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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):






 
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#28 ·
Nil, I would never thought your car was from a salvage yard till this post. Congrats on a job well done and the car is looking hot. So what is next on your list? I might see you later at meets, just look me up :) BTW I just love these type of post...

Charlie
 
#31 ·
:yikes:

I saw many of your posts, I never thought your car in your sig from salvage yard.

Wow, good job :thumbup: :bow:

Probably I can sell my slow a** 320i and buy 330i from salvage yard n start rebuilt like urs :idea:

:eeps:

:eek:













but I dont think I have guts to do it :rolleyes: :impulss:
 
#32 ·
Wow dude... like I've said before, I love seeing fanatics work on their own cars. Coming from a muscle car world, this would be a normal restoration. But you hardly ever find anyone trying to restore a newer car, especially a BMW with expensive parts. It's awesome how you found great deals where you could (especially those non-OEM fenders which look great), and it's amazing that you even decided to undertake this job. I have more respect for you than anyone else on this forum. MAD props bro...

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
 
#33 ·
looks like u gave her a new lease on life! good work, hope it came out under the price of a comparable non-crashed 330, but even if it didnt, theres something to be said for all that personal time and effort that u put into a car u plan to hold onto for a long time

kudos!
 
#46 ·
GREAT thread!! :yikes: Outstanding job.

But to be honest, I was waiting for the 'And then some a$$hole ran a red light and t-boned me on the way to work' message! :ben: Glad the thread didn't end up that way!! :bow:

JimmyD
 
#49 ·
petey said:
nice job...where did you learn to work on cars from, being you are so young
thanks, my dad really helped me out on stuff i didnt know, the way i looked at things was the same way it comes out, the same way it goes back type of perspective, and i just followed the service manual and TIS cd before i would tackle any job so i know what to expect in the process, what should be removed and what shouldn't etc.

Yellowmann said:
Nil, I would never thought your car was from a salvage yard till this post. Congrats on a job well done and the car is looking hot. So what is next on your list? I might see you later at meets, just look me up :) BTW I just love these type of post...

Charlie
Yeah i hope to meet up and see your car in person, I cant wait to see how dre's rim look on your ride up close. Maybe the next big east coast meet or show i'll see you there :thumbup: Next is a new rear bumper, not too found of the style of that one anymore, at the time when rebuilding the car it wasnt a part that need replacing so it stayed intact.

Bezita said:
:yikes:

I saw many of your posts, I never thought your car in your sig from salvage yard.
Yeah, anybody who see's my car for the first time does not know its rebuilt, i thought i would make this thread and just show everybody my progress of the car, i have pictures documenting everything, but just for my personal use, this is the first time telling you fanatics about my experience with my car :)
 
#50 ·
Lugnut2683 said:
Wow dude... like I've said before, I love seeing fanatics work on their own cars. Coming from a muscle car world, this would be a normal restoration. But you hardly ever find anyone trying to restore a newer car, especially a BMW with expensive parts. It's awesome how you found great deals where you could (especially those non-OEM fenders which look great), and it's amazing that you even decided to undertake this job. I have more respect for you than anyone else on this forum. MAD props bro...
thanks man! i would love to go and restore a muscle car if i had the money, it would be a change from all these electronics and a good learning experience too :thumbup:

simsima325 said:
looks like u gave her a new lease on life! good work, hope it came out under the price of a comparable non-crashed 330, but even if it didnt, theres something to be said for all that personal time and effort that u put into a car u plan to hold onto for a long time

kudos!

i sure did! it feels great bringing this car back out on the road actually and not having it broken down into peices. at the time when purchasing the car, this car with this milage had a KBB of 32k with the milage in exxcelent condion, and 30k in good condition. I still came out under, i posted my prices above :)
 
#51 · (Edited)
CGRIZZ516 said:
damn thats awesome. if only i had that type of mechanical skill, props man.

which salvage yard did you go to? is it in Queens
the salvage yard was in bronx, its called elitemotorcars. they have now moved to NJ to a bigger lot

www.elitemotorcars.com

xMetal said:
more video monitors please!

Damn dude, that's a nice build. There seems to be quite a few industrious folks on these boards that take the time and put in the effort to do something special.

Nice work, hope you enjoy the car!
Thanks, i'm loving the car now :thumbup:

ClearM3 said:
very nice man


came a long way. You forgot to mention you upgraded from the nextel i95 to the i730 all during this process :)


but def congrats man.....where in queens are ya???

Oh yeah! now i need a 860 :banghead: i have alot of small stuff not listed, i also got rid of the stupid wood trim too :thumbup:

I'm in richmond hill, or more known as jamaica, queens. i'm off exit 4 (liberty ave) on the van wyck :)
 
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