E46 Fanatics Forum banner

My car from start to finish...

52K views 159 replies 105 participants last post by  TitaniumSilber 
#1 ·
Well i never really posted much about my car, i've been on the board since the old layout before vB. I didnt register until my current join date and i only purchased my car a year ago. I'm only 18, turning 19 in april and the route i chose thinking i could save some money being young and wanted a 330, not settling for a used 328/325/323, i decided to check out salvage cars. I came upon this:



yeah i know it looks horrible, but when i saw it, i thought it could be fixed. So i went home with the pictures and wrote down a rought outline of what i needed:

Headlights
Bumper Skin
Door
Door Glass
Bumper and Door Moldings
2 Fenders
Hoods
Grill
Radiator
Rim+Wheel
Rocker Panel/Kick panel/ Center B pillar to replace this:


Okay so i go over the list, at this time forgetting all the small crap, like bolts and ducts and fog lights etc and head airbags which i forgot to add up, so i decided to take a friend who would be doing the body work to see if it was a good buy. We first checked out the chassi, it appeard there was no bends in it as this accident was a curb accident then bounced off something. After having my rough parts outlined we worked out the paper work, for those intrested it's a 2001 330i with PP/SP/Leather/HK/Sunroof 5SP Steel Gray on black with 23k on the clock, for 12,500. For the price, thinking i would come out under 20 or near or above 20 i eagerly purchased it. Before i continue here is a few more pics of the car crashed, this is how the company recieved the car:


The suspension was gone since it was curbed as well as the oil pan, When purchased from them, the M68's were removed and swapped with OZ Superlegerra's off another crashed car, the windsheild was fixed, and the oil pan and suspension was fixed, the way i towed it home looked like this (BTW the car started and ran before taking it home):






 
See less See more
9
#60 ·
This thread is inspiring...I always look at the wrecked and salvaged cars in the (NY) Car Buyer's Market's Repairables section...and always think "hmm I could fix that, or that isn't so bad". This thread gives me hope and possibilty of building a track car someday :thumbup:
 
#62 ·
petey said:
nil, how hard was it to install the h&r coilovers, your story has inspired me to try to diy...unless you want to do it for me :p
easy bro! helped a friend with his h&r coils today, all you need is a socket set and a friend, really, follow these directions to remove the strut in the front: http://www.e46fanatics.com/howto/howtodetail.php?howto_id=12

3 bolts on the top, 2 bolts on the bottom, one for sway and one for the knuckle. once the strut is out, we kinda skipped the compression stage, we just put the strut sideways and loosend the top bolt and let it umcompress, and just rebuild the new h&r strut and spring with the oem strut mount, it needed little or no compression in my case. for the back its 2 bolts ontop for the shock mount, and 1 bolt on the control arm. then push down and pull the spring out, mount the h&r perch, adjust it, slip the spring in, bolt the new shock in and thats it, coils are in :thumbup:
 
#65 ·
oh my god... u RULE

ChrisFastM3 said:
You are a true e46 fanatic! I loved your thread. Very kewl story.
:werd: three words... HAIL to YOU!!! :bow: true e46 fanatic! That 330 is so lucky to have you as its owner :thumbup: :thumbup:
btw how much did the screens cost you and how long did it take to drill holes thru the headrest maybe? and wire them all up?
 
#66 ·
wlin said:
:werd: three words... HAIL to YOU!!! :bow: true e46 fanatic! That 330 is so lucky to have you as its owner :thumbup: :thumbup:
btw how much did the screens cost you and how long did it take to drill holes thru the headrest maybe? and wire them all up?
The screens were about 325 for the pair (local) and the install took me about 45 minutes to do on the 1st headrest, then maybe 30 on the next one :thumbup: here is a great DIY done by RR BuGGz: http://www.bimmervibe.com/rr_buggz/Headrest_DIY/
 
#68 · (Edited)
niL said:
i would like to add besides the body work, welding, and paint, everything else mechanically and electrically was done by me and my dad on jack stands in my backyard, including dropping the tranny down a tad and removing my intake manifold to put a new starter in, as well as bending the brake lines for the rear brakes, installing my new diff, exhaust, and installing my radiator, all the electrical was done by me, wiring up the tv's, and new sensors was done by me as well as doing my springs. before narrowing the problem of my car not starting to the starter, i was skimming through the wiring diagrams in the service manual trying to figure out what the problem was, i took out the whole dash to check the main wiring harness, in the end it was the dumb starter :banghead: i feel that going this route, i know alot more about my car. i feel i know it inside and out... when something goes wrong, i can instantly know whats wrong with the car. i feel i can tackle anything on my car, i actually cant wait to dip into the engine. i've messed with honda engine's a little, but it would be a intresting project to go into the head of my bmw. i would love to drop my oil pan and put some locktight on that oilpan nut i read posts about, i just cant do it on jackstands :(
You, are a real fanatic that worked hard starting with nothing and got your car to where it is now...I give you mad props for a the work you did in turning that car into something great....In this board, many people(not all, but many) consider, wiring up DDE's or PAYING someone to install suspension parts, or buying big brake kits that merely for show but not used on a track as modding....You turned a junker into a nice looking car at 19 when some "fanatics" in here who are close to their 30's dont even change their own oil and take their car to the dealer to get it done....It makes me happy to see someone like you getting their hands dirty and not just posting whack ass teasers about purely cosmetic stuff.....

