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The E46 330ci Track Car Build Thread

32K views 381 replies 65 participants last post by  Mr. Bigglesworth 
#1 ·
So, This post made my @westopher had me thinking. Am I doing the right thing?

I was bequeefed (sic) this car from my departed brother, Kenny (also known as Chip) in 2012. At the time it wasn't my first choice of car, but it was a clean example that was reasonably well cared for. That was until he got a little too sick to be able to drive. Then it just sat. For a while. I moved to NYC, and then ended up moving around every year. It became less than sensible to street park an aging BMW with no tools, nowhere to work on it, and needing to switch parking spots twice a week. Then it sat some more.

I've been through a lot with this car. It's scared me when it randomly shut off on the Deegan in the Bronx, it's made me smile with how smooth the engine effortlessly builds revs. I've thought about selling it a million times, thought about its potential, scooted it up to Connecticut to store for a year, accidentally backed into it, worked on it, broken things on it, moved myself to and from several apartments with it, and its gotten me to and from job interviews, work, weddings, etc.

Now living in Baltimore, it's the kind of car that gets respectful nods from the squeegee kids sitting out on Pratt street, but also doesn't look out of place rolling through fancy parts of DC and Annapolis. Without turning this into a sappy love story, I f**kin love this car. It's so good. IMO it's the sweet spot between refined analog machine and enough tech to make it comfortable and feel modern. Even if it's an automatic...it's just such a good thing.

But all good things must come to an end, right? I love the car, this is obvious, but I'm an enthusiast. Like you, I need more.

For a few years now I've just thought to myself "hey...LS swap the thing and be done with it" which all sounds good and is easy to say. But after giving it a lot of thought and knowing that I now have a reliable and fair specialized BMW mechanic less than a mile away...I'm wondering if maybe I should stick with the M54 motor.

This means I would be able to do more with the money, and most of it would need to be done anyway (strip the chassis and address any and all corrosion, POR-15 the **** out of everything, recoat, etc.) Basically without even touching the drivetrain, interior, or exterior I'd be tackling pretty much everything in this video:




Before you ask "what do you want the car to do?" I want it to go fast and I wanna have fun. It'll be a street legal car that I take to the track that retains most if not all factory creature comforts. I want it to be balanced but also make people laugh and maybe scared a little bit. I want the car to last forever.

Spec E46 suspension kits are $5k. Manual transmissions are abounds. I keep thinking about how nice it would be to have a built NA straight 6 that IMO sounds better than the S54, and kinda keeps the spirit of the car alive. But then I get swayed by thinking about doing huge burnouts and having something absurd to play around with.

What say you TCL? Big honkin Chebby V8? Or buttery smooth straight 6 with cams, full exhaust, head work etc.? Let's argue.

Car Wheel Vehicle Tire Grille



TL;DR - LS Swap or no?
 
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#289 ·
Well damn. It’s been a while and A LOT has changed. The quick rundown of the last 5 months (holy ****):

Got married September 17th.
Started new job September 19th.
Worked a week then spent my front-loaded PTO on my honeymoon in Costa Rica (absolutely amazing time)
Brought the car in for some suspension and steering work and was convinced by mechanic to “just f**kin manual swap it now” and…I caved. So for the first time in nearly 13 years, Im a 3 pedal man again.

Off the top of my head, the list of work done to the car is as follows:

New front end including control arms, bushings, inner and outer tie rods, endlinks, new steering rack, lines, pump, reservoir, and coupler (more on the steering stuff below). New oil pan gasket, oil change, new fuel filter and lines, all new vacuum lines, new starter, new battery, manual swap with coding and a new clutch and a single mass flywheel conversion, new pedals, stainless steel clutch line, CCV delete with turner catch can, new plugs, new precat O2 sensors, new (and GAS upgraded) DISA valve, intake manifold gasket, new serpentine belt, new intake boots, a return to the stock intake (but new filter) and because my mechanic found this:

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Tread Vehicle


Four new Michelin PS4S tires, mounted and balanced.

So…the good news:

The car benefitted from a lot of maintenance that needed to be done for a while. I’m happy about that, and after some finagling of the catch can lines/CCV delete, is running great. The manual (though not as crisp as I’d like) has done what people said it would and transformed the car from an OK thing to a lively and fun experience.

The bad news is:

I collected many of the parts used for this work secondhand, and while I was making less money and saving very aggressively to pay for the wedding.

