1991 BMW 318i E30 Cabriolet Restomod Lagunengrün Metallic

Jonathan Tabije

1991 BMW 318i E30 Cabriolet Restomod  

Instagram: @ca_radhaus

Photographer: Marvin Recinos

Instagram: @mr2mivin

"This car was built in my image and is a direct reflection of me, my style, and my persona." – Jonathan Tabije

The Founder Behind California Auto Rad Haus

My name is Jonathan Tabije, but I'm known as Jonny—owner and co-founder of California Auto Rad Haus (@ca_radhaus), or Rad Haus for short. Alongside my wife Jessica, who manages our other brand @no.stall.gic, we're based in Northern California and specialize in hosting unique automotive events and large-scale car shows. Rad Haus was established in 2020, right at the early stages of the pandemic.

Before getting into this side of the business, we were heavily invested in creating bespoke custom 3-piece wheel conversions with our good friend JonJay at Encinal Machine in Richmond, California. We collected old school OEM wheels (BMW especially), chopped the faces, machined with lathe and mill, and were on a mission to make cool OEM wheels even cooler by sizing them up with new lips, new barrels, finishes, and hardware. At that time, there were hardly any small shops doing this type of work in California. This is why our name in translation means "Wheel House," but to take it further, it's almost a double entendre with "Rad" suggesting our preference for '80s-'90s eras and automotive heritage.

From Import Tuner Magazine to Rad Haus

What started my passion for cars was simple: watching my dad and older brother work on cars from a very young age since both were DIYers. My dad was your typical old-school Filipino—he often preached that nothing beats OEM. He would subscribe to Motor Trend magazine and always kept up to date with what new models were coming out and where the automotive industry was heading.

Being born in Southern California, my most vivid memories were in the golden age of import tuner in the '90s to early 2000s, where the culture of modifying small Japanese cars exploded into a massive automotive movement. I remember my older brother would come home with the monthly issue of Import Tuner magazine, and when he wasn't around, I would sneak a peek through it (older bro, if you're reading this article, my bad for sneaking into your room, but also thank you for putting me on game). I absorbed a lot of the import culture through those pages for years.

Through my childhood, my fascination for imports grew. I remember saving my lunch money in quarters and during my walk home from school, I'd stop by the local Ralph's and purchase import car stickers from the vending machine—you know the ones that were holographic and kids would collect and show off on the front clear part of their binders. From there, I would start drawing my own version of imports on paper exactly how I would see them in the magazines: slammed on big wheels and kitted all around.

Fast forward to 2001: Fast & the Furious releases. I was 12 years old at the time, and this was probably when I knew that my passion for this culture and lifestyle was way more than just a fascination—it became embedded into my very DNA. From there, my passion would grow as the F&F saga continued, up until I was finally behind the wheel of my very first import and started working on my own projects, clicking up with a bunch of other friends in high school who all shared the same passion. We then got put on to a group known as Wek SOS. I would join their forum and attend my very first import-style show with my homies in Japantown SF, I think in 2009, in collaboration with illest/Fatlace. The rest was history—my friends, these brands, and later on car teams we created would take me spiraling deep into my automotive journey. I was living and part of the import culture and street scene I would read about.

The Craigslist Find: BMW Color Code 266

Now the funny part is this article is not about an import build. It's my 1991 BMW E30 318i cabriolet.

I saw this car on a Craigslist ad and bought it in August 2018 from some shady-looking shop in Redwood City. It was a complete POS. It had no interior but its OEM carpet and a torn-up raggedy passenger seat. The exterior of the car was a 5 out of 10, and I feel that is being generous—all sides of the car needed help. The engine and drivetrain were stock and all there, but it wasn't drivable and had to be towed. The thing barely started and kept an idle. It was a heavy project and terrible starting point, but honestly, the only reason I bought it was because I was searching specifically for BMW color code 266, Lagunengrün Metallic—which was an identical color to my first E30 that I had gotten into an accident in a few months earlier. So I was bent on finding another one, and this was literally the only one available coming up at the time.

Complete Restoration: Windows Out, Doors Off

As far as what I've done to customize it, I have completely redone the entire exterior of the car. It has gone through complete body restoration: windows out, doors off, bumpers and all trim off. The body was sanded down to metal, and metalwork was done where needed. Everything was straightened out, then the entire car was resprayed, including jambs, in the original OEM color. Every single body panel is still the original piece of the car and has matching VIN stickers, and none of the seams were broken during restoration.

