Unveiling A BMW E30’s Brilliance After 14 Years Of Neglect

The WD Detailing YouTube channel has taken on some pretty run-down machines over the years, though an old BMW E30 Coupe tested their courage. Found in an ancient house that was literally falling on top of the machine, the WD team had to try and extract it from a crusty garage without causing the roof to collapse.

On first observation, the E30 looked well past saving having been left alone for well over a decade. Never shying away from a challenge, WD was determined to do everything in its power to ensure the BMW had another chance to hit the road.

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BMW E30 Left Abandoned For Over A Decade Needed Saving From Crumbling House

WD Detailing duo RJ and Brent arrived at an old house in Pennsylvania as they embarked on a mission to recover an old BMW E30 coupe barn find. The car had been left in the property’s old garage for the past 14 years, a long time in a building far from watertight.

The pair quickly looked around the run-down house, seemingly only a poorly-timed sneeze away from completely collapsing. A large portion of the roof had long since crumbled, while much of the first floor had also given way. The unstable floor eventually got the better of them, and they decided to get the highly-tuneable BMW 325i out of the garage before making the situation worse.

The E30 was in a pretty poor state. The bodywork was completely caked in grime and mold, while pieces of building material were strewn across it as the floors and walls slowly crumbled apart. Their first job was to remove some wooden panels blocking the garage door, though an impact drill made short work of them.

• Removing wooden panels blocking the garage door
• Having to attach tow hook to rear control arm due to lack of tow bar, which results in the axle collapsing
• Jack stands brought in to rotate the vehicle, a job is tricky as caution has to be taken with an unstable roof
• The front tow hook was eventually found and used to pull E30 clear of its burial place

They subsequently tried to pull the E30 out of the garage onto their truck. They had to mount the tow hook onto the rear control arm due to the lack of a tow bar. This quickly went wrong though, as the corroded part gave way, almost taking the rear wheel with it. Eventually, they got the car out by turning it around on handy portable jack stands before using the front tow hook to pull it clear.

Copious Amount Of Degreaser Brings Color To Neglected E30

The WD boys’ difficulty with moving the E30 around continued as they arrived back at their cleaning workshop. While trying to pull the car off the trailer, the rear axle dropped onto the floor. This latest development forced them to ratchet the rear wheels together to prevent the broken component from falling off completely.

Having eventually got the car into the shop, the guys set about vacuuming the body and trunk. With so much of the old building having been deposited onto the E30, this task took quite some time. Once completed, they caked the body in degreaser, so they could powerwash all the ingrained grime into oblivion.

The power washer did its job brilliantly as the dirt was stripped from the paintwork and bumpers. The BMW’s bright red paint shined for the first time in years, as did the chrome bumpers which came up almost brand new.

Surprisingly, there was barely a sign of body corrosion, with most having been localized to the underside of the machine. Once the body had been rinsed, the tires were pumped up and the rims given a deep clean. The degreaser once again did its job perfectly, and the wheels looked excellent once freed of the deep layer of grime.

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E30 Puts Up Fight As Cleaning Team Tries To Access Motor

The next job was to clean up the BMW E30’s six-cylinder engine. Due to the length of time the car had been left abandoned, this was easier said than done. The hood pull had been disconnected, so Brent had to use some vice grips to pull the release cable.

Then, they had to use a crowbar to get the hood up as the hinges had completely seized solid. Their efforts were rewarded with a less intensive job than the rest of the machine, the hood having protected the motor from its collapsing tomb. The degreaser once again did its job well, and the boy’s power washed the reliable BMW M20 engine until it was free of dirt.

1980s BMW E30 Coupe

Source (ultimatespecs.com)

Once the powertrain was rinsed, the guys coated the body with car shampoo to rid it of any remaining grime. The solution would also remove any leftover iron, which eats into the clearcoat over time and destroys the paintwork.

Disgusting BMW E30 Interior Hides A Morbid Secret

With the exterior now looking much more attractive, it was time for the WD crew to attack the interior of the E30. The Pennsylvania license plate might have been foreshadowing what they were about the find since it started with “EWW”. The seats were first removed, so they could have better access to the floor. The damp garage had taken its toll, the carpets visibly damp and covered in mold.

Once the carpets had been aired out for a while, they got busy vacuuming. While doing so, they came across a dead mouse, which proved the BMW had acted as a home for another species during its slumber. The vacuuming alone made a huge difference, and the once-cream carpets started to look more like their original selves.

The WD guys brought more of its original color back after coating them with a generous amount of degreaser, before then agitating the remaining dirt with a drill brush. A VAX machine removed the remaining grime until the carpets looked in a decent shape once more. The dirtiness of the interior was illustrated by the dark brown water that was extracted from the back of the VAX once the guys had finished.

Seats And Interior Trim Made To Look A Million Dollars

RJ and Brent finished off the interior by first cleaning the seats. Degreaser and the trusty VAX made short work of them, and the cream components looked fantastic once finished despite a few small age-related tears. The same could be said with the plastic trim such as the dash, steering wheel, and handbrake.

The boys used some plastic polish to loosen any dirt sitting on the surface of the trim, before then removing it with a handy sponge. The components looked brand-new when finished, leaving at least part of the car looking salvageable.

Condition Of BMW E30 Once Fully Cleaned

• Bodywork and bumpers are in good condition, and surfaces shine impressively given the amount of debris resting on top when found
• The Interior looks decent, but rodents stain certain parts and likely need replacement
• Underside likely needs significant love, the rear control arm crumbles soon after being pulled
• The vehicle needs full respray, and paint long past saving

The WD team ultimately had to scrap any plans to polish the BMW E30’s paintwork because it was in such a bad condition. They insisted that any work would have been a waste of time as it needed a full respray, a big job bearing in mind the underside of the vehicle likely needed a lot of work too.

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Their final job was to remove the rear spoiler, as a friend of theirs was keen to give it a new home on his E30 example. While the rest of the vehicle needed a large amount of work to get it back on the road, there’s no doubt the right enthusiastic gearhead would be able to pull off the job. Following a complete restoration, the BMW E30 would be right at home on the track as a bespoke circuit weapon thanks to its potent motor and rear-wheel drive configuration.

Sources: YouTube @ WD Detailing, Ultimatespecs