Because of that, I’m pretty sure the steering rack I had put in is garbage. The first PS pump (a reman) was HOWLING and showing glittery fluid after less than 50 miles. No bueno. I snagged another 712 rack from the junkyard, and just bought an entire new set of lines and reservoir on FB marketplace in anticipation of needing to replace everything again. I’m going to order a rebuilt 712 rack from rackdoctor.com and hopefully that’ll fix the glittery fluid, and noisy pump. I had the first pump warrantied, but this new one is also making noise now too. Annoying for sure, but hey, cars are pain.

The shifter linkage (from a junkyard car) is sloppy and terrible. I have an entire Octane SSK on order from Rogue Engineering that’ll likely help the feel of changing gears a lot.

The transmission I had put in is leaking fluid (not much) and also needs the detents fixed. I plan on having my second ZF worked on (detent fix, input and output seals replaced) while it’s out of the car, and once that’s done and the shifter comes in, throw all that new stuff in the car at once, and then rinse and repeat the fixes for the one that’s in the car now.

So, although I had the steering stuff and transmission work done, there are still some issues. I anticipated this because as I said, secondhand parts, it’s an old car, blah blah blah.

In March I have tentative plans to lease a Corolla hatch for daily duties and giving this old girl a break for a while. My mechanic just doubled his square footage and said he’d be more than willing to have my car stored there and worked on at a more relaxed pace and during times where it’s not my only transportation.

So, while we’ve made massive progress the project is only getting started. Some pics of the process below, and my apologies for all but vanishing over the last few months. The wedding, the job, and the holidays took over for a while.

I’ll update more as more happens, but for now I hope everyone reading is having a good start to their new year and closed out last year with health and wealth with their loved ones.


More to come when it comes!
Car Automotive design Motor vehicle Vehicle Gear shift


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Foil Aluminium foil Plastic wrap Plastic Motor vehicle


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#353 ·
I had this news in my back pocket for a while because it almost didn’t feel real, but…My wife and I close on our first house on Monday. Headlines are below:

- House is located in (get ready) Hoes Heights Baltimore. Very small very idyllic little community sandwiched between historic Roland Park and Hampden (think the Brooklyn of Baltimore)

- 2 beds/2.5 bath, half finished basement

- Small gravel parking pad out front, perfect for Mazda

- A MotherF**KING GARAGE out back!! That’s right. I managed to get a house with room for TWO cars. Such victory.

While this isn’t directly related to the car build, it does have many long-lasting effects on the amount of stuff I’ll be able to do. No more waiting for nice days to do work, no more knowing that if I need the wheels off for an extended period of time I was gonna eventually have someone ask me to move the car or have to bring it to the shop. No more lugging tools 1/4mi away. No more walking back home if I forgot something.

I’m so excited to start freshening up the space a bit. I already have a gravel delivery scheduled for a few days after closing, and when I get the BMW back, directly into its new home it goes. The rest of the house is cool too, I guess. But GARAGE! CARHOLE!


I’m currently accepting any and all ideas for storage, sprucing, lighting, etc. It’s not big by any means, but it’s mine.

Inside garage
Building Wood Floor Brickwork Flooring


Front of house.
Plant Building Window Wood House


View from the “driveway”. I’ll eventually do something nicer for the garage door itself, but I’m gonna take it slow.
Plant Cloud Sky Natural landscape Tree


This is the view from out the back of the house. Excited to get some lights up, some sunshades up, a little fire pit, and power wash the fence and garage.
Sky Wood Tree Grass Stone wall


Garage dimensions. As I said, not big. I’m pretty sure any and all storage solutions will have to be on the walls/up high/hung from the rafters

Grey Black-and-white Font Pattern Tints and shades
 
#370 ·
I've been trying to post an update for a week, but something always goes wrong when I'm about to submit. Without any photos to back it up, I offer this:

Wow.

I finally have something resembling the car I've wanted for years. I picked it up last Friday and drove home. It felt good, but I was focused on some other things. I got home and tried to fit it into the garage and...it fits. AND I can walk around it. Huge success.

I spent some time straightening things up, locked the garage and lasted maybe 2 hours doing other things before I decided I needed to wash the car. I wash it with my new foam cannon and pressure washer. She looks great.

I find an excuse to drive it. I last about a mile before I realize the secondhand shift knob I have is garbage. At a red light I swap in the weighted ZHP knob my wife got me for Christmas. With no exaggeration - this was an instantly different experience. Coupled with the Rogue Octane shifter and updated detents, this car shifts SO beautifully and with such confidence now.

Then the sounds. Woooooo baby this car sounds so good now. The exhaust install troubles were worth it. With the headers, high flow cats and stock resonator and muffler combined, it's basically only about 20% more throaty than stock. Not louder, which I'm very happy about. Just...beefier and better. No drone on the highway, just music.

