The basic question seems to be this: Can you buy a very used E30 BMW 325e, make it mechanically sound, install good all-terrain tires, and reach the top of a 7,700-foot mountain pass over terrain that would normally be the domain of legitimate off-road vehicles?
The more advanced question is why would someone who has apparent and utter disdain for the E30 BMW choose that particular car for this exercise. The driver in the video presented by /Drive Network is Mike Musto. He expected the 325e to fail before it reached the top. Since he was showcasing the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO tires on the little Bimmer as a precursor to BFG’s introduction of the T/A KO2, the farther he got, the better it was for his tire sponsor, but we couldn’t help but get the feeling that he almost wanted the car to fail.
In this case, failure certainly was an option. The 250,000-mile car that was purchased for $2000—a little steep for a 30-year-old 3 Series—didn’t run very well and needed 20 hours of mechanical work to put it in order and, we assume, install a skid plate and the all-terrain tires.
Musto also happened to pick the least powerful of all the E30s: the 325e. The “e” was pronounced “eta” and stood for economy. It was one of BMW’s first attempts at mollifying the government regulators who were beginning to insist on cars with better fuel mileage. Not only did the eta engine produce less power, but the transmission gearing was set up for cruising, not for climbing steep, rocky mountain passes.
So with not a lot of power, low gearing, majorly high miles, and a driver who didn’t really like the car, the BMW 325e left the Bay Area on the way to Nevada’s Wheeler Pass via southern California. This meant a long highway cruise before they even reached the rough terrain portion of the trip.
Surprise, Mike. The E30 made it through the first highway portion.
What happens next during the assault on Wheeler Pass is why we have to watch the video.
Just as the right rubber improves a car’s performance on the highway and on the track, the right tires can help a street car conquer a rough-terrain challenge. We believe the BFG KOs were a major reason why the BMW made it up and over the pass. We also believe the design and quality of the 30-year old Bimmer had a lot to do with it as well. Despite Musto’s assertion that any car could have done it with the BFG tires, it’s hard to envision the same success had the car been a mid-1980s Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu, or a Chrysler K-car.
We thank Mike Musto and /Driven for proving what we already knew—that a mechanically sound E30—even a very high-mileage one—will, more likely than not, do everything asked of it. After its success in this challenge, we expected Mike Musto to find new respect for the BMW. We were wrong. But that’s okay. The fact that he doesn’t want an E30 BMW means more for the rest of us. They are fun, well-built, and easy to work on. Even the eta’s. This video almost makes us want to grab one and go mountain climbing with it. Almost.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of /Drive Network.]
