Blue Collar Ballin'

[Dave-ger]

Where to begin... Ah yes, I once had a beater E21 that I swapped a rotary into and slammed. I loved it, despite that I always thought it was trying to kill me... because it almost did a couple times. Anyways, it got rear ended, it was sad. I work way too much, and I didn't feel like I wanted to find time to do body work, so I cashed out of it. There was really no other way to get decent money out of it anyways, so I took it as a sign.

It was really starting to become what I wanted it to be. I had most of the major problems sorted out and everything:









even made a custom dash for it:


Then some chick in a sentra (SUV sized compared to the E21) plowed into my car while I was stopped at a red light... STOPPED. I was mad.





anyways, couldn't find an E34 like I originally wanted, they just aren't around, so I got what I wanted even more than an E34, for a bit more money. Still the best deal I would have found on an E46.

328I, high miles, surprisingly good condition. Somebody made it look classless with things like tail light tint and a taped on wing, but I knew I could fix those things, along with the skyscraper stance





did some things like a muffler delete, de-tinting the front windows and the tint on the lights, and drove it hard.









and some real work:








needs one leak to be fixed and needs some adjustment to hopefully lay frame. I'm super happy with it though.



found this problem in the process of everything. it's where the subframe meets the body, but it's only on one side. I was going to just patch it up for now, and maybe when I feel like dropping the sub frame for bushings or something I can really fix it

[rice4life]

That e21 was awesome. Was it a 12a setup, or a 12a/13b carbed bastard?

I love rotary engines, you should 13b 6 port swap the e46

[Stupid Kid]

Your e21 was the best haha, sorry to see it gone.

But this one is looking pretty good too

[calibornn1979]

Is that the trunk pan thats cracked? My buddy's E46 M3 had the same thing happen. HE had to have the whole pan and subframe replaced. Lots of money, no dout because of the M in the name

[2bsolut]

That rear subframe problem is typical for e46`s, but after you reinforce it properly it should never be a problem again. Cool car thou

[milano_red]

Looks like a nice step up!

But your e21 was pretty awesome!

[Belvader]

Damn that looks good

[Dave-ger]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

That e21 was awesome. Was it a 12a setup, or a 12a/13b carbed bastard?

I love rotary engines, you should 13b 6 port swap the e46

To answer this and most other potential questions about the E21:

http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16915

and for quick reference, it is a 12A out of a 1st gen RX7 with a Holley 465. worked better than it should have.

I will always miss it. it's living on and taking a hell of a beating from its new owner, and apparently taking it well, so that makes me proud of my work. I put a lot of work into that car, and I will always have what I learned from it, until I'm senile or dead or something at least.




As far as that crack goes, I do believe it would be considered the trunk pan. I'm baffled as to why it's there, but I heard of some crack that these things get before I bought it, so I'm not surprised. Based on my rock crawler project (86 toyota pickup) and the E21 that you are all familiar with, I'm more than confident that I can fix the problem. I feel like getting what I can with a welder real quick will be much better than nothing until I feel like dropping the sub frame. (probably needs bushings anyways.


I also forgot to mention that the front control arm ball joints were totally shot on this when I bought it, and the brakes were so bad that the rear rotors were cracked. the front pads were almost non existent as well. I've already had to do my share of maintenance. the driveline support bearing may be bad, and I know the rubber coupler is bad, but I have those already, just need to put them in. there is a slight clunk in the back when I engage the clutch, and I'm hoping it's from that crack. other than that, there is just a bit of what I believe to be a vanos rattle. not too bad of a list for a 205k mile car if you ask me.



anyways, more pictures!

[martinm13]

There was a write up in the sponsors section on here a while ago, fluid motorunion did a repair on an e46 rear subframe that was cracking like yours. Maybe give that a look

[CrackerTeg]

There was a write up in the sponsors section on here a while ago, fluid motorunion did a repair on an e46 rear subframe that was cracking like yours. Maybe give that a look

Yup. Here they are:
Insane in The Subframe - A DIY
Insane In The Subframe - DIY Part 2
Insane In The Subframe - DIY Part 3

[Dave-ger]

Thanks lads, that will be a bit more involved than I thought it would be, but I think I can handle that.

[GOBLINN]

Awesome cars!

[Dave-ger]

Thanks Goblinn


well, I still need to fix all of the stuff I mentioned, but I can get by with the crappy clutch with the traction control off for some reason, as long as I don't do anything stupid like a burnout attempt.

in light of that, I gave it a real good shake down over the weekend.










the driver's rear bag leak got worse again. I think it's because the hex base of the fitting is against the piece that clamps the bottom of the bag to the control arm. I reckon that the general movement and all that broke the seal on the pipe threads. I wish they would have been more baller and used AN fittings or something on these. anyways, I'll find a way to fix that problem, and I need to work my rear fenders and stop driving with stink bug stance. I love the car though. Absolutely love it.


oh yea, I still need to at least patch the crack in the body, lol.

[Dave-ger]

Well, I've made a little progress. New tires all around, the biggest improvement is that the rears are much narrower than the last ones, and a little shorter in diameter. This really made the car settle down where it needs to be easier. (huge shout out to The Fit Garage for knowing much more about tire sizing than I and sourcing some very well priced tires) I've also beat the hell out of the rear fenders so I consistently tuck both rear wheels, the fenders still need more work, but it's a step in the right direction.

I still need to adjust the front struts and try to get the front to lay out more, and playing with valving on the struts wouldn't hurt either. The big thing on the suspension is making the driver's side rear bag stop leaking, I've put on a better fitting after trying to re-seal the original one like 5 times, still no luck. Once I fix that, adjust the front struts, and work the rear fenders a bit more, I can drive it at a lower height like I want to. a skid plate will be in order when I do that.


here's a pic of the car at crater lake that demonstrates a little more tuckage in the back than before:


hacked the inner trunk side panels with my pocket knife to kind of fit around the air stuff, and I went ahead and added an air hose fitting for the ultimate utility. I really could have used it earlier today, so it made me motivated to finally do it.




I don't currently have a pic of it, but I patched up the crack on the body where the sub frame mounts the best I could without dropping the sub frame. it's an ugly fix, but not visible, and it did make the car feel a little more solid.

Stay tuned, I may get some more progress on this soon.

[Stupid Kid]

e46's subframes really suck, its a big reason why i don't think id ever own one