325TI - Project Mpact
Discussion
Hello all,
It's time i put a build thread up for my 325TI Sport, I bought this back in 2009 with 48,000 miles on it.
9 years later and the speedo reading 141,000 miles from being taken all over Europe, endless Nurburgring trips and as a daily driver. It's time for a bit of tlc and a bit more power.
I took it off the road in January 2017, where it sat uncovered in the driveway for a year while i was setting up my own Business as a Self-Employed Fabrication Engineer. Although i kept it washed and polished regularly the weather took it's toll and water and corrosion crept anywhere it could, lesson learnt.
In February 2017 i Bought the Donor car for the project. A 2001 E46 M3 SMG with 80,000 on the clock, full service history, endless receipts and an horrendous respray in Nardo grey. The M3 was fully road legal which i used for 6 months to make sure all was good with it until the m.o.t ran out, i do not like the SMG!.
Anyway, here is the 325TI in its Individual Estoril Blue.
It's time i put a build thread up for my 325TI Sport, I bought this back in 2009 with 48,000 miles on it.
9 years later and the speedo reading 141,000 miles from being taken all over Europe, endless Nurburgring trips and as a daily driver. It's time for a bit of tlc and a bit more power.
I took it off the road in January 2017, where it sat uncovered in the driveway for a year while i was setting up my own Business as a Self-Employed Fabrication Engineer. Although i kept it washed and polished regularly the weather took it's toll and water and corrosion crept anywhere it could, lesson learnt.
In February 2017 i Bought the Donor car for the project. A 2001 E46 M3 SMG with 80,000 on the clock, full service history, endless receipts and an horrendous respray in Nardo grey. The M3 was fully road legal which i used for 6 months to make sure all was good with it until the m.o.t ran out, i do not like the SMG!.
Anyway, here is the 325TI in its Individual Estoril Blue.
Edited by amc_adam on Friday 20th December 16:01
So in November 2017 i finally had room to get the M3 into my workshop, but being self-employed finding time to get started on it wouldn't be until the Christmas break.
In the past I've only really had engines out of classic Mini's and a MK1 Caddy, With the amount of wires, sensors and pipes on these cars it was a very time consuming job to dismantle the car taking care not to damage anything.
The M3 was left on it's wheels so i could move it around easily, and so i could move it out the way for customers cars to come in.
In the past I've only really had engines out of classic Mini's and a MK1 Caddy, With the amount of wires, sensors and pipes on these cars it was a very time consuming job to dismantle the car taking care not to damage anything.
The M3 was left on it's wheels so i could move it around easily, and so i could move it out the way for customers cars to come in.
Edited by amc_adam on Friday 20th December 16:05
pidsy said:
Agree with BF - should be good.
It’s been done a few times to wildly differing levels of finish.
I had a red m-sport 325ti which I chopped in for my e46 M3. They are great little cars.
Yes i have seen a few 'chucked' together builds, only one way to do it in my opinion.....as it would have left the factory!It’s been done a few times to wildly differing levels of finish.
I had a red m-sport 325ti which I chopped in for my e46 M3. They are great little cars.
There's not many Red 325ti's about, that colour really suits them. Is your M3 manual or SMG?
amc_adam said:
Yes i have seen a few 'chucked' together builds, only one way to do it in my opinion.....as it would have left the factory!
There's not many Red 325ti's about, that colour really suits them. Is your M3 manual or SMG?
Manual. I didn’t like the SMG box. There's not many Red 325ti's about, that colour really suits them. Is your M3 manual or SMG?
I tweaked my ti a little bit and went as far as booking it in to have a quad pipe exhaust fitted but the removal of the spare wheel well and subsequent plate welding made me think twice. Then the perfect M3 came up and the little car had to go.
They polarise opinions but they’re rare and slightly odd looking but that 6 cylinder engine in that chassis is great. Which is odd considering it’s cobbled together from E30, E36 and e46 ideas.
eezeh said:
Really looking forwards to this, a compact with an S54 must be an absolute riot.
Any plans for an LSD? The lower gear ratios of the compact differential and the S54 must make it seriously quick off the line!
yes, it's having the full running gear and what not, LSD from the M3. Basically anything thats under the m3 will be going in the compact! well, that's if everything fits Any plans for an LSD? The lower gear ratios of the compact differential and the S54 must make it seriously quick off the line!
