Cement

Also, that parcel tray looks mint!! Pretty sure I'll be doing the same once the car is finally back in sunlight and I can see it properly. To be fair I thought it maybe was supposed to be blue 😅

Might be one to follow if you're into such things. Anyone who has done stuff on the e46 has probably already watched a few of the shop life videos... Pretty good quality DIY content usually.

Not sure what I just watched ... was it a well funded high school project ?

Looks like this: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2022/05/general_debate_29_may_2022.html

Slow progress again lately ... awaiting those critical parts for the final push. Have ordered the laser cutting / folding for the trans cross member now and am focusing on getting the exhaust completed also. Made the 2 into 1 collector this weekend which is a 2.25" in and out to single 3".

I like the ciggie packet on the floor in the back 😂

Goes pretty well with that wizzy inline 8 cylinder

Down to the final prototype for the transmission mount ... its been an on again off again piece of work but will be great to have it finalised !! Printing the remaining parts tonight as the printer is not big enough to do it in one shot. I'll be trying to get everything sorted for a single order at the laser cutters so that will involve two pieces for the trans mount in steel, cover for the exposed flywheel on the trans in aluminium and some plywood templates for the new garage entry profile which the concrete lads will use. <-- This could well be another thread in itself 🤣 Went on a bit of an archaeological dig to see how thick my garage slab is ... about 130mm it turns out. Looks like they put the mesh under the concrete which is hopefully the case across the entire thing as it will make life a lot easier for the demo !! Basic story here is that my garage entrance is too steep for the E46 or my Odyssey to get in / out so I'm going to cut away about 1.8m inside and outside of the garage doors then contour it in a nice smooth radius which will be car friendly ... insane right

Links are 404 😕

Got some shiny bits finally !! Seems like they shall fit ok which is a relief also as buying sight unseen. Pretty awesome looking product from a kiwi company no less !! Awaiting the other Chase Bays parts still which should be here in July.

Alas all in 'murica.

Finally got around to listing the parts that came off my E46 318Ci (NZ new automatic). A lot of parts might also fit other E46's etc ... all going pretty cheap i think. Full exhaust with Remus muffler: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588233219 Diff: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588246855 Drive shaft: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588255174 Hand brake cables: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588259652 Front hubs / knuckles: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588274824 Rear subframe: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588281998 Brake pedal assembly: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588286804 Rear brake calipers: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588290505 Front brake calipers: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588295547 Rear trailing arms with axels, hubs / knuckles and discs: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588307288 Radiator with fan and hoses: https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3588317863

Another slow period of progress here, but have got some odd bits moving: 3D printed a mock up of the 180° -16 fitting I will need for the dry sump pump to tank connection. Should work well. Ordered some sweet sweet new parts from Speed Science Chase Bays tucked radiator, coolant overflow, washer reservoir, oil catch canm power steering cooler and AN fitting spanners Adrenalinr resonator, muffler and bellows plus some hard to find in NZ 2.25" stainless tube Making a new (proper) 3D printing enclosure with heating element and safety features controlled by Arduino Trying to get the Peterson 2 gallon dry sump tank and brackets also but might be a few more weeks for that one ... once I have that and the radiator etc arrives I can start to lay everything out !! Bit of a shame but I will have to mount the oil tank and electric power steering pump in front of the front struts ... without going full race car and having the tank in the boot its about all I can do. Here is my printer cabinet in progress and 750W heating element ...

So I will be modifying our drive way and garage floor to create enough clearance to get non-SUV vehicles (namely the E46 project car) in and out, just like regular people do. To model this correctly, and ultimately make plywood forms for the concrete folks I need to know in the real world what sort of clearance I need to generate ... no can do with mine as its still on stands and will be for a while yet. Does anybody have an E46 which has been lowered to a 'good looking' but practical level say who could check the minimum ground clearance for me ? Even stock height is a good starting point (I simply minus 40mm say) ... my current model is working with 100mm but the bimmers do tend to sit fairly low so am keen to get some real world numbers. Getting this work done and then finding it still scrapes would be super sub optimal

Trying to boost it either way (turbo or super charger) is going to be expensive to do it badly, and very expensive to do it properly. If its your daily driver then time off the road for dicking around with the build and / or issues down the track would also be something to think pretty hard about. Best advice with my sensible old man pants on would be to work on that debt you have and enjoy the car for what it is until you are in a better position to FULLY plan and cost out the build before picking up a spanner.

