P1 Pan-O-Rama
I love panning shots. Cars, by their nature, are intended to be in motion, but photography, by its nature, is a still medium. So being able to represent the motion of one brief slice of time is a really interesting challenge. Rig shots are commonly employed to achieve this particular effect; I like to do it hand-held because I think it adds a bit of a raw aspect. And cuts out a ton of post-processing 😉
That’s the P1 in its normal, daily driving mode.
…and that is the “lift” setting, useful for going up and down driveways and stuff.
Black cars are rolling mirrors…
Now That’s a Great Highway
Yesterday I washed my car and while the rest of the Bay Area was languishing at 90 degrees, I was chilling (quite literally) under the San Francisco fog.
Someone left their house across the street and asked me why I was taking pictures–was I selling the car? I get that a lot.
I guess it should be no surprise that most people can’t fathom the thought of taking photos of your car…I mean, have you ever taken a photo of your washing machine or refrigerator? Exactly.
I wash my car religiously. No, not with a bible and holy water; I just prefer to always be driving a clean car.
Although some have described this house as “lonely”, I think it would be awesome to have the only house on the entire block. Streets on all sides!
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Pond
Do you know someone with a really crappy old car? And I don’t mean like a 2001 Saturn ION with a dirty interior…I mean a real beater, the type of shitbox that you don’t want to even ride in; something so awful that you wouldn’t even take it for free. Well, my friend Pepe owns such a car: a Mercedes 300D with 240,000 miles.
You’re looking at the best part of it right there: it has my favorite license plates of all time, the California “sunset” plates that were optional from the end of ’82 until the end of ’86, and then the default option for just the twelve months of 1987, and then they were gone forever.
Unfortunately, it all goes downhill from there. It’s rusting in many places, like right in the middle of the quarter panel. It’s painfully slow (even when it’s running correctly) and smells absolutely dreadful.
Not only is it in pretty sad shape cosmetically, almost nothing works. The interior is falling apart, none of the windows work, the climate control doesn’t work, the speedometer doesn’t work, and the transmission seems very confused about the concept of “gears”. I drove it back to his house and the 1-2 shift is so brutal that I kept chirping the tires inadvertently!
The thing is, he really likes these cars. The styling is on point and they come from an era where Mercedes-Benz’s build quality is commonly described, in the most loving way possible, as “like a tank.”
That’s where this Euro-spec 280E comes in. Found on Craigslist by Art (aka The Craigslist Master), it was reasonably priced and in excellent condition. Most of all, it represents an immense upgrade.
The only spot of rust we could find is right there on the front valance. Otherwise, the car is CLEAN. I deal with used cars all day, and this car is in good shape for a five or ten year old car—for something that rolled off the assembly line almost 35 years ago, it’s damn near mint.
Of course, Euro-spec gets you the simple aesthetic pleasures, like thin chrome bumpers.
But it also extends to the interior. The purple cloth is in excellent shape with no rips. And remember how none of the power windows worked in the 300D? Well, this has crank windows and a manual sunroof–and it all works.
It even has dual climate control, which the 300D does not have.
There are approximately 100,000 fewer miles on the chassis, and check out that column shift! It frees up a lot of space in the center console, and gives the front seat a really airy feeling.
The condition of the car is truly impressive; there are only a few minor dings to be found.
And those doors? They still close with that legendary vault-like thud.
It’s got kind of a funny reverse rake going on…based on the initial ride, I think it’s time for some new rear shocks. The left tail light has a small chip, and the previous owner used blue painters’ tape to cover it up (instead of clear tape or that red “tail light tape”).
Mercedes and other mainstream brands abandoned the metal gas cap long ago, but it’s nice to see it still intact here.
At the end of the day, that’s what it’s really about: the feeling of “dude, that’s my car.”
…and one more pic of the M3 on the way out, just because I’m obsessed with this thing right now.
It’s Still Just a Car.
Call me a purist, but I believe that anything bearing BMW’s legendary ///M badge should be driven. With the skyrocketing popularity (and accordingly, value) of E30 M3’s, they’ve ironically become even rarer. What was once a great buy for road or track use has now become a bona fide collector’s car—and sadly, collectors’ cars don’t get driven.
This is where my buddy Art comes in. A long-time BMW enthusiast, he’s owned multiple 2002’s, a couple E30’s, and E36’s of the M and non-M variety. He’s currently driving an E82 135i, but there’s always been one thing missing: an E30 M3.
Once he finally reached a level of financial comfort and possession of a garage, all the pieces fell into place: he could now fully justify owning that long-desired E30 M3. But there was just one hitch: he wanted a really nice example, but he fully admitted that if he owned a low mileage, all-original car, he would be reluctant to drive it. That attitude really bums me out; why would you buy your dream car if you don’t intend to drive it?
That’s why this Alpine White 1989 M3 is the absolute perfect find for Art. To be honest, this car doesn’t exactly have the cleanest paper trail; when it was recovered from a theft over a decade ago, it survived intact but the thieves’ intentions were clear: the original E30 M3-specific four cylinder 2.3L S14 was missing. Not only that, but the M3 cluster (which features an oil temperature gauge instead of the MPG-o-meter that all other E30’s have) was also stolen, meaning the actual mileage of the chassis is unknown.
A certain Zorro del Coche will have you believe that not knowing a vehicle’s exact mileage is an egregious offense against common decency. In this case, I believe it’s actually ideal. Who cares how many more miles you add if no one knows how many it really has in the first place? Just go ahead and drive it! Mechanically, it feels strong; under the hood now is a refreshed DOHC, VANOS-equipped 2.5L straight-six M50 from an E36 325is that not only sounds great and makes decent power, but more importantly offers the bolt-in potential of an S50 in the future. ITB’s and six forward gears, please!
As you can see from the photos, the car is in fantastic shape. But is it perfect? Of course not–it’s 25 years old. But that’s precisely where the fun lies: there are things to do.
Those headlights? Euro smilies—but they have a dark tint over them. That has got to go. Maybe the headlight bezels will become black, but he expressed desire for chrome-ringed kidney grilles like the car originally came with. Plus the block-off plates need to be reinstalled, the black trim refreshed, and the foglights aligned.
And the Style 42’s? Three-piece and OEM+, but not to Art’s taste (nor mine, frankly), and they’re wrapped in Triangle-brand rubber, which can best by described as “ultra shit”. Anyway, the wheels will be swapped out, and the suspension will likely be freshened up as well.
As I’m writing this post, the text messages are flowing in–he’s already fixed this problem. This might be handy in the dead of winter, but in 90º summer weather, you definitely do not want an unshielded transmission tunnel. An aluminum plate, rubber boot, and sound deadening have already made their way in, and the whole interior will get a thorough cleaning.
The head-unit is dated and not wired properly; the OBD unit, like every other one, is non-functional and will be replaced (Euro clock, perhaps?). The A/C is present but adapted lines will need to be installed to get the swapped E36 hardware to work with the original E30 hardware on the chassis.
All these little things fall into the “you either get it or you don’t” area. While others might consider it a hassle, people like Art relish the chance to dig into the car and tinker with the little bits. The straight body, clean interior, and solid drivetrain provide the foundation–and the rest is absolutely what makes classic car ownership so damn fun.
Star Road 