittedly “well loved”) example for under $2 grand

“Sure, but Southern California’s full of amazingly cheap rust free older cars,” you say. This is true, but for $2750, you could have this stunning example from far-away Annapolis. Seriously, black paint over a deep red interior? Yes, please. No, it’s not perfect, but based on the seller’s description, we’d wager all the gauge cluster woes could be debugged in an afternoon.

Let’s say you’d like to take it up a notch, and throw a little M in the mix. The M635csi in Colorado has all the sweet M-spec chassis and suspension goodies, but has since lost is S-series engine for a more basic 3.4L M30. If you’re not a stickler for originality, the aftermarket’s full of goodies that’ll bring that “lesser” motor up on par with the 280hp the original motor made. We’re climbing way up, price wise to $4500. Maybe you’re not interested in screwing around with this low-end stuff and you want to a beast of a touring machine. But remember, this is Hooniverse, so there’s partial assembly required… In one corner we’ve got a gray-market 1984 Euro M635 chassis, done up with a stripped interior and “95% complete” cage. No motor, no transmission, and the gorgeous black wheels are extra. In the other corner, we’ve got a 1979 Korman-built turbocharged 633CSI that rolled (on its wheels) down a hill into a tree. When built new, this engine ran 340hp on the dyno. The roller’s listed at $1500, while the Korman-built one is a “$1” special. We suspect the “well over $60K in receipts for the build” has the owner thinking absurd sums. The trick is to stay focused on the end result: a 340hp turbo track-ready 6 series. Maybe do it up in classic livery: