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Kalim's Garage Adventures

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130K views 731 replies 71 participants last post by  Bandit4077 
#1 ·
Well, this thread has been a long time coming. Thanks to some encouragement from one of General's most prolific posters (dmax), I've finally gotten around to documenting some of what goes on in my very happening garage.

There's a long story behind how I arrived at this point, but briefly, I've wanted a garage of my own for a very long time and living in apartment complexes since I graduated from college made that pretty tough. I found "workarounds," e.g., detailing my E46 into the wee hours of the morning in the underground garage, using extension cords dropped down 5 flights of stairs and a garden hose attached to an overlooked hookup (score!), or swapping my E30's engine in a carport with a floor jack, hoist, some jackstands, and a set of hand tools, but I was never really able to take on big projects. Recently, I moved to a house with a detached 2-car garage and I have found bliss! Most weekends (and many weeknights after work, too!) are spent in the garage with any number of the local fanatics working on installs and repairs. So I decided to create this thread to document the DIY maintenance and modding that goes on around here.

Just to name a few things that I've worked on in recent months:
-E46 330i GC coilover installation
-E30 325i front wheel bearings (once for a friend, once for my own car)
-E46 M3 CSL style front bumper installation
-E46 M3 CSL style trunk installation
-E46 323ci M3 steering wheel installation (a few times)
-E46 330ci shark injector
-E30 325i fuel injector o-ring replacement
-E30 325i fuel filter replacement
-E46 330ci Powerflex FCABs

And today, finished up PSS10s on a friend's E90:

This installation was a lot more complicated than previous generations, but we came up with a few tricks that made things go faster the second time around. OEM springs are huge.


Had to keep it a little conservative because they rub like crazy front and rear, but we got a decent drop out of them.




Business card flush, haha. :str8pimpi


Hoping to have some nice pics of the new stance after a good detail.


Anyway, I'll try to update this thread often. In the meantime, feel free to ask questions about any of the above! I don't bite (usually). >:]
 
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#5 ·
Hey Addy, that sounds cool. I'm a fan of OEM pads and rotors for street-driven cars. Hardly anything can replicate that OEM bite!
When you decide on something, you're welcome to come by. :)
 
#8 ·
:rofl: :hi:

Kalim,

Sure...blame it on me!

All that writing, all those photos, and not one pic of the e30? Come on, give it up. Maybe you could shoot something special for me...with a toaster, and your buddies caressing her with kleenex?

Anyway, now that we're the best of internet buddies, you think you could figure out a way to actually get me a Range Rover roof on my otherwise stock 328i and have it look decent...and, do any of your stalkers have beige leather heated front sport seats?:rofl: (I had to ask!)

Doug
Oh don't be so modest, Doug. I give blame where blame is due!



I don't know if I could get a picture of that magnitude (though maybe GRIFFIN could, as I'm told he's quite adept), but here are some work-safe pics of my E30 daily driver:

IMG_8681 copy by cyberkaa, on Flickr


IMG_8693 copy by cyberkaa, on Flickr

And some other projects:
S54 cold leak down and compression testing


GC coilover installation. This one's actually from my old place, where all I had was a carport and a storage room:


M3 steering wheel swap extravaganza:


And from the first E30 front wheel bearing DIY. My garage seems to attract quite a few white E30s. Here's kronus and his white 4-door:


Wheel bearing carnage:


I'm afraid I don't have any leads on the RR roof idea, but maybe a body shop around here might be able to accommodate that idea. :b: I'll keep an eye out for those beige leather heated front sport seats! If you've got a "wanted" poster, I'll even post it in the garage!
 
#4 ·
Kalim,

Sure...blame it on me!

All that writing, all those photos, and not one pic of the e30? Come on, give it up. Maybe you could shoot something special for me...with a toaster, and your buddies caressing her with kleenex?

Anyway, now that we're the best of internet buddies, you think you could figure out a way to actually get me a Range Rover roof on my otherwise stock 328i and have it look decent...and, do any of your stalkers have beige leather heated front sport seats?:rofl: (I had to ask!)

Doug
 
#11 ·
I think his right wheel bearing was bad, too. Anyway, he would get a pretty noticeable grinding noise when weight transferred onto that side, e.g. when turning left.
You can try the same method to diagnose. Grinding on right turns means the left side is going out and vice versa. You can also lift the car, grab the wheel, and see if there's any wiggle. Honestly, the play wasn't too noticeable with the bad bearing until we compared it to how firm the new bearings felt.
 
#13 ·
:thumbsup:
Good luck!
 
#16 ·
:rofl: :D

Kalim,

Couldn't see your e30 before too well on my phone...back home and just had to write to tell you it's beautiful!

When the e36 came out, I thought it was ugly...really ugly. Two years later I had one and thought differently...but still, always loved the e30...see them less and less now.

Maybe someday bmw will get smart and bring back the style! So, historic plate for you pretty soon I guess!

Anyway...well done!

Doug
Thanks, Doug! I love my E30. Just about everything on it has broken at some point, but I can't let go of it. That car always puts a smile on my face.

People are snatching them up left and right here in Cali. Many are still in amazing condition. Some are sitting around in people's driveways and their owners just don't know what they've got so you can occasionally find a real bargain. :)

Just a few more years and I'll be able to get those historical plates!
 
#15 ·
Kalim,

Couldn't see your e30 before too well on my phone...back home and just had to write to tell you it's beautiful!

When the e36 came out, I thought it was ugly...really ugly. Two years later I had one and thought differently...but still, always loved the e30...see them less and less now.

Maybe someday bmw will get smart and bring back the style! So, historic plate for you pretty soon I guess!

Anyway...well done!

Doug
 
#23 ·
k

who is this firefirefire90 you speak of? is he the banned guy? :eeps:
He may be banned from e46fanatics, but he's still welcome in my garage.




Well, mostly.
 
#21 ·
Gloomy day today, but -Jay-, firefirefire90, Devious21, and 323ci newbie popped in for a visit. We stripped the hoses and wiring harnesses off the good S54 I have sitting around in order to prep it for my upcoming swap.
Here's the motor with the airbox finally off:

Just needs a little more cleaning up and it should be good to go.


Devious21 also dropped his car off. He'll be getting a sweet upgrade, too. :mischief:
 
#29 ·
Haha, I know, I know! I've been busy with things as you can see. :)

i met toby (tkc) last week. he said something about you parting out an m3? and i wanna come check out this garage! from what i've seen so far its where all the magic happens!
:hi: Yes, I bought an M3 with a a blown motor mainly as a test stand and a parts car for my swap.
You're welcome to come by and check the operation out as long as you come to a meet first! haha :)
 
#27 ·
i met toby (tkc) last week. he said something about you parting out an m3? and i wanna come check out this garage! from what i've seen so far its where all the magic happens!
 
#30 ·
:hi: Yes, I bought an M3 with a a blown motor mainly as a test stand and a parts car for my swap.
You're welcome to come by and check the operation out as long as you come to a meet first! haha :)
sweeeet! which one? the one in milpitas?
 
#31 ·
#33 ·
You should definitely stop by, man. :D
 
#35 ·
:hi:
Yup. Many big projects on the way!
 
#37 ·
You're welcome, Marv. Enjoy the low!
 
#39 ·
For the most part, yeah. The parts should hopefully come in before the weekend.
 
#44 ·
:rofl:

Speaking of which, when are you coming down for a visit... -___-
 
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