The driving experience is so different than it was 5 or even 3 years ago. This was what I was looking for - a set of transformational mods that make the car objectively more engaging.

Maybe it's because I've driven so much other stuff, but I am certain that the poly subframe bushings have contributed directly to the massive improvement in the 'tightness' of the rear end. It loads up and settles as it should, but the approachability and predictability are at an all-time high.

I'll post pics when I can - but man am I happy. I had a friend show me the back road way from one office to another yesterday and I REALLY pushed the car for the first time ever.

And as it turns out - Yesterday would've been my brother's 46th birthday. I felt him with me the entire time.

I really love this car.
 
#10 ·
x2. I drove an E46 330ci about 15 years ago and remember thinking how perfectly balanced the car was. Either keep it as is, or sell it for a muscle car. The non-M E46 has been getting lots of love lately on auctions, especially if it's in good shape like this one seems to be.
 
#141 ·
Thanks guys! And @Mr. Bigglesworth I'll keep an eye out for the electric fan. I may have found one on Marketplace already, but I may also just get something from FCP Euro

Spent a couple hours cleaning up everything last night, just so I don't get coated in grime every time I move it.

Wood Automotive wheel system Engineering Auto part Machine



And in a rare moment of organization and coordination, I created a deck for this car with links to threads, DIYs, photos I felt were relevant, a parts list for each system, and basically my ideas and wishes/wants.
 
#210 ·
Freakin finally. Got this full set for $120, baked, split and resealed them. Ordered a K+DCAN cable, got myself INPA and NCSExpert, and went at it today.

Gaze upon that which lies behind tail lights without seals on them:

Automotive parking light Automotive side-view mirror Tire Automotive tire Automotive lighting


Of course I cleaned all that crap out, and tackled the drip channels around the trunk seals, battery trays, etc.

Installed and coded the new LCM, and....that was it. Apparently the one I got had new enough software and/or was already coded for LEDs so I only had to do about 50% of the nitty gritty work.

And...

Hazards and brake lights
Tire Car Automotive tail & brake light Wheel Vehicle


Off
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Parking/Headlights on, no hazards or brakes.
Automotive parking light Tire Car Vehicle registration plate Vehicle



Lights on/blinker blinkin

Automotive parking light Automotive tail & brake light Vehicle Land vehicle Car


Yes. The car is filthy. I park in a covered garage that butts up against a highway so the poor girl gets a lot of soot all over, no matter what.

Anybody wanna respray my rear bumper for cheap!?? :(
 
#334 ·
Cap came in, did some VHT black crinkle on this bad boy. This is gonna really blang out the engine bay nicely.

View attachment 301141
Damn. That looks good.

Also, though...it's been a minute since I've peaked under the hood of an E46, but isn't this normally covered by the "BMW" cover? Will you not be running the cover?

...further stream of thought: I suppose that would make sense on a more track focused car.
 
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#308 ·
Hey, it’s me. I’ve got good news, I’ve got bad news, I’ve got other news.

The good news is as follows:

I found a new shop. It’s about a half hour away and owned by a man affectionately known as TommyDanger. This guy is the one. He has over 10 years of experience racing BMWs, converting BMWs into track cars, is an instructor with PCA and the Capitol Chapter of the BMWCCA. He is, as far as I can tell (and like the old timers say) the real article.

He laughed every time I asked him about fixes on my car. The kind of laugh that was like “yeah man Ive done that in my sleep.”

He knows a local place that can rebuild my steering rack, he can do my subframe, he can do the ZF detent repair, and he can help me make an actionable plan for converting this thing into a track car. So, about a month and a half ago I drove to his shop and found this:



Then I walked inside and found this. This is relevant because very sadly, I had to put down my dog of 8 years about a week before I dropped the car off. Long story short, I miss the **** out of that pup, and Mug (pictured below) helped me feel a little better:




The car goes up on the rack to diagnose massive slop in the shifter, a PS leak, a transmission leak, and misfire. Now for the bad news:

After 5 mins, we find this:




Shifter carrier bushing was installed backwards, and apparently smashed in with a hammer. That little guy is supposed to be round and having been put in backwards meant the little retaining indents were not lining up with the clip in the chassis. So, the entire rear section of the shifter was literally just flopping around between the chassis and driveshaft. At times, it would begin effectively milling the driveshaft from
above.

Other fun discoveries include the PS suction line coming from the pump held on by a $.30 hose clamp, and the PCV valve installed with the catch can was installed backwards, creating a massive amount of vacuum in the crankcase.

What fun! All of this evidence and lack of motivation to right these wrongs seems to point to a new guy at the last shop being given my car as his first project. There are more than a few details that were missed that is pretty annoying to have paid nearly $5k for. Plenty of stuff was done right, but a lot was just not done, or done carelessly. Of course, I won’t be returning to the previous shop.

