E46 323Ci mild resto/mod

[LEE337]

So this is my latest purchase, a 2000 323Ci SE..

Oh it's a 'beauty', with a reasonably leggy 143k on the clock, a few months MOT and a few weeks tax it was still a steal at a heavily bartered £550!

I predominantly bought the car to stop ruining my E39, as I do around 200miles a week to work and back down some tight B roads that have seen my car get covered in bush rash and stone chips :-(
So back to this car - it has some nice options, and some not so nice.. So starting with the positive - inside it has full electric memory sport seats and well.. That's about it! Haha!
Outside there is some form of M Sport kit? Although this had seen far better days! And some 18" alloys that I have no idea what they are!

Bad bits are entirely consisted of cosmetics, with rust eating both front wings and the bootlid - the spoiler is missing and the rear bumper is damaged.

So the plan is to tidy it up and more than likely some small mods to improve its look/drive. Although first on the list is definitely a serious clean!!

Anyway.. Here are some before pictures!

[carreauchompeur]

That's a billy bargain! AFAIK the front wings are an easy bolt on/off malarkey.

[jumare]

I had one of those (X reg) as a company car, the memory seats are brilliant linked to the different keys so as you approach the car and unlock it the seats move into position. I think it also changes the air-con and various other settings to a saved preference. Great when you're sharing the car with a spouse. Powered rear quater lights as well which was a bit of a laugh.

Mine only had the standard wheels (16"?) and no kit, I was working to an allowance. Good car, amazing to see the stae that one has got into though.

Mark.

[mwstewart]

I forgot the exact name of the kit; 'Aero' or something, but it was an option on the very early Coupés.

Excellent price!

[Risotto]

Yes, the bumpers were known as the aero kit, my old one from 1999 had it too. It also had the subframe that tore loose from the boot floor, which was a less desirable option...hopefully yours doesn't!

Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 13th August 23:41

[AM7]

What a bargain price! Given the engine has been well serviced, 143k is not at all leggy on these
I'm nearly 3 weeks into E46 ownership and I am loving it. Mine needs just a tiny bit of tidying up but they are pretty nice and simple to work on, plenty of parts available at reasonable prices too.

The wheels are BMW Style 32s, a bit rare on E46s, I'd love a set of them on mine anyway! As stated above you also have another rather rare option, the Aero kit I do think it's called. Interestingly, mine is a slightly later (M?)Sport, and has the larger spoiler that is missing on yours, the usual on a Sport is a small lip spoiler but mine is the only one I have seen with the earlier big Aero spoiler!

[LEE337]

mwstewart said:

I forgot the exact name of the kit; 'Aero' or something, but it was an option on the very early Coupés.

Excellent price!

I think I have probably read your M3 thread in its entirety at least twice - I'll be very happy if my work on this car is even a fraction of what you do!!
Definitely stolen a few ideas from it that may get adopted into both this and my E39!

[mwstewart]

LEE337 said:

I think I have probably read your M3 thread in its entirety at least twice - I'll be very happy if my work on this car is even a fraction of what you do!!
Definitely stolen a few ideas from it that may get adopted into both this and my E39!

Cheers! Keep us updated

[LEE337]

So over the weekend I gave the car a bit of a clean up - nothing a massive detail or anything for now, but it was really dirty and annoying me!
Took some before pics (which actually make it look not that bad) and some after pics which don't actually make it look that great typically!











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I hate realising how dirty the steering wheels always are in used cars :/





Unfortunately it had got dark by the time I finished so this pic isn't as good, and the seat is still wet, not stained!



Then on Sunday I gave the outside a quick wash - it was tempting to do a proper detail on it, but knowing ill be replacing a lot of the panels soon it seems a bit pointless. . Had some help from the other half though!
She's quite a dab hand with some APC that has bleach in it - I was looking to refurbished the alloys myself, but a bit of her elbow grease cleaned them up to a point where there have dropped down the priority list!





Finally a crappy picture of the exterior (I wasn't going to post one for now, but changed my mind and just hung out of the window to take it!)

Edited by LEE337 on Monday 18th August 23:24

[LEE337]

So - annoyingly yesterday the cars started steaming from th NS front grill, and the heaters were blowing cold... Great! A bit of poking around led me to believe the radiator was leaking badly (2 litres per 20 miles!) So a short notice day off work and the radiator is now replaced with some nice new coolant too. However I wasn't expecting to see how bad the old radiator was!



Anyone else seen this before?

[mwstewart]

Bloody hell! Not to that degree...

[Synchromesh]

My rad was leaking like yours was, and looked almost identical when it came out!

[LEE337]

Little update for now - just managed to pick up a 2003 bootlid for the grand sum of £40
Its not perfect but has no dents holes or rust like the old one!

I am also on with fitting an aftermarket double din headunit and relocating the heater controls.. So more to come soon!

Anyway a nice little after pic:

[anonymous-user]

Hi, I might have some bits you want as I just changed my double din factory nav for a single din head unit. You won't want my nav as it's the 4:3 but I have all the ashtrays/ cubbies, and they might work for you- I say might as there are loads of variations...

Good luck with the work- how are you tackling the rust on any not bolt on panels? Or are you lucky on that front?

[LEE337]

Polynesian said:

Hi, I might have some bits you want as I just changed my double din factory nav for a single din head unit. You won't want my nav as it's the 4:3 but I have all the ashtrays/ cubbies, and they might work for you- I say might as there are loads of variations...

Good luck with the work- how are you tackling the rust on any not bolt on panels? Or are you lucky on that front?

If you could PM me with some details about the HVAC fasica i will probably be interested.. Theres a bit of surface rust on the thin strip between the bottom of the doors and the side skirts, and a small scab on the NSR wheel arch - other than that its pretty good from what I have seen

[LEE337]

Not sure if many people read this or not, but I'm after a bit of advice..

I need to replace the NS track rod end (so I will be doing both anyway) along with both ARB drop links - Euro car parts are wanting £45ish inc. VAT for cheap ones or £99 for OE spec ones. BMW are wanting £215 for the lot.

The question is, are the cheaper ones really only worth half as much as the OE spec ones? And are the OE spec ones only worth half as much as the genuine ones? Is there even a difference between them all?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help

Edited by LEE337 on Wednesday 10th September 12:58

[mwstewart]

LEE337 said:

Not sure if many people read this or not, but I'm after a bit of advice..

I need to replace the NS track rod end (so I will be doing both anyway) along with both ARB drop links - Euro car parts are wanting £45ish inc. VAT for cheap ones or £99 for OE spec ones. BMW are wanting £215 for the lot.

The question is, are the cheaper ones really only worth half as much as the OE spec ones? And are the OE spec ones only worth half as much as the genuine ones? Is there even a difference between them all?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help

Edited by LEE337 on Wednesday 10th September 12:58

LEMFÖRDER (they capitalise it, now me) are the one to go for. They are the OEM supplier.