Drew's BMW E30
Photography & Words By Wynn
1990 BMW 325i
Imagine you’re in your newer BMW, it’s a nice summer day and you’re working traffic, cruising in the fast lane. In your peripherals, you spot an E30 cruising down the on ramp. You think to yourself, I’ll drop a gear and show this guy what a modern bimmer can do. To your surprise, the E30 is now right next to you, you then hear its’ owner floor it and to your amazement he leaves you in his rearview mirror. Unsure of what just happened, you creep next to him at the red light. You look over and the owner and his girlfriend are grinning at your expense, you question the E30 owner on what just happened and as the light turns green, you hear him yell back, it’s got a V8, he then takes off leaving you both pissed and impressed with what just occurred.
That’s just one of the many stories Drew has when it comes to his epic E30. Now we all know the E30 is an iconic car, and I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to feature a few of them on the site. As I’m sure you’ll agree, each one of them has been a spectacular project in their own right and I find myself more impressed each time I run into one. Drew’s E30 is no different, it’s a unique project to say the least.
Drew is no stranger to the automotive realm. He’s had his fair share of european cars including a few Volkswagens and E30’s. However this project was a bit different for Drew, he came across this car from a fellow bimmer enthusiast that had kept the car in relatively decent condition. The body was pretty clean, as was the interior. The only caveat was the swapped engine that laid inside was in rough shape. Drew is one of the guys at ChopShop and was by no means nervous to take on the task this E30 was requesting. So, the purchase was made and the car was brought to the shop.
As I said the car (apart from the mechanical issues) was in great shape. Dressed in its original British Racing Green yet having been resprayed immaculately to look factory fresh, it’s no wonder why this was a smart purchase. However the first order of business was to get everything up to snuff. The swapped engine in it, a M60 V8, yeah you read that correctly, was in rough shape but seeing as all of the components for the swap were there (be them needing a bit of work) Drew decided to remove the engine and source a better one that was completely rebuilt.
The current swap had the engine on a slight angle in the bay, leaving the car to drift slightly to one side and vibrate slightly as well. So with the engine out Drew also decided to redo the complete bay and realign the driveshaft. Drew made new custom motor mounts, tranny mounts and even rad supports. His goal was to not only get the swap sitting in the bay perfectly but leave the room around it accessible to make his future maintenance work much easier to tackle, then the rebuilt motor was dropped in.
The next order of business was to get the car sitting perfectly. Drew already had a complete air-ride system on hand and decided to go with that to further dial in the fitment to its current perfection. Drew then tirelessly searched and finally sourced a perfect set of BBS RS’s to compliment the E30. Yet the attention to details doesn’t stop there. All around this E30 are little accents that have you taking a second look at this beauty. You may notice accents such as the CATUNED Motorsport Copper roundels, the Stim Tech hood vents or even the Motorsport door handles just to name a few.
As for future plans, Drew knows of a Dinan Supercharger kit laying around and if he can get his hands on it he might consider throwing in a supercharger for an even bigger kick. He’s also thinking about removing the rear seats and adding a half cage to it. Now you may be wondering if an E30 with a massive V8 might throw off the sought after balance of an E30, Drew was sure to emphasize that the E30 is truly balanced and quite reliable. This E30 is definitely a neat little project that throws aways the rule book and just has fun with the idea. Drew has put a little over 10,000 kms on the car since the motor was put back in and says it hasn’t missed a beat. There’s no question that this E30 has the motor to back up its’ slick looks. Drew has also done a good job in making sure every part of the car is up to snuff and is as reliable as it was when it left BMW’s production floor. So if you’re in Ontario and you see this Green E30 in your rearview, let him pass because let’s be honest, it’s inevitable. This E30 is fast, pretty and most importantly, it’s a job well done.