The car was with them for quite a while as they worked on other stuff, attended races on the weekends, etc. When I got it back, the shifter bushing was installed correctly, the PS line was attached properly, they coded the cluster and ECU to manual finally…and…didn’t charge me a dime. The first shifts in that car with the shifter fixed were absolutely sublime. I was relieved but knew there’s lots more to do. I spoke to the shop owner’s wife briefly and found out she’s running all of their social media and wants to bolster their online presence a bit. Their trailer is blank. Their building doesn’t have any signage, their cars only have the M stripes on them. I told her that I’d be more than happy to help them with their branding, signage, liveries, YouTube thumbnails, stickers, etc. All in all, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

I returned home and immediately got wind of the “Stop Driving” order from BMW regarding the drivers side airbag. Fun. I scheduled an appointment at a nearby dealer and bring the car in the next weekend. Fingers crossed on a loaner and thanks to a real chum of a service guy, I got handed the keys to this:



Why yes. I will take this brand new 530i out for a day. Thank you.


In other news, I purchased this in anticipation of a sunroof delete:



A few steps forward, a few steps back. Such is life with a project car.

If some of the pics don’t load it’s because my service is a little spotty, so I’ll try to remedy that a little later. I’ll be dropping the car off at the shop on Friday and talking to Tommy and his wife about a plan for the branding and graphics they need done, and then in a month or so I should have all the little leaks and issues taken care of.
 

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#337 ·
Update:

Transmission detents and seals are done. I was told they were all FUBAR, so it’s a good thing I bit the bullet and had them done. The rest of the car is currently on the lift and, while it may be a while before I get it back, at least it’s inside and in good company.

Automotive tire Black Automotive design Gas Auto part



Car Tire Vehicle Wheel Motor vehicle


In the parts department, BIG news. HUGE.

After some delicate coordination and laying out what I think was a song, I am now the owner of the extremely rare OEM aero kit. This included a very unique front bumper, side skirts, and rear bumper. The wing wasn’t included but I’ve come to find out just the wing weighs 5lbs, which is a lot.

I personally love this kit, and have only ever seen it on maybe 4 or 5 cars online. Never in person, never in Orient Blue. In my opinion it’s super period correct and unique. A LOT of non-M cars get the M3 replica bumper, so that’s overdone, leaving the only other options the existing pre-LCI fascia (which I’ve never liked and thought is quite busy) or Mtech1 or Mtech2. None of which I’m really into.

Enter the Aero kit. This was a several thousand dollar OEM option when new, and would have been dealer-installed. I think the front bumper perfectly bridges the gap between the E36 M bumper and the E46 styling, retaining the fog lights and adding some clever ductwork. The side skirts also add some much needed dimension, and the rear bumper is…very early 00’s, but it’s grown on me a bit. Of course no track car really needs a body kit, but I’ve specifically avoided any major aesthetic upgrades or changes to this car because so many aftermarket options are awful looking. This being OEM means the styling is there, the quality is there, and as anyone knows the most important thing with body kits is fitment, so the fact that it not only comes with everything I need, it will not frustrate or confound the shop I choose to have install it.

brochure pics:
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Wheel Automotive parking light Tire Car Vehicle

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A real life shot:
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My kit (minus mirrors)

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I honestly cannot wait to get this thing on and painted. It may be a while, but I’m learning to be very patient.
 
#360 ·
Update:

Transmission detents and seals are done. I was told they were all FUBAR, so it’s a good thing I bit the bullet and had them done. The rest of the car is currently on the lift and, while it may be a while before I get it back, at least it’s inside and in good company.


View attachment 306012
That is a name I have not seen in some time! Have not talked to Fraser in a few years, looks like a nicely sorted E36 he has there.
 
#359 ·
Lots of stuff has been happening in the past couple months and I honestly don’t even know where to start.

I guess it was a few months ago that I went to the shop to check things out and the entire rear end of the car was out and I was like “uhh…guys?”

This is where my man Tommy shines. Instead of doing what the last mechanic did (which was look at parts I asked to have installed and then not install them), Tommy puts ALL the parts on cars. The car was on the lift, the exhaust, driveshaft, and transmission was out, so why not reinforce the subframe and throw poly bushings in?

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I looked at the filthy subframe and said “please don’t do all this nice work and then put a gross part back in”


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I showed up at 8am on a Friday ready to grind away as much corrosion as possible and hit the whole thing with rust arresting paint. (Photos are a little out of order but you can see it was much nicer after a day of elbow grease).

