BMW E30 Club

#BMW #V8-powered E30 #Muscular 5.3-litre two-door. THE PERFECT BLEND. A sublime two-door #E30 packing a 5.3-litre V8 punch. Stuffing V8s into E30s is definitely a good thing, and if you live in the States, well donor American muscle is always close at hand. Words: Seb de Latour. Photos: Anna Taylor.
I wanted people to know something was different about it but not easily pinpoint what the differences were.

While the E30 M3 and other E30 rarities are considered by many to be off-limits when it comes to modding, the rest of the classic 3 Series line-up is pretty much fair game. In fact, if you’re talking about the smallerengined members of the family, then carrying out an engine swap is almost encouraged. Of course, purists would love to see a Munich motor tucked under the bonnet but I don’t discriminate when it comes to engines and as a card carrying member of the V8 fan club (with a secret soft spot for American muscle), I don’t particularly care where your V8 is from, I just care that you’ve got one. That means that I’d get on just fine with Bret Gerding as this gentleman has built himself a rather tasty, good ol’ American LS V8-powered E30.

Bret’s automotive background saw him growing up in a household that embraced automobiles from both the US and Germany. His dad regaled the young Bret with tales of the cars of his youth, mostly the muscular sort, including Camaros and Chevelles, giving him a taste for homegrown talent, mainly Chevrolets, while an E12, E28 and E30 gave him an appreciation for Munich’s finest. “I actually cried at three years old when my parents traded their Five for a more family-friendly Isuzu Trooper when my sister was born,” he says. “I was very upset and said to my mom ‘I want the BMW!’”

Given the car-based education he had whilst growing up, his project is hardly surprising and Bret says, “I feel like it’s the perfect marriage of my car interests”. In a feat of impressive determination and direction, this E30 was purchased with the sole intention of getting an LS V8 under the bonnet. “I always loved the classic style and lines of the E30 chassis,” he says. “And once I knew that the LS engine would fit, I set out to find a project car to build.”

Handily, Bret has past hands-on experience of V8-based shenanigans as he and his dad built a #1994 Chevy S-10 pick-up truck, swapping out the anaemic fourcylinder for a 5.7 LS1 along with a whole host of other mods. “The S-10 was a blast,” says Bret, “and certainly fast in a straight line but I decided I wanted to build something that could tackle the turns as well as straights. I fell in love with the grunt of the LS1 and sixspeed in the truck, so I knew whatever I built would have to have the same drivetrain. After looking at a few different options, I settled on the classic E30 for its good looks and handling abilities. Ever since my dad had a #1986 #325es when I was younger, I liked the idea of having another BMW in the family, this time with more power!

“I searched around on Craigslist and other online sites for a few weeks and came across this one in Scranton, Pennsylvania, about anhour- and-a-half from my house. The guy wanted $1000 for it, which was at the lower end of most of the cars I found. It was in pretty shoddy condition but didn’t have much rust, which was all I was really concerned with. My buddy Chris took the trip out with me and I paid the seller’s asking price. All I wanted to know was if it would make it home. When he said it would be okay I handed him the cash. He probably thought I was nuts because I didn’t really ask many questions about it! Once I got it home, the engine and trans were promptly pulled and sold to make room for the new transplant.”

Before cracking on with that, Bret did a little housekeeping, carrying out some interior repairs and swapping out the dash before getting stuck into the meat of the project. “The car now runs a GM 5.3-litre L33 engine (LS family) and a #Tremec T56 from a #2004 #Pontiac #GTO ,” he explains. “The engine was originally from a pick-up truck and all the accessories and the intake manifold would not work for the swap, so it’s now equipped with an LS1 intake manifold and all LS1 Camaro accessories. The motor and transmission mounts were custom fabricated by me in my garage. I also modified the headers for better clearance around the steering (Sanderson units), and built the full exhaust system. The main goal was to make everything fit and operate in the E30 chassis, so not much was done in terms of engine mods aside from headers and the LS1 intake manifold. The engine also has a modified GTO front sump oil pan to clear the subframe/steering rack. I cut out a section and made a patch, which my dad welded in for me. The biggest issue was steering shaft clearance to the driver’s side header. Although it would have fitted without modification I chose to reroute the direction and bends of the pipes for more length and clearance. This was my first time building an exhaust and though I’m happy with the result I’d like to become more proficient with welding and reconstruct the whole system in stainless steel. Although I have not had it dyno tested, I’d predict the engine to now make between 325-350hp at the wheels.

“Body-wise, the car has a full plastic bumper swap including a grafted-in lower rear valance. All of the fitting was done by me. It also has Depo smoked Euro headlights and Euro grills. I envisioned the car having a very sleek appearance, slightly modernised, without straying too far from stock. It had to look somewhat factory but also look out of the ordinary at the same time. I wanted people to look at it and know that something was different about it but not be able to easily pinpoint what the differences were. I also had a vision of keeping a sort of black and white theme, so everything is either body coloured or has black accents, along with the charcoal wheels. I did not want to have any chrome on the car. The body mods and bodywork/paint were all done by me and it took a bit longer than expected. I spent a good six months getting everything to fit correctly, priming, and blocking to make it perfect. The effort in those initial stages really shines through in the final paint job. In staying true to the stock appearance, I wanted to keep the interior looking close to stock. I was lucky enough to have the car come with a houndstooth interior that was in decent condition, requiring only minor repairs, some of which I did and some of which my mother helped out on. I swapped in a crack-free dashboard, a junkyard score. The shift knob is from an original #1969 #BMW-2002 , so it keeps the vintage/stock-feel going. If you glance inside the car, you really can’t tell that it’s running anything other than BMW components underneath.

“In terms of suspension, it’s equipped with Ground Control coilovers, 550lb/inch at the front and 700lb/inch at the rear. I shortened the front strut assemblies one inch. Every bushing and bearing under the car was also replaced with either stock or upgraded aftermarket components. It runs brand-new stock brakes, though the fronts are soon to be swapped in favour of an Ireland Engineering big brake kit.”

We love how standard Bret has kept his E30 looking, inside and out, and the fact that a lot of work has been carried out but you really wouldn’t notice unless you started having a particularly careful nose around. The black grilles and smoked headlights give the car a fat, dark strip up front that ties in nicely with the Apex wheels which, despite being 17s, look a lot bigger, in part thanks to that perfect drop and those spokes reaching right to the edge of the wheels. “I wanted a wheel that had a classic Euro style,” explains Bret, “but was a bit larger than stock, making room for a future brake upgrade. I also wanted something that fitted the chassis properly with a decent size tyre. The Apex Arc-8s fit the bill exactly.”

These darker elements contrast perfectly with the paintwork which, despite looking white, is actually called Light Grey Metallic, as found on the BMW S 1000 RR motorbike. The iS additions give the car a little more visual muscle whilst still keeping things OE and that ridiculously clean interior hasn’t been messed around with, as it’s perfect in just about every way. Peering under the bonnet it’s clear that the L33 was a bit of a squeeze, taking up as it does most of the room in the engine bay, but it’s an incredibly neat install and Bret has done an amazing job. It took almost three years to get the car finished and ready for its first outing. “I took it to a show at Vargo dragway in Perkasie, Pennsylvania,” says Bret. “It’s really a vintage drag racer/muscle car show but I took the E30 anyway. Most people were very impressed with the engine swap and also commented on the paint. It was funny to listen to some people’s comments from a distance. An old couple were looking at it when the husband said to his wife something like ‘that must have been the optional engine. Mine didn’t have that’. My friends and I got a good laugh out of that one.” Aside from the aforementioned plans for a big brake kit, Bret’s not got much more planned for the E30 and it’s not going anywhere either. He says he’d like to get another E30, something with a straight-six, to have as a daily driver but he’ll keep his V8 creation. With it’s classic, subtle OE styling carrying a hint of aggression and that hulking great slice of pure Americana shoehorned into the engine bay, we can’t blame him.

DATA FILE

ENGINE:

2005 #Chevrolet 5.3-litre L33 from a Silverado (the aluminium block H.0. engine), modified GTO front-sump pan, LS1 intake manifold, LS1 F-Body water pump and accessory drive, Sanderson Headers, driver’s side heavily modified to properly clear steering shaft, full custom exhaust -2.5” from headers to Y-pipe into 3” cat, 3” back to Pypes M-80 glasspack with Pypes 68-69 Chevelle Tip.

TRANSMISSION:

T56 six-speed gearbox from a 2004 GTO with new stock LS1 flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, throwout, stock 2.93 LSD (now swapped for 3.25 LSD).

CHASSIS:

8x17” (front and rear) Apex ARC8 wheels with 215/40 (front) and 235/40 (rear) Yokohama S-Drive tyre, Apex 75mm stud conversion, Ground Control coil conversion, 550lb front 700lb rear, Touring camber plates, GC RSMs, E36 steering rack, Vorshlag E30 competition steering shaft (for use w/ #E36 rack), E36 diff cover with custom dual mounts in floor, Delrin M3-style offset CABs, poly trailing arm bushings with weld-in camber adjusters (e30tech), new Lemforder control arms, Meyle anti-roll bar end links F&R, Febi tie rods, new wheel bearings all four corners, stock brakes all-round, discs and pads from Turner, rebuilt calipers, steel braided line kit from ECS tuning, massive booster delete with modified pedal ratio (6.2:1), stock ATE master cylinder.

EXTERIOR:

BMW Light Grey Metallic (motorcycle colour), plastic bumper conversion with shortened rear bumper, DIY Euro trim, new OEM front valance, iS lip, foglights, 88+ rear valance welded in, moulded into arch wells, Euro grilles, gloss black kidneys, smoked front turn signals, Depo smoked Euro smiley headlights, new Schwarz OEM iS spoiler, shaved side mouldings, new OEM iS skirts, DIY Shadowline trim, new Shadowline window locking strips, new PGW windscreen.

INTERIOR:

Pearl beige vinyl Sport seats and rear bench (now swapped for the car’s original houndstooth Sport seats and rear bench), houndstooth doorcards, 7000rpm tachometer, Garagistic ODO gears.

THANKS:

Thanks to any of my friends who helped me out at any time along the way during the project. Also thanks to my family for putting up with my takeover of the garage to build this car! Thanks to my dad for helping out along the way with various little projects, like any TIG or aluminum welding that had to be done.

Thanks (Seb & Anna) for the feature!

First time lucky – #BMW #E30 2-doors #M20B25 engine boost. For a first project car, the E30 makes sense. To Karel Silha, so did 726bhp. Words: Joel Newman. Photos: Lars Sikhammar.

Take a second and try to picture the very first car you modified. For me, that car was a #VW Mk2 Golf Driver. It may have had a measly 1.3-litre lump under the bonnet, the steering was heavier than death metal and the interior looked like a duvet cover stolen from a ’70s swingers party, but it did nothing to deter me. This was my first motor and as such I wanted to personalise it. It wasn’t great but I think I can be forgiven; it takes time and rather a lot of practice to get things right.

For my sins I popped to the local modding hut, which was like a cheaper version of Halfords (if you can imagine such a thing). Here I selected a set of 17” unbranded rims, a huge exhaust and one of the world’s loudest and perhaps poorest audio systems (complete with MiniDisc player). Not only did the ICE die after six months, in retrospect the wheels were chavvy and it’s safe to say that the 4” pipe out back was not yielding any additional power. I tell you this because, like most, I made mistakes. But for every thousand of me you may be lucky enough to find one Karel Silha.

Like many of you, Karel picked the E30 #325i for its classic styling and appeal as a true driver’s car. He concurred that for a first attempt, an E30 made perfect sense. The parts are relatively cheap and much of the service and tuning work can be completed without specialist equipment.

