BMW E46 M3

[RSVR101]

It would be good to get it done, just for piece of mind so I most probably will at some point.

I’m not sure what intentions I have for it just yet, it won’t get too much use as I don’t get a lot of spare time, not at the moment anyway but it will certainly get some use through the summer. I guess I’m just in a lucky position at the moment to have something that’s nice to have and that’s not a necessity. I say lucky but I have always worked bloody hard and I’m a great believer in generating your own luck.

I am very pleased with the combination of vehicles I have now, the disco 4 is such a good all-rounder, rugged, quick enough but smart at the same time. I have had 0 issues with it over the last 5 years and 50k despite all the negative reliability feedback you read about land rover products. I was considering changing it for something newer like the latest disco or a RR but I just don’t like anything newer that is available right now. The bike and the M3 each scratch a different itch, both older vehicles but again I haven’t seen a more recent vehicle or bike that I’d really want to own over either. The BMW 1200gs adventure turns my head but I wouldn’t swap the RSVR for it, it would have to be additional... :-)

[scottos]

That looks great and im glad you found a good one. I had an e46 330cd as a mile muncher and really did love that thing, i never normally stick with cars more than a year and i had that 3.5. I piled 70k onto it and the rust started setting in, that combined with my mileage decreasing is the only reason i got rid! It was like watching an old friend leave you when it was driven off. They really are great e46's although i've never had the balls to buy and daily drive an m3!

[e46m3Mark]

Congrats on the purchase. It looks lovely in that colour.

+1 for getting the RACP strengthened. The cracking can be incredibly hard to spot and can be as small as a broken spot weld. My own car was inspected by Reddish and this includes drilling an access hole to get a camera into the box section. They described mine as being one of the better examples they'd seen but there were still 2 broken spot welds and the start of a small crack. I bit the bullet and had the trailing arm bushes, rear brake lines and prop donut done at the same time.

Anyway, hope you get time to enjoy what is a terrific car.

[RSVR101]

Thanks Mark, what sort of cost we’re you looking at for that work?

[e46m3Mark]

All in, with parts etc, it was a little over £2K. That included powder coating the diff carrier etc, removing the fuel tanks, treating any corrosion and undersealing that whole area once again. There were was a Safety Devices rear brace, new brake lines etc, fitting my KW suspension and finally doing the geometry, so it wasn't as spiteful on cost as it might have been. It's also helping retain the value of the car as most buyers would be looking for work like this to have been completed. My next job will be refreshing the rod bearings but I'll have to save up first.

You can see what was done here...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Mark

Edited by e46m3Mark on Tuesday 19th February 10:44

[Dissolved]

Wack a carbon airbox in that beast asap, I had Evolve's version in my old car & I honestly cannot explain the sheer grin factor of hearing that induction roar as you boot it. Just glorious.

Also the RACP / powder coating & bushing is an immensely satisfying fix and tightens the ride up nicely - I added PowerFlex yellow rather than the racier black variants.

I loved that car!

Here's my thread on M3Cutters for the car before I sold it a couple of years ago. Lots of pics of the powdercoating & RACP work and a few other bits & pieces.

In hindsight, £14.5k was cheap!

[e46m3Mark]

+1 for the carbon airbox. The noise alone is hugely addictive.

[RSVR101]

Thanks Mark, I’ve been following your thread, great looking car you have, love the colour. I must say you helped make my purchasing decision easier!! The i8 courtesy car you had does nothing for me, they seem to have aged badly already let alone in 15 years time.

[RSVR101]

Dissolved said:

Wack a carbon airbox in that beast asap, I had Evolve's version in my old car & I honestly cannot explain the sheer grin factor of hearing that induction roar as you boot it. Just glorious.

Also the RACP / powder coating & bushing is an immensely satisfying fix and tightens the ride up nicely - I added PowerFlex yellow rather than the racier black variants.

I loved that car!

Here's my thread on M3Cutters for the car before I sold it a couple of years ago. Lots of pics of the powdercoating & RACP work and a few other bits & pieces.

In hindsight, £14.5k was cheap!

Thanks for the link, someone got a very good buy! It’s a slippery slope isn’t it, I was intending on keeping everything original but i’ve already contacted Royal and now I’m doing some research on carbon air boxes......

My smg gearknob is starting to loose its chrome as it’s flaked off a little in places, would be interested to see if I can get it rechromed.

[e46m3Mark]

RSVR101 said:

The i8 courtesy car you had does nothing for me, they seem to have aged badly already let alone in 15 years time.

Glad it's not just me. Considering it's a £100k+ car it just didn't feel very special and it sounds rubbish. It was nice to drive though and certainly easy, despite its size, so as transport it was great. If transport is all you want though, you wouldn't buy an i8 would you? The M3 may only be an old 3 series but it feels much more special to me and the engine noise is all real.

Storm make some nice alternatives to your OE gear knob.

http://www.storm-motorwerks.com/interior/bmw/shift...

[Dissolved]

RSVR101 said:

Thanks for the link, someone got a very good buy! It’s a slippery slope isn’t it, I was intending on keeping everything original but i’ve already contacted Royal and now I’m doing some research on carbon air boxes......

My smg gearknob is starting to loose its chrome as it’s flaked off a little in places, would be interested to see if I can get it rechromed.

re. the SMG knob (lol) you should have a look at Storm Motorwerks sets, you can change the paddles as well. Cutters For Sale section occasionally has one that will come up for sale as they're not the cheapest but still.

Big shout out to Jack at Royal for the steering wheel retrim though, impeccable work.

It is a slippery slope, in many ways there isn't anything better than a completely OEM E46, replete with perfect chrome and mirror finish wheels... sadly keeping one in that shape is tough. Especially as, in my opinion, you can get some OEM+ bits that work far better (like my Koni dampers and H&R springs rather than standard suspension, it just looks & rides way better).

Whatever you decide to do, they are fantastic cars & you have what appears to be a corker, enjoy it!

[G111MDS]

what an absolutely stunning M3 - very, very nice!

[RSVR101]

Thanks! I like it, I wonder why the discontinued the colour, I think it suits the car perfectly and shows up the lines and bulges so well.