Daylin's BBS & Bagged E30Is As Clean As They Come
Photos by: Ricky Rigutto | Words by: Ian Lee
With little to fault other than lack of power and tired parts, Daylin’s E30 really had nothing urgent on the to-do list in its previous state. Sure, there were plans but he was happy to enjoy it the way BMW rolled it off the showroom. However when Hot Import Nights 2019 was announced, something must have set off a chain reaction as in a matter of weeks, Daylin transformed his car into an all out centrepiece.
Already acknowledged by Daylin as one of the best looking coupes of all time, he knew any mods were to stay true to the original body lines of the car. Other enhancements planned were to also compliment the car with some OEM+ hardware, more grunt under the hood and some aggressive stance to cap it off.
Starting with the motor, Daylin kept things period correct by sourcing a 325i M20B27 engine. Before putting it into the bay, some slight tweaks were made to crank the power output to 147kw at the wheels. This included fitting some aftermarket cams, pistons, injectors stainless valves and a Miller Performance ECU. A Remus exhaust caps off the power mods and really brings out a throaty engine note that you just don’t get with modern BMW’s. A 5 speed 260 Getrag, new performance clutch and LSD were mounted to the rest of the BMW drivetrain that Daylin had assembled and part one of the overhaul was completed.
For the body, Daylin added a full M-Technic body kit to the car which although is much more subtle than the M3 body, still dramatically increases the aggressiveness and sportiness of the E30. This is only further accentuated by how low Daylin’s car is which comes courtesy from the full air ride suspension setup. With a new body kit prepped in primer and the 30 year old paint looking tired, the car got a new lease on life and was resprayed in a custom dark grey finish.
By far one of the most eye capturing changes to the car is the wheel setup. BBS mesh wheels and old school Euro’s are a perfect and forever are a timeless classic.
The interior also got a dressing up during the build process and features some great upholstery work on the seats, shifter, sun visor, door cards and floor mats. The seats and door cards have been freshened up using the same dark red as what’s found in the modern day BMW M4. The carbon trim and covers on the bottom of the seat controls and M logo stitched into the seat are subtle and appreciated touches for those with a keen eye for detail. Diamond stitched floor mats are another piece of the interior puzzle which certainly bring a sense of luxury and a VIP vibe to the car without being overbearing and excessive in the cabin.
We’ve seen some pretty fast cars on this page but we’d be lying if we said fun cars have to be fast. Sometimes the enjoyment of driving is just being able to cruise in comfort and not having to worry about highly stressed engine components reaching breaking point when you put the pedal town. For me, Daylin’s E30 fits that bill and it’d be a car I’d be happy to take out for a coffee run on an early Sunday morning – what are your thoughts?
Daylin's BBS & Bagged E30 Is As Clean As They Come
With little to fault other than lack of power and tired parts, Daylin’s E30 really had nothing urgent on the to-do list in its previous state. Sure, there were plans but he was happy to enjoy it the way BMW rolled it off the showroom. However when Hot Import Nights 2019 was announced, something must have set off a chain reaction as in a matter of weeks, Daylin transformed his car into an all out centrepiece.
Already acknowledged by Daylin as one of the best looking coupes of all time, he knew any mods were to stay true to the original body lines of the car. Other enhancements planned were to also compliment the car with some OEM+ hardware, more grunt under the hood and some aggressive stance to cap it off.
Starting with the motor, Daylin kept things period correct by sourcing a 325i M20B27 engine. Before putting it into the bay, some slight tweaks were made to crank the power output to 147kw at the wheels. This included fitting some aftermarket cams, pistons, injectors stainless valves and a Miller Performance ECU. A Remus exhaust caps off the power mods and really brings out a throaty engine note that you just don’t get with modern BMW’s. A 5 speed 260 Getrag, new performance clutch and LSD were mounted to the rest of the BMW drivetrain that Daylin had assembled and part one of the overhaul was completed.
For the body, Daylin added a full M-Technic body kit to the car which although is much more subtle than the M3 body, still dramatically increases the aggressiveness and sportiness of the E30. This is only further accentuated by how low Daylin’s car is which comes courtesy from the full air ride suspension setup. With a new body kit prepped in primer and the 30 year old paint looking tired, the car got a new lease on life and was resprayed in custom dark grey.
By far one of the most eye capturing changes to the car is the wheel setup. BBS mesh wheels and old school Euro’s are a match made in heaven and forever are a timeless classic.
The interior also got a dressing up during the build process and features some great upholstery work on the seats, shifter, sun visor, door cards and floor mats. The seats and door cards have been freshened up using the same dark red as what’s found in the modern day BMW M4. The carbon trim and covers on the bottom of the seat controls and M logo stitched into the seat are subtle and appreciated touches for those with a keen eye for detail. Diamond stitched floor mats are another piece of the interior puzzle which certainly bring a sense of luxury and a VIP vibe without being overbearing and excessive in the cabin.
We’ve seen some pretty fast cars on this page but we’d be lying if we said fun cars have to be fast. Sometimes the enjoyment of driving is just being able to cruise in comfort and not having to worry about highly stressed engine components reaching breaking point when you put the pedal town. For me, Daylin’s E30 fits that bill and it’d be a car I’d be happy to take out for a coffee run on an early Sunday morning – what are your thoughts?
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