360' Kickflip

This BMW E30 may appear relatively unassuming, but to the trained eye there are clues that all is not as it seems. No-one, however, will be expecting the self-styled 360i’s fi repower!

- Dan Bevis

“One of the questions I hear most often is ‘How did you get that in there?’” grins Ross Bradley,standing proudly beside his gleaming Black Cherry E30, exhaust ticking and pinging after another urgent country lane blast. “And that’s exactly the point - you make things fit. They don’t just go in there on their own.” This very much sums up Ross’s outlook on life – the joy of the project is as much in the build as the driving.

‘Built, not bought’ is a pretty common phrase on the scene these days – modifiers who’ve solely achieved their goals in the confines of a single garage with just a cup of tea and a crackly radio for company are rightly proud to wear their achievements on their sleeve. That’s not to sideline the opposing ‘bought, not built’ crowd, of course – we can’t all be experts, and there’s a whole flourishing industry set up to serve such purposes. But Ross’s history is very much hands-on, and that’s what has informed this creation. He fancied doing stuff, then he did it – it really is that simple.

“I’ve always been toying with cars ever since I was little, being brought up with my dad building Yanks and hot rods,” he explains. “I remember helping my dad build his Ford Pop when I was about 6-8 years old, always doing what I could. With every car I’ve owned I’ve always had to rebuild something, be it the engine or interior for whatever reason, to make it better or make it my own.”

And this is the case with the E30. The reasons for calling it a ‘360i’ will become apparent in due course; suffice it to say that is very far from being a bone-stock 1980s three-box.