The paint was a cheap respray in the original blue that was fading and chipping, and I wanted to go Alpine white with BMW factory racer-style graphics. I achieved the white, but it looked so clean and subtle that I left it that way. I found a euro-spec rear bumper in the junk yard to replace the large American spec unit, and failing to find a nice slim euro bumper for the front, I simply shaved it.
Stock 325e, lowered on Eibach springs.
Preparing the vehicle for roll cage installation. I had to gut the interior so I could mount the feet directly to the metal floor. I reinstalled the interior afterwards for comfort.
Swanky rims and custom upturned exhaust tip. When I was using nitrous I removed the catalytic converter to avoid burning it up. I also installed a low back pressure drag muffler. Sounded throaty and mean with the 6 cylinder.
Taking apart the body getting ready for some minor fixes around the sides and rear.
Front lower fascia had too many holes in absence of the front bumper and brackets
These patch panels are cut from a spare VW bus rear hatch I had sitting around.
Patch panels welded in place and fascia installed.
some filler work to smooth the fascia, also fenders and doors sanded.
Fresh paint! I love a car in fresh paint! Note I removed the engine, front and rear windows and most other removable stuff to try to get a thorough color change.
A cool, purposeful look to the car without the large American impact bumpers cluttering up the design.
Nice timeless profile. I highly recommend the E30 BMW, even today it's still an excellent road car and their collector desirability is starting to increase their value so act fast! For max fun, find a manual trans and avoid the 4 cylinder cars.
Update, it's 2018 and I sold this car back in around 2004. In the 14 years that have passed the car has clearly been looked after. I just found an ad listing it for sale with the following three pictures. And since I didn't have any interior shots, here they are:
Cockpit is just as I left it almost a decade and a half ago, including 3 spoke wheel, i/o port decal on the roof bar, padding placement, and that little orange NOS sticker where the glove box used to be. The wear to the leather on the steering wheel suggests it was used, but the rest of the car looks like a time-capsule.
Originally the Nitrous bottle was in the trunk, but I found that in a pinch I was unable to turn it on, so I relocated it to where the rear seat used to be. An easy reach for "on-demand" high performance. it looks like the current owners agreed with the placement. I wonder if they ever used it?
Hard to believe that 14 years later the car looks exactly as I built it. save for a different exhaust tip and a sticker on the fuel door. It clearly went to the right person. Now that these are rapidly gaining collector car status, it may live on in perpetuity with the next owner!
Final thought, I built this car and know every nut and bolt. It was a wonderful car to own and I can't help to think it would be fun to buy back. But unfortunately with the cage and nitrous bottle, this car is nothing but trouble on the street, so I will sit on the sidelines while some other lucky person gets to experience the wow.