With the engine out the M3, it was time to push it out the way and make room on the ramp for the compact.
After a year of the compact being sat in the driveway it had had started to get a bit tatty, both front arches had bubbled and more noticeably the front off the car was a lot lower.........
The Koni suspension i had fitted in 2010 had corroded to the point where the springs had snapped in two places, on both sides?!. It was sitting on it's bump stops.
After a year of the compact being sat in the driveway it had had started to get a bit tatty, both front arches had bubbled and more noticeably the front off the car was a lot lower.........
The Koni suspension i had fitted in 2010 had corroded to the point where the springs had snapped in two places, on both sides?!. It was sitting on it's bump stops.
Edited by amc_adam on Friday 20th December 16:07
After a lot of faffing the compact was in the workshop, this felt like a huge step after a year of waiting!
The strip down had begun, this was a slow going job.....trying to be extra careful not to damage anything and find where all the hidden clips a screws where. You can't knock the German build quality!
With the front end dismantled i thought it was best to lift the car onto axle stands and get all four wheels in the air, as the car was going to be on axle stands for the foreseeable future i wanted it to be secure and have no chance of slipping off them.
So i knocked these up, they sit over the top of the axle stands and then fit up inside the standard jacking points.
The strip down had begun, this was a slow going job.....trying to be extra careful not to damage anything and find where all the hidden clips a screws where. You can't knock the German build quality!
With the front end dismantled i thought it was best to lift the car onto axle stands and get all four wheels in the air, as the car was going to be on axle stands for the foreseeable future i wanted it to be secure and have no chance of slipping off them.
So i knocked these up, they sit over the top of the axle stands and then fit up inside the standard jacking points.
Edited by amc_adam on Friday 20th December 16:23
It was time to completely strip the engine and running gear out the Compact, after dismantling the M3 this seemed quite easy and not a single bolt or screw snapped.... Although taking my pride and joy to bits was the difficult part.
When it came to dropping the rear subframe etc i was in for a bit of a shock. Previously up until 100,000 miles it had a full BMW service history, after that i serviced it myself. For it's last M.O.T i took it to a local 'BMW specialist', it failed on rear brake lines. As it was a 'Specialist' i was happy for them to do the work, i didn't think anything of it and carried on using it for a year until the M.O.T ran out. After that it was sat on the driveway for another year.
When i began to strip down of the rear end all the under trays where missing! There was mud a dirt build up on everything, it was a struggle to see what needed to be taken off first. With the subframe dropped revealing the state of the brake lines (above picture) that were just layed on top of the subframe.
Not only that but for what ever reason they didn't use the rear left jacking point, they used the floor !!!....... pushing it up and splitting the seams allowing corrosion to get inside!.
When it came to dropping the rear subframe etc i was in for a bit of a shock. Previously up until 100,000 miles it had a full BMW service history, after that i serviced it myself. For it's last M.O.T i took it to a local 'BMW specialist', it failed on rear brake lines. As it was a 'Specialist' i was happy for them to do the work, i didn't think anything of it and carried on using it for a year until the M.O.T ran out. After that it was sat on the driveway for another year.
When i began to strip down of the rear end all the under trays where missing! There was mud a dirt build up on everything, it was a struggle to see what needed to be taken off first. With the subframe dropped revealing the state of the brake lines (above picture) that were just layed on top of the subframe.
Not only that but for what ever reason they didn't use the rear left jacking point, they used the floor !!!....... pushing it up and splitting the seams allowing corrosion to get inside!.
Edited by amc_adam on Friday 20th December 16:28
Robmarriott said:
Ive always fancied an e46 compact, nobody seems to like them but I think they’ve got a certain charm.
Same. They can be had so cheap and don't seem to rust as bad as the coupes and saloons. I also like that they're smaller and carry a bit less weight. I much prefer the look of the face-lift models though. amc_adam said:
Brace yourself, picture heavy build on it's way
So, what's the bad news? 
I've never seen one of these in Estoril Blue. Must be very rare! Really looking forward to the updates, OP. A few people have described the 325ti as a mini M3 anyway, but now this one really will be!
Will the SMG be swapped over too? Is it even possible?
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