For most, one’s first modified car is generally a styling exercise. Initially, new wheels, bumpers and side skirts, lowering springs and an exhaust system are about as far as most are comfortable with, but Karel had vastly different concerns. Despite this E30 being his first project car, he knew what he was after, and styling just didn’t come into it. Although he was on a budget, for him modifying is about one thing. Power. What’s the point of having the sickest rims, the best suspension, the widest of body kits if, you only have a hairdryer to plough you along? For Karel this side of tuning is fake. A staged world of ‘look at me’s’ and flash idiots; a world he just didn’t want to be a part of.

“I’ve always loved the E30 because it’s so much fun and it’s not expensive nor exclusive. I paid just £350 for this car and even though it was rusty and in need of some TLC I knew I could save it,” he explains.

So, what exactly was Karel’s big plan? Amazingly, even from the outset his hopes were pretty out there. He explains: “The line of the attack from the beginning was to turbo it and keep the standard internals. I was told the M20 could handle around 400bhp at the crank in terms of rods and pistons and I felt that would be more than enough.” You don’t say!

Karel was lucky enough to have a small workshop, something it seems all Swede’s have access to (I wonder if it’s the same one?). Over the next five months he would get to work, and with no prior knowledge of turbocharging, he would attempt to install and fabricate this entirely new setup. Before any of the real work could begin, the #M20 was sent to Engson Motors, which increased the bore to 2.7 litres and welded the head. This was one of the only areas of the entire build Karel did not do himself.

With the engine back and ready to roll, a huge turbo was required, and you’ll never guess where it came from… The 61mm trim beast was removed from a Volvo truck, which gives us a clue to its capacity!

As stated, Karel wanted to plumb this in with the minimum of fuss, to work out what could and what couldn’t cope. To this end he first needed to sort out the cooling and fuel delivery, so popped in larger 1260cc injectors, a front-mounted intercooler and got on with the long job of fabricating the required exhaust manifold and turbo tubing.

With combustion increasing so abundantly, Karel also fitted a race fuel tank in the boot along with two new Bosch 044 fuel pumps capable of running E85 (or 98 grade octane fuel to you and me).

With such a huge turbo it was essential for Karel to fit two Tial wastgates to keep boost pressure in check, while a decent sized 50mm Tial blow-off valve stopped pressure build-up and turbo surge, which can severely damage an engine. An Aeromotive regulator also made its way into the engine bay, helping him determine and direct boost and fuel pressures, as well as a Nuke Performance fuel rail for good measure. As Karel planned to keep the bottom end standard, he fitted Nuke Performance cam gear, enabling him to match cam timing by advancing or retarding the cam profile in one-degree increments. This meant he could keep his standard M20 cams.

With the engine working, Karel got on with installing an #Alpina-B7 differential, involving customisation of the driveshaft to enable him to utilise the standard Getrag 260 five-speed gearbox. He also added a hydraulic handbrake so he could compete competitively in the drift events so popular in Scandinavia.

The car was then gifted FK coilovers, the front end dropped as low as it could go, giving it a brutal dragster look. Finally a Brembo big brake kit featuring 302mm discs and four-piston calipers made their way behind the 18” ASA Pirate rims. These are wrapped in Pirelli P-Zeros, however as they are changed twice a month during the summer often anything goes!

Karel, of course, stripped the entire cabin, installing a set of Radiopower fibreglass red buckets with Elite four-point rally harnesses, a grippy Momo drift wheel and a new custom-made aluminium instrument cluster.

Karel then spent two weeks sanding and prepping the car for its new Army green paint job. The car’s only exterior modifications were made in order to reduce weight; although the bonnet and boot look original they are now manufactured from fibreglass. He also replaced the rear windows with Perspex to further reduce weight. Overall he has shaved off some 250kg from the original 1250kg, which makes one hell of a difference.

So what to do? Test the damn thing! The car and driver were sent off to a street drag show, but not long after, something went bang. It was an ongoing issue; broken rocker cover and arms, which plagued Karel for some time. “Eventually we realised that we were producing far more power than we originally planned. I just had to strengthen the engine internally,” he explained.

So Karel rebuilt the entire bottom end with the help of Pure Performance Factory, which provided him with race valves and springs, custom pistons and rods, a new heavy duty camshaft and, to quote, “bloody strong” heavy-duty rockers. To make sure history did not repeat itself, Karel also installed a fresh Haltech ECU, so parameters could be kept on check at all times.

Since that day there have been no issues, with the car returning an awesome 650bhp at the wheels and 726bhp at the crank on E85 fuel at 29psi. With 654lb ft of stomachchurning torque, Karel laughs: “Any more power would be a waste of good rubber and 144 neck muscles. So far at just 21psi we ran a 10.28 at 138mph and that was on old tyres.” He’s even put some videos up, at youtube . com/karel021 .

There is something so inherently wonderful about an E30 that looks pretty much standard yet goes like the clappers. To many, it is the underlying soul of performance modifying. It’s not dressed in labels; it is as honest as tuning gets and I hope it inspires some heavy-hitting UK followers. It’s time we got in on this performance act because it doesn’t need to cost the earth. Over in Sweden they’ve been doing it for years. And we can all appreciate a lightweight road-legal E30 325i with that kind of shove. It’s a bruiser, not a supermodel, and it’s fun. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

DATA FILE

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION: M20B25 engine stroked to 2.7 litres with custom-forged pistons and rods, Pure Performance Factory ( #PPF ) race valves and springs and CrMo retainers, custom PPF camshaft and heavyduty rockers, Nuke Performance fuel rail and cam gear, 1260cc injectors, custom exhaust manifold, #Volvo truck 61mm trim turbo, Aeromotive regulator, Tial 50mm BOV, two Tial 38mm wastegates, front-mounted intercooler, two #Bosch 044 fuel pumps (running e85), Haltech single coils, Haltech e11v2 ECU (with electronic boost control),

Davies Craig electrical water pump, modified water-cooling system, support Girdle for the bottom. #Alpina B7 rear differential, custom E30 325i driveshaft, standard five-speed gearbox, Polyurethane bushings for engine, gearbox and rear end.

CHASSIS: 7x18” (front) and 9x18” (rear) #ASA Pirate wheels shod in 245/35 Pirelli P-Zero tyres all round. FK coilovers. Brembo BBK with 302mm disc and four-piston calipers.

EXTERIOR: Full respray in Army green, fibreglass bonnet and bootlid, Perspex rear windows, boot-mounted race fuel tank.
INTERIOR: Raidopower fibreglass seats, Elite four-point rally harnesses, custom-made aluminium instrument cluster, Prosport /Autometer gauges, Momo drift wheel, hydraulic handbrake, electrical water pump controller, roll-cage.
THANKS: Fredrik, Ivars, Ted, Jakobsson, Jansson, Magnus, Johnny, Bayrisch, Dogge, Robba, the guys at BVS, Billy, Limmet, Mats, A&A at PPF, Hilda, Arash, Jocke, Larsson, Nicklas, Stefan, Emil, Armin, Johan, and my sponsors Waarwest, PBZ ,VPM, Däckkompaniet, Raidopower, Racedäck.nu, Swedish woodworks, Engson Motor, Dalhems.

“Any more power would be a waste of good rubber and neck muscles”
There is something so inherently wonderful about an E30 that looks pretty much standard yet goes like the clappers.

DRIFT KING

Drift machines tend to be quite extreme, and this 6.2-litres V8, wide-body orange #BMW-E30 is no exception.

Anyone who’s owned an E30 knows they were built to go sideways but with a 6.2-litre V8 up front and comprehensive chassis tuning, Andy Hateley’s E30 drift special introduces us to angles we scarcely believed possible. Words: Iain Curry. Photos: Matt Petrie.

Let’s start with a little history lesson. Back in #1962 an American chap called Carroll Shelby had the bright idea of planting a high performance lightweight Ford V8 engine in the attractive British-made #AC-Ace roadster. The little Ace’s stock sixcylinder engines – some of pre-World War II design – were hardly what you’d call sporting so Shelby’s plan was to give the puny Brit some American muscle. The result? The legendary AC Cobra which combined power and grace to a degree rarely bettered these past 50 years.

So what’s all this got to do with performance BMWs? Well, Californian drift racer Andy Hateley has done something not too dissimilar to another European beauty: the E30 3 Series. Under his one-time #1989 #325i ’s shapely pinned bonnet rests a 6.2- litre V8 LS3 lump from #General-Motors , familiar to Brits as powering the storming #Vauxhall-VXR8 and typically found in American muscle machines such as the Chevy Corvette and Camaro SS. The result is an estimated 550-600hp and when combined with an extensive suite of drivetrain, chassis, interior and exterior upgrades, Andy has built one of the most extensive and brilliant BMW drift cars we’ve yet seen.

The 31-year-old spends his working life crafting custom furniture and doing small fabrication jobs on friends’ cars. His skills with using his hands has translated into tackling the build of this world-class drift E30. He is aware, however, of the age-old grumbles from BMW purists not keen on having anything but a made-in-Munich motor doing the pulling. But this is where Andy makes a good point and draws on fellow countryman Shelby’s efforts to put some fireworks in a not-so-quick standard car.

“I’m not a purist guy at all,” Andy said. “I respect cars that are kept original but that’s not for me. Like when Shelby dropped some Detroit muscle in a lightweight European chassis, nobody sees anything wrong with that, and I see nothing wrong with making my own car with whatever parts I want. I love what BMW did when it designed the E30 but it’s not my design and the factory version is definitely not my dream car. I’ve put more hours into the car than BMW ever did so it’s more my car than theirs. That’s why people modify their cars – to be individuals and express their style.”

It’s hard to argue with such sentiments, and if we look at Andy’s individual style, there’s plenty to love. It truly is one of the most brutal-looking E30s the BMW scene has witnessed and throughout the entire build the quality of parts, attention to detail and innovative custom work all impress. But they all have to. Andy competes in Formula Drift (FD) in the USA, where competition is stiff, to say the least, and only the best of the best drivers and their machines can hope to stay in the series.

Andy said he started drifting back in 2004 with a #Nissan-350Z , gaining an FD licence for 2006. The following year the Nissan was getting tired so Andy took a break from competing to get the funds together to build what he calls a ‘real’ FD car, choosing the E30 as his platform. It was many years in the building but after doing local FD Pro-Am events he regained his FD licence for 2012.

He’s up against an array of Japanese and American high-horsepower machinery in FD but said a few E36s and E46s also keep him company on the #BMW front. “Most of them are using big V8s with either nitrous or forced induction,” Andy told us, “and the average hp number would be around 750hp, with cars going as high as 1300hp.” And even though Andy’s GM-powered #E30 is at around half that figure, the recent season still saw numerous teething problems due to the stress on components. “Our best result was a top eight finish at FD Pro 2 in Seattle,” he said. “We may have made it further but we broke both axles during our top eight run. We definitely found the weak points of the car at Long Beach the throttle pedal started to detach itself from the floor; in Atlanta the throttle cable melted; I broke an axle in New Jersey; the pinion gear broke in Texas; and the clutch started slipping at Irwindale.” It’s a lot of work, this drifting business!

Returning to the car itself, Andy originally chose an E30 as a drift car because of the visceral feel he got when driving it: “I fell in love with the E30’s oversteer that would come on so progressively and smoothly; it was a car that represented my style as a person and driver perfectly.”

Andy flirted with fitting an #S54 or #M60 motor from BMW’s stable but ordering a box-fresh #LS3-GM-V8 would speed the build process up considerably. “With the LS3 I had the Tex Racing SR-1 transmission bolted up and was fitting the engine and cutting the trans tunnel for clearance the day it arrived,” Andy said.

The build went into overdrive from there. It only takes one glance at the pictures and our Data File to see the huge lengths gone to in reaching this E30’s current state. To explain it all would fill this entire magazine! Simply put, the V8 came from GM with upgraded camshafts, while Andy added high rpm lifters, better valve springs and upgraded chromoly pushrods all to create a more reliable engine during long periods of high rpms – integral for this high level of drifting. The exhaust and manifold were all crafted by Andy’s hands, while a custom one-piece driveshaft and a modified E30 diff all endure the huge stresses Andy asks of them during competition use. The standard E30 axles – rebuilt by Andy – are apparently holding up well to the abuse the drivetrain receives during drifting.

