From the looks of it, this isn’t just a very clean exterior mod, but also a more powerful car altogether.

The base model for this pickup Bimmer was the E30 BMW 3 Series convertible. This is the soft top version, and after removing said soft top, the owner converted the rear end of the vehicle into a flat bed. He did it quite seamlessly, and this wasn’t all he did.

After the flatbed was complete, he then went and added a lot of M3 parts, including front and rear bumpers and fenders. Next step was replacing the engine with something more powerful. While most would have opted for S14 engine found in the E30 BMW M3, the owner got himself a 4.0 liter V8 from the E34 BMW 540i which is good for about 286 Hp.

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This E30 BMW 3 Series sure managed to pull that look, and I am not exactly sure what it is supposed to be, but it looks like it was taken out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon.

The owner named the build Gatsby BMW Cabriolet Custom, a name that pretty much says it all. It is a stretch convertible that wants to bring the 50s back. Most body panels were provided by Gatsby Coachworks, after being pilfered from an MG. The craftsmanship is not that bad, either.

In fact, if we disregard the ludicrous design, this is quite a high quality build, with only one thing dragging it down. While the whole of the body has seen heavy modifications, the rear end is still pretty basic, giving away the E30 underneath. Oh, and it’s on the market for anyone with $30.000 and bad eyes.

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As such, tuning the old model is still quite popular, and the second hand market can still produce plenty of beautifully maintained units.

Still, while most tuners just go for performance improvements, deeming unnecessary any alteration of the iconic design, some think they can do better than the manufacturer. I am referring to aftermarket specialists like TMCars, a Hungary based tuner that decided to bring the beloved E30 BMW 3 Series up to this century.

What they failed to see is that the looks of the E30 model, while a bit dated, are perfect for the car. Called the Concept 30, their kit seriously meddled with the design. The shape is still recognizable, but details, from the altered kidney grille to the new headlights, seem a bit over the top.

Fact remains that, while the build itself seems manufactured by complete craftsmen, the vast majority of BMW fans will feel they have desecrated a legendary car. So why should they pay $4.000 for something like that?

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One particular segment of the market regards pick-up, and as you might know, BMW does not build any.

At least, they haven’t built any so far, and the future holds no certainty that this will keep true. The same was thought about a forward wheel drive BMW, and that is on its way. Still, while there are no manufacturer BMW pick-ups out there, there are a few custom builds.

This particular one, like all the others, doesn’t seem to be all that special. The rear end was chopped off, some reinforcing and a flatbed later and the job was done. But the owner claims one fabulous thing. This is one of only 2 cars to have ever been “authorized by BMW to be custom modified to pick-up version” (cough cough). I guess false advertising doesn’t really mean anything anymore.

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First off, we have the obvious end result, a car more or less worthy of recognition. Then there is the human side of it, the part that takes into account the hours the builder put into it.

Most of the time, no matter if the build manages to drop jaws or get laughed at, the bond between the owner and car run deep enough for him to enjoy the ride nonetheless. One such car and story was presented by the guys at /Drive, and it involves one E30 BMW 3 Series and one Kameron Baker.

While the clip is 12 minutes long, it is a nice watch, detailing not just how the Bimmer behaves on the road, but also all the elbow grease that went into it, each step forward in the build, many time accompanied by a step back to see what went wrong. The E30 is already known as a great tuning platform, and the turbocharged monster owner by Kameron proves that by unleashing around 400 Hp. Just watch below for more.

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Still, some opt for modifying their car themselves, purely because of the pleasure you get from tinkering.

These are the more original builds out there, some good, some bad, but loved by the owners nonetheless. Unfortunately, when your project is promising, some might get jealous and try to ruin it for you.

This is the case of a certain E30 BMW, the owner calls M-Tech I Panzer, that was stolen out of the storage unit in which it was deposited. The project was in its infancy, with so much work to be done, but it showed great promise and the custom parts were all bought and awaited installing.

The BMW was lifted on a trailer, and along with pretty much every part they could find, the thieves made off with it. We wish the owner the best in trying to get it back, and maybe we will soon see the project completed.

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