SaltyNC
12-18-2017, 09:57 PM
Hi everyone. I'm about to start a refresh of a 2005 330Ci ZHP. I was looking for a 325i/330i/330Ci for my son, and thought I found a nice coupe down in Alabama, but on deeper inspection, I found something from Loray Caverns growing in the expansion tank (looked like a stalagmite) and passed on the car. It all worked out, though, at least I think it did. I found a 2005 Jet Black ZHP that was bone stock, and drove 300+ miles to check it out and drove it 300+ miles back the same day. Driving the car back, I realized I really like this car, myself. I also have a Z4M roadster, so it seems I have a thing for Z's. When I bought the Z4M, I knew very little about the S54 engine or BMWs, but I took a deep dive, and felt like I learned enough about BMW's design philosophy and design language to be able to do most of the maintenance and repairs on the M54 engine in the E46's, and it wouldn't be ridiculously expensive to buy an older model E46 as long as I took care of the labor. What I love about the ZHP is that it already has most of what I was going to be spending thousands extra trying to achieve, and is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
The car:
2005 BMW 330Ci ZHP
156K on the odometer
Many of the common M54 failures have already been addressed. I'll be addressing some others.
5-speed Steptronic (yeah, I know)
Black leather steering wheel and seats
Jet Black paint
Aluminum cube trim
NAV unit (bleh -- but it leaves a big hole in the dash for something else) ;-)
From 5 feet away, the car looks nearly pristine, but I'm a detail guy, and I immediately started finding a lot of cosmetic flaws that will be addressed. The interior looks very nice for a car with this many miles, but there are issues there, too. I'm sure you are familiar with all of them. After I do a proper paint correction, there are 2 dents I will have a PDR magician remove. Tiny little depressions, but can't leave that alone.
I put together a mile-long list of parts, and got everything ordered on Sat, and I'll start actual refresh tomorrow. I'll document the process with a separate post. There is one part I'm finding impossible to find. Does anyone know of a source for a proper gloss black grill for a facelifted coupe? The only ones I have found have that eyelash line on the top of the kidney, and I don't want that. I finally ordered a matte black one from ECS, but it is on backorder. I bought some plastic primer and gloss jet black paint, and I'll probably sand, prep, and paint the chrome grill if I can't find one.
I see there are some members from NC, and specifically from the Charlotte/Lake Norman area. I live near Lake Wylie on the NC/SC border. If you see some old dude driving an Interlagos Blue Z4M with the top down in December, that's probably me. :-) This looks like a great community, and I look forward to getting to know everyone.
Salty
The car:
2005 BMW 330Ci ZHP
156K on the odometer
Many of the common M54 failures have already been addressed. I'll be addressing some others.
5-speed Steptronic (yeah, I know)
Black leather steering wheel and seats
Jet Black paint
Aluminum cube trim
NAV unit (bleh -- but it leaves a big hole in the dash for something else) ;-)
From 5 feet away, the car looks nearly pristine, but I'm a detail guy, and I immediately started finding a lot of cosmetic flaws that will be addressed. The interior looks very nice for a car with this many miles, but there are issues there, too. I'm sure you are familiar with all of them. After I do a proper paint correction, there are 2 dents I will have a PDR magician remove. Tiny little depressions, but can't leave that alone.
I put together a mile-long list of parts, and got everything ordered on Sat, and I'll start actual refresh tomorrow. I'll document the process with a separate post. There is one part I'm finding impossible to find. Does anyone know of a source for a proper gloss black grill for a facelifted coupe? The only ones I have found have that eyelash line on the top of the kidney, and I don't want that. I finally ordered a matte black one from ECS, but it is on backorder. I bought some plastic primer and gloss jet black paint, and I'll probably sand, prep, and paint the chrome grill if I can't find one.
I see there are some members from NC, and specifically from the Charlotte/Lake Norman area. I live near Lake Wylie on the NC/SC border. If you see some old dude driving an Interlagos Blue Z4M with the top down in December, that's probably me. :-) This looks like a great community, and I look forward to getting to know everyone.
Salty