News & Articles RSS

MCM's first ever E30 BMW has been a crazy trip in just one short week, building a mild-looking sleeper packing a 320kW (430hp) punch in a fairly light, dynamic rear-drive package. You can check out the brand new reveal video HERE, but let's run you through the whole mad week's worth of this killer project. It didn't start off as potent as this, however, with Marty picking up a Japanese-import 320i two-door sedan with a dud engine. After removing the old single-cam in-line six-cylinder engine and five-speed transmission in Episode 1 (VIEW HERE) the Internet was awash with guesses as to the...

If you've seen the latest episode of the LS3 E30 project (CLICK ME!) you'll have seen the lads got Tuning Fork to tickle the keyboard and liberate 250kW (335rwhp) at the wheels from their stock 6.2-litre LS3 V8. So why does "everyone" on the internet think they are boring and crap if they such a popular swap into other cars? I have owned half a dozen E30s myself, and so I understand some people would be disappointed in the choice of an LS as it is such a common swap and there are so many great engines which fit into E30s,...

The Internet has been awash with random people claiming Marty and MOOG have "ruined" their E30 BMW by replacing the 125kW 2.5-litre six-cylinder with a 320kW 6.2-litre all-alloy LS3 V8. However, I would wager nearly all the people raging online haven't actually driven an E30 BMW, let alone well set-up LS-swapped one. The basis for a good engine swap is finding something easy to source, light and powerful that improves the car's dynamics in the way you want. Marty wanted a well-rounded street car he could take to track days and skidpans, but also something reliable and docile enough to drive to the Slop...

As Marty and MOOG dive into modding their E30, I'm going to take you on a trip to South Africa back in the 1980s and '90s. South African arms of car manufacturers have a long history of building their own special-edition hot rods, like the Ford Perana and XR8, as well as the BMW 333i and 325iS. Because they - like Australia - missed out on getting the E30 M3, BMW South Africa came up with their own special model to homologate the E30 BMW for their local Group 1 racing regulations, all built at the local Rosslyn plant. From 1985-1987...

So we've bought an E30 BMW! For those of you who know nothing about these awesome little Germanic boxes of fun, here is a quick rundown on the car which BMW used for everything from basic transport to Group A race and rally success. There were eight petrol engine options, with in-line four- and six-cylinder options, ranging from 66kW (89hp) in the early 318s up to 175kW (235hp) in the  M3 Sport Evo, the ultimate incarnation of the E30 and a Group A homologation special. The most powerful six-cylinder was the 125kW (168hp) M20B25 2.5-litre unit, as found in our car....