Bmw e46 Build - Saxperience

DAMSK11 · 26th August 2015, 19:32

Recently sold my Fiesta zetec S and bought a bmw 318ci e46 convertible. I know. Wrong model blah blah blah. I had to go for this model for insurance costs etc.
Car came with a removable hard top which is in immaculate condition, as is the soft top. Csl style alloys with brand new Pirelli P zero tyres all round and a crappy Dab headunit which will soon be replaced with a double din with built in sat nav. Other than that it is completely standard. Has half suede interior which could do with a bit of cleaning up.
Plans are to drop it down a bit in the future, double din headunit, hids, angel eye rings, smarten up the interior and a new exhaust, possibly one from an m3 depending on how much work it will be to get it fitting right. Paint needs a touch up here and there too so the plastics on the bumpers will be colour coded at the same time.

Anyway, picture of the fiesta.

And a few pictures of the Bmw.

Project is already starting, started by removing the aerial which doesn't seem to work anyway, the model badge on the rear and moved the front plate to the window

Also started stripping the tired looking interior panels, they'll be smoothed to get rid of the texture on them and sprayed gloss black in the next few days with any luck.

Stay tuned.

Jizanthapus · 27th August 2015, 07:33

Looks good! What is it a 2.0?

holdawayt · 27th August 2015, 14:50

Not really a build is it? It's a progress thread or a project.

I had the 330ci, was fun but a little lazy. They are comfortable though. I felt strange having a luxurious car so swapped it for the S14. I do miss it sometimes though.
Watching with interest!

jbrady72 · 27th August 2015, 15:57

Picture of the fiesta is more like a picture of a field that happens to have a fiesta in it haha!
BM looks good, will be bit laggy and down on power I'm guessing?
But certainly looks tidy!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DAMSK11 · 27th August 2015, 20:50

It is rather down on power if i'm honest. The fiesta was quicker off the line but this is so much more comfortable. Anyway

Started on building my subwoofer into the rear seats today. It has a 'ski hatch' which frankly will never be used so i'm going to use the space and do this

Started by pulling my sub apart, got it out of the enclosure and lined it up between the rear seats

I cut a piece of wood to the size of the gap and then cut a hole for the sub to fit in, the wood was wrapped with suede and looks quite tidy with the sub in it. I'll get a picture tomorrow of that. Planning on running the amp on the underside of the boot floor or bolting it to the rear seat. Battery is in the boot which is handy for wiring.

Also a quick picture of the interior panels that are going to be sprayed

Should have some more updates tomorrow

Dany4494 · 27th August 2015, 22:29

I'll be keeping a eye on this mates got a e46 330d it's nice full harmon karden sat nav all the extras very comfy cars.

DAMSK11 · 30th August 2015, 11:46

Fitted the sub in and got it wired up yesterday.

Will be putting some suede at the sides to cover the metal but it works which is the main thing. Should also be painting my interior trims soon and fitting it all back together. Also have my eye on a double din headunit which will be fitted as soon as I buy it

DAMSK11 · 14th September 2015, 18:58

Quick update, fitted a double din sony headunit with built in sat nav. Also had to rewire the sub due to connection issues. All that's left is some more suede at the sides between the seats to finish it off a bit. Interior parts are still out for paint, have been pretty busy lately so progress has been a bit delayed. Fitted new flexi hoses last week too because the others were near to splitting in two. Also have a tensioner and drive belt to go on at some point too. Real progress will be coming soon.

DAMSK11 · 23rd September 2015, 20:08

Retrimmed my gearknob today in suede until i find another one i like. Also a quick picture of the engine bay at the moment.

Also removed the drive belt yesterday to test the pulleys because of a squealing noise coming from it, turned out to be the alternator pulley.

DAMSK11 · 28th September 2015, 17:35

My new number plates arrived today. Went for pressed ones. They freshen it up a bit

DAMSK11 · 2nd October 2015, 20:52

Had some Angel eye rings arrive today so this evening I took the headlights off and pulled them apart. Will be cooking them tomorrow and splitting the lens from the rest of the light cluster. The rings light up white and will be used as sidelights. I'll be fitting hid's soon aswell so they won't look so odd against the orange standard bulbs.

DAMSK11 · 10th October 2015, 13:24

Angel eyes were the wrong size..i figured this out after I had pulled the light apart.. so that is a project for another day.

However. I bought some more subwoofers the other day. Planning on having them either side of the boot along with the other one inbetween the rear seats.

Will be doing something like this I should imagine. Either that or running them against the rear seats.

iVTR · 13th October 2015, 14:32

Liking it.

Can't decide whether to get pressed plates for mine or not. Didn't go for the standard 'german' style ones then!

How much they cost you?

DAMSK11 · 14th October 2015, 20:55

Picked up a cherry bomb this evening. Should be fitting tomorrow if it all fits correctly..

Brettles1986 · 15th October 2015, 08:32

Why a cherry bomb on an E46?

Personally cars like BMW's should be mapped and panel filter change and that is it in terms of performance.

holdawayt · 15th October 2015, 10:55

That exhaust, subwoofer and headlight combo is screaming "Chavvy boy racer lad bible addict let's go shuffle with bare gash then go for a cheeky Nandos".

In short, it's a bag of wank.

Jizanthapus · 15th October 2015, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by holdawayt

That exhaust, subwoofer and headlight combo is screaming "Chavvy boy racer lad bible addict let's go shuffle with bare gash then go for a cheeky Nandos".

In short, it's a bag of wank.

haha slightly harsh. I thought it was fine until the cherry bomb. Subs aren't my thing anymore but lets face it, no one will see them anyway.

Apart for that it's a nice looking car - just a shame it's missing 2 cylinders!

DAMSK11 · 15th October 2015, 12:18

Subwoofers are probably going to go up for sale because the boot space is already limited. Cherry bomb was a backbox that came up cheap and from what i've seen they sound quite nice on this model. If it's that bad i'll put the original back on and sell that too

Synister · 15th October 2015, 13:51

I haven't seen a cherry bomb exhaust since I was a spotty teenager flicking through sticky pages in a Revs mag.

Do you have pictures of the Combat kitted corsa that it came from originally?

DAMSK11 · 1st December 2015, 19:33

Progress has started up again..

Finally got the interior parts painted and some fitted. Will be fitting the rest in a couple of days. Also started getting the front grill ready for paint. Will be going black instead of the chrome. Fitted some carbon fibre bmw centre caps at the weekend aswell which should look pretty nice when the wheels are sprayed black. I also tinted the rear lights and front fogs with fly eye tint, not to everyones taste but gives them a bit of a darker look. Planning on fitting some 'mood lighting' in the door cards and seats aswell. Front and rear bumpers will be sprayed soon aswell, the front is covered in stone chips and the rear has some paint missing aswell. I might try and make the front a little more custom with some extensions for the corners of the bumpers when it comes to painting them too. Pictures will be up as soon as i can get a picture in the daylight.