Harper

Not sure where you guys are looking but https://www.eibach-shop.com/ has different spring sets available for E46 coupe/sedan/touring/compact, all with 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder variants and even x-drive where applicable. All with different rates dependent on type. Definitely not only one size fits all. That was half the reason I went for them for my 330ti. No one else makes springs specifically for 6 cylinder compacts.

I was looking at grabbing Z4M ones as well and just pressing them into my existing brackets. Surprising cheap to just buy the bushing on it's own

Eesh, that's pretty tempting. You might get a message from me tomorrow haha

Yep shipping stung a bit but it does reduce the shipping cost on the second order for all the service parts since I could move some of the bulky/heavy stuff into this one like the clutch. And tbh coming from ordering stuff like Ohlins and a Karbonius airbox for the M3, non-m parts feels like you can get so much more for your money. Doing a pretty decent refresh on the engine for a fraction of what it costs on the S54. I probably won't go crazy with bushings just yet, eventually. I might end up just chucking the main ones like the RTABs, FCAB, maybe diff bushes into the next order but I'm trying not to let the cost of this project creep too much higher than it already has.

Actually not at all haha. I had planned to cert it but was banking on it being straight forward with it all being OEM parts. As far as I know both Brent and Rays 330ti's are fully certed without driveshaft hoops and they are both originally 316ti's so that gives me hope. Would seem crazy to require them when it's just the guts of a 330 swapped over and the chassis is essentially the same. Like you say, an argument can probably be made since a 2.5L was available for the compacts.

Nothing more exciting than getting home to some big boxes of car parts on your door step. OE Clutch kit, I have a new OE dual mass flywheel too since going single mass doesn't appeal to me 3 Rear strut mounts, bump stops, spacers and extended wheel bolts, E90 X-drive strut mounts I really hadn't planned on getting these but the more I thought about it the more I realised that reusing the old tired struts and springs would really take away from the experience. I also found out that there are 6 cylinder compact specific Bilstein B8's and eibach springs which sealed the deal. The front struts are the same for any 6 cylinder E46 but the rear dampers are valved differently for the compact with less weight over the rear, and the eibach springs are specific to the 325ti with the 6 cylinder up front and the different rear. Should make for a nice setup. Other than that I finally sourced some facelift tails and installed them. Small detail but looks so much better. Engine all strapped up ready to pull, hoping to get to it tomorrow after work so I can spend the weekend tearing the motor down.

That's the best way for me to go anyway being out in Beachlands. The dodgy alignment and old tires meant I didn't peg it through the straights in Miranda as I usually would but the perfectly sealed twisty road through Kawakawa is what the E46 is made for. I had such a good time I'll probably go again in a few weeks with fresh tyres and alignment.

I used to be a little meh on the colour, didn't dislike it but didn't love it either. But the longer I own the car the more I can't imagine any colour I'd rather have it in. It just looks right in silver, nothing else shows off the shape as well.

The M3 has been a bit neglected on account of needing a set of tyres and with my compact project eating up all my spare cash. Square set of 265/35 Michelin PS5s on order but I couldn't wait that long and was itching to drive it again. Took the long weekend as an opportunity to stretch it's legs and swapped my spare stock wheels with old track tires on, and took it for a blast to the coromandal for a night. Desperately needs an alignment, but 8k rpm with a carbon airbox does do wonders for the mental health.

Ah yep, I'll leave well alone in that case. Only planning to do a budget rebuild/refresh, rod bearings, oil pump stuff, seals and gaskets etc Yep I had hoped to do the chain guides assuming they could be done without disturbing the timing to save on money for the tools and complexity. But like you say probably worth replacing them either way, the chain guides in my M3 were broken when I did that engine rebuild I'm guessing the M54 ones will be similar even though the motor has only done 140k. I have seen E46fanatics threads of how to time the engine without the toolkit but I'd rather have the tools on hand. If I commit to disturbing the timing is there anything else worth replacing - valve seals? I'm guessing they're tricky to do without removing the head. Legend, might take you up on that.

Can the timing cover come off without disturbing cam timing? If so I'll definitely replace my chain guides and the same screw plug on the front and rear of the block (or maybe best left alone if not leaking?) while I have my engine out.

That's it haha. Boot lid is a better design with the wider trunk lip and the red tails. M3 has a similar bootlid change between facelift and pfl, I've been hunting for a titan silver facelift bootlid for my M3 for forever. Mostly just preference and small details no one would ever notice.