The underbonnet install – where the LS3 V8 fits with surprising ease – is impressive enough but the boot build almost trumps it. Here you find the extensive cooling system, again an integral part of all serious drift cars. Somehow Andy has squeezed in a mighty radiator, a ten-gallon fuel cell, countless fans, a large oil cooler, an oil filter, a four-gallon water sprayer and much more, all mounted in what’s known as the ‘safe zone’ far forward in the boot.

The chassis is another fine piece of work. Andy learned an incredible amount at Groma Fabrications where he used a lift at the back of their shop to work on the E30. “I gutted the E30 chassis and Ed at Groma did some work on the roll-cage to get it up to FD-spec,” Andy said. He did his first sheet metal work and welding, and soon the E30 had its distinctive DTM Fibrewerkz wide body kit (making it eight inches wider than a standard E30) and Lexan windows in place. Andy made his own carbon fibre panels to mount the myriad gauges in the dash, and finally it was off to be sprayed what he calls ‘Oh Sh*t orange’, based on Honda’s CBR 600RR motorcycle colour.

To make a car this talented in FD requires a daunting amount of chassis work (see the Date File), but most will appreciate the 18” ESM wheels, JRZ RS-Pro dampers and a full coilover setup for the rear. The rest of the underneath has needed comprehensive remodelling, welding, strengthening and protection, all to ensure this brutal E30 can continue performing at its best while under such extreme forces.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the superb work carried out here and neglect just how visually appealing Andy’s drift E30 is. It is fat and squat, aggressive and beautiful with its owner particularly appreciating the body kit, not least because he said it allows the smoke to flow off the tyres very well. And as with most racing machines, they truly are at their best when in action, and to see the plumes of burning rubber coming from the rear of this delightful orange missile when in full drift mode makes it hard not to love. When asked about a rear wing however (drift cars are typically seen with oversized ones), Andy said he’d been debating fitting one but with the E30 having very good forward traction at present, it isn’t really needed yet.

As for the cabin, well, it’s a place you’d happily go to work in any day of the week thanks to the dished Driven steering wheel, the beautifully ergonomic gear shifter, a view full of carbon fibre and gauges, and the Sparco Circuit seats gripping you tight. Everything looks immaculate making you wonder how Andy can ever risk such a beautifully-crafted machine in the hotbed of drift competition. But it races because it was born to do it. “There is no shortage of talent at any FD event and these drivers are on-point and have balls of steel,” Andy explained. “I love it. It really makes you a better driver. I drive with the best and aspire to be the best.”

As for his E30, Andy said he’ll be sticking with it for a long time to come but he’s not averse to upping the horsepower figure even more. “Plans are for a 750-800hp engine next year,” he said. “Once we have more power we’ll see what breaks, fix it, then add more power. It’s a sick and twisted cycle!”

DATA FILE

ENGINE: 6.2-litre #GM-LS3-V8 , uprated camshafts, Hateley Motorsports custom stainless steel exhaust and manifold, upgraded chromoly pushrods, link bar lifters and high rpm valve springs, Nitrous Express progressive controller running a 50-shot from a 10lb bottle, 42 AN hoses, rear-mounted radiator, oil cooler, oil filter, Accusump, radiator water sprayer and three Spal fans, two extra six-inch fans on licence plate filler, 1600cfm fan for radiator, threegallon water reservoir plumbed to 200gph water pump, custom wiring, Electromotive Tec3R standalone ECU tuned by Nelson Racing Engines.

TRANSMISSION: Tex Racing SR-1 four-speed manual, custom one-piece driveshaft, 4.27 E30 differential modified by Precision Gearing for near-100% lock, factory E30 axles.

CHASSIS: 9x18” (front and rear) ESM wheels with 225/35 (front) and 275/35 (rear) Falken 615k tyres, JRZ RS-Pro dampers with 520lb rate spring up front and 225lb rate at rear (full coilover for rear), E46 M3 hubs, #E46 M3 CSL brake discs with Wilwood calipers at front, Ireland Engineering twin-caliper rear brake kit using Wilwood callipers, Wilwood drop-down pedals with twin master cylinders and balance bar, solid aluminium bushings for the rear subframe, Ireland Engineering toe and camber adjustment tabs, modified trailing arms, SLR angle kit using E46 spindles, Ireland Engineering urethane bushes and rear anti-roll bar, custom Hateley Motorsports chassis with removable tube frame front and rear sections, Formula D spec roll-cage.


EXTERIOR: DTM Fiberwerkz fibreglass wide-body kit including front and rear bumpers, side skirts and front and rear wheel arches (total eight inches wider than standard E30), Lexan windows, ‘Oh Sh*t orange’ from Honda CBR 600RR motorcycle.

INTERIOR: Sparco Circuit seats with Sparco harnesses, Driven steering wheel, Hateley Motorsports custom carbon fibre dash panels for Auto Meter gauges, Powered by Max hydraulic handbrake, custom fuel cell.

THANKS: Falken Tires, ESM wheels, DTM Fiberwerkz, JRZ Suspension, Sparco Motorsports, SLR Speed, Nitrous Express, OMGdrift.com, Driven Steering, Clutchmasters, Ireland Engineering, Precision Gearing, my dad, my team and manager Ross Fairfield.

CONTACT: Instagram @hateleydrift12, FB – Andy Hateley Drift, www. nationalmssociety. com (Andy represents the society).
Interior has been stripped-out and fitted with Sparco Circuit seats and harnesses plus a custom carbon fibre panel to house all the gauges.

DTM Fiberwerkz wide-body kit delivers a ton of track presence, adding 8” to the car’s width.

6.2-litre LS3 V8 dominates this E30’s engine bay, which is itself an engineering riot; boot houses cooling system and ten-gallon fuel cell.

#BMW E30 – hot-road heaven. With a schooling in the Veedub scene Garry Ames has now graduated to modifying BMWs with this ultra-cool V8 E30. This is Bavarian hot rodding at its finest. Words: Ben Koflach. Photos: Steve Hall.

There is simply no denying that the #E30 3-Series is the most iconic generation of them all. Sure the #E21 was the original, and generations since have perhaps proved to offer greater refinement and practicality, but the E30 remains at the top. Therefore when Garry Ames wanted to move over from old-skool VWs into something Bavarian, he had only one thing in mind: an E30 hot rod.

“I actually had a Mk1 Golf in my garage but didn’t want to use it as a daily,” explained Garry. “So I found this E30 locally for £500. It was a 325i auto and in a bit of a state.” However, it was a working classic and Garry soon bonded with the four-door. It was when the cambelt snapped that things really started moving up a notch.

“I knew Robin from down at the local BMX ramp and used to see him around in his many cars,” Garry laughed, referring to Robin Welsh of Southampton’s RAW Motorsport. “All these years later I heard that he was building E30 race cars, so I popped in with mine. We rebuilt it with a 325i Sport engine and manual gearbox, but after I drove Rob’s E34 540i race car I knew that the M20 just wasn’t enough.”

It was then that Garry decided he needed V8 noise and power, and that the engine swap wouldn’t be any old conversion. Robin was charged with weaving that RAW Motorsport magic and set about creating a really show-worthy engine bay to get a 4.0-litre M60 V8 nestled into.

“I liked what the guys in the VW scene were doing with their clean engine bays and wanted to do it before it got too popular in the BMW scene,” Garry smiled. With the front end of the E30 dismantled, Rob relocated the brake servo and master cylinder to the passenger-side of the dashboard, along with all of the brake lines, and the fuse box was moved to the glovebox, too. Then every bracket was removed, all of the seam sealer was ground off and all of the holes were plated over and welded up.

“Jack Gabriel at BodyTone then smoothed and painted the bay, and also colour-coded the bumpers and painted a new bootlid for me, as the old one was a spoiler version. He also welded up the exhaust recess on the rear valance while it was there,” Garry explained.

From the paintshop, it was back to RAW Motorsport so that the godly engine swap could take place. Rob is no stranger to M60 E30 builds and is known for his neat installations but Garry’s requests were on a whole new level. Sacrifices were going to have to be made – the power steering for starters, and the ABS went long before the repaint, too. The wiring had to be completely redone, too, as it now had to go from the glovebox through the chassis leg and to the engine without being visible at any point. Only then could the engine be bolted up, which was done using custom engine mounts and RAW Motorsport-fettled exhaust manifolds to clear the steering. Rob took inspiration from the Mercedes C63 AMG Kleeman design when fabricating them, and they’ve more than done the trick. The usual E30 engine mounting rubbers were swapped out for E36 M3 ones, known to be much stronger and stiffer, while the sump was given a trim to clear the crossmember. Whilst the sump was off, the M60 was treated to some ARP bolts and new bearings, and an uprated oil pump spring was fitted too. The 4.0-litre lump was then bolted to an E34 530i five-speed manual gearbox with a lightweight billet flywheel and an M5 clutch in between the two. Out back, there’s a 3.14 final drive LSD to help get the power down.

With the V8 bolted in and well on its way to being wired up, Garry set about arranging a number of touches to both help the engine function properly and to really keep that engine bay looking spoton. A Mishimoto alloy Z3 M radiator not only helps keep the engine cool but looks absolutely perfect. Another great touch is the carbon fibre air box that Rob created for the E30. Garry ordered Viper silicone hoses to plumb it in with – it really is a case of just keeping it simple and using quality components.

“My friend at Jays Sprays painted the engine cover and rocker covers in gloss black, and did the bumper inserts and roundels in the car’s exterior colour,” Garry told us. In the meantime, Rob fabricated the manifold-back exhaust to be completely hidden, exiting beneath the rear end but out of sight. It makes itself known with the sound it produces though, you can be assured of that. The brake setup has been kept nice and simple – standard. Well, not quite in fact – Rob is a great advocator of using quality discs and pads over forking out for a big brake kit for many applications, and Garry’s E30 proves how well this approach can work. ATE front discs have been fitted with #Mintex 1177 race pads, along with E30 Challenge rear pads to match, which are reportedly more than up to the job, even on track. The rest of Garry’s E30 has been a case of blending his VW background with a trackinspired edge. The exterior says show car while the interior is all business but with Garry’s trademark cleanliness and style.

On the outside, a 318iS splitter, the aforementioned colour-coding and the removal of the washer jets are the only real bodywork changes. The main effect has been achieved with a good dose of stance. Bilstein front coilovers and Gaz rears have allowed the four-door to be lowered right down over BBS-style Calibre Vintage alloys in 8x17” sizing, with nicely stretched 195/40 Toyos for good measure. An E36 M3 steering rack and polybushes tighten it all up nicely. The quick rack with no assistance makes parking a bit of a workout but once up to speed the feedback and feel of it makes it all worth it.

Inside, all of the sound deadening and unnecessary interior trim has been stripped, including the headlining, keeping weight to a minimum. A pair of Cobra buckets – Suzuka Pro on the driver’s side, Monaco for the passenger – and a deepdish steering wheel help the car’s trackready credentials. There’s no radio, no nonsense – it’s just a stripped back machine meant to be driven hard.

Garry’s E30 is a simple recipe, executed perfectly. It’s a potent one, too. It recently produced 289hp on the dyno, backed up by a pretty astonishing 330lb ft of torque. That makes for one seriously rapid road #BMW-E30 – it just hauls in any gear, with a soundtrack to die for. It’s a physical, noisy and hardcore thing to be in but it’s absolutely fantastic for it. Is it the ultimate E30 hot rod? We’d certainly be hard pushed to say otherwise.

DATA FILE

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION: 4.0-litre V8 #M60B40 , #ARP bolts, RAW Motorsport exhaust manifolds and exhaust system with hidden tailpipes, custom engine mounts, E36 M3 engine mount rubbers, custom #RAW-Motorsport induction kit, #Mishimoto aluminium radiator, electric fan, smoothed engine bay (with brake servo and fusebox relocated to glovebox, deleted ABS, deleted power steering, wire tuck), #E36 M3 fuel pump. Billet flywheel, #Helix E39 M5 clutch, E34 530i fivespeed gearbox, E36 328i prop, 3.14 final drive LSD.

