Family Heirloom

Nobody rushed out from the workshop shouting “wow” when this E30 318i Convertible was delivered to us on a transporter. A thick layer of dust from many years in storage hid it’s true beauty. The instruction from our customer was to restore the car to it’s former glory.

Before going into the workshop for a full inspection and report, the dust was blown off with an airline and the car was washed and leathered. It was only then that we started to suspect that this convertible was rather better than first impressions had led us to believe. A glimpse at the speedo showed only 27,000 miles.

Once on the ramp it became clear just how amazing this car is. Totally original and 100% corrosion free. The underside still in its original body colour. A 27,000 mile, unrestored, 100% original 318i convertible.

A phone call to our customer and all became clear. His mum had bought the car brand new in 1993 and had been the only driver. Some years ago she had become too old to drive and she put the car in storage. So now we had in the workshop a one owner, 27,000 mile, totally original 318i convertible – amazing! We think his mum must have been quite a Dude! She ordered the car in Brilliant Red, black leather, sports seats, 15” wheels and with factory hardtop. She must have looked pretty cool in 1993.

The car will be staying in the family and our customer can look forward to taking his mum and his kids out for drives in her much loved car.

Some exterior paintwork has had to be done for small cosmetic reasons. The underside of the car was cleaned thoroughly and inspected. A sympathetic Waxoyl programme was carried out to ensure long term corrosion protection. The stunning black leather was carefully cleaned and treated with leather food. The hardtop was cleaned and treated. The soft top was cleaned and a new coating of water proofer applied.

Mechanically the car had to be prepared to a standard that it could be used with total confidence on family trips. Our job was to eliminate age related issues and make the car turnkey. We carried out an Inspection II service, new brake fluid and coolant, new cambelt and pulley, new exhaust, new battery, new hoses, new fuel hoses, new belts, new rubber components where necessary, brakes inspected and rebuilt as required, cooling system inspected and checked and new exterior trim as required. We then carefully road tested and issued a new MOT.

When this car left us we were thrilled that our customer and his mum will get to enjoy the car again and the family will get such pleasure from this usable modern classic.

A true iconic 80’s classic!