Alan's BMW E30
Photography & Words By Wynn
1987 BMW 325is
The E30 has got to be one of the simplest and cleanest designs BMW has ever created. With it's simple box like proportions, it’s plain to see why so many BMW enthusiasts feel it is one of the best looking BMW's to date. But with such a gorgeous base to begin with, how does one differentiate their E30 from the rest? Well, Alan seems to be on the right track with his 325is. I first saw this car on Instagram, and instantly thought it was one of the prettiest E30's I had ever seen. In person this E30 is even more impressive. The attention to detail Alan has put into it is absolutely staggering. Although this may be due to the fact that Alan is no beginner at building E30's. "I've always had E30's since like 16, my Dad bought me a 1985 325e. He thought it would be some rust bucket that I would just drive around." Alan jokingly states.
Luckily Alan isn't the type of guy to just "drive it around". Alan quickly educated himself through the help of various BMW forums and started to work on the "rust bucket" he had. Unfortunately that E30 was hit and was a write off, but that didn't stop Alan. Since then he's had various E30's and has now become someone others look to for advice and information.
His current 325is is something special for sure though. While talking to him, it’s plain to see that Alan is a driver first, so building a car that handles and drives well would come far before one that just looks pretty. Although Alan has accomplished both with this build. Alan's first order of business was to get it into decent running standards, which means replacing all wore parts, he completely rebuilt the entire suspension, that's right, almost everything is brand new from front to rear. He even threw in the differential from a 6 series. That alone would be something to gasp at, but it doesn't stop there. Alan then decided to swapped in an M52 for some extra power, which is very impressive considering that it was himself and his father doing all the work themselves.
Even though you could say this car is a driver focus build, Alan still decided to add a splash of stance to it. Future plans for this E30 are either a fresh respray over the winter months or (as if this beast wasn't already quick enough) Alan is thinking of supercharging it. Regardless of whichever path he goes down, one things for sure, Alan has created an amazing build with this E30 and I'm sure he has become an inspiration for all those working on their own builds right now.