CHASSIS: 8x17” Calibre Vintage wheels, 195/40/17 Toyo PX4 tyres. Bilstein front coilovers, #GAZ rear coilovers, E36 M3 steering rack, #BMW-E34 steering column UJs, Powerflex polybushes throughout, ATE discs, Mintex 1177 pads front and #E30 Challenge pads rear.

EXTERIOR: 318iS splitter, blanked washer jets, debadged.

INTERIOR: Strippedout, Cobra Suzuka Pro driver’s seat, Cobra Monaco passenger seat, Willans six-point harnesses, deep-dish steering wheel, radio blanked off.

THANKS: My wife Niki, Jack at Bodytone, Jays Sprays, Robin and Clive at RAW Motorsport

Gorgeous bagged #BMW E30 with an #S52 swap and shaved bay

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

In the same family for almost 30 years, this ridiculously clean E30 has undergone quite a transformation in that time. Some heirlooms leave a more lasting impression than others, as we discover when we meet Nick Lanno from Ohio. Words: Louise Woodhams. Photos: Patrick McCue.

It’s not often a car stays in the same family for almost 30 years, yet this 1987 325iS is the very same car that delivered Nick Lanno – the subject of our story – from hospital when he was born, and 15 years later became his first car.

That was in 2009, and Nick, now aged 22, has completely transformed the car from what it once was. He takes up the story: “My father bought the car brand-new from David Hobbs BMW in Chillicothe, Ohio, and he drove it on a daily basis right up until my teens, so it was always in the garage while we were wrenching on other vehicles together. That’s where my passion for cars started.”

Nick couldn’t help but fall in love with the E30 and as soon as he was old enough he began to research these cars. That’s when he got hooked on the blue and white roundel, as he explains: “The fact that they are truly a driver’s car is what attracted me to them the most. The heritage and history behind all these classic BMWs that people own is so interesting and they almost always carry a great story. I love every car BMW has made to this day and I will always be a BMW enthusiast.”

This was the car that took Nick to school, to soccer games, to friends’ houses, you name it – it was a huge part of his life and quite often he would while away the hours thinking how incredible it would be to own it one day. In 2000 it went into storage, and then, much to Nick’s surprise, nine years later it was taken out of storage and given to him on his 15th birthday! His childhood dream had come true.

“There was no other E30 I would rather have had than this car. It was perfect and despite having clocked up 120k, it was immaculate; all OEM parts, original paint, absolutely rust-free, and it had a full service history,” he recalls.

Needless to say it did not stay 100 per cent original for long. In fact, the first thing Nick did as soon as it was in his possession was lower it on a set of Ireland Engineering race springs. Other modifications included all red tail-lights, smoked Euro Smiley headlights and side repeaters, a later model front valance and a Zender rear valance. Shortly after that, the car then went back into storage so that over the next few years Nick could save some money and let the real transformation begin.

Once again it was the suspension that demanded Nick’s attention first: “After pouring through different forums looking at the various setups, I knew that to get the drop I really wanted I’d have to look into a custom air-ride setup.” Up front he’s installed Air Lift’s Crafter Series struts, while Air House II bags and Bilstein shocks reside out back. The rear spring perches were modified for the bags, as were the front spindles for the struts. The system is managed by Air Lift’s Autopilot V2, with plenty of presets all at the tip of Nick’s fingers in the centre console. “The setup is so convenient, making road trips as comfortable as can be, yet the car still handles fantastically in the corners. I have the best of both worlds,” he adds.


The car remained in this guise for the next three months, until one fateful day when the timing belt from the original M20B25 snapped. This prompted the next stage of the build. “I sourced a low-mileage S52B32 out of a 1999 M3 from a good friend in Cincinnati with roughly 70k on it,” Nick says. “I completely regasketed the motor from top to bottom, as well as safety wiring the oil pump nut, before fitting 21.5lb injectors, a lightened flywheel, and a 3.5” intake setup.” Together with a few friends, the swap took about a week to do. Apparently the maiden voyage with open headers put one of the biggest smiles on Nick’s face to this day. Not surprisingly it came to life as a completely different beast that day.

After two years of driving it across the States to various shows, Nick wanted to take the car to a new level – he wanted to shave, tuck and customise the engine bay. Fortunately a good friend of his owned a body shop so once Nick had pulled out the engine to take care of tidying up the wiring harness and deleting any non-essentials such as air-con and power steering, the car was sent off for six months to begin its transformation. “Everything looks so neat and beautiful under the bonnet now, but the star of the show has to be S52. It is so reliable and has plenty of power to make the car feel a blast to drive. It brings a smile to my face every time I’m behind the wheel.”


Whilst this car’s spec is a far cry from when Nick’s father bought it all those years ago, it’s still managed to retain its factory charm. And that’s because his objective throughout the build has been to keep things clean, simple and classy. The same philosophy has been applied to the cabin of the car, which is relatively stock save for the Nardi steering wheel, custom stitched M-Tech style gear knob and gaiter and Coco mats, which are all period-correct for the car. “I wanted the car to retain its original feel,” Nick says. “I’ve even kept the seats, which are fairly worn now, but it gives it character.”

Like any true project, the car has gone through various incarnations of wheels, including BBS RSs and CCWs, but Nick eventually settled for 8.5x16” (front) and 9.5x16” (rear) Schmidt TH Line wheels shod in 205/40 rubber that you see on the car now, and we have to say that they suit the stance, lines and age of the car perfectly.


This is not a car created with a blank cheque book; it is a car with tons of sentimental value to the owner and gradually improved over time with the help of friends and family. It’s been built to drive and to enjoy, it doesn’t sit in a garage or on a trailer and we love the fact that whilst Nick put his own stamp on it he’s taken a wholly sympathetic approach in his choice of modifications. Now it’s finally complete all he plans to do is simply drive it. “It has taken a lot of effort to get the car to where it is today but it was a journey which has led me to meet a lot of fantastic friends and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. The car is a big part of me and something I am most definitely proud of.”


Along with the life lessons and skills that a father teaches a son, there are also certain material things that you pass down – like a tool kit or, in Nick’s case, a dream car. In these increasingly disposable times, fewer and fewer items are worth saving and giving to your children, so we hope Nick sticks to family tradition and passes his treasured 325iS to his own son or daughter.

DATA FILE #BMW-325iS #S52 air-ride #E30 / #BMW-325iS / #BMW-325iS-S52-E30 / #BMW-325iS-S52-Air-Ride-E30 / #BMW-325iS-E30 / #BMW-E30 / #BMW-E30 / #S52B32 / / #BMW-S52 / #Bimmerworld / #Getrag-260 / #BMW /

ENGINE 3.2-litre straight-six #S52B32 / , 21.5lb injectors, 3.5” #Euro-MAF , 3.5” #Bimmerworld-Silicone intake boot, air-con and power steering delete, #M42 radiator, TMS remap, Condor Speed Shop engine mounts, custom longtube headers and 2.5” exhaust including #Vibrant race resonator; shaved, tucked and resprayed engine bay

TRANSMISSION OEM #Getrag 260 five-speed gearbox, #Sachs-HD clutch, #MWorks-Garage custom transmission crossmember, #Condor-Speed-Shop Speed Shop transmission mounts, lightweight flywheel

CHASSIS 8.5x16” (front) and 9.5x16” (rear) #Schmidt-TH-Line wheels with 205/40 (f&r) Nitto Neogen tyres, #Air-Lift universal front struts, #Air-House II rear bags, #Bilstein rear shocks, #AutoPilot V2 management including five-gallon tank and #Viair-400C compressor, drilled and slotted brake discs and Hawk pads, brake booster delete, E21 master cylinder, tucked brake lines, stainless steel braided clutch slave line

EXTERIOR Later model front valance, iS front spoiler and bootlip, smoked Euro Smiley headlights and side repeaters, all red tail-lights, #Zender rear valence, #Shadowline trim

INTERIOR Nardi Classic steering wheel, custom stitched #M-Tech-style gear knob and gaiter, Coco mats, #Dynamatted back seat and boot

THANKS All of my good friends in BHC, and those that had a hand in the build, my father and Anthony at ASC Autoworks

Front end, like the rest of the car, is incredibly clean, with a late model valence and iS front spoiler. #AutoPilot-V2 management offers eight presets and countless options; gorgeous 16” Schmidt splits suit the E30 perfectly.

The car is a big part of me and something I am definitely proud of.

Double Trouble. A pair of #BMW-E30 #M3 s over in Australia that are modified in very different ways to do very similar things. We meet two owners in Australia with a pair of modified E30 M3s for the track and road that follow very different paths to achieve similar goals… Words: Simon Holmes. Photography: Brodie Butler.

If there was ever an automotive example to best capsulate the expression ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat’ then it’s this pair of E30s. These two Australian-based cars are both genuine M3s and both are heavily modified to be hugely effective on both the road and track. But their owners Phil Peak and Scott Lockhart have taken very different approaches and their cars are as different as chalk and cheese, or black and white to use a more accurate analogy. Exterior-wise they may seem similar, aside from the polar opposite Touring Car liveries, but inside and, more importantly, under the bonnet they are very different machines.

We’ll start with Phil’s car, the Diamond black example that perhaps represents the more orthodox side of M3 tuning. Powered by a heavily breathed upon S14 engine that’s pumping out 217hp at the wheels, with the rev limit set to only 7200rpm, it certainly suits the Touring Car theme! As you might expect, Phil is no stranger to a #BMW , particularly an E30, although he admits he was actually an avid VW enthusiast before making the transition over to BMWs. It began with an #E30 #325is he purchased in 1997 from a friend but he admits he’s been fond of them for much longer. “I’ve always liked BMWs really,” recalls Phil. “I was in my late teens living in West Germany when the E30s were released. They had an M3 at the local dealership and I remember looking at it every time I went past thinking ‘one day…’.”


He’s since owned several rather fine E30s over the years including a convertible fitted with an S50 engine from an E36 M3. But his boyhood dream to own a genuine M3 took a little longer to fulfill as other commitments had always posed a problem and it wasn’t helped by the fact E30 M3s are rather difficult to find in Australia. So when the right chance came up at the right time to own this car he jumped at it. “I was lucky enough to know the previous owner,” tells Phil. “He had just imported the car from Japan after buying it blind at auction and after taking delivery he got a job offer he couldn’t turn down. He didn’t want to take the car with him so I knew he had to sell it before he moved. We came to an agreement on price and I bought it off him.”

Finally, the elusive E30 M3 was his, except this particular car was in what Phil describes as “fairly average condition”, having been fitted with an aftermarket front fibreglass bumper and a mismatched interior. The car had also received a poor quality blow over respray in Japan for the auction and then there was the small matter of mechanical health. “The performance was a big let down after driving the #S50 -powered convertible. Even though this only had 114,000km on the clock the engine most definitely needed a freshen up but I knew I could sort all that out,” he explains.

A mechanical fitter by trade, and not one to do things by halves, Phil developed a plan to thoroughly restore the tired M3 and rebuild it into a usable and capable all-rounder for both the road and track: “My intentions with the car have always been to bring it back to its former glory no matter how long it takes, as this car is a keeper. And I wanted to drive it on the track as I don’t believe in garage queens.”

Initially, Phil intended to address the bodywork first but after testing the water with the car at a track day he decided it would be best to sort out the mechanical side of things before anything else. “The engine was lacking a bit of power so I decided to tear the whole thing down and do a full rebuild with the aim of improving things along the way,” he says. “I set about finding all the various parts for the rebuild and once I had them I sent the block away to be rebored and the cylinder head went to VAC Motorsports in the USA for one of their Stage 3 head builds.”

