Becoming a car builder - E30 Log #1

My journey to becoming a car builder starts with an E30.

In early May 2025, I purchased my first project car: a bronze 1990 BMW 325i. An E30. I’ve wanted a project car since I was a kid. Since my brother and I were customizing and racing cars on Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (the Lancer Evo VIII was my go-to). In my mind, guys with project cars were the coolest. They had what felt like a secret knowledge. They knew how to bend metal, swap parts, and transform a machine from an uninspiring mode of transportation into art. Into something that astonished a younger me, and made me and wonder “how did they do that?”.

Now at 30 years old, I’ve decided I want that secret knowledge too.

My E30 has the M20 2.5L straight-six engine with a manual transmission. It had 118K miles on it when the odometer broke. According to the previous owner, it also has a Schrick 272-deg cam, Mahle pistons, H&R lowering springs and matching shocks, Z3 steering rack, 4.10 40% LSD, and a Dinan chip. It’s got some zip. I found this one on craigslist after searching for the first 4 months of the year on there and Bring A Trailer. I was relieved to find the car I was looking for only an hour away from me. I met the owner, test drove it, and purchased it the next day for $6,000.

It’s not perfect but it is in pretty solid shape considering its age. Here are some photos of the interior and engine bay the day after I got it:

After cleaning up the carpet and door cards with some AMMO products (they worked great), the interior was looking a lot better. Next I ran and picked up a new battery, then got it up on jack stands in my garage and gave it an oil change.

Here’s a cold start:

Thanks for reading my first E30 log. Many more to come.