A fair assumption and quite likely for operators that have small commercial vehicles and can take the upfront hit on their cash flow, but the folks with large trucks are pretty keen on buying in small increments more frequently electronically (eRUC) to avoid having hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pre-payed RUC sitting on their windscreens. For the big trucks its a massive expense, for a transport business its right there along with diesel and wages.

"Please insert card OR select payment type" ... me inserts card hoping for a logical experience and quick transaction ... nothing happens ... forced to select 'EFTPOS' on stupid f**king machine just like 99.9% of ALL transactions they perform ... just liven up that sh*t straight away and make the people who want to pay with some cash, a gram of meth, some vouchers and a prezzy card push the stupid button !!! ... and then ... "Would you like a receipt ?" -> "No" ... *prepares to walk off* "Please take your receipt" ... *double back swearing at machine, throws paperwork in bin in disgust*

Just not enough room in the bank account there dwarf man 😅

Time to mark this thread as closed or some such. No more value to be had here.

In E46 land thats a hammer and punch / screw driver or similar ? Or if feeling strong some dish washing gloves 💪 I may be talking out my ass but i think most pump rings take the same tools

Thanks @NZ00Z3, I will disconnect the starter solenoid (I have no oil system currently) and re-test with a multi-meter to get some better data. Wonder if it stops when an unacceptable voltage drop is detected 🤔

So I got my engine swap project wired to the point where i can crank the engine now (woop woop). I'm feeding my starter solenoid via the 2 pin plug in the engine bay electronics box, TIS says this should be X6011 but I never had one in the NZ new 318. Anyhooooooo I'm 99% it goes to the EWS module and is a fairly thick black/blue wire. Obviously only goes +12V when key is in the cranking position. I have noticed two interesting things and I'm keen to hear if this is normal / expected: After holding the crank position for maybe 3-5 seconds it automagically stops cranking ...ie: you can't just go forever If I leave the key in the 'on' position for a while then come to crank it, no crank ... turn back to accessory then back through on and it cranks again happily Feels like some EWS smarts here in play but like to confirm ?

Everything is cool, not missing any images ... was just wondering if the images were going to tick over some milestone age and start to be pruned / deleted, hence making the content somewhat less valuable for errrr the next poor soul who may wish to attempt my swap

Just looking at the history of my build thread and wondering if images uploaded expire after a while ? Its really the only collated representation of the journey outside a squillion pics i have locally

More good progress on the electrical side: Getting the cable made for the starter / alternator and power feed to my PDM at MSEL which should be ready tomorrow Cabin power / earth distribution complete along with the Arduino mounting Arduino is plugged into both the BMW and Nissan CAN buses and validated it can diddle with the gauge cluster New fuel pump relay changed to actually work (ECU grounds the coil instead of powering it as I had wired it) 🙄 So electrically speaking it should be possible to start it at this point !! 😲 Did a few other bits for fun: Installed the front bumper temporarily to start thinking about a radiator ... might try and get the Chase Bays tucked item as the E46 items all seem to have freaky end tanks which won't allow easy moving of the inlet / outlets. Completed most of the fuel system plumbing bar the return line So I think I'm looking to take care of the dry sump plumbing now !!! I'd better start a GoFundMe to get that ball rolling a bit faster 😅 Oh also still need to get a clutch line made up so it stops pissing fluid on the floor ... and finish the trans mount / cross member ... oh and the header secondaries and springs / loops ... and probably a bunch of other stuff !!