The block was treated to a 2.3-litre competition spec rebuild with heavily uprated internals. Ready for the head’s return, Schrick cams and a carbon fibre DTM-style intake were put aside along with plenty of other tasty bits. The engine build actually took nearly two years to complete from start to finish due to other commitments, or “life getting in the way” as Phil puts it. In the meantime, with the engine build at least started Phil began on other areas that required his attention and the interior was next on the list.

First of all he sourced the correct front seats and then got hold of a full retrim kit from Germany, along with an M3 Sport Evo steering wheel, gear knob and footrest. “I like to have a few creature comforts. I didn’t want to gut the interior and stick a cage in as it’s not a dedicated track car, plus it’s illegal over here to drive around in a stripped-down car with a cage.”

With that covered, next came the exterior. Not wanting to deviate too far from the M3’s iconic look, Phil chose his additions carefully in the shape of an M3 Evo rear wing and matching front lip spoiler along with smoked headlights, tail-lights and indicator lenses. The look is finished off perfectly with the 8x16-inch BBS three-piece split-rims that closely mimic the original style. However, it’s the livery that makes the biggest visual impact and it was fitted in an effort to brighten up the Japanese blow over paint job, which certainly seems to have worked. “Of course, the car is the wrong colour for the original Warsteiner graphics but I thought they looked okay in reverse colours so decided to go for it,” Phil reveals. “The graphics don’t look too out of place. When I eventually get the paint done I will be happy with the black-on-black look as I think that’s the best exterior/interior colour combo but I think it will be like this for a while as I want to enjoy the car a bit before getting it painted.”

When the engine was eventually back together it was time for the first drive and thankfully it proved to be everything he had hoped for. “The first real drive after the rebuild was great,” Phil grins. “On the dyno we set the rev limit to 7200rpm to be safe and got 217hp at the wheels with it still pulling really strong at the limiter. It’s not far off my cabriolet in terms of power but so much better to drive.”

The rebuild took three whole years to complete and Phil tells us the hardest and most frustrating part was actually sourcing bits and getting them delivered, as virtually everything had to be imported. The car isn’t completely finished yet but Phil is understandably pretty happy with what he’s achieved since owning it as the M3 already puts a lot of bigger power cars in their place on track. “Over here they are all into big V8s and muscle cars and it certainly holds its own,” Phil says. “The noise from the carbon fibre intake is my favourite part – it just screams and puts a huge grin on people’s faces. The suspension needs improvement now the power is sorted but this build still has a long way to go to get the car where I want it to be. But as it’s a work in progress I’m really happy with the way things are going.” Future plans also include a revised engine map so then the rev limit can be raised to the untold reaches of 8500rpm and that should release a bit more power, too.

Speaking of more power, now seems like a fine time to introduce Scott’s Alpine white M3. Whereas Phil has gone to town on the original S14, Scott’s car is a little less conventional, having been fitted with an S50 six-cylinder that happens to be turbocharged to produce a huge 480hp at the wheels. Fair to say it’s a beast, but it’s just at home on a track as Phil’s car is and that was always the intention.

Much like Phil, Scott’s interest for BMWs also developed some years ago and it began with an E30. It started in 1995 when he was lucky enough to stumble across a rare John Player Special E30 323i Coupé at an upmarket car dealership in Perth. A very limited number of these special edition cars were built to celebrate BMW’s victories at the famous Bathurst race in Australia during the 1980s. The cars featured iconic black paintwork with gold pinstripes, Recaro seats, an LSD and gold JPS insignias on the C-pillars. Scott was still at uni at the time but it was love at first sight for him and he had to have it.

He bought the car and then lavished his time and money on the car over the next few years, spending nearly every pay check he had upgrading the engine, suspension and wheels. It rewarded him with a lifelong appreciation for the brand, though. “That car, and the shear ease with which it connected me as a driver started my obsession with BMWs and it’s been a love affair ever since,” he states.

That’s not an understatement either as he’s since gone on to own a vast array of interesting BMWs. He still owns a fine fleet, worthy of a What’s in your Garage? feature, comprising an #E60 #M5 , an #E24 #635CSi , an #E28 #M535i and an #E30 #323i Coupé. “I love collectible BMWs, preferably with some sort of motorsport connection,” he says. His dream car is a #BMW-M1 but the E30 M3 is a close second, and that’s the one we’re interested in – for now, at least.

For Scott, the M3 has always been an iconic car and when it came to eventually replacing his first E30 love there was only one suitable choice, as he explains: “I never got over having to sell my E30 JPS when I left Australia in #1998 to further my career in London. While I owned that car I always wanted an M3 but couldn’t afford one. I’m lucky that my wife, Marissa, is also a huge car fan and when I told her I was considering adding another BMW to our fleet she immediately took to the shape of the E30 M3.”

However, as Phil found, finding an #BMW-M3-E30 in Australia is tricky and Scott had to use all his resources, both near and far, to locate one. “I had friends looking in the USA and the UK for me, while I spent most nights glued to my computer screen checking out VIN numbers, history and pictures,” he explains. “After about a month my wife asked, ‘why haven’t you looked locally?’ to which I replied, ‘well, honey there aren’t very many of these cars, so finding one in Perth would be a longshot.’ At that point she had already found one for sale, 20 minutes from our house, and in Alpine white no less. With only a very small handful of these cars in Australia, I was amazed, and now I listen intently when my wife talks BMWs,” he admits.

The car was not exactly what you would call a perfect standard example, though. Far from it, in fact. The original S14 motor was long gone, apparently having made its way into a 2002. In its place was the S50 conversion complete with turbo already fitted. This wasn’t an issue for Scott as it happened to suit his overall plan for the car as the #M3 was destined for heavy track use. “I wanted something that was able to produce more power than the S14 with track car reliability. S14s can create great power but they can become quite fragile on long events. The newer #BMW-M3 engine with a little boost added for a bit more of a surprise was the way to go for me,” Scott tells us.

Having competed in club level events for a few years in a modified R32 Nissan Skyline GTR, the intention was to introduce his love of BMWs into his competitive racing. But with the likes of heavily modified Mitsubishi Evos and Nissan GTRs to compete against, the more modern engine helped level the playing field in terms of power. However, there was work to do before it could start battling on track with tuned Japanese machinery as although the turbocharged S50 engine was in place it was barely running, largely due to electrical issues. There were also plenty of other problems to address. “It looked great when I purchased it but it needed time spent on it to deal with the electrical gremlins. It also needed new wiring, brakes, wheels, a livery and a decent tune,” Scott states.

On the plus side, the paintwork was in good condition having recently been resprayed to a high standard. Influenced by the Touring Cars he watched when growing up, Scott decided the Warsteiner livery would suit the car well. The 1980s Touring Carinspired theme extended into the cabin and although the car was already stripped of an interior when he got it, Scott had it blasted, cleaned and painted Touring Car-style glossy grey inside. The DTM gearshift knob will soon be joined by a full DTM dash to replace the current Stack unit, too.

The build to bring the car up to a good, working standard took nearly a year and plenty was changed in that time. The work was entrusted to Galvsport in Perth and the guys there spent many hours on the car. Scott remembers the first time he went out in it as it was actually Josh from Galvsport who first took me for a spin. “It was in the Warsteiner colours, numbers on the doors, no bonnet, race tyres, race seats and harnesses and all in peak hour traffic, it was a blast. I was stunned how quick it was from the passenger seat, and it wasn’t long before I got a chance to drive it on the track,” he enthuses.

Scott reports that the car does, in fact, handle the power very well on track and on occasion it’s also driven on the road, usually to and from events or for a spin up and down the coast. But wherever he goes it gets a great reaction. “Everyone young and old loves it and it gets a lot of attention. Nobody knows what to expect from it and not only is it rare, it is well balanced and easy to drive, it puts a smile on your face every time,” says Scott. “They say that a good track car drives terribly on the road and while my M3 certainly is no M5, it still drives very well. The power delivery is like a light switch in low gears but if you cruise in fourth or fifth it is very enjoyable to squeeze on some of that boost on the open roads.”

Future plans for the car involve improving grip further as there’s more development work to be done on the suspension setup to improve what’s there. There’s even talk of a bit more boost and Scott would like to enter the car in Targa road rallies once the suspension has been fine tuned to deal with the bumpy roads.
So there you have it. Two very different ways to effectively achieve a very similar impact. We would happily take either one.


Phil’s Black M3

ENGINE & GEARBOX: #S14 2.3-litre producing 217hp @ 7200rpm at the wheels, VAC Motorsport Stage 3 cylinder head, 1mm oversized valves, balanced and blueprinted, VAC valve springs with titanium retainers, Schrick 284 intake and 276 exhaust cams, VAC adjustable cam sprockets, 48mm throttle bodies, Volvo green injectors, carbon fibre DTM-style intake plenum, 50/50 headers mated to full stainless steel Supersprint race exhaust, Miller MAF Conversion with WAR Chip engine management, fully rebuilt /balanced bottom end by Galloways race engineering using CP 2.3 competition spec pistons (11:1 compression), OS Gieken clutch and lightweight flywheel, Dogleg gearbox 3.7:1 differential with LSD.

CHASSIS: Tein coilovers all round, AC Schnitzer front and rear anti-roll bars, polyurethane bushes throughout BRAKES: Standard M3 callipers with uprated discs and pads all-round, braided brake lines, uprated pedalbox WHEELS & TYRES: 8x16-inch BBS RS three-piece split-rims with 215/45/16 Toyo R888 tyres.

INTERIOR: Original seats retrimmed black leather, Sport Evo steering wheel, gear knob, footrest and centre armrest, Hartge centre console gauge holder with AEM data logging.

EXTERIOR: Diamond black paint, colour reversed Warsteiner livery, smoked indicators, tail-lights and crosshair headlights, carbon fibre front splitter and brake ducts, Sport Evo rear spoiler with carbon fibre wing.

THANKS: Simon Gunson at GTI Performance Centre (service @ gtipc.com.au), David at Galloway Race Engineering (08 9531 1366) and VAC Motorsports sales @ vacmotorsports. com.



Scott’s White M3

ENGINE & GEARBOX: S50 3.0-litre producing 480hp @ 7500rpm at the wheels, standard crankshaft, Carillo steel conrods, custom-made forged pistons with 7.5:1 compression ratio, custom turbocharger with Tial 50mm external wastegate, custom-made tubular exhaust manifold, standard inlet manifold with uprated injectors and billet fuel rail, PWR front mount intercooler, custom downpipe and stainless steel exhaust system, custom alloy radiator with electric fan, custom alloy breather and header tanks, Bosch 044 fuel pump, Haltech ECU, standard E36 M3 five-speed gearbox, one-piece propshaft, 4.3:1 differential with LSD.

CHASSIS: Bilstein coilovers all round, Racing Dynamics front and rear antiroll bars, Ireland Engineering adjustable camber top mounts, strut braces, OMP rollcage, #BMW-Z4 close ratio steering rack, polyurethane bushes throughout.
BRAKES: Front: StopTech four-pot callipers with 330mm discs. Rear: Standard E30 M3 discs and callipers, Pagid yellow pads all-round, braided brake lines, AP Racing pedalbox with remote reservoirs.

WHEELS & TYRES: 8x18-inch and 9x18-inch Compomotive TH18 wheels with a range of track or road tyres.

INTERIOR: OMP fixed back bucket seats, OMP steering wheel, Stack dash, M3 DTM gearknob and footrest.

EXTERIOR: Alpine White paint, E30 M3 Evo spoiler and splitter, Warsteiner livery.

THANKS: Josh Gardner & Gav Jones at Galvsport.com, Gavin Fairchild at GT-graphics.com.au, Brett Airey at ExecutiveTowing.com.au, Jim Black at Performancefriction.com.au and Barry Dixon at Compomotive. com.

“I wanted to drive it on the track as I don’t believe in garage queens”

“Not only is it rare, it is well balanced and easy to drive, too”

Desert Strike. With 400whp courtesy of a turbocharged M20, this stunning, home-built E30 is a real weapon. Words: Seb de Latour. Photos: Gil Folk y first car was a 1.0-litre #Citroen Saxo.