From there, I held my breath and waited and waited. Then Black Friday came. I couldn’t resist the siren song of a deal on shiny metal.

Wood Wood stain Sleeve Hardwood Bicycle part


Schmiedmann catless headers. And while they look nice, stay tuned for the absolute ****show that was installing them.

Another deal hit my inbox that I couldn’t ignore:

Hard Motorsports ABS door panels. They clock in at about 2.5lbs per side, stock door panels are 13+lbs. Can I be a Porsche guy now? I paid more to have less 😂




From there, more waiting. And waiting.

Then I was tagged in this video:



I’m not sure what kinda weird **** those Dutch are into, but they didn’t use a jig while assembling this exhaust.

First, the headers were an absolute bitch to install. Then, once they were on, we noticed the flanges are practically pointed down compared to a nice angle towards the back of the car.

Motor vehicle Automotive tire Sleeve Tread Automotive design


The time came to decide, order a center section from the same place, or do custom work? Tommy said the easiest thing is order the center section and then we’ll figure the rest out.

Well, that didn’t go well either. The center section hit the trans brace, it didn’t mate up to the header flanges properly, AND the step downs towards the back were located exactly where the hangers are welded onto the stock system, so that wouldn’t have worked either. Eventually they needed to be cut, sectioned, and re-welded. Basically as much work as a custom setup, but more money because shiny metal.

I would be really angry and annoyed, if I wasn’t so excited:

Automotive tire Architecture Tints and shades Engineering City


And after about 8 months, I should have the car back in the next couple weeks. I have no idea how it’ll feel, sound, or drive, but I’m really looking forward to it.
 

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#169 ·
Well. The son of a bitch works.

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If I may recommend JB Welds 2 part epoxy in Tan. It dries as hard and as flexible as any glue I've ever seen. So...while it functions very well and from 3' away looks great, there are gaps:

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Can't have that. Water will get trapped in there, start degrading the adhesives and I'll be back where I started.

Onto JB Welds CLEAR 2-part epoxy. I'll go ahead and recommend that too.

Still need to sand and paint, but the gap is (mostly) filled:
Hood Bumper Automotive exterior Tints and shades Office supplies


I basically formed a mold with cardboard and packaging tape and glooped the epoxy in hoping my 'form' would hold. It did for the most part and is pretty much as hard as the plastic it's bonded to.

Next up? I got an email early in the morning about another E46 in the pick & pull, this time a 2004 convertible with updated LED tails.

I grabbed them but quickly realized these were suffering the same fate most of updated tails were: busted seals. I don't think it's visible in the pic but there was already moisture in them (not much though)
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I was making food anyway...

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Success. Sanded them down to remove the remaining (and petrified) adhesive BMW used to seal them.

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I think I'll stick with the JB weld clear stuff. The only problem is that it sets VERY quickly so I need to maybe build a small jig to hold everything in place, apply the adhesive to the lens and mate the pieces and clamp them all in one graceful motion.

With a $40 adapter and new seals from FCP Euro and some coding from my mechanic to make them work, these will be going on my car in the next month or so. I also may have something very exciting to share tomorrow.
 
#374 ·
A cleaned up fit. Finally tossed the front plate.

Vehicle Automotive lighting Car Automotive tire Hood


Weighted ZHP knob.

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Filthy fit:

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I also did a poser thing and wrapped the door panels in CF vinyl. My inner bully continues to roll his eyes at this, but they do recommend covering them with a protective layer of something, so I figured…this could look cool?

Hood Automotive lighting Grille Motor vehicle Automotive tire

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There are some small bubbles and wrinkles but I learned a good amount from my first time doing it.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Turner Motorsport built a pretty darn nice 330 ZHP project car some years back, here's the writeup on it. Cams, header, different final drive ratio, H&Rs, etc. Came out pretty sharp. If it were me, this is what I'd do.





 
#224 ·
Gray to black conversion takes another small step:

Bicycle handlebar Wood Bicycle part Tool Carbon


I quickly realized after putting these side by side that the brushed aluminum trim was never meant to go with dove gray. It looked 'meh' before but now it looks great.

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Car Vehicle Hood Window Car seat cover



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I then quickly realized that man...that gray carpet has got to go too. I may keep the gray under dash/console/pillars and headliner though. I think that'll strike a nice two-tone balance. The seats, doors, top of dash and carpet will be black, and the pillars, headliner, bottom of the dash and the center console will all be gray. IMO this is unique, tasteful, and helps me focus on driving but not feel like I'm in a cave.

In other news - I went to the junkyard because I thought I could snag an M56 valve cover but as soon as I got to removing it, it was cracked.

