I love dingy junkyard builds. Don’t ask me why because, as a BMW enthusiasts, finesse, quality and luxury are typically at the top of my priority list for cars. However, there’s something so fun about a beat up old car that’s been stripped out and used for motorsport. One of the best cars in the world for such a build is a BMW E30 325i, as it’s small, lightweight, incredibly fun and, most importantly, cheap. Exactly like the build in this video.
In this latest video from The Drive, we take a look at a $2,000 E30 325is that’s been built to participate both in RallyCross and ChumpCar. So it needs to be capable of driving on both the dirt and the street while also being quick and fun. To participate in such fun, the car can’t be pretty, being that it’s going to get ruined once racing starts. But that’s the fun of it. It’s driving fun at its purest, with no fancy frills.
This E30 BMW 325is started out life as a pretty beat junkyard drift build. It had slammed cut springs, a stripped out interior and a gigantic and ridiculous metal diffuser at the back, held on by sheetmetal screws, for the sole purpose of creating sparks as it drifted. Even for me, that’s juvenile and I’m an idiot. It was bought for $2,000 and has now been given a better life, thankfully.
Now, it’s sitting on stock E30 BMW 325ix springs, which sit a little taller than standard 325i springs, and Bilstein HD struts and shocks. Having used Bilstein HD struts before, I know that they provide a great ride quality while also giving the car superb body control and durability for a low cost. Great budget choice of strut. And the slightly taller 325ix springs are for RallyCross, where the slightly higher ride height helps with some of the bumpier stuff.
It also has a massive roll cage fitted to it, which meets both RallyCross and ChumpCar requirements simultaneously. So it can pretty much just pick up and go from one event to the next, without only minor suspension modifications to help it in between. It’s a cool E30 build and we can’t wait to see what they do with it on The Drive.
