Sammo

During the Xmas break I tackled refreshing / changing the colour of my leather interior. I was lucky to pick up my 330ci with a full M3 Nappa leather interior in Kiwi - this was one of the things that first sold me on the car, having a nice contrast with the Orient Blue, not to mention the higher quality leather and the huge amount of electric adjust in the seats. The interior didn't have any rips / tears and seemed in decent nick, but after living with the car a few months I had swapped out the dash trim, repainted some of the interior plastics and re-trimmed the steering wheel, the leather was clearly the weak link in the interior with minor cracking, UV damage flaking and colour variations throughout. I originally tried an Ebay liquid leather type kit to do a quick 'freshen up' but it was evident trying match 15+ year old Kiwi leather was a waste of time (mine had faded to more of a yellow and factory kiwi is surprisingly green which I was not a fan of). The plan escalated from there. I figured if I was going to go to the trouble of restoring the leather, why not go for a colour change to something I would love instead? Pics: Original colour and contrast with exterior Condition of seat bolsters / flaking of headrests etc

Such a cool ride, hope you've been able to get her out a bit in this fantastic weather we've been having ?

Yeah, looks like it needs a little 'rescuing' but nothing major from the pics and description.

Mods, please move if already posted, I couldn't find a thread on this car that's been on TM for a long time and just dropped to $15k https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/2477132648 Anyone seen this? Seems very cheap although high kms and probably needs some love? Get rid of the tint, repaint the wheels and tidy the interior, could be a nice car.

Perfect E91 IMO

I bought one of the factory look 6.5-7" touch screen Android 9 ones to my coupe a few months back. From Aliexpress - one of the higher spec versions of this (faster processor, more ram, DSP): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32920562856.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.191a4c4dnTEYu2 It looks pretty much factory in the interior and you can adjust the backlight to the perfect shade of orange to match factory lighting. Screen is OK, not particularly high resolution but looks fine. Was plug and play except I had to tap a wire to get the factory amp to turn on (I have an aftermarket amp now). I use it with an Android auto emulator app for Google maps and spotify / podcasts - works great and works with steering wheel controls. Highly recommend them - great way to add modern tech to your car without looking out of place.

Remember seeing this for sale on Facebook, awesome value - manual, Ohlins, work wheels - looks sharp and bet it drives even better.

I'm pretty sure Weitz Industries (Hamilton) has some for $120 at the moment for a Coupe - I got mine from him and it was shipped cheaply (albeit to Auckland) and was really well packaged - could try BM World as well. https://skunkworks.co.nz/collections/other-parts/products/e46-coupe-black-cube-interior-trim Even if it has a few scratches, a couple of coats of satin black paint really freshens it up

Beautiful car, love the colour, can't be too many of these in NZ.

These cars are getting cheap now - was looking a few years ago but we bought a GTI instead. Lot of car for the money, values can't get much lower?

Cheers Dave, starting to get there for sure! Sounds good!

Cheers! Want to get it right and enjoy it. Yeah, hopefully a while - it is supposed to last years if done right, but we will see. Its really only the drivers seat that gets used however and now I have the perfect touch up colour if needed in future ? Will keep Vanos seals on the to do list for sure.

Thanks mate! Yes, I'm stoked with the interior colour - was going to either spray it in this or in Cinnamon but happy how it turned out - just hope the durability is there - I prepped thoroughly and it has a matte topcoat.

15XXXX km, Orient Blue (LOVE the colour), Msport, ZF manual converted with 3.38 diff, Full M3 interior (with inflating side bolsters), drilled rotors , front and rear strut braces and M3 mirrors. I researched getting an E46 for months as I wanted something with an older school feel but still modern enough and reasonably reliable that I could keep for a while. The 330ci seemed perfect, as I've always loved the timeless look and the M54B30 has a great reputation and enough power for our twisty roads. Manual, RWD, NA straight six, great steering and 50/50 weight distribution - can't complain! My goal is to go for an OEM+ build and hopefully end up with one of the nicest Non Ms around. I've spent a lot of time and money getting it to a high standard with OE / OEM parts: Maintenance / Performance Oil and filter / Plugs / Diff and Tranny fluid New intake boots, DISA O ring and MAF clean New waterpump / thermostat / radiator hoses / expansion tank / belts and pulleys Short ram air intake, fully heat shielded and ducted from kidney grilles Valve cover gasket & oil filter housing gasket Vanos seals & Oil line Fuel filter All new tensioners and pulleys Poly steering coupler Supersprint axle back and secondary cat delete CABs / new shock and strut mounts with front reinforcement plates Front and rear tower braces (ARC) E46 M3 front 26mm sway bar / E46 Msport Vert 20mm rear bar, new bushings and adjustable end links (upgrade from 23mm/18mm bars) ST XA Coilovers (Same spec as KW V2) - height and damping adjustable New Lemforder Tierods and boots Remap - throttle response / power (probably not) / subtle burble Fully certed for manual swap, coilovers and all mods (inc driveshaft hoops) Exterior Paintless dent removal Bonnet, side skirts and door respray Stage 2 paint correction and regular waxing M3 mirrors Euro personalised plates - 'NZ E46' ESR SR01 18x8.5 ET30 and Hankook Ventus V12 235/40/18 New headlight lenses / New clear corners / rear LCI boot lights / Dual slat front grille Boot and mirrors resprayed for cosmetic reasons New OEM front bumper colour matched Interior Fully refurbed and re-coloured M3 Nappa leather to BMW Caramel Piano black trims Armrest delete and refinished interior plastics Re-wrapped steering wheel and refinished trim - highly recommended! Billetworkz shift knob (450grams!) and clutch stop, matching handbrake handle Alcantara custom stitch shift and handbrake boots Factory style touchscreen with wireless Apple Carplay - looks OEM but with 2021 functionality Front JBL components, Pioneer amplifier and 12" sub Both front Airbag recalls done To do list $$$ IR to RF key conversion Engine mounts? Diff bushings?