New member from Devon, England.

[Dan86]

Hi.
My name is Dan.

I have been looking around this forum more and more lately as it seems to be a really good source for info and guides not only for the zhp but the e46 in general.

My car;

I bought my e46 about a year ago. It is a 2001 325ci sport manual in Titansilber with black leather.
It has covered 205,000 miles and was a one owner car until September 2012. The car was in very good condition and was all original.
Original is good in one respect, but that also means everything needs doing!
I like my cars to be in tip top condition so I started the maintenance straight away with a full service by myself.

So far I have renewed the following;

-Meyle HD sport lower control arms
-Meyle HD lower control arm bushings
-Lemforder front anti roll bar drop links
-BMW rear trailing arm bushings
-Brembo discs
-Pagid brake pads
-Michelin pilot sport 3 tyres
-Steering Guibo
-Quicker ratio steering rack from E46 compact sport.

I have just finished swapping the engine for a used 87,000 mile one due to excessive oil consumption (no surprises) but whilst I was at it I binned the 5 speed in favor of a GS6-37BZ 6 speed which I got from a 2004 E60 520i. A 330 clutch, flywheel, driveshaft and input flange were used to make it work. I'm running a 3.15 diff which is the original 325 sport manual diff.

Overall I'm really happy with the car now and can concentrate on a few cosmetic things to bring it up to standard.

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC02079_zpsb2e1b7bf.jpg

[danewilson77]

Welcome An.

Sounds fun.

In for pics!

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[TigerTater]

Welcome! Interested in pics as well


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[johnrando]

Welcome! How you like the 3.15 diff and what are the major differences?

[Dan86]

The 3.15 is great. It's what the car originally had. I bought a 2.93 330 diff for the flange and swapped it onto the 3.15. I have heard that the 2.93 is a bit long.

[gmurphy]

Welcome beautiful car! I love those wheels


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[JupiterBMW]

Wow Dan, great intro thread and great looking car. Love those rims as well! Enjoy your time here!

[Avetiso]

Woah, all the way from across the pond? Welcome, Dan. The car looks fantastic. Certainly looks to be in much better shape than my car with only 75k miles on it.

Happy to have you here.

[ELCID86]

Welcome. Hope to see you at the reunion in May!

[fredo]

Welcome, sir ! You will like this forum.

[gmurphy]

I have family in Barnet, London but am not familiar with Devon. Will be coming out next year hopefully.


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[Pip]

Great looking car! Welcome.

[Lanister]

Welcome, Dan! Nice to see some members from overseas.

[Dan86]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

When I was looking for an E46 I specifically wanted one with the mv1 wheels as I love them. The spokes are in a vee pattern but if you squint they look similar to cross spoke bbs rims. (I can dream can't I) I stretched my budget to buy a post 2001 car as this is when the sport models got all the goodies.
It has;
M tech 2 bumpers and skirts,
Sport suspension package,
MV1 rims (style 72),
///M sill trims,
Anthracite headliner,
Multifunction sport steering wheel (without perforated leather like you guys have)
Black leather upgraded from base alcantara,
Electrically adjustable sport seats with pull out thigh supports,
Short shifter knob,
Black cube trim,
Automatic climate control.

It doesn't have xenon headlamps which I'm happy about as its less to go wrong and doesn't have the HK sound system.

[Dan86]

There was some rust bubbles coming through under the paint on the front wheelarches and when I started to investigate it was clear that the rust had started from behind.

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0355_zps593c9f8d.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0354_zps192d5326.jpg

I bought some cheap pattern wings and cut out the arch pieces to weld into the original wings because I didn't like the way they fitted.

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0404_zps250ec3bf.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0406_zps17328a9f.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0407_zpsa022d186.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0410_zps851e797a.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0443_zps34e24e9f.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0449_zpsef97342b.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0450_zps856443cd.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0455_zps097696c0.jpg

[ELCID86]

Wow, impressive work.

[Avetiso]

That looks great, Dan. I have a similar issue with the rear wheel wells of my car.

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[Oli77]

Welcome Dan, you are a serious DIYer and if I venture to say, the only Brit on the forum.

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[Stigissimo]

Ooh dem style 72's…

Welcome!

[Lanister]

mad props on the job, Dan.

[Au1994]

Welcome and I am envious of your skills. Edd China has nothing on you!

[Dan86]

I think obsessive diyer would sum me up quite well and I must have a case of autohypocondria because I can always find something to repair or replace.

I bought a smashed M3 hood which had the kidney grilles bend backwards. I pulled it out and panel beat it back to shape. A thin skim of body filler was used to get rid of the last few imperfections.
I then applied a 2k acrylic high build primer. A guide coat was applied over the top to aid the wet flattening process. Once wet flatted I applied the base coat and clear.



http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0471_zps45c4bd92.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0478_zps06b811f9.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0488_zps4962cb13.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0492_zps421ada1e.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0493_zpscf7d9669.jpg

[johnrando]

Wow, nice werk.

[SoDelBMW]

Welcome to the mafia. I like the work man!

[Dan86]

Wow, nice werk.

Thanks, it came out pretty good considering the conditions I painted it in.

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0492_zps738c4448.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC_0494_zpsb63ae973.jpg

[Dan86]

Welcome to the mafia. I like the work man!

Thanks bud.

[Avetiso]

Paint turned out great. Mind if I ask what's going on with the fender figment on the last picture?

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[Dan86]

After fitting the M3 hood I felt like a pretender so I went and bought this...

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC02304_zps3fd0fe1d.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC02293_zpsac36227c.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC02297_zps8e605d27.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/DSC02316_zpsaefafae3.jpg

[Dan86]

Paint turned out great. Mind if I ask what's going on with the fender figment on the last picture?

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Yeah it doesn't fit properly. It has been adjusted since then. The M3 hood is quite different in shape and requires spacing with washers at the hinges and the wings need washers under them.

[Dan86]

This was my first BMW. A 320i manual m tech 1.

About 5 years ago I was working at a house renewing the mains water pipe for this chap, and I had spotted a car under a cover at the back of his garage. I was intrigued and asked what it was and he said it was just an old BMW. He had bought it new in 1987 and it had the m tech options ordered because it was one of the showroom cars for the dealership.
I noticed it had a flat tyre and it was obvious it had been sat there for a year or two. I showed so much enthusiasm for it that when the job I was doing was complete he said I could have the BMW as he wanted it to go to good home and be back on the road again.
It needed a bit of tlc but that was all part of the fun. I fitted a new radiator because it looked like it had seen better days, changed the cam belt, plugs, wires, distributor cap, oil and filter.
I had to get a new battery too as the old one had died and wouldn't hold charge. After all that I turned the key and she fired right up. The two liter M20B20 was so smooth and free revving and suited the light E30 well with an ample 130hp. The 5 speed manual was very high geared in 5th a made cruising a joy.
I kept it for a couple of months and then sold it to an enthusiast who was going to restore it but also do an engine conversion, suspension and wheels.
So it got two good homes really.


http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/136_DSC01328.jpg

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww99/dangti6/137_DSC01329.jpg