It was Admiral blue and the only thing I did to it was fit an air freshener and, as it was the days before technology existed, one of those tape deck adapters that let you plug your Discman into the stereo. What’s a Discman? Ask your parents. Kameron Baker’s first car was this #1989 #E30 #325i and over the ensuing eight years he’s built it up into something rather spectacular. It was thanks to his father that Kameron came to own this #BMW-E30 , as he explains: “My dad worked at a car lot at the time and someone traded the E30 in.

He brought it home one day and I fell in love with it. Being only $800 it was prefect for a high schooler. It was actually in very good condition. The interior was mint and apart from a small spot of peeling clear coat the paint was great. Also it had less than 100,000 miles on it.” As well as being a bit of a bargain and a pretty sweet first car, it opened Kameron’s eyes to the world of classic BMWs: “This little E30 is what got me into older BMWs.

Before this I had never been in or even thought of owning one but as soon as I drove it I knew it was something special. The way it handled and the smoothness of the 2.5-litre in-line six got me hooked.” And so another #BMW fan was born. So, you’re 16, you’ve got a bright red BMW and there’s a 2.5-litre straight-six under the bonnet – there’s clearly only one way this story was ever going to go. “This was the first car I ever modified,” says Kameron. “I owned it for less than a month before I started changing and modifying things on it, sometimes things I regretted later but to be fair, I was only 16 at the time. I just kept it clean for a few weeks and then started modifying.

My first modifications were a cold air intake and cat-back exhaust. Basically the two easiest things you can do to make a car sound better and drive better.” But, of course, we all know that you can never stop with just a couple of mods and Kameron was about to get seriously stuck into his E30 project: “When I first got the car my dad and I always talked about how we wanted to get it down to a five-second 0-60 time. In the ’80s the car’s 170hp M20 ran a 0-60 in seven seconds. My car was also an automatic so achieving that time took a lot of work. The best I got it down to as a naturally aspirated auto M20 was 6.8 seconds; that was with weight reduction, a MAF conversion, long tube headers, and a 4.27 Torsen differential out of a #BMW-Z3 . Back then I would have been happy with 200hp.

“Before this project I had no real-world experience with modifying cars. Before I turbo’d the E30 I got a 2004 Subaru WRX and that really opened my mind to what a proper turbo setup can do to a car.

I saw 21 that the car had lots of potential and at the time I’d always be looking up E30 videos on the internet watching the crazy Euro/Swedish/Norwegian E30s that can smoke the tyres at 60mph; it was just something that I wanted to do. I wanted a crazy E30, something that never gets boring and is always an adrenaline rush to drive. It was only after getting out of high school that I could afford to turbo the car. It originally started as a budget build but I just kept on improving the setup and eventually ended up with a 400whp turbo M20 that I could drive everyday without issue. “The car was 100% built by me in a little garage that doesn’t even have a door on it. When you start out that young you can hardly afford the parts so there is no way you can pay someone to install the parts as well.

I just had to give it a try. My dad helped me until I got the hang of things and I never stopped.” So in a short space of time Kameron went from an intake and exhaust to a 400whp selfbuilt turbo setup; that’s about 470hp at the crank and in a car weighing around 1300kg, that gives this E30 a power-to-weight ratio similar to that of an Audi R8 GT V10, a 5.7-litre V12 Lamborghini Diablo or a Ferrari 599. That means it’s fast with a capital F. “I did all modifications to the engine as well. The first timing belt/head swap I did took around ten hours; I have it down to around five hours now. For the M20 I kept it simple. It ran a Bimmerheads cylinder head with dual pattern turbo cam and HD rocker arms.

The bottom end was left 100% original and I ran ARP head studs with a Goetze head gasket. I had the turbo build done in around a month or two. It worked so much better than I expected, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I’d never been in a sixcylinder car before so the first time I went WOT with the Holset turbocharger it blew my mind. I was only at 7psi and I couldn’t believe how much faster the car was. At this point the car was still an automatic. This was its weak link and so the auto ’box had to go, although it was very still fast with an auto. The Getrag 260 manual swap followed shortly.” Along with the manual ’box, Kameron added a Stage 3 Spec clutch and a 13lb flywheel. At the rear sits a 3.73 ratio LSD with #Porsche 2.1mm discs. It certainly does the job, as can be seen in Kameron’s YouTube videos (search for Kameron Baker). So, this E30 delivers on the performance front, and then some, but it also looks damn delicious. A red two-door is a great base to start from and Kameron has really put a lot of effort into the styling and made a really unique-looking car that stands out from the crowd and blends OE subtlety with a wild streak perfectly.

“OEM+ was the goal,” he says, “although I may have lost that look since I had to hack up the body to fit my flares and wide tyres. I just really like the old-skool BMWs and Alpina cars, so going with an authentic Alpina kit was always the goal. Plus my flares are similar to what you’d see on a 2002 turbo so I feel it still has a nice ’80s look to it.” And those wild flares are filled with something that isn’t a crossspoke split-rim, for a change. “I’ve always liked the sportier-looking wheels as opposed to the deep-dish wheels. This means I’ve run wheels including TRM C1s, OZ Superleggeras and now the STR 518s. I change wheels every time I burn through a set of tyres and I’ve gone through three sets in the last year, so goodness knows what wheels I’ll have next. You can always make back a good amount of money selling your old wheels off so I like to try different looks out.” True enough and variety is the spice of life after all, so why not have some fun? The 9x17” 518s look seriously tough in black and tie-in perfectly with the whole black and red colour scheme on the car. Kameron’s also achieved pretty much the perfect stance thanks to a set of Ground Control coilovers, which help the tyres tuckin nicely under the pumped-up arches. The arches are actually Kameron’s own design and are available from his Kamotors store.

As a result the car just sits so right and looks mean. Despite being modern rims, the motorsport-style of the wheels fits perfectly with the ethos of the whole car and suit the E30 shape. We love the styling of the car as a whole – the black and red colour scheme is really bold and striking and those front and rear Alpina spoilers add an extra splash of aggression, especially with the addition of that custom front splitter. The side skirts come courtesy of #Zender and there are loads of little details that are easy to miss but make all the difference, such as the rear plate filler, Euro grilles, the #Alpina -inspired M20 Turbo front grille badge and the carbon fibre foglight blanks, also from Kamotors. We also love what Kameron’s done on the inside.
At first glance it looks completely stock, bar the addition of boost and wideband gauges, but take a glance in the back and you’ll notice that it’s been completely stripped out, shedding some weight in the process but without making things uncomfortable for the two people up front. You might think that Kameron’s E30 has reached its zenith but an unfortunate incident gave him the perfect excuse for a bit of an upgrade. “Since this photoshoot I actually ended up swapping out the #M20 for an #M30B35 running a Precision 6266 turbocharger. I actually overheated the M20 whilst having a bit too much fun at around 25psi and the block cracked, allowing coolant to slowly leak up a head stud hole and pollute my oil. I still drove over 1000 miles to Bimmerfest but after that the engine was pulled and replaced with the much torquier #M30 .”

Every cloud and all that… So, with a new engine and even more performance you’d think that maybe Kameron was done but that’s a case of easier said than done. “I’m not sure what to move onto now,” he says. “I’ve had the E30 for around eight years so it’s hard to stop. I’m thinking of something like a Volvo 240 with a large turbo. Basically I want a collection of brick-shaped cars from the ’80s.” That would be very cool indeed… People have been strapping turbos to E30s for donkey’s years but Kameron’s car really has that special something that makes it stand out. The styling is pretty unique and we love the little personal flourishes and the attention to detail. It’s a real enthusiast’s build and a real performance BMW.

DATA FILE

ENGINE: 2.5-litre straight-six M20B25 with original bottom end, Bimmerheads cylinder head, dual pattern turbo cam, HD rockers, Kamotors turbo setup with TD06SL2-20g turbo, 3” charge pipe, 3” exhaust, methanol injection, PNP Megasquirt ECU with wasted spark, 400whp @ 19psi.

TRANSMISSION: Getrag 260 with Spec Stage 3 clutch and 13lb flywheel, 3.73 LSD with Porsche 2.1mm discs.

CHASSIS: 9x17” (front & rear) STR 518 alloys with 245/40 tyres, Ground Control coilovers, 22mm front anti-roll bar, Eibach 16mm rear anti-roll bar, #AKG adjustable lollipop brackets, UUC camber plates, polybushes all-round, UUC BBK with fourpiston calipers and two-piece 298mm drilled discs.

EXTERIOR: Authentic Alpina front and rear spoiler with a custom front splitter, Zender side skirts, Kamotors standard width arch flares, smoked smiley headlights, smoked tail-lights, rear plate filler, Euro grilles, Kamotors carbon fibre foglight delete.

INTERIOR: Original seats and steering wheel, boost gauge and wideband gauge, rear stripped out.

THANKS: I need to thank my friends who helped me do things like transmission swaps with nothing more than jack stands and a cheap set of sockets and those of you on the forums who helped me with the build and bought parts from me to help fund the build.

Sideways touring - #1991 #BMW #E30 #Touring . With 480 horsepower through its rear wheels, this E30 Touring with a Japanese heart is one of the most spectacular sideways sights to enjoy on the British drift circuit. Words: Iain Curry. Photos: Ade Brannan.

Who’d have thought a few drinks and 200 quid could result in the creation of one of the most recognisable cars on the British Drift Championship circuit? This is Fraser Stark’s 1991 E30 Touring, looking every inch the ideal drift wagon with its purposeful stance and the small matter of a transplanted 1JZ engine with truck turbo strapped to it to help send 480 horsepower though the rear wheels.

So the purists may not appreciate this classic estate’s Japanese heart, but let’s be honest, to find those sort of horsepower figures with any BMW motor is going to involve big work and big money. That’s not to say it can’t be done (we’ve seen it many times before), nor that using the 1JZ engine from a donor Toyota Soarer is a simple transplant, but for Fraser it was the most obvious way to go to reach the big numbers needed to be competitive at the British Drift Championship (BDC).

We’ve featured the 30 year old’s E46 drift weapon on PBMW’s pages previously, but it’s this #BMW-E30 that really cuts a dash on the drift tracks, not least because of its big bum swinging round each corner. Which begs the question, is the Touring version of the E30 a better drift machine to go for? “There are positives and negatives I suppose,” Fraser said, “especially if you’re on a narrow track where a bigger car can be a problem. But if you know how to drift, you should be able to do it in anything.”

The Touring drifter came about by chance rather than original design, with Fraser managing to buy it from its previous owner at a party for the aforementioned £200. From here it took the Edinburgh plumber with an insatiable appetite for drifting eight months to gather the relevant parts, and a further two months to complete the build. An impressive construction time, but the talented Scotsman does the bulk of the modification work at his home, using his skills and experience to put together cars able to stand the tough lives led by competition drift cars.

One of the stipulations in the BDC is that the car can’t have its firewall modified, so to fit the 1JZ powerplant Fraser said he managed to move the bulkhead back about an inch or so with a bit of creative bashing, ensuring the Toyota lump could rest in the engine bay. The 2.5-litre six-cylinder certainly sits snugly on custom engine mounts into the E30’s front end, not least because of the mighty turbocharger and associated plumbing required for the big power numbers.

Expensive? Not if you’ve got the creative capacity of Fraser. “I went to a truck breaker’s yard as I figured they’re not going to put shite turbos on trucks,” he said. “I found this Holset turbo, paid about 30 quid for it and refurbished it at home.” It is a monster of a thing, but unlike the modern and incredibly intelligent twin turbo setup found in a lot of new BMWs, there is the familiar old drawback of such a big snail in place. “Yes, it’s a bit laggie, but it’s a solid turbo,” Fraser said.

Running a mighty 1.4bar boost helps explain the 480rwhp, but when that power kicks in, the stresses and strains on practically every part of the car are immense. Hence Fraser has had to go to work on most areas of the Touring to ensure it holds together at the track.