-id like to see more fanatics with dirt under their fingernails like you!
 
#69 ·
ziggyE46 said:
You, are a real fanatic that worked hard starting with nothing and got your car to where it is now...I give you mad props for a the work you did in turning that car into something great....In this board, many people(not all, but many) consider, wiring up DDE's or PAYING someone to install suspension parts, or buying big brake kits that merely for show but not used on a track as modding....You turned a junker into a nice looking car at 21 when some "fanatics" in here who are close to their 30's dont even change their own oil and take their car to the dealer to get it done....It makes me happy to see someone like you getting their hands dirty and not just posting whack ass teasers about purely cosmetic stuff.....

-id like to see more fanatics with dirt under their fingernails like you!
:werd: Great dedication, and excellent hard work!!
 
#70 ·
ziggyE46 said:
You, are a real fanatic that worked hard starting with nothing and got your car to where it is now...I give you mad props for a the work you did in turning that car into something great....In this board, many people(not all, but many) consider, wiring up DDE's or PAYING someone to install suspension parts, or buying big brake kits that merely for show but not used on a track as modding....You turned a junker into a nice looking car at 19 when some "fanatics" in here who are close to their 30's dont even change their own oil and take their car to the dealer to get it done....It makes me happy to see someone like you getting their hands dirty and not just posting whack ass teasers about purely cosmetic stuff.....

-id like to see more fanatics with dirt under their fingernails like you!
Thank you man! I enjoy doing all the work myself, knowing its done right by me. if anything goes wrong, no one else to blame but me, and learn from my mistakes. What i really like about installing is stuff is you also get to understand the car more and see how things work with each other :) Buying mods is one thing, but having the satisfactory of getting your hands dirty and putting them in the car and knowing its done right is a way better feeling than paying somebody and hoping their doing the right thing. Plus you save some cash :) I dont have a thing against paying somebody you trust though to work on your car for the people out there that cannot accomplish installs on themselves. I did not mind paying for the paint on my car, i wanted it done right, and i knew it would come out right with somebody i trust :thumbup:
 
#71 ·
I had a request via PM from about 4 people asking for a close up of how my keyhole cam fit in the keyhole, i went out to the gas station to get some gas and snap a few pics, i also lowered the back a tad more again to somewhat match up of my intrax spring setup, i'm just praying i dont hit the diff again, and if i do, i think i'll take the time to get a 3.38 and reinforce the sub frame. Oh and
for anybody curious after the curbed accident the sub frame was 100% fine, it was one of first things i checked when buying it after reading about all the 328/323 subframe failures :thumbup:


Old cracked up diff laying around in my backyard


Good pic of my 6000k Xtec HID's and new DDE Titanium edition


Keyhole cam


had a request of the front end shot of my non oem fender
 
#74 ·
of course! actually i have just the type of cam you need, i have these laying around, this summer i will attempt to shove them all over my car just for fun if the surveillance system plan is a wash, these were purchased by my dad for a home surveillance system (this is where i originally got the key hole cam from) that never went up about a year or two ago. they have been gathering dust and my dad said he had no use for them, will post pics in a second
 
#75 ·
niL said:
of course! actually i have just the type of cam you need, i have these laying around, this summer i will attempt to shove them all over my car just for fun if the surveillance system plan is a wash, these were purchased by my dad for a home surveillance system (this is where i originally got the key hole cam from) that never went up about a year or two ago. they have been gathering dust and my dad said he had no use for them, will post pics in a second
shiet, what kind?
where can i get one?
wanna sell me one cheap? :p
 
#76 ·
Presns323i said:
shiet, what kind?
where can i get one?
wanna sell me one cheap? :p
these are some of the cams i have laying around, i'll take a look online for them and see the prices, i would sell you one of these i just would like to keep them for now unless my dad scraps the home cam system idea, i'll let you know, i'll ask him tomorrow when he wakes up :thumbup:



My keyhole cam (side view)

Front view

Pin hole cam, as you can see, the cam lens is virtually a pin hole

This cam is about 1 inch long and high, perfect for mounting in a grill


this may also be another nice cam for a grill, its removable from this metal mount
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top