Billy bee
09-04-2022, 08:11 AM
Hmmm... What to say? New Members (or older members...) Well, I imagine I fit into both categories. I am retired, meaning the conversations I have that are not car-related are mostly health-related. I have turned into the guy for whom a good day means having taken a good poop. A strong cup of French Roast really helps.
But even into my 60's I am still racing, a little habit I picked up in college, starting with autocross, advancing into SCCA Club and Pro racing, and, finally, devolving into 24 Hours of Lemons. We currently have a three-car Lemons team, including a 1981 633 CSi. I also just bought a Spec Miata.
I am not new to the E46. I worked for BMW during the product launch in 1999 and was a driving instructor on a traveling Ultimate Driving Experience for three years. So, I have done thousands of autocross laps in an E46. Thousands. I have only owned three E46's, however. A 2002 330iC, a 2000 323iT, and the new-to-me 2003 ZHP.
This ZHP popped up on CL in SFO on Wednesday night for $3,000. 204k miles. I emailed the guy early on Thursday morning and didn't hear back for hours. I was convinced the car had been sold. He wrote back Thursday evening and asked when I could be there on Friday to look at the car. Well, I live in San Luis Obispo, 225 miles from Oakland. The ad described a running, driving car with some body damage and stuck in limp mode. So, I figured I better drive up early, be the first one there with cash, and bring a trailer.
Got there at 10am and the seller could not have been a nicer guy. Other than the drivability problems and the motorcycle hit to the RR 1/4, the car looked quite nice. Decent paint. Decent black Alcantara interior. Thousands of dollars worth of repair records. We struck a deal, and I loaded the car just in time to join the Labor-Day-Weekend crawl down the 101.
Overall, the car is tight, drives smoothly, shifts well, and there are only a few minor clunks in the rear. So, we started checking codes and diagnosing the drivability problems yesterday. There were almost 100 codes between the engine and the body, including a steering angle sensor. We took note of them, cleared them out and test drove the car. Only the O2 sensor codes came back. Today we will check the O2 sensors and see if we can get it out of limp mode.
My plans for the ZHP? Well, since it has that body damage, I think I want to swap the drivetrain into my wagon. A ZHP wagon would be bada$$. Then I would have a bunch of leftover parts for sale to help fund the swap. Meanwhile, I will title it, register it, and drive it around for a while. Once I have an opening to do the swap, I will likely have the interior, ZHP trunk lid, 18"wheels, front/rear bumpers, and some other ZHP goodies for sale, although I may swap some stuff into my wagon. TBD.
Here's a picture:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/ZHP/i-Sv83SF8/0/5e573979/X4/IMG_1634-X4.jpg
--bb
But even into my 60's I am still racing, a little habit I picked up in college, starting with autocross, advancing into SCCA Club and Pro racing, and, finally, devolving into 24 Hours of Lemons. We currently have a three-car Lemons team, including a 1981 633 CSi. I also just bought a Spec Miata.
I am not new to the E46. I worked for BMW during the product launch in 1999 and was a driving instructor on a traveling Ultimate Driving Experience for three years. So, I have done thousands of autocross laps in an E46. Thousands. I have only owned three E46's, however. A 2002 330iC, a 2000 323iT, and the new-to-me 2003 ZHP.
This ZHP popped up on CL in SFO on Wednesday night for $3,000. 204k miles. I emailed the guy early on Thursday morning and didn't hear back for hours. I was convinced the car had been sold. He wrote back Thursday evening and asked when I could be there on Friday to look at the car. Well, I live in San Luis Obispo, 225 miles from Oakland. The ad described a running, driving car with some body damage and stuck in limp mode. So, I figured I better drive up early, be the first one there with cash, and bring a trailer.
Got there at 10am and the seller could not have been a nicer guy. Other than the drivability problems and the motorcycle hit to the RR 1/4, the car looked quite nice. Decent paint. Decent black Alcantara interior. Thousands of dollars worth of repair records. We struck a deal, and I loaded the car just in time to join the Labor-Day-Weekend crawl down the 101.
Overall, the car is tight, drives smoothly, shifts well, and there are only a few minor clunks in the rear. So, we started checking codes and diagnosing the drivability problems yesterday. There were almost 100 codes between the engine and the body, including a steering angle sensor. We took note of them, cleared them out and test drove the car. Only the O2 sensor codes came back. Today we will check the O2 sensors and see if we can get it out of limp mode.
My plans for the ZHP? Well, since it has that body damage, I think I want to swap the drivetrain into my wagon. A ZHP wagon would be bada$$. Then I would have a bunch of leftover parts for sale to help fund the swap. Meanwhile, I will title it, register it, and drive it around for a while. Once I have an opening to do the swap, I will likely have the interior, ZHP trunk lid, 18"wheels, front/rear bumpers, and some other ZHP goodies for sale, although I may swap some stuff into my wagon. TBD.
Here's a picture:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/ZHP/i-Sv83SF8/0/5e573979/X4/IMG_1634-X4.jpg
--bb