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We are big fans of the E30 generation BMW 3 Series. Fantastic value, retro classic styling and a hugely rewarding and predictive rear wheel drive chassis - a huge amount of fun and a fantastic driving tool on road and track. We wanted to see just what could be achieved for as little money as possible.
The following car has spent the last 19 years and 110,000 miles of its life in Scotland and was picked as it had managed to avoid 80s fashion being a rare non-sunroof model.

Below are the original sale photos. It looked slightly better than it actually was but the smooth uncut roof panel was hidden to all but the keenest eye and so it went for a good price:

Typical E30 interior, ripped drivers seat being the only wear on a 20 year old, 110k mile executive saloon.

First things first upon arrival, wheeltrims off, poke around underneath properly to find the hidden rust holes.

The strip down begins, all parts removed to be sold:

Plenty of unnecessary wiring to be stripped from redundant features and optional extras not present.

The rust on the car was confined to just the footwell corners, a pleasant surprise for a car that had lived its childhood and teenage years at the Scottish seaside:

Sound/heat deadening painstakingly removed, the remaining mess to be cleaned off with spirit later.

Unsurprisingly heavy pile of redundant material:

The only chrome on the car - it had to be painted black to fit in:

On a trip South, 200 miles from home in the rain, the slightly temperemental wipers finally gave up and offered just one wipe per half hour - not ideal. The photo below was originally a rotating electrical contact disc, it hadn't suffered the test of time quite as well as most mechanical parts:

1 x Set of BBS E30 15" wheels. As well as being good looking, these lightweight wheels are ideal for the project. Due to the neo-classic status of the E30 certain parts are in high demand for original cars. Find a set of these with decent condition centrecaps to sell and you may be lucky enough to have some (almost) free track wheels. Ours were in pretty good condition although for some reason one had been treated to a liberal application of Waxoyl.

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