Cinnabar Dreams: E30 M3 Heaven

From dreams to reality, how a covid project for Chris Dunbar turned into an obsession and one of the cleanest E30 BMW M3s you will ever see.

Photography and Story by Josh Mackey - 1989 BMW E30 M3 by Chris Dunbar

I’ve known Chris for the better part of a decade, having the opportunity to shoot, and feature his magazine cover 2006 Subaru WRX STI for Import Tuner and the first-ever Rocket Bunny 2009 Nissan R35 GTR. He spares no expense with his builds and has a passion for even the smallest details, so when he called and told me the E30 was ready, we made plans to shoot.

 Chris had known about this particular M3 for over a decade, sitting, rotting away under a car cover of an ex-coworker. He always mentioned, “If you ever want to sell that M3, call me…” 8 years later that call happened, right at the beginning of Covid. He originally was in the mindset of “I’ll just get it running” the car needed a motor rebuild but otherwise was 100% complete and unmolested. You can see how well that worked out by this article.

Here’s the kicker. This car is 33 years old, yet it looks, drives, and performs better than it would have coming right off the factory floor. Restored to exact (and better) specifications than manufacturer recommendations; you will be hard pressed to find a flaw. His goal was to build one of the cleanest E30 M3 Concourse level OEM+ builds, ever.

The devil is in the details you can’t see with the reinforcements welded to the subframe or powdercoating. The entire under-carriage was dry ice blasted and left with the Original Tan BMW undercoating with a smattering of factory overspray.  Too many are quick to undercoat the car but many times are hiding something that shouldn’t be (rust). The Cinnabar Red paint, and fitment of all the paneling looks straight out of a BMW catalog.  Many of these details no one will ever see but knowing it was done right was all that mattered.  Rubber caps that adorn the fender bolts were re-applied which many will never see. Original Anti-tamper proof caps were retained to keep with the original theme. Original Oetiker clamps instead of hose clamps. The orientation of said clamps along with appropriate faced hose clamps were applicable from the factory. Chris studied the “bubble car” along with other virgin, unmolested cars to build back towards.

Chris has spent a great deal of his own personal time restoring this car - investing over 1400 hours alone into the restoration. There are galleries at the bottom of this page, detailing every step from the zinc plating of all his bolts, latches, and calipers to painfully removing and reinstalling his engine and transmission with his wife Jennica (Shoutout to Jen!).

This specific BMW came equipped with one of the best packages of the era that included the 2.3L DOHC 4-Cylinder engine better known as the “S14”, 5-speed transmission and power options like the sunroof, windows, steering and naturally, AC. However, it doesn’t stop there, Chris also took the opportunity to do some mild performance upgrades with Schrick 284/276 cams & Supertech Valves, Valve keepers, BMW Evo3 Valve Springs, Super Sprint Center Section, Stromung Exhaust, New OEM Crank Bearings, Carbon Fiber Intake Manifold along with light head-work and Pistons.

While the car is mostly period correct, he can’t help his love for Japanese style and performance influence him. In addition to his standard set of 17x8.5” Magnesium BBS wheels on Continental ExtremeContact tires, he also rocks a set of Bronze 17” Rays TE-37 wheels and Continental 225/50 ZR17 Tires. This unique style of German excellence and Japanese performance gives the vehicle a completely different identity, as if it was engineered specifically to take on the streets of Tokyo to Mt. Fuji.

The fitment is dialed in and sits perfectly on the ground with the help of KW Variant 1 coilovers. To help complete the exterior look, subtle changes such as; BMW Heritage Emblems, Hella Schwarz Headlights, French Yellow Fog Lights and Sport Evolution Rear spoiler help complete the look.

Most stop with the exterior and leave the interior alone, however, Chris made sure that interior got its fair share of attention. Recaro Orthopedic Heated/Cooled seats are just one touch, the headliner, Europameister door panels and rear seats were also reupholstered in the same grain of leather as the Recaros. A factory restored Alpine head unit with a total of 8-speakers guarantees that the Dunbar’s will enjoy cruising their mint E30. Fun fact, the tape cassette was removed from the factory head-unit and replaced with a Bluetooth module so he’s able to take calls and stream music without the need for the old cassette adapter!

A note from Chris:

Would like to thank the M3 SIG community as they were instrumental in helping source many of the no longer available new old stock parts. Jordan Sarette for the incredible ABS pump restoration and answering numerous late night texts. David Johnson who was also extremely gracious in handling the Front/Rear Windshield R&R along with countless “how do I?” texts late at night. John Zuberek at Griots Motors for also answering countless questions and putting me in touch with Sean Edwards & Jeff Miller the masterminds behind the paint. I’ve learned over the years, your product is truly only as good as the team behind it. Special thanks to my TWCompetition teams and last but not least I’d like to thank my wife, Jennica for putting up with the at-home restoration, garage zinc plating and mayhem for 2yrs along all while losing her garage space. Now we get to enjoy it!

Behind the Scenes Build Gallery