I checked the trunk of that same car and...

Pneumatic tool Tire Automotive tire Handheld power drill Tool


$55 out the door. It was on my list anyway.
 
#250 ·
My luck kinda ran out yesterday. A cross-threaded bolt and my airbag light is still on for some reason. Nothing too major, and both fixable but kind of annoying.

I will take the fact that the car is running, idling, and staying perfectly cool on these very hot and humid days as a big old victory. I think the coolant that was in the car was kinda done. New stuff has me idling exactly in the middle.

These two little bastard items:
Rectangle Grey Road surface Font Silver


Led to a real escalation of things:
Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Land vehicle


Enough corrosion and time meant not only the bolts for the accumulator bracket were frozen, but the accumulator was frozen to the bracket itself. It took about 2 hours to get the headlight off, realize I wasn't getting these bolts unstuck while it was in the engine bay, removing the old and replacing with new. Real pain in the ass.

While I soaked all that crap in brake cleaner I ran back to the apartment to address my still gray (DUH, dude) interior kick/trim panels. I'm standing there thinking "uh yeah this is gonna look weird" so I decided to sand, paint, sand, paint, and clear coat the gray kick panels. This is easily like $300 of stuff new, and one of the issues I have with this car and it's lack of abuse is, replacing stuff from similarly aged cars doesn't always mean the parts are in better shape. If you've ever seen black E46 sill covers you know they're usually scratched to ****.

Window Hood Wood Automotive exterior Fixture



Sleeve Baby & toddler clothing Active shorts Grey Wood


And....
Car Vehicle Window Motor vehicle Steering wheel


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Pretty much the only thing I haven't put back in are headrests and the a-pillar covers. I drove around the (very bumpy) block and...no rattles! I'm kind of amazed. I'm not terribly mad at the gray center console either. If I can find a black console/armrest for cheap, I'll pick one up but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

The last remaining issues are:

  1. That cross threaded bolt. Can likely be tapped.
  2. Airbag light. Pretty sure that can be coded out.
  3. The accelerator pedal needs to be konked the last 1/8" onto its adapter plate. It's not loose, but it's not 100% clicked into 'never-getting-this-off-without-breaking-it-ville'
  4. A/C system needs to be vacuumed/charged and refilled.
 
#251 ·
My luck kinda ran out yesterday. A cross-threaded bolt and my airbag light is still on for some reason. Nothing too major, and both fixable but kind of annoying.

I will take the fact that the car is running, idling, and staying perfectly cool on these very hot and humid days as a big old victory. I think the coolant that was in the car was kinda done. New stuff has me idling exactly in the middle.

These two little bastard items:
View attachment 198162

Led to a real escalation of things:
View attachment 198163

Enough corrosion and time meant not only the bolts for the accumulator bracket were frozen, but the accumulator was frozen to the bracket itself. It took about 2 hours to get the headlight off, realize I wasn't getting these bolts unstuck while it was in the engine bay, removing the old and replacing with new. Real pain in the ass.

While I soaked all that crap in brake cleaner I ran back to the apartment to address my still gray (DUH, dude) interior kick/trim panels. I'm standing there thinking "uh yeah this is gonna look weird" so I decided to sand, paint, sand, paint, and clear coat the gray kick panels. This is easily like $300 of stuff new, and one of the issues I have with this car and it's lack of abuse is, replacing stuff from similarly aged cars doesn't always mean the parts are in better shape. If you've ever seen black E46 sill covers you know they're usually scratched to ****.

View attachment 198164


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And.... View attachment 198166

View attachment 198167

Pretty much the only thing I haven't put back in are headrests and the a-pillar covers. I drove around the (very bumpy) block and...no rattles! I'm kind of amazed. I'm not terribly mad at the gray center console either. If I can find a black console/armrest for cheap, I'll pick one up but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

The last remaining issues are:

  1. That cross threaded bolt. Can likely be tapped.
  2. Airbag light. Pretty sure that can be coded out.
  3. The accelerator pedal needs to be konked the last 1/8" onto its adapter plate. It's not loose, but it's not 100% clicked into 'never-getting-this-off-without-breaking-it-ville'
  4. A/C system needs to be vacuumed/charged and refilled.
Always something unnecessarily difficult when dealing with a 20 year old car.

The kick sills look great, definitely the right move and I hear you on stuff from other E46 interiors likely looking like crap.

The center console doesn't look half bad since you put in that silver trim. Kinda flows. I'd just replace or recover/dye the arm rest itself in black.

Air bag light...do you know the cause? I had this on my E46, and I think the fix was actually mundane but expensive. ...I'll see if I still have my invoices but I think I trashed them in my last move.
 