He’s created a custom manifold, custom 3” straight-through exhaust system and custom wastegate, while helping feed the hungry boosted Jap motor are 550cc injectors and a Bosch 044 fuel pump. Fraser’s employed an ECU Master DET3 piggyback ECU, meaning he gets to use the standard knock management sensors, keeping things safer at the track. Speaking of safe, to try and keep temperatures down while performing at the limit, a custom Sierra Cosworth intercooler has been deemed large enough to cope in the E30, while a custom alloy oil cooler and two large General Motors fans – which somehow just squeeze in – also do their stuff.

As the UK editions of the Toyota Soarer only came with automatic transmissions, Fraser had to source an R154 five-speed manual as found in the Mk3 Toyota Supras.

He’s created a custom bellhousing to mate the Supra and Soarer elements together and added a Competition six-paddle pull clutch and custom lightened ACT flywheel too. For longevity, a modified E36 328i propshaft and a six-cylinder E30 320i’s 3.64 diff are now in situ, with Fraser admitting that he’d “done a few diffs” in his time, such is the nature of the sport.

To anyone considering serious drifting, you can already see the kind of work required to stay competitive and reliable – the stresses placed on the vehicle’s component parts are extreme in this sport.

With so much power involved, keeping the Touring’s original chassis standard simply wasn’t an option. More big work has been performed here, with E36 M3 struts, hubs and brakes joining an E46’s bottom arms and the back beam connected to E46 stub axles. “The most important thing was to get bigger brakes like the E36 M3’s on there; anything to cope with the extra power the car now has,” Fraser explained.

With the E36 M3 hubs the stud pattern has changed from four-stud E30 to five-stud, meaning Fraser can run 17” BBS Style 5 deep dish rims, maintaining a classic BMW look that suits the E30 – which actually looks something of a street sleeper by outward appearances alone. To look at it you know things are certainly not as normal, but it’d be tough to guess there were so many horses waiting to be unleashed from under that bonnet-pinned hood.

It naturally sits low and has that purposeful drift car stance, helped along by a set of BC Racing E36 M3 coilovers with adjustable top mounts. Body-wise there are few changes at all, excluding the attractive single light conversion up front. “My best mate Rocco did the job, which is quite a simple thing using another set of front grilles,” Fraser said. “You just plastic weld it back together and it looks great, and was needed for my car as the intercooler ducts were too big to allow the second lights.”

While the outside may hide the Touring’s true intentions, the cabin looks far more relevant to a car running in the Semi Pro Class at the BDC. Fraser’s created a custom roll-cage, stripped out the rear seats and added Cobra Monaco Pro race seats complete with Sabelt and OMP harnesses. An OMP steering wheel gets a regular workout with Fraser at the controls, while there’s the expected drift handbrake, Sparco race pedals and gauges nicely integrated in the E30’s dash where the central air vents used to live.

Fraser revealed that after a few drinks with mates one night, they came up with a suitable name for their group as drift enthusiasts: Garage Fuck House. The name is proudly displayed on the Touring’s windscreen, and with its own Facebook site, the team has an excellent collection of drift photos, not least of the big bummed white E30 in spectacular action. The classic wagon does look at its best hanging sideways in a cloud of white tyre smoke, and there are the odd battle scars in evidence on the body showing how much Fraser pushes his extreme Touring.

“There are five of us who drive for Garage Fuck House, and we’re all absolute drift heads,” Fraser said. Living in Scotland the team has easy access to the excellent Driftland on the outskirts of Fife, where Fraser said he’s lucky enough to go for practice and to set the car up properly. It’s helping too, as he’s managed to qualify for every event he’s started so far this year in the BDC.

With increasing numbers wanting to get involved in drifting, we asked Fraser what his thoughts were of BMWs as drift cars. “BMs are the best driving car, but the hardest car to skid,” he explained. “So if you can do the British Drift Championship in a BMW you’re doing quite well, as if you’re in something like a Skyline they just drift themselves basically. But with the Touring, I just love the car.”

Fraser said his friend William Rose also does the BDC with him, and he runs an E36 Compact with transplanted #E36 M3 motor. And he suggested those interested could get hold of an E36 328i cheaply – as he has done – to get a start in drifting as they’re a good car to bash about in. One thing’s for sure, when starting drifting, you’ve got to be prepared for a bit of panel damage.

It’s a difficult but impressive skill to master, and Fraser is doing a great job in showcasing his talents behind the wheel of his BMWs. For those of us who love the oldskool, the sight of his E30 Touring’s rear wheels pumping out bellows of smoke at impossible angles is a pleasure to behold, and a suitable antidote to all the usual suspect Japanese machines out there.

DATA FILE

ENGINE: Transplanted 1JZ 2.5-litre inline six-cylinder 24-valve DOHC from a #Toyota #Soarer with refurbished Holset truck turbocharger running 1.4bar boost, custom manifold, custom 3” stainless steel straight-through exhaust, custom wastegate, 550cc injectors, Pro Alloy swirl pot, #Bosch 044 fuel pump, ECU Master DET3 piggyback #ECU , custom #Ford #Sierra #Cosworth intercooler, custom alloy oil cooler, two large GM fans, custom engine mounts.

DRIVETRAIN: Transplanted Toyota R154 five-speed gearbox from a Mk3 Toyota Supra, custom bellhousing, competition six-paddle pull clutch, custom lightened ACT flywheel, custom E36 328i propshaft, six-cylinder E30 320i 3.64 diff oil sump.

CHASSIS: 8.5x17” (front and rear) BBS Style 5 rims with 205/45 (front) Bridgestone and 205/45 (rear) Pirellis, BC Racing E36 M3 coilover suspension with adjustable top mounts, E36 #M3 struts, modified hubs and brakes, small Japanese car brake servo, #E46 bottom arms, strengthened back beam connected to E46 stub axles, polybushes throughout.

EXTERIOR: Single headlight conversion using donor E30 front grille, bonnet pins.

INTERIOR: Custom roll-cage, Cobra Monaco Pro racing seats, Sabelt and OMP harnesses, rear seats removed, drift handbrake, Sparco pedals, OMP steering wheel, fire extinguisher, dash integrated fuel ratio, oil pressure, water temp and boost gauges.

Exterior is relatively subtle but stripped-out interior means business, as does the 1JZ under the bonnet with a massive truck turbo.

A bigger car can be a problem, but if you know how to drift you should be able to do it in anything.

BMW's cheapest fuel-injected car, the #318i #E30 , has a new engine amongst other Improvements made to the 3-Serles for the 1988 model year. But Is this competent and refined medium-sized saloon's £11,000-plus pricing putting too much value on the BMW badge? John Henderson reports models do not have mid- or restyling’s: they ‘evolutionary changes‘, which usually means that improvements on later models find their way to other parts of the range.

So with the #7-Series #E32 attracting top end sales, it is not surprising that BMW’s best selling range, the 3-Series E30, should benefit from the seven- up technology. So from now on all 3-Series E30 cars get impact resistant bumpers and a new front end housing ellipsoid headlamps. To that you can add less chrome-work, new rear lights, deeper front and rear aprons and different side styling with lower wheelarches.

All models, except the carburetted #316 E30, get the new Bosch Motronic engine management system, which offers better fuel economy and low speed engine response as well as the ability to run on lead-free fuel without adjustment.
But the biggest change is in the #1988 BMW 318i, which now has BMW's new four-cylinder #M40 engine, designed specifically for capacities under two litres. With a capacity of 1795cc, instead of the old M10 engine’s 1766cc, it gives the cheapest injection #BMW 10bhp more: 115bhp, developed at 5750rpm. More importantly, torque is improved by 13.3 per cent, from 105lb ft at 4500rpm to 119lb ft at 250rpm less.

BMW also claim smoother running and reduced maintenance, while the claimed performance is up by 2mph on top speed to 118mph with a 1.6-second improvement on 0-100kph (62mph) to 10.8 seconds. But don’t let that uninspiring sprint time put you off: the improved torque is far more telling on the road.

BMW reckon there is a 2.4 second improvement on the 50 to 70mph time in fourth (now 10.5 seconds), which is a far better indication of how the car feels on the road. The BMW 318i E30 has remarkably good mid-range response, which makes it feel a lot quicker on the road than the standard benchmark figures would seem to indicate.

In addition, the new engine shows equally remarkable refinement, staying well down among the background noise when cruising. Even when worked hard it still retains its pleasant sound until well over 6000rpm, never sounding raucous.
Standard E30 316s and 318is have variable ratio rack and pinion steering to give easier low speed manoeuvrability. Our test car had the optional power steering which, as before, is a little light and lacking in feel and takes getting used to. This combines with the fairly soft rear suspension in making the car feel woolly and less than confidence-inspiring.
All BMW 3-Series E30 get subtle exterior changes and new lights, but the #BMW-318i also gets a new engine with more power.

In truth, it is typically BMW in its handling. It tends towards understeer with mid-corner lift-off resulting in a tightening of line at lower speeds or a change to oversteer if you are really pushing it. In spite of this handling softness, ride is quite firm, though not jarring.

Inside the car, changes have been limited to new scat fabrics. Everything else is as you would expect from BMW, with clear instruments, well positioned switchgear and controllable ventilation. The gearchange is a little notchy when cold but soon eases up. The brakes still suffer from a great deal of redundant pedal travel before delivering the goods.

And yet the #BMW-318i-E30 seems to lack the essential sparkle4that its more illustrious brethren have to make them appealing driver’s cars. Where you can enthuse about a 325i E30 or even a 320i E30, the 318i is just an efficient saloon car, which also makes you question its price.

At £11,095 for the two-door we tested - and nearly £500 more for the four-door - the 318i would look very bare without at least some of the extras our car had. These were power steering, heated door mirror, washer nozzles and driver’s door lock, electric front windows, alloy wheels and a manual sliding sunroof, adding £2027 to the car and bringing the price up to £13,122.

From the Japanese you can have four-valve per cylinder engineering and still save money. #Toyota have the #Camry at £10,749, with most of the BMW’s extras as standard, while Mazda will give you the extremely quick 626 2.0i 16GT for £12,949 complete with the electric goodies and #ABS (though not the BMW’s refinement and ride). #Ford can give you the Sapphire in 2-litre Ghia form for £11,359 while Vauxhall offer considerably more power in the #Cavalier SRi 130 saloon at £10,614. In fact, if you’re thinking of adding the £2000- worth of extras to a 318i, you wouldn’t have to find much more money to get the well-equipped #Vauxhall Carlton 2.0CD at £13,575.

The opposition wields some hefty competition at this price and all those mentioned are much more roomy, with generally better performance than the BMW. The only thing they don’t have is the BMW cachet which brings with it an undoubted ability to hold resale prices, which should not be forgotten when looking at value for money'.

Likes: Refinement mid-range performance.
Dislikes: Soft handling, price.
Price: £11.095

Remarkably good mid-range response makes it feel a lot quicker than the standard benchmark figures would seem to indicate.

Norwegian 1048bhp #E30 - bad to the bone. The magic 1000bhp figure was broken by this utterly stunningly, jaw-droppingly brilliant E30 from Norway, one of the most powerful road-legal BMWs in the world. Words: Louise Woodhams. Photos: Andrew Brown.

It’s a long way to go, but over the years Performance #BMW has been making numerous trips to Scandinavia to hunt out what we consider to be some of the finest examples of Bavarian metal on the planet, putting America’s high standards to serious shame with mind-blowing performance figures. Cast your mind back to July 2004. If your memory’s a little hazy, let us refresh it for you. We unveiled what was, at the time, the most powerful road-legal M3-styled E30 325i with an outrageous 875bhp and 932lb ft of torque. Over the next few months, we uncovered two more turbo’d Swedish beauties, a 400bhp #E21 and a 745bhp E30, along with a supercharged 480bhp M3 CSL in November. Not surprisingly, in January 2005 the turbo experts at VS Motor in Norway raised the bar once again with a 1033bhp #E34 M5. The various other cover cars that were to follow from the Nordic lands over the next 24 months confirmed our suspicions; no obstacle is too big for these boys.

