E46 325ci Restoration Project

[325_driver 422]

37 minutes ago, qube said:

I also noticed that the rego says "exemption" - is it on hold?

Yeah until it's fully resprayed, and I want to look over suspension & braking.

Still driving the e91 atm, its reminding me what well looked after and reliability feels like ?

[zero 1162]

I just got one of those little green bissells for $200 and its really good.

 

Makes me wonder what the $500 bissell is like.

[325_driver 422]

2 hours ago, zero said:

I just got one of those little green bissells for $200 and its really good.

 

Makes me wonder what the $500 bissell is like.

Probably for more smoother coffee blends ...

[KwS 2425]

Our little green has been a life saver around the house. Keep it loaded up with solution ready to go, for the times the wife knocks her glass over onto the carpet. Its happened more than once ?

[325_driver 422]

@KwS not sure if youve tried this, but lemon juice plus baking soda. Really does get rid of those insanely difficult oil based stains that normal carpet cleaners won't attack. Sometimes takes a few times, but I've been amazed at how such a simple thing out performs a rug doctor on difficult stains.

[325_driver 422]

So i was wondering why, when my fogs were no there were no instrument lights, and i couldnt use my stalk button either.

I checked the fuse box, and sure enough number 10 was missing, so i put it in, then some more lights came on and i could use my stalk. But the airbag light stayed on hmm.

So then i realized who ever was in there last had removed several of the essential Air Bag, ASC, and ABS fuses, obviously to hide the faults from the dash, for their chur bro wof?

There was also a 20amp fuse in the "Garage door opener" slot haha

What a time to be alive

[zero 1162]

Wow. Buy a handful of fuses and go through and install/replace them. U can bet incorrect sized fuses will have been used too

[325_driver 422]

@zero I went through them, 1 by 1 on the diagram. apart from the 20amp in the garage door opener slot, and the 15amp in the driver seat adjuster (i put in just to get in the seat when i picked it up) the only things out of place were missing fuses for ABS, ASC and Airbag and (fuse 10 to remove the instrument cluster light)

Big shout out to Als mechanical repairs in Te Atutu!

Fixed a few other minor things that were bugging me today, drivers seat wouldnt slide forward, and one of the rail bolts wasn't in and when you pulled the lever it wouldnt lift up because some one had put a non OEM long nut / bolt through where the seatbelt attaches to the rail ... the nut was jamming in the seat rails, which was also jamming the seats and warped the rail angles on installation. Pickapart had an OEM torx one, even found a replacement ambient temperature sensor for $5!

All interior lights working now too

A window squirter wasn't working, and that's because it was leaking, and the "bro's" once again had tried their magic work with some insulation tape on the T-junction where it was leaking.

I'm starting to wonder if theres any place I won't find some careless rangi mods.

And if the worn brake pads are an indicator of the rest of the cars suspension components.

Luckily after removing the bumper I found what was dislodged making it mis aligned, not too much work there.

Picked up my high build primer, onto some dissasembling so I can get onto Body work on that rear right panel.

^^ and check out the direction of the tread pattern on those directionals? haha that can't be safe in the wet.

Edited July 2, 2020 by 325_driver

[Jacko 2154]

Id admire your work ethic in dealing with such a cluster fudge, I cant stand fixing other peoples messes... drives me balmy. 

[325_driver 422]

@Jacko yeah well when i started digging, and the red flags started adding up to a state of carelessness, i decided to be extra pedantic, especially if it's eventually going to be a daily. 

And i don't usually do a shout out to the workshop that did the last WOF, but it's safe to say, this car was certainly not road legal 6 months ago, in-fact in hindsight, the state i drove it home in i have concluded to be dangerous. There's no way all of this happened in the last 6 months, plausable, but more likely at the least optimistically a lazy WOF and pessimistically a dangerous bar for WOF standards.

Oh and while i'm at it, let's not forget to mention a co-star of this horse fest, Tyre King, who was paid $169 to do a "full service inspection" 1 week prior to me picking it up by the old owner, and look over everything to make sure it was in good running condition, who essentially just changed the oil & filter, but didn't point out things like brake lights, trunk wont open, electric seats not moving, cracked radiator expansion (visible coolant leak), reccommend imminent replacements of fan clutch / blades etc.

Edited July 2, 2020 by 325_driver

[zero 1162]

Yea someone has made a mess of this one.

Check they have used the correct coolant and didn't fill it with stopleak gunk.

There is probably tape over vacuum leaks too.

 

But you are the right man for the job.

[tire 10]

Good on you for saving it. This is satisfying to follow, keep it up!