#271 ·
Update on the A/C situation below the stuff below this (it relates):

After pricing out some new center consoles and armrests, I decided to refinish my center console myself. These pieces are molded ABS plastic with an impossibly thin rubberized soft-touch coating on them. As mentioned previously the weird thing with this car is the mileage and the wear & tear don't add up.

So again, that means anything I buy used or from a junkyard, I run the risk of paying for something in the desired color, but in worse shape than what I already own. So of course what do I do? I take sandpaper to my perfectly good (but dove gray) center console.

I wanted a finish that would hold up better than just spray paint and a clearcoat. I did some research and after looking at some photos of a finished product I decided this stuff was perfect:





It came out pretty damn good:

Wood Automotive tire Rectangle Hardwood Gas


It has maybe 20% more tooth/texture to it than the textured dash, which I think once it sees some use and some oils/dirt from my hands it'll knock down and age fairly well. The best part is, it's virtually impossible to scrape off. I tested some parts with my fingernail and it will not come off.


So there I am, console installed and interior looking good and I think "I have to figure out why the A/C isn't working." I spoke to some folks who have lots of experience and they told me they've started the car with the A/C on, and there's no pressure spike, so the chances the car started and blew a hole in the evaporator core are slim.

That leaves the expansion valve. I replaced this with the core out of the car, and as I was doing that I thought "what a weird and complex connection"

And I was right. I pulled the cabin air filter housing and heater bulkhead off, shined a light on the expansion valve and sure enough, a puddle of stinky fluid underneath it. I found the issue:

Hood Grille Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design



Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Hood Rim


You can see the fluid in the pic above, just up and to the left of the Torx screw. This is 100% the reason I'm getting a stink and hot air. THIS is the culprit. THIS does not require pulling the dash again. THIS is the best bad news I could hope for.

So there's a 50% chance I screwed up the installation, a 50% chance it was a bad valve, and a 25-30% chance something very weird happened and I'm not good at statistics.

I'll be dropping the car off at my dude's shop to have him investigate/replace this thing. I already have a spare on hand. I'm going to try to have the A/C shop refill it again for free, since...they really should've been able to spot this while testing...right?

Either way, the console is in and looks good. Now to find a black armrest in good shape:
Car Plant Vehicle Speedometer Motor vehicle


Once I get this all squared away, I'm going to do a major detail too.
 
#272 ·
Not gonna lie I was scared when I saw that can and even the center console by itself. But in the car?

Forehead Hair Nose Cheek Chin


I wonder if you might do the other hard plastics in it. Like the steering column cover, wheel trim, seat trim, stuff like that. It's got a cool and unique look about it and will obviously hold up really well.

On the armrest, as you say you may spend a lot of time and money just to get something else worn. Why not double down and take it to a leather pro and see if they can recondition/paint it? That's why it's grey now after all, BMW painted the hide.
 
#274 ·
Not gonna lie I was scared when I saw that can and even the center console by itself. But in the car?

View attachment 200445

I wonder if you might do the other hard plastics in it. Like the steering column cover, wheel trim, seat trim, stuff like that. It's got a cool and unique look about it and will obviously hold up really well.
Yeah there were times where I looked at it and thought...is this gonna be awful? But honestly I kinda dig the texture. That photo is a bit washed out and makes it look grayish. I'm going to keep this in my back pocket for surfaces in the future. There's a good chance that my sills and kick panels would benefit from it too, and it would make things consistent looking.

On the armrest, as you say you may spend a lot of time and money just to get something else worn. Why not double down and take it to a leather pro and see if they can recondition/paint it? That's why it's grey now after all, BMW painted the hide.
Yep, I might go that route too. It probably won't cost too much. It's a low priority but I'm keeping options open. I could remove the fabric and source new stuff, do as you say and go to a shop to have it reconditioned, and there are a definitely some later model part outs I'm seeing with nice examples.
 
#312 ·
Moving the discussion over here and paging @mrothwell

In response to your reply:

Yes, this car was my brother’s but “pride and joy” is a bit of a stretch. If he were still alive, he’d probably have sold it long ago and upgraded to something else.

He gave me the car because he couldn’t drive anymore and it was sitting outside under pine trees and bird nests. He knew that I would take care of it and I did just that from November of 2012 until now.

I spent thousands upon thousands trying to keep it clean, maintained, and upgraded from time to time. Up until February of this year it was my only car for many years. Now that it’s my second car (and I will eventually be taking over a GX460 from a family member) I am ready to upgrade and fortify the drivetrain and suspension in preparation for track duty.