In a bid to push things even further forward, Tarjei Christiansen from Porsgrunn has created the hardest E30 we’ve ever seen with a mighty 1048bhp and 778lb ft of torque running through road tyres and wheels. That’s right, this #1987 former 320i is fit for the streets and it’s not afraid to come out and play. For those who don’t know, Tarjei is the founder of tuning specialist SS Performance, and is already becoming a big name in the street racing community, so it’s understandable that his own car would be a bit special. It all started four years ago when he got into the notorious Gatebil festivals. Having spent his childhood tinkering under the bonnet of BMWs with his dad during the cold and dark winter months, it was almost inevitable he would eventually open up his own workshop. One of the most common complaints we hear from readers is the number of UK specialists that lack passion and enthusiasm, but Tarjei’s got stacks of it to back up his knowledge and expertise. This is a man who quite happily spends 16 hours a day, six days a week working on cars, they are his life.

His first project was an #Alpina E30 2.7, he sold that before his 18th birthday to buy an #E36 Compact and spent the remaining money sourcing and fitting a 5.6-litre V12 #S70 from the #850Csi #E31 . And as if that wasn’t enough he had an #M3 on the side. As you’ll have heard a thousand times before though, things were never meant to get quite so serious, as the Nordic lad explained: “When I bought the E30, the stock lump had been replaced by the 325i unit but the previous owner had never upgraded the brakes or suspension, so my original plan was to use it for drifting until the engine blew up. Upon closer inspection however, I realised the bodywork was completely straight and in remarkably good order for its age with no rust, so I decided to save it.” Little did he know at that stage, he would create what is now Norway’s most legendary car on the tuning scene.
Not surprisingly, the first thing on the list was an engine. Tarjei fitted a 2.7 Alpina lump but soon got bored and that’s when he decided to do something mad with it, managing to source a 3.5-litre #S38 lump from the E34 #M5 . After stripping the engine bay he started the laborious task of fitting the new powerplant, which needed to sit 280mm further back and 40mm lower to help create space for the big turbo and aid with weight distribution. Sadly the language barrier meant communication was difficult but we managed to muddle through the interview with the help of Tarjai’s friends, whose grasp of English was better than my Norwegian. Hand gestures and diagrams also played a big part in the translation process!

Being founder of a reputable tuning specialist, Tarjei is partners with some of the most well-known players in the industry, so he’s got access to a lot of quality parts. A quick glance down at the list of sponsors that adorn the side of his car will tell you that. The starting point was, as ever, the block, which was bored out to 3600cc. He then fitted a set of forged JE lowcompression pistons and slightly longer than standard Carillo con-rods, along with a Motorsport crank to provide better top-end power and higher revving capabilities. Attention was then turned to the cylinder head, which was ported and polished with a set of SSP 292º camshafts bolted in. And here comes the most exciting part, the massive Turbonetics super 60 twin-turbo which was mounted on an SSP aluminium intake manifold, with a PPF external wastegate employed to regulate the massive boost the ’charger is capable of producing. The inlet side of the engine is equally impressive, with a specially-made SSP aluminium part being the main component, fitted with huge 1640cc injectors to supply the necessary fuelling.

At the end of the process, an SSP stainless steel straightthrough side-exit exhaust with fat 4” tailpipe blasts out the spent gasses.

Somehow the giant had to be cooled, which is why the E30 has a ViS Racing carbon fibre bonnet with four vents, and a huge custom intercooler and radiator. The complete engine was taken to the VS Motor workshop and bolted to the dyno for running in and mapping. Connected up to the laptop, the boys set about tweaking and adjusting the settings of the Autronic sequential SM2 ECU. The decision was made to cap the boost at 1.7bar and after a slight increase in boost and a small ignition tweak, the magic figure of 1048bhp was realised, making it the fastest street-legal BMW in the world. Not surprisingly, he’s apparently managed to scare a few passengers.

The problem, when you achieve this sort of power, is making it driveable, so Tarjei got to work stripping off the tired suspension and running gear ready for the new and improved items that he had been busy stockpiling. The drivetrain was the first to benefit with a stronger and more reliable Tremag five-speed gearbox. An E34 M5 rear differential was then fitted to improve traction, along with a custom driveshaft to complete the bullet-proof setup. Not convinced? Take it from us that the car is driven hard, plus it also takes regular abuse at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim circuits. Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, it obliterates the 0-60mph sprint in just over 2.5 seconds, screaming at a rate of 110 decibels before the needle even hits 3000rpm.

Driving in Scandinavia requires some special skills, if we had even a tenth as much snow, police would advise motorists to stay at home, but here residents just cope. Well, they do more than that. In a country where forced induction is a proven way of life, they love nothing more than putting on an incredible show of car control in a wild display of wheelspin, opposite lock, and high-speed sideways driving. The cars are, of course, heavily modified to cope with the extreme nature in which they’re driven, and in this case Tarjei has sourced Wiecher strut braces and anti-roll bars, along with a set of fully adjustable KW Variant 3 coilovers, which allows him to adjust the rebound and compression damping. Everything was then connected with Powerflex poly and ally mountings to eliminate all unwanted movement.

Of course, every car of this calibre needs some decent anchors, when you can cover the length of a football pitch in a few seconds, the standard setup might have you running out of road, through the Pearly Gates and halfway across God’s breakfast table. Thankfully, a big brake kit consisting of AP Racing four-pot calipers with 335mm (front) and 355mm (rear) grooved discs mounted on alloy bells, with Endless pads, do an adequate enough job.

Building a full-on track car means ridding the cabin of any unnecessary luxuries, so out came the seats, stereo system, door cards, carpet and sound deadening and in went the Momo buckets and Schroth four-point harnesses. Commonly seen in WRC car interiors, the entire dash was then flocked. This coating of nylon fibres using high voltage, electrostatic equipment, gives it a dense and durable finish along with excellent antiglare qualities. Providing additional rigidity, a Wiechers six-point roll-cage was fitted and the standard wheel was ditched for a snapoff Momo item. The Tilton pedals and hydraulic handbrake, along with the carbon fibre gear knob, Racepak Pack digital data logger and gauges add to the motorsport theme a treat. The dry sump tank, swirl pot for the fuel, oil cooler shroud, fuel pump and filter, Aeroquip hosing and gel battery are now housed in the boot.

It was then the turn of the exterior to receive the benefits of some credit card abuse. With 9.5”-wide custom Löwenhart Superstar wheels destined for the front and 12” out back, new arches were painstakingly fabricated in metal and extended 120mm and 150mm respectively. Although it’s heavier compared to fibreglass, it’s much stronger and robust, and he’s managed to save weight elsewhere by fitting a carbon fibre bonnet and rear wing, which indecently also helps to generate greater downforce along with the Rieger front splitter. The same German body styling specialists also supplied the more aggressively fashioned front and rear bumpers and side skirts, lending it an even tougher guise, whilst the custom carbon fibre roof scoop, BMW Motorsport mirrors and Audi TT fuel cap finish off the race-car look that Tarjei was going for.

How this car is not covered in stone chips and dents with body panels hanging off is beyond me, especially when you know it’s driven to utilise all that’s been done under the bonnet. It later emerges that showroom gleam is thanks to a recent respray, a definite improvement over the Dolphin grey and more in keeping with the car’s styling. The M3 GT British Racing green paint now adorns every nook and cranny, and I think you’ll agree when I say it looks like a brute.

Having lost 3000 man hours and £80,000 to this project, I asked if Tarjei was happy with the outcome, he replied: “It’s the world’s fastest and most extreme E30, of course I like it. I love it. I’ve poured so much of my time and money into it but it’s turned out better than I could have ever imagined, I will never sell it.” When quizzed about his future plans he added: “My next project will be carbon’d wide-body 1 Series with the new M5 V10 engine, and I’m hoping it will be ready for Gatebil’s biggest event of the year in July.” That’s not a lot of time, but considering he built this monster in just ten months, we have every confidence he’ll do it. We just wish UK-based tuners and owners would follow suit and ditch the more traditional methods for something a bit different. If only we weren’t so conservative as a nation and tight with money, the world would be a far better place. Come on guys, let’s go for broke!

Friend Helge Vik, another BMW nut, helped Tarjei build the car.

On the track they’re each others’ worst rivals, in the garage they’re best mates Carbon fibre detailing not only looks the part but serves a purpose too.

An AP Racing brake upgrade helps rein in the 1048 raging horses stuffed under the bonnet.

The dry sump tank, swirl pot for fuel, oil cooler shroud, fuel pump and filter Aeroquip hosing and gel battery are housed in the boot Interior is minimal yet fully equipped for all of Tarjei’s needs.

A Racepak digital data logger displays all the important engine information Christiansen: “It’s the world’s fastest and most extreme E30, of course I like it. I love it. I’ve poured so much of my time and money into it, I will never sell it”.

DATA FILE
ENGINE: 3.5-litre E34 M5 engine bored out to 3600cc, forged JE low-compression pistons, Carillo connecting rods, ARP rod and head bolts, 1640cc injectors, Motorsport crank, SSP 292º camshafts, ported and polished head, Autronic sequential SM2 ECU, three double Haltec coils, Aeromotive fuel pump, four-step oil pump, aluminium sump, Turbonetics super 60 twin-turbo, SSP aluminium intake manifold, PPF external wastegate, custom PPF 3” dump valve, custom 800mm high and 600mm wide intercooler and aluminium radiator, SSP TIG-welded stainless steel straight-through side-exit exhaust with 4” tailpipe.

TRANSMISSION: Tremag 5-speed gearbox, gearbox tunnel raised and widened, Tilton triple-plate clutch, E34 M5 rear differential and custom driveshaft, custom 3” propshaft.

CHASSIS: 9.5x18” (front) and 12x18” (rear) custom Löwenhart Superstar wheels shod in 225/40 (front) and 295/30 (rear) Yokohama semi-slicks. KW Stage 3 coilovers, Powerflex poly and ally mountings, Wiechers strut brace, front and rear anti-roll bars. AP Racing four-pot calipers with 335mm (front) and 355mm (rear) grooved discs mounted on alloy bells, Endless pads all round.
EXTERIOR: Custom fabricated metal wide-arch body kit extended 120mm at the front and 150mm out back, VIS Racing carbon fibre bonnet, Rieger front splitter, colour-coded upper eyebrows, Rieger Infinity front and rear bumpers and side skirts, custom fabricated carbon fibre roof scoop, BMW Motorsport carbon-look mirrors, Audi TT fuel cap, APR Racing carbon fibre rear wing, MHW smoked rear lights (moved 2cm out on each side), custom SSP roundels, colour-coded rubbing strips, door handles and kidney grille, resprayed 1995 M3 GT British Racing Green.

INTERIOR: Fully stripped-out, (seats, stereo system, door cards, carpet and sound deadening removed), plastic panes, flocked dash, Wiechers six-point roll-cage, Momo seats with Schroth four-point harnesses, Momo snap-off steering wheel, Tilton pedals and hydraulic handbrake, custom carbon fibre gear knob, Racepak digital data logger and gauges for boost, oil and water temperature, alloy floor mats, OMP fire extinguisher. Dry sump tank, swirl pot for fuel, oil cooler shroud, fuel pump and filter Aeroquip hosing and gel battery in boot.

THANKS: Steiner Cristiansen, Knut Grave, Andreas Buoen, Johnny Slaen, Jons Dekk Og Felg, Extremedesign.no and everyone else who helped build this car.

Scandinavia has some of the finest examples of Bavarian metal on the planet, putting America’s high standards to serious shame with mind-blowing performance figures.

Special thanks to Sheighla Bilgrami at Network Languages Limited for helping us out with a translator (01344 870 700/ networklanguages.com)

Tarjei’s masterpiece! A huge custom SSP intercooler keeps the air to the Turbonetics twin-turbo nice and cool.