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40K views 263 replies 58 participants last post by  domcreates 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, I just wanted to start a progress thread to keep track of my cars progress.

It's going to be slow and not have very cool/expensive upgrades, so if you only like fast and/or expensive builds then just move on :) I'm going to do the best with the money that I have.

Car is a 1999 323i in Jet Black with a Tan interior.

Feel free to leave negative feedback but please keep it mature and helpful :hi:

Thank you,
Dom

 
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#5 ·
So i'll start with the old and small "mods"

First thing was to get a matte black grills, i'm not happy with how they fit at all so sooner or later i'll try to get another one.



Next was smoked corners and a mtech ll front bumper, which I just plasti dipped black temporarily because I was so excited to get it on!



After that I had to replace my rotors so I went with these.





Then I got some R/C/R tail lights. One of my favorite mods so far. I love how clean they look.



Didn't like how high it was............



........ so I went ahead with the biggest change so far and had racelands installed :D I'm happy with them, and yes they are cheap.



And plasti dipped the wheels black. This is how it sat after the racelands.



Played around with some blue plasti dip and did a little photo shoot with a friend. I realize that the blue is kinda ricey but I kinda like how it looked.



And then I came home for this summer about a week ago and decided to change most things back to stock until I could really get the bumper matched. I couldn't find the bumper strips for the front bumper though :( Still looking for them :(



It's looking pretty beat up right now. Need to start fixing it up more.



And then I got my personalized license plates.

 
#11 ·
So the last and most current thing I did was paint the beat up silver stock wheels graphite.

Little DIY:

Take wheels off (obviously)



Before wheel picture





Wash the wheels thoroughly



Rinse



Sand with 180 while wheel is wet



Rinse, then sand with 2000 while wheels is wet



Rinse and let it air dry. Make sure that it's dry between the rim and the tire.





Once it's completely dry, tape off the tire. I tried using note cards but I suggest using tape, it isn't that hard to tape and the tape is more precise and won't blow away.



Give it one coat of primer. I went with white to try to keep the graphite as bright as possible.





Then after it dries, give it three coats of the colored paint. Make sure you get every crevice and every corner.





Then give it a couple coats of clear. I didn't get the clear on the inside faces of the spokes as much as the outside faces of the spokes and you can tell. The outside faces are completely smooth while the inside faces are more rough. Make sure you get the clear coat everywhere :)



Let the paint dry and then peel the tape off.

Pictures to show the finished product. So far it's holding up perfect. It's just to tide me over until I can get better wheels.



 
#19 · (Edited)
Thanks man, I wanted to see what the white would look like on my car but I think they are wayyyyyy too small to pull off white and I was in a hurry to get the wheels done. :)

EDIT: And it's hard to tell in pictures but the graphite kinda changes shades depending on the light it's in. It looks better in person imo.
 
#23 · (Edited)
OBC is on board computer, and your thermostat for outside temp is located in front of the driver's side wheel. When it is broken or missing it says -40 degrees. So sounds like you are missing that. Has no relation to AC.

Outside temp sensor attaches to part #8 in diagram below, right above the #7:

 
#27 · (Edited)
Oh...dom is back haha. Nice progress though, howcome you sold those miros you had on before? I think a HID retrofit would update your car alot, in for progress :thumbsup: oh and no more plasti dip :facepalm:

Edit: Dont worry about the fender liners, I finally got mine a year after owning my car haha, one side was missing and the other side was loose and torn up lol. Get a pair from autogeek for like $30
 
#41 ·
I wanna do blue lugs. Did you use plastidip?
 
#44 ·
Hey everyone, I just wanted to start a progress thread to keep track of my cars progress.
I actually just spent upwards of $2000 on maintenance that was being saved for wheels and body parts. So you don't really know what you're talking about bud. If I didn't have all that maintenance to take care of, which I did and I did take care of, then you would see brand new wheels, tires, rear bumper and arqray lip.

I had to fix the rear wheel bearing, passenger window, and a lot of the front suspension.

I don't see the need to spend $800 on AC when I can just open my windows. Is not having an AC going to negatively impact me somehow? Please enlighten me :thumbup:

On tuesday I'm fixing my rear left bushing because it is making an awful squeeking noise.

It sucks to do maintenance but I know you have to do it. Except for the AC, I don't see why I need to fix that for such an outrageous amount of money. If I feel the need to have an AC then i'll save up to fix it.

:thumbsup:
You start a thread stating you will be tracking your car's progress (for the eleventy billionth time under yet another s/n), which includes posts around poorly fitting replica grilles, a plastidipped bumper :b:, and rattle canned wheels. You include no mention that you're actually taking care of the car at all.

Expect to receive responses based on what you post, bud.

also, $2k for new wheels, tires, rear bumper, and an arquay lip??? :lmao:
 
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