Sammo 2550 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 (edited) 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? Edited December 1, 2021 by Sammo 17 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 very nice work indeed. like the blue/caramel contrast Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 46 minutes ago, qube said: very nice work indeed. like the blue/caramel contrast 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1878 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 Slick e46! Really well sorted Be interested to hear how the leather colour holds up. Matt clear coat should definitely help and prevent dye xfer from jeans. I recently did the vanos piston seals on my m54. Was definitely noticeable despite the engine feeling pretty healthy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 32 minutes ago, BreakMyWindow said: Slick e46! Really well sorted Be interested to hear how the leather colour holds up. Matt clear coat should definitely help and prevent dye xfer from jeans. I recently did the vanos piston seals on my m54. Was definitely noticeable despite the engine feeling pretty healthy. 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 Wow, that is sweet. ? Loving the commitment Sam, welcome! Hoping to see it at a coffee meet soon... ☺️ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted January 22, 2020 6 minutes ago, M3AN said: Wow, that is sweet. ? Loving the commitment Sam, welcome! Hoping to see it at a coffee meet soon... ☺️ Cheers Dave, starting to get there for sure! Sounds good! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit 194 Report post Posted January 23, 2020 Looking for carbon cube for an E46 coupe too Sam, any suggestions where to start? TIA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted January 23, 2020 15 minutes ago, Bandit said: Looking for carbon cube for an E46 coupe too Sam, any suggestions where to start? TIA 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted February 7, 2020 Update, Airbag light from the seat swap sorted ? Dropped car this morning at BMW (the huge, brand new Continental dealership on Wairau Road) for the latest Takata airbag recall. They replaced the passenger airbag but drivers airbag is on backorder so will need to get that done at later date. Fantastic service I must say, gave my car a vacuum and hand wash and even got a call from one of the techs working on it who was extremely complimentary and wanted to buy it ? Cleared the totally unrelated airbag light as I'd hoped as well ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2429 Report post Posted February 23, 2020 I wont lie, that is stunning and makes me really want one now! Good work on the interior too. Most would've just swapped in boring black, but that tan is lush as fark. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted February 24, 2020 On 2/23/2020 at 2:28 PM, KwS said: I wont lie, that is stunning and makes me really want one now! Good work on the interior too. Most would've just swapped in boring black, but that tan is lush as fark. Thanks mate! Pretty happy with it right now but can't wait to get the suspension sorted and then make it a little noisier in the next few months 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit 194 Report post Posted February 24, 2020 On 1/23/2020 at 2:34 PM, Sammo said: 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 Thanks Sam. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 711 Report post Posted February 24, 2020 Saw you the other day - car looks mint. Super clean. Surprisingly few mint e46 on Auckland roads.... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted February 25, 2020 7 hours ago, m325i said: Saw you the other day - car looks mint. Super clean. Surprisingly few mint e46 on Auckland roads.... Nice, whereabouts? Thanks - yeah, try to keep it clean which helps too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GorGasm 563 Report post Posted February 25, 2020 I also saw you while I was scooting around Auckland, only noticed it because of the stand out interior and thought darn that looks good. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 711 Report post Posted February 25, 2020 16 hours ago, Sammo said: Nice, whereabouts? Thanks - yeah, try to keep it clean which helps too! By NZME 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted February 26, 2020 3 hours ago, m325i said: By NZME Ahhh right - yeah, have clients at Spark, NZME and Bauer so am often around that area Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted February 26, 2020 15 hours ago, GorGasm said: I also saw you while I was scooting around Auckland, only noticed it because of the stand out interior and thought darn that looks good. Cheers! yeah, its a nice colour combo, bold enough but not too loud IMO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 711 Report post Posted February 27, 2020 23 hours ago, Sammo said: Ahhh right - yeah, have clients at Spark, NZME and Bauer so am often around that area I'll yell at you to do a skid next time. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted February 29, 2020 Tackled the valve cover gasket today, after seeing oil on my spark plug threads a few weeks back when I changed those. Also noticed some oil leaking on the exhaust heat shield, creating a nice burning smell... Went very smoothly, being the most 'invasive' job I've done under the hood of a car to date (newbie to this stuff) and the old gasket was very hard and brittle, especially around the plug seals. Got the BMW gasket from FCP euro with the 15 fastner seals as well and torqued in a star pattern to 10nm. 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted March 21, 2020 (edited) Exciting, before the exchange rates gets even worse, I bought a bunch of parts today, mainly to do a suspension refresh. I want to lower the car a little, mainly in the front and tighten up the steering and handling - its not too bad but I know it could be a whole lot better than what I presume is 150,000km old Msport suspension. From Demontweeks: AP / ST Suspensions (same part number) Suspension kit of shortened 'sport' shocks and matched lowering springs. Decided on these after a bit of humming and ha-ing as the drop seems perfect (40mm/20mm or for Msport, 25mm front, 5mm rear) great price(!!!) and they answered all my questions online quickly - AP is a less known brand in BMW circles but is TUV certified and made by KW alongside the ST brand (KW sales rep advised its the same part as the higher priced ST suspension kit). I was thinking of BC Gold coilovers (local support) but decided against them due to cert cost, not actually wanting to lower or adjust the car much and potential ride issues(?) with pillowball mounts and 8kg spring rates. From FCP Euro : Meyle HD Front control arm bushings Meyle HD Rear trailing arm bushings Lemforder Strut mounts Meyle HD Shock mounts Strut and shock mount reinforcement plates Front and rear Sway bar bushings BMW steering coupler / steering Guibo (heard this can be great for tightening up sloppy / loose steering), Mahle fuel filter BMW window rubber for one that is perished. And if I read the new import laws correctly, as both orders were under $1000 I should not get stung with GST at the border ? Now I need to figure out is how, or more realistically, who to install as most of its beyond my capabilities / facilities ? Edited March 21, 2020 by Sammo 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted March 21, 2020 Nice list of parts. GST is due for all goods now, including low value. It's meant to be collected at the point of sale. If it's not collected at the point of sale it's now highly unlikely that it will be intercepted for GST at the border unless it's also subject to duty collection (your parts are not). 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted March 21, 2020 12 minutes ago, M3AN said: Nice list of parts. GST is due for all goods now, including low value. It's meant to be collected at the point of sale. If it's not collected at the point of sale it's now highly unlikely that it will be intercepted for GST at the border unless it's also subject to duty collection (your parts are not). Thanks, yeah, that's what I hoped , I'm guessing Demon tweeks and FCP Euro don't sell enough to NZ customers ($60k pa?) to collect GST at the point of sale. Had several things through from FCP recently without getting stung. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted March 21, 2020 I suspect FCP would easily do 60k into NZ based on the boxes I've seen at a few independents. They're "required" to register for GST but NZ can't enforce that because laws don't reach other shores. Government could pull the pin on the nuclear option at any time they wanted and 'return to sender' which would eventually dry up the supply or force compliance if the market was valuable enough. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