Hadn't seen that. I was almost mad, would've saved me a lot of work converting mine to facelift, but it does look a lot more rough, no xenons either. Still badass though, they're criminally underrated. Alpine white does them so many favours visually. Having driven mine around a couple months now they are let down a lot by the drivetrain however. If bmw had made a 330ti from factory it would have been a cult classic

That was going to be my next step. Fortunately all it took was a big f'n press and $30 for my closest shop to do it

I did the same on my 130 which was missing that plug and letting a bunch of heat into the cabin, used 07147140849 with no issue. That's why it stuck out to me when I noticed the plug was visually different on the factory manual E46 being scrapped. Matched it to 51712258519 along with the TRW part number printed on the underside. Good catch I hadn't considered getting those. Would be rude not to with them being so cheap, 13usd at schmiedmann.

The axles were a mission but I've ordered an M27x1.5 thread die so hopefully should be able to cleanup the thread. The CV joint on the driveshaft that came with my conversion was also destroyed, I'm swapping the rear half from my donor car but will need to get everything balanced I'm guessing. It was a good feeling to go through every part you mentioned and already have it in my order list haha, I've spent far too long on realoem in the last couple months. Only thing I'm omitting from that list is the bellhousing plate since you can't buy them new and functionally they're the same so I'll live with it. Weitz had an electric rad fan for $100 so I grabbed that at the same time as the manual conversion stuff. The trans tunnel plug I had the same part number as you mentioned initially but after looking on a factory manual car that was being scrapped at a pickapart the correct plug appears to be 51712258519. I was going to order both and see which fit better.

Some progress today Calipers painted, not perfect but looks good enough for some brakes Hubs and old wheel bearings pressed out of the trailing arms. I wasn't planning on doing this but one of the bearings was knackered so I might as well put fresh ones in. Gave all the handbrake shoe parts a good scrub while everything is apart. Hardest part of the whole job was getting the axles out, had to take them to my local shop to get them out with their press. Destroyed an axle pusher tool and banana'd every bit of metal I have on my press trying to get them out. Shop said it took 15 tonnes to get them out. From all the hammering the end of one of the axles was pretty mushroomed so I had to taper down the end. Still can't get the nut on though, think I'm going to need to find a M27x1.5 thread die and chase it... Or find a new axle Driveshaft CV joint cleaned out and repacked with new grease. Miserable job, but the joint does feel a lot better.

Yeah was mentioned in my thread as well. Pretty sure the seller is a bimmersporter. Was for sale a few weeks ago for 6.5k on fb marketplace, looks like the new seller is flipping it. Original sale thread here: Very similar one built by Brent for sale at the moment too: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/316ti/listing/4316428545

It's a common failure point on the E46 compacts. I never use it and when I do it seems to just smear up the back window. But yeah mostly it just looks so much better without it.

Fun parts starting to pile up. Manual conversion stuff all ready to go. Brakes stripped down ready for some paint Factory 325ti specific exhaust and have the 6 cylinder compact specific front sway bar as well. Scored a facelift rear hatch in alpine white which looks much sportier than the prefacelift version imo, still need to find some facelift tail lights to go on. Will be doing a factory wiper delete as well convert to a RF key instead of the shitty IR key at the same time since the FZV module is in the hatch on the compacts. Ordered a manual cluster from Greece on ebay for 100NZD shipped, I'll steal the manual blank cluster panel from it and use the 330 cluster rings so the car so the car will essentially have a 330 manual cluster as it should. Haven't had time to pull the motor out of the 330 yet, I'm hoping either over the long weekend or the weekend after I'll get to it. Then I'll do a big parts order, refresh the motor and hopefully have the 330ti ready by Christmas. In the meantime, it's actually nice to have an economical daily for once...

I'm glad I sold mine when I did. The price on them seems to just get lower and lower every week. The 130 market is strange. But I'm not sure you can buy a better car for 8k. I loved the way mine drove.

My 130i sold, so the fun begins... All driveline stuff removed, exhaust, driveshaft etc Fluids drained and front end removed Few extra ancillaries removed and it's just about ready to get yanked out. Still have to disconnect the ECU and wiring stuff but that should be easy. Love how easy the E46 comes apart

Pretty much. Have to run an extra loom for the AC compressor, and some people say they need an extra wire from the cluster for the battery light but others didn't need that so we'll see. Other than that just the usual manual swap stuff which should be straight forward. Since I'll have the whole engine loom out I might as well modify/run the reverse wiring with the factory harness so it should all be pretty tidy.

Rear sway bar is compact specific. I have an oem 26.5mm front sway bar specific to the 325ti ready to go on when I do the swap. My car does have the sport suspension option S338, it's on factory sport springs and shocks. I'll put some Bilstein b6s in it eventually since the shocks are a bit tired. You do see manual ones come up every so often for pretty cheap but I imagine swapping an M44 is pretty involved, wiring is totally different. N42>M54 is pretty straight forward as long as it's ms43... I hope

I think it is the orange interior still, it's quite subtle, the rear seat definitely is. If it was in Auckland I would buy it and swap interiors. I don't know if I can bring myself to go get it since it's in Welly.