Thom's bagged E46 saloon/sedan - Airlift, BBS RF - UK Build

[Thooooom]

excellent answers to all questions!!!

i live in the US, (just moved from New Orleans to Dallas, Tx to be exact) so we