[325_driver 422]

@tire tbh it was probably a few months off the scrap yard at the rate it was going, and I have a thing for the e46 coupes, thought it would be a waste.

Cut & Polished the head lights, and gave it a clean. That colour has quite a nice pop in the sun light.

Commencing some body work tomorrow, going to try and get that rear right panel mint.

Saw a pretty mint ding in the left side, hope I can pop it out, don't want to use filler.

[325_driver 422]

Also picked up another set of 18" BMW rims style 172 (I think they might be replicas), but not sure which one I like best on the e46.

The 172s are 8.5" x 18" and will be going gun metal.

Was planning to swap the BBS from my wagon and put on the e46.

Difficult to decide which will go on the e91 and which on the e46.

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by 325_driver

[zero 1162]

I like the bbs on the e46, but then im biased

[qube 3570]

bbs stays on the e46 for sure, the 172 reps can stay on the e91.

 

[325_driver 422]

@qube @zero  the tribe has spoken. I couldn't let the BBSs go anyway haha

Also I kurbed one today, RIP

So I guess I'm repainting them too haha.

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by 325_driver

[Sammo 2544]

On 6/30/2020 at 7:16 PM, 325_driver said:

After spending a few hours on wiring and fixings connections, I have rear lights. It sounds trivial, but on the way back I only had a right indicator and a right hand brake light, and trunk lid wasnt opening, so wanted to get to the bottom of it before I begun body work.

Left hand bulb holder had a prong half snapped and lodged into the plug, so got innovate for the time being (yes I will be replacing it later) but it did the trick.

Made female number 3 connector into a quazi male prong to extend into the broken off one in the bulb holder ??? works fine I've unplugged / replugged several times and it just like factory, but not....

Both reverse lights were ancient and decayed, replaced.

Both license plate bulbs weren't going because of corrosion on the terminals either side.

Some one had a 12v10w bulb in the left holder of right tail light ???

And also had fitted duct tape to the base of the bulb holder !

A few broken wires in the boot

I'm assuming all of this happened after it's last wof in January ? or this vehicle has been getting some chur bro warrants by the bros in Massey Auckland.

Weird man - my E46 also had duct tape on the base of a bulb holder?

Must be some kind of known half arse 'fix' for something?

[325_driver 422]

@Sammo wouldn't it be funny if it was factory?? haha

[325_driver 422]

So I was nearly about to finish up that panel without more sanding, but since the paint lifted in the first place u thought the chances of it happening again might be likely due to a poor job in th first place.

So I started sanding into this and man, rainbow cake. Followed some bog from the edge of the door to the fuel cap. Bloody heck

Now would be the time to do it right Anyway, would hate to have to do this again especially on that panel, it's a big job to do with masking Ive had to do it on the other e46

[325_driver 422]

I got no issues with using bog, but there is a time and a place, and a way in which it should be used 

But this here is madness.

Where does the bog end?!?

[Olaf 3317]

'on ya.  making a proper job of it.  keep the faith!

 

[325_driver 422]

An orbital sander. 4 x 40 grit discs. 1 hour later.

That entire panel had a layer of at thinnest 2mm to thickest 5mm.

Absolutely unnecessary, I can't see any dings or low spots that would justify it, it was pure madness.

It's going to take some time building that panel back up to perfect, but better done right from be ground up, and I would prefer less bog used, it was straight up stupid.

Finally got the panel back to where I could only see a thin layer of surfacer over the original paint. Might probably sand it back even further when I get the bumper off anyway since I'll be re primering the whole panel. But the surface looks pretty good past the fuel cap.

Edited July 4, 2020 by 325_driver

[zero 1162]

your 0-100 times will improve 

[325_driver 422]

Tried to get a very annoying dent out since it doesn't look like you can get in from the inside and push it out.

Only had one of those SCA suction cups. So the toilet plunger made a special appearance. Actually worked pretty good, until the suction cup broke, toilet plunger is staying strong  ?

Hot water, hair dryer was making It nice and maluable, don't have my heat gun yet, which might help bring it out more.

From 

To

It's going it need filler. But it would have been 8mm+ with out pulling it out a bit.

Begun body work on the other side. Going to do just the obvious deep stuff before I seat it off with etch and 2k primer. But will probably have to do more Bondo over top. But it will be 1000% better than the chur bro repair it was before.

Kept raining on and off so put it in the garage. Had the tail lights off so water started bucketing into the boot trays. Got about 1l out with the trusty Bissell.

Edited July 5, 2020 by 325_driver