Project: Sleeper wagon

I was half way there when I had the diff out. I'm kicking myself for not dealing with it when I had it apart.

Small update:

Aligned the front bumper properly. Had to relocate the horn as it was hitting the intercooler hoses. Finally fixed the airbag light - typical failure of the driver side belt tensioner.

Other than that I'm just having fun with the car. The DME is getting used to the bigger injectors and the amount of air being pushed in. The roads have been wet and it's about 5 degrees celsius. I got Ventus V12s and they are pretty much useless when it's this cold.
It spins the wheels when I stomp on it in 4th gear.

Here are some pics of the engine bay:

oem horn?

This is so awesome.

Congrats man.
I'm very happy for you.

Originally Posted by 330i ZHP

oem horn?

Yeah, there are two horns, one on each side of the metal bumper.

i know - but i am confused how your horn is in the way? Is the horn mounted so that it is inside the bumper? THat is how it is supposed to be.

Yes, it was mounted in the stock location inside of the metal bumper.
I don't have pics of my intercooler hoses. It looks similar to the ESS manual. I guess I could have just tighten the hoses closer to the radiator support.
Not a big deal but it took me some time to find out what was in the way.

Awesome man!. Coming along very nicely. Looking forward to seeing some more pics of the intercooler and whole car. I can't wait till you smoke your first E46 M3 it's going to be absolutely hilarious.

I hate that front wheel gap so much I don't even want to take pics of the car.
I was gonna wait until I sell the coupe but I called local Bilstein dealer to find out how long it usually takes to order stuff. Damn, that sales guy is really good at his job ...

Originally Posted by lab rat

I hate that front wheel gap so much I don't even want to take pics of the car.
I was gonna wait until I sell the coupe but I called local Bilstein dealer to find out how long it usually takes to order stuff. Damn, that sales guy is really good at his job ...

I thought it was suppose to be sleeper wagon and look normal on the outside?. Lol na but you need good suspension to support that power imo. I hated wheel gap to that's why I have asbolutely none at all. And my rim basically is the only thing visible in the fender.

I'm not gonna drop it low. In fact I'll keep the rear as high as possible.

The coupe is up for sale and a dyno pull is scheduled for Thursday morning.

amazing build. i'll shoot you a pm. i should be starting my wagon swap soon so i would like to get some info. cant wait to see what numbers it puts down!

So you are going to do an M54B30 swap?
I'll be happy to help.

Originally Posted by lab rat

The coupe is up for sale and a dyno pull is scheduled for Thursday morning.

this makes the other post in "what crappy thing did you do to your 12 yr old car today" thread

loving keeping up with this thread; thanks for the regular updates and congrats on getting it done in good time.

are you doing a brake upgrade at all?

Originally Posted by mtnbound

loving keeping up with this thread; thanks for the regular updates and congrats on getting it done in good time.

are you doing a brake upgrade at all?

Thanks. Shocks are next. I'll see if I'm gonna need swaybar links (I don't think so, the rear will be close to stock sport suspension height).
Then I can start thinking about brakes. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.

Grrrr. I failed at removing the top nut on a stock front strut.
Any tips? I don't care about destroying the old shock.

impact gun - speed often overcomes a stuck strut bolt

it has a lock nut - the nylon sleeve

are you trying to remove the nut with the suspension supported? - if not, place a block of wood under the assembly then drop the weight on the wood

if it is hanging then the nut has extra strain to hold on