There are several problems with buying a ratty E46 for $1000 and turning that into a track car. Not the least of which is space. Then there’s the subframe reinforcements, steering and suspension components, addressing any existing rust, deleting the sunroof, etc.

The multiple thousands of dollars spent on a dedicated track car would leave this car to wither. And if I buy a ratty car to track, I would want this thing to be nice and comfortable and modern which would also require additional investments like ICE/speakers, continued maintenance, etc.

Anyway, I washed it the other day.

 
#313 ·
Moving the discussion over here and paging @mrothwell

In response to your reply:

Yes, this car was my brother’s but “pride and joy” is a bit of a stretch. If he were still alive, he’d probably have sold it long ago and upgraded to something else.

He gave me the car because he couldn’t drive anymore and it was sitting outside under pine trees and bird nests. He knew that I would take care of it and I did just that from November of 2012 until now.

I spent thousands upon thousands trying to keep it clean, maintained, and upgraded from time to time. Up until February of this year it was my only car for many years. Now that it’s my second car (and I will eventually be taking over a GX460 from a family member) I am ready to upgrade and fortify the drivetrain and suspension in preparation for track duty.

There are several problems with buying a ratty E46 for $1000 and turning that into a track car. Not the least of which is space. Then there’s the subframe reinforcements, steering and suspension components, addressing any existing rust, deleting the sunroof, etc.

The multiple thousands of dollars spent on a dedicated track car would leave this car to wither. And if I buy a ratty car to track, I would want this thing to be nice and comfortable and modern which would also require additional investments like ICE/speakers, continued maintenance, etc.

Anyway, I washed it the other day.
View attachment 293347
View attachment 293348
Fair enough.

Can I make one more suggestion before you tear the car apart though? Maybe just drive it on the track a few times in a HPDE as it is. Don’t go 11/tents and pull a @CTK, but get a feel for what the car feels like before you go bananas “building” something irreversible. It would suck to spend thousands of dollars potentially ruining (Im mostly talking about a cage) a sentimental car just to figure out you’re not really into it.
 
#329 ·
A few updates to offer for those of you who don’t venture into Off Topic:

Headliner looks 90% good and 10% “Ahh F this I give up.” Since the majority of it probably won’t be visible while I’m in the car, I may just install it as is. It’s better than a saggy gray one with a sunroof that I don’t/won’t use.

Automotive tire Automotive design Automotive exterior Hood Bumper


Blue Gas Wood Electric blue Flooring


Road surface Grey Asphalt Wood Water


Automotive tire Hood Bumper Asphalt Automotive exterior


Sleeve Dress Grey Shorts Pattern


I managed to snag an increasingly rare M56 valve cover off a SULEV car. Why rare? BMW built these for 3 years starting in 2003 and only sold them in California, New York, and Massachusetts and Vermont. They are not easy to come by in the junkyard but I lucked out.

Font Wood Gas Musical instrument accessory Rectangle


These are desirable because after 20 years, the plastic valve covers warp, but these are aluminum. In addition to that, the dreaded CCV system that’s buried under the intake manifold on the M54 is all contained in the actual valve cover itself on the M56. But as is the case with many things, it’s not that easy.

The M56 uses push-in style coils while my car uses bolt-in style. The most common way to make this harness play nice with my car is to repin one connector, splice a second connector, and in order to circumvent an ignition code, wire in a resistor.

Respectfully:
Forehead Nose Smile Mouth Human


I did some digging and found out, there was a 9 month build period between 9/2002 and 6/2003 where BMW used push-in style coils at one end, but the old style connector.


Clack clack clack goes the keyboard, and I found one of those harnesses for sale. This means no splicing, no repinning, no soldering or wiring.
Wood Automotive tire Jewellery Auto part Tree

Bicycle handlebar Electrical wiring Cable Gas Data transfer cable


More digging unearthed that if I tried to take the black plastic CCV cap off, it would absolutely positively crack. BMW doesn’t sell the cap itself, so I’d be screwed.

More clackity clackity clackity and a kind hearted E46 fanatic will be sending me this machined billet replacement:
Hand Automotive tire Automotive lighting Hood Motor vehicle


Everything should be here in a couple weeks. By that time it should be cleaned up. Car is still at the shop so I’m amassing parts for DIY stuff when I get it back.

Stay tuned for more updates.
 
#331 ·
More digging unearthed that if I tried to take the black plastic CCV cap off, it would absolutely positively crack. BMW doesn’t sell the cap itself, so I’d be screwed.

More clackity clackity clackity and a kind hearted E46 fanatic will be sending me this machined billet replacement:
View attachment 297712
Great work!

Please tell me more about this CCV cap..... also, work for M3s? Thanks!
 
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