The car is fitted with "IS" lip kit with 3-piece aluminum vented diffuser and side skirts. The "IS" skirts do not exist for convertibles and needed to be attached with custom brackets and mounting to fit properly. The rear trunk has been shaved of the 3rd brake light, and an Mtech 1 wing was also added.

The convertible top was redone in a custom green canvas to give it a visual appearance that the car is one color versus the two-tone convertibles you typically see.

Interior: Green Mtech Rain and Black Leather

The interior has been redone to match the color scheme of the car in green Mtech rain and black leather. The steering wheel is an OEM BMW Nardi woodline from Poland that my wife got as a present for me. In addition, some subtle styling was added to certain parts of the car, such as the bespoke repurposed vintage Gucci leather shift boot, chrome door handles, custom chrome line euro grills, and certain modern things have been added for enjoyment such as built-in USB port charging, updated Pioneer head unit with Bluetooth capabilities, updated all speakers to Kicker units with 10" Planet Audio hideaway sub under the passenger seat.

I've also gone and converted a lot of the finer details of the car to euro spec: from exterior grill and trim, front and rear lighting including wired-in city lights and rear heckleblende, interior analog euro clock, chrome line euro antenna, to the single centered fully functioning full-swipe mono wiper.

Custom Suspension: One-of-One Spec

The suspension of the car is 1 of 1, and we built everything piece by piece to this exact spec—it was not an out-of-the-box kit application.

The under-chassis of the car has been recoated and armored with custom skid plates made by us that sit at an abnormal angle closest to the oil pan so we do not sacrifice any space for going low. All subframes have been dropped, powder-coated metallic silver, and customized with camber and toe adjustability. Polyurethane bushings have been inserted almost everywhere from front to rear, even in the shift linkages. The differential was also customized, resprayed, reinforced, and resealed.

The exhaust on the car is one-off and built from the header back, made to sit as flush as possible to the car. New mounting points, angled bends were made to accommodate the low stance of the car and clear axles.

EVO61 LS Series Custom 3-Piece Wheels

Last but certainly not least are our LS series EVO61 forged 3-piece wheels. These are one-off wheels and were made fully custom in partnership with EVO61. The lips and faces are finished in triple chrome with black satin barrels and dressed with gold hardware. The center caps are machined and have been customized with prismatic illusion green to match the color scheme of the build, then were also triple chromed.

These were spec'd out to fit perfectly after months of trial and error. Absolutely zero rubbing after much modification to alignment and inner fender arches.

Built in My Image

This car was built with style top of mind, and I would call it a timeless classic OEM+ restomod stance build.

What makes my car unique aside from its deep roots in automotive heritage and its perfect classic timeless design and raw analog balanced driving has got to be its style. The BMW E30 is an iconic fixture in hip-hop, pop culture, and today we also see it rising in the fashion world. Aside from cars, these are all things that have deep roots and meaning to me. This car was built in my image and is a direct reflection of me, my style, and my persona.

I built this car to emulate what it would feel like to live and drive one in the '90s in the era where owning one was a symbol of credibility and having style and taste. Driving it is pure nostalgia, and I get compliments all the time from all sorts of people—from the new young generation to old-school grandparents. It speaks to generations of enthusiasts, and that's what's so cool and unique about it.

Plus when you got the top dropped bumping Tupac/Biggie/Nas, you can't help but feel real player driving it 'cause it's always giving off nothing but "Paid in Full" vibes. IYKYK.

Complete Build Specifications

Exterior

• Repainted original BMW OEM paint code 266 (Lagunengrün Metallic)
• Body is OEM+ with "IS" lip kit and side skirts
• 3-piece aluminum vented diffuser
• Full convertible frame powder-coated and restored with brand-new green canvas top
• Trunk shaved, 3rd brake light deleted, Mtech 1 paint-matched wing added
• Euro headlight grills from Poland with custom chrome line trim
• Euro black housing headlights with wired-in city light feature and LED Boslla bulbs
• Euro red tail lights with euro center heckleblende (real, not replica)
• Complete euro bumper trim conversion with smoked signal lenses
• Euro mono wiper blade true conversion (full windshield swipe)
• BMW front filler plate
• Vented lower valence engine ducting
• Complete under-chassis painted; trail arms, front and rear subframes customized in OEM silver with heavy metallic flake
• 4.10 LSD casing repainted; cover powder-coated custom black hammered finish
• Full custom under-armor skid plates designed and fabricated in-house

Interior

• OEM+ interior fully reupholstered in black leather and green Mtech rain with matching brake boot
• Nardi BMW woodline steering wheel mated to quick release from Poland
• Garagistic Supreme Short Shifter with reclaimed vintage Gucci leather shift boot
• Euro analog clock
• Vintage BMW accessories: cassette dispenser, BMW cell phone, luggage
• Pioneer head unit with Bluetooth
• All speakers/tweeters replaced with Kicker units
• 10" Planet Audio hideaway subwoofer
• USB charging port added into center console
• Rear bench with +2 +2 OEM headrests

Engine

• Full bolt-on M42 1.8L restomod
• Everything resealed and rebuilt/restored using OEM and high-quality aftermarket parts
• Updated fuel injectors
• Custom short-tube headers
• Full custom 2.5" exhaust from manifold back to Magnaflow single exit
• Custom short ram intake
• Coil-on-plug conversion
• Revshift polyurethane raised motor mounts
• Custom-designed and fabricated steel under-chassis skid plate

Drivetrain

• Getrag 240 5-speed transmission with Revshift polyurethane mounts
• Transmission linkage fully rebuilt and upgraded with Garagistic Supreme Short Shifter and DSSR
• Upgraded 4.10 LSD fully rebuilt and resealed with new rear axles

Suspension

• Front: 2" shortened strut housing for ultra-low adjustment, custom-valved Koni Yellow 30-5436 series strut inserts, Ground Control coilover sleeves with 5" 20k Swift springs, E30 M3 sway bar mounts welded onto strut housing
• Rear: Short custom-valved Koni Yellow 30-7436 series struts, Ground Control coilover sleeves with 4" 24k Swift springs
• PMC Motorsport camber plates (front)
• Customized rear subframe with welded-in Garagistic serrated channels for maximum camber and toe adjustments
• All bushings replaced with polyurethane (Garagistic or Revshift)

Brakes

• Stainless steel lines
• Brembo slotted rotors
• OEM calipers rebuilt, resealed, and painted flare orange

Wheels

• EVO61 LS series 3-piece forged custom one-off build
• Triple-chromed 15" faces double-stepped to 17"
• Triple-chrome lips and black satin finish inner barrels
• Dressed with gold hardware
• Custom center caps triple-chromed and sprayed in Prismatic Illusion Green
• 17x8.5 ET8 (front) / 17x9 ET15 (rear)
• Wrapped in Nitto Neogen 205/40R17 all around
• Rison titanium lug stud conversion kit and EvoSpec titanium lug nuts

Who Did the Work?

Most of the work on this car was done by myself, except for the following:

• Auto body work and paint: Jonathan & his pops at Americana Auto Body Artist in Newark, California
• Green Mtech Rain interior: Jonny and his pops at E30 Interior Styling in San Jose, California
• Wheels: Rodney and the team at EVO61 in Huntington Beach, California
• Machine work and fabrication: JonJay of Encinal Machine in Richmond, California
• Initial fender roll: Anthony aka the Rub Doctor in Hayward, California

Future Plans

As far as future plans for the car in 2026, we will probably pull the motor and at that point shave and tuck the engine bay. We will also likely fit the Jack Spania ITB kit and pair it with some standalone management. It is still up in the air if we tear down the engine and rebuild from the block up, but since it's all out, let's be real—chances are high.

Since the intake manifold will be removed and more clearance will be made running ITBs, it also means we have more room to get just a tad bit lower. =]

Shout Outs

• Wife & Co-founder: @no.stall.gic
• Sponsors: @autodesignpro, @evo61wheels
• Auto body specialist: @autobodyartist
• Interior: @e30_interior.styling

Companies & shops that have supported the build: @garagistic, @boslla, @pelicanparts, @fcpeuro, @catuned, @groundcontrolsystems, @swiftsprings, @pmcmotorsports, @risontitaniumparts, @evospecperformance, @bavarianspeed, @culversmf, @bimmerworld, @iemotorsports

Wheel & tire support: @sprintmotorsports, @castellontires_, @bayareawheelplug, @dipsht

Our rare parts dealer in Poland: @e30europarts

Our good homies & support: @encinalmachine, @giftedlifestyles, @giftedxceo, @martineztransport510llc

Content creator fam: @waynekaungmyat, @morii.us, @vaugh_12, @cave_illustrations

Dream Car

Porsche 993 Turbo Cabriolet, GT2, or Turbo S

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