Show me what you've got: Ben's not-so-dirty E30

Okay, I can’t take full credit for the headline.

I’m there with my camera, shooting away, and the owner of this immaculate E30 3 series, Ben, leans over and says “thought of a title yet?”

“I have a few” I reply. “How about the not-so-dirty E30” he says, smugly grinning.

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Damn. So much better than what I had.

Can you fault this bodywork?

See, Ben, who connected with me through a mutual friend, has clearly had lots of time to spend and think about his prized possession.

That’s saying a lot for this car too, because the guy also owns a current-model C63 S.

The tastefully-worked 1989 325is is infectious in its appeal. As we were shooting, another group showed up with a slammed Mazda BT-50 (weird, right?) and a supercharged Toyota 86. They almost immediately dropped what they were doing and came over to investigate.

It seems to have a knack for sucking in nearby enthusiasts.

‘Slammed guy’, as I will call him, looked like the kind of dude that was hard to impress. Hands in hoodie, he circled the car peering out from behind phat blacked-out VZ sunnies. You get the picture.

Then, Ben popped the hood. The 325’s engine is worked. Big time. Not only is the bay tucked and the engine, from rocker cover to sump, painted gloss black, but there are six shiny open throttle bodies for each of the cylinders.

The open throttle bodies are Ben's favourite of the many touches on this car.

'Slammed guy' leaned so far into the engine that his sunnies almost fell straight off his face. “That’s f***ing clean.” I hear him mutter.

It is clean, Mr. Slammed. Probably the cleanest E30 I’ve ever seen.

After our drive day, I hit Ben up with some questions about his car.

TW: How long have you had it, and why did you buy it originally?

BD: I’ve had the car since October 2015, so about three years now. The reason I bought it was because about eight weeks prior, my girlfriend’s younger brother wanted my help with inspecting his ‘potential’ first car – a 1989 BMW 318i E30.

Once the car had met his expectations and due to logistics of the inspection, I got to drive it home – I fell in love instantly. It was perfect. The shape, the noises it made and the strong smell of carbon it produced hah! It was simply perfect and I needed to own one.

When I got home, I immediately started researching the E30 shape and its most desirable variants. After two months of searching, I got lucky when one popped up for sale. I bought it the very next day.

TW: It was pretty beat up?

BD: I wouldn’t say beat up… it just needed a whole lot of TLC… a WHOLE lot.

The interior has been completely re-upholstered and even features a brand-new dashboard.

TW: You’ve clearly spent so much time and money on this car. Did you ever think you should have gotten an M3?

BD: To be honest, I never thought the build was going to progress to the stage it did. It was just one of those projects that never seemed to end. If I look back at the money I’ve spent over the years; sure I could have bought an E30 M3 – but if I had the choice between a stock E30 M3 or my E30 325is … I’d take mine every day of the week.

TW: Ever hit the track with this thing? How did it go?

BD: I did; about a year after buying the car I took it to Wakefield Park for a few hot laps. It was incredible to see just how balanced the old chassis was. With some slight engine and suspension modifications, we were going around in similar lap times to the later generation E46 M3s. It was great fun and the looks on the other drivers faces was priceless.

TW: What’s your favourite part of this car?

BD: That’s like asking a mother with 10 kids who her favourite child is. She’ll never tell you in front of them all, but behind closed doors – she’ll tell you it’s the throttle bodies, haha!

The engine bay is like a work of art.

TW: Least favourite?

BD: The steering column. The older generation BMW’s take a very long time to point the nose anywhere. In saying that, my next and probably last modification to the car will be a tighter steering rack that I’m planning to harvest from an E46 M3.

TW: You had an X5 M before, you’ve got a C63 S now, what stopped you from getting the M3?

BD: To be honest, it was probably my desire to ‘go against the grain’. I’ve had the pleasure of owning some impressive vehicles to date (most of them BMW’s) and I guess I needed to try something else to reaffirm just how great the engineering is at BMW.

Whilst I love my C63 S coupe, my heart still lies with BMW and ill most likely jump into an M4 Competition Pack next year.

The seats are complete with M stitching.

TW: Do you have one ultimate car you’ve always wanted to own? If so what is it.

BD: My childhood dream-car has always been the Ferrari F40. I probably don’t need to tell you why that car is listed on so many peoples ‘bucket list’ however, unless I win the lotto – I’ll probably never get to own one.

More recently – and if I had a spare $550k lying around, I’d probably settle with a Lamborghini Huracan Performante. That car has performance that can send your teeth through to the back of your neck and sporty body-lines that could cut you in half. Simply incredible.

TW: Cars from 1989 are getting on a bit now, is it tough to find parts for the E30?

BD: Yes and no. Surprisingly, my local BMW dealership has been able to provide me with great access to the parts I’ve needed over the years. Most of the car has been restored using brand new genuine BMW parts too.

I’ve also had the pleasure of working with some fantastic engine and paint shops over the years who have all specialised in older generation vehicles.

A local dealership was able to source brand new parts needed for the build.

If I was ever unable to source the part I need locally, I’d simply jump online and usually someone in the UK or Lebanon has the part I’m after. I guess the 80s BMWs are still very popular over there.

TW: E30s are also starting to go up in value quite a lot. I’m sure one in this condition would fetch good money, would you ever sell? Or is this yours alone for the foreseeable future?

BD: My fulltime job is working in sales, so I like to think "everything has its price” however; even if someone offered me a million dollars, I’d still decline. So, I guess it’s staying for the foreseeable future.

BMW 325is E30 specs (1989)

Layout: 2.5-litre SOHC inline-six, RWD (3.1-litre as modified - stroked and bored)
Power: 125kW (originally), 170kW (as modified, at the wheels)
Torque: 226Nm (originally), 440Nm (as modified, at the wheels)
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Brakes: Discs front and rear (original), Wilwood 6 piston front/4 piston rear drilled and slotted rotors (as modified)
Rubber: 195/65 VR14 (original), Bridgestone RE003 215/45 R17 (as modified)
Price new: $71,500
Price now: $2,000 - $60,000 (E30s generally)