Zippy-and-Dialed
Cone Crazy 88
In all my years of driving, the e30 BMW is the car that remains near and dear to my heart. For one reason or another, I haven’t gotten tired of looking at them and still enjoy tinkering under the hood (which seems to be more often than not). With my red 318is mostly sorted, I thought I was done. Certain cars however, show up when you’re least expecting it. You guessed it—now there’s another one.
Textbook e30 Goodness
Like any responsible person, I decided one night that I needed a spare set of Ronal wheels for my car. Unfortunately the set of I ordered were from a newer production run, which were cast using a different mold than the original ACT design I owned (fun fact: the new Speedline versions have a flat face under the center cap vs the original concave ACT design). Since I was in SoCal, I messaged Randy Walters (longtime BMW enthusiast and autocrosser), who said he had a spare set of the original style wheels for sale. While picking up the wheels, Randy mention he was planning to sell his 1988 325is. I didn’t need another e30, but something told me this one was worth seeing.
A few weeks go by and I got a chance to see the car. Just as described, the car was in excellent condition. The paint was in great shape, and the interior was especially tidy with a crack-free dash and no rips in the upholstery. The car even had the original stereo installed! It was a textbook example of a late model m20 powered e30 in Alpine White with the obligatory Ronal LS mesh wheels. On top of that, Randy had a log book that spanned nearly 20 years of ownership.
The real magic to this car though was how it drove. Since this car was set up for autocross (and even won a few regional SCCA championships too), the suspension was especially dialed. The Ground Control coilovers were stiffly sprung, but the top adjustable Koni shocks paired with rubber bushings meant the car didn’t compromise its ride quality. After what felt like an hour test drive, I was sold. This little e30 was just too good to pass up.
