The E30 holds a special place in the heart of a BMW enthusiast who would argue each and every car is worth restoring. Not to be confused with the South Africa-exclusive 325iS pictured below, this US-spec 325is was in a pretty rough shape before the folks over at I AM Detailing brought back its luster, literally. It arrived at the garage for a deep restoration while staying on a fixed budget, and the end result is nothing short of impressive.
Some of the body panels were in extremely bad shape while others were revived using paint correction. Except for the hood, front fender on the driver’s side, and the rear spoiler, the E30 still had its original paint applied over 30 years ago. The first order of business was to use a combination of dry ice and steam along with fully repainting the hood to match the restored fenders.
As it’s usually the case with in-depth restorations, all the exterior trim pieces had to come off, including the trunk lid spoiler that had to be repainted as well. With the 325is being more than three decades old, it goes without saying the body had its fair share of defects, including some large dents that were taken care of.
Before freshening up the interior, the front seats and rear bench were removed to properly clean the carpet. The seats themselves needed some pampering as years of use took their toll on the black leather. The door cards were revived as well, along with all the plastic bits throughout the interior. We can see the odometer showing over 163,000 miles.
Following a painstakingly long paint correction process, it was then time to put back the parts that had come off the car. A bit of touch-up paint was used here and there to iron out even the smallest imperfections.
The Costa Mesa-based detailing shop believes the BMW 325is is now worth more than $20,000, thus more than doubling its value.
Source: I AM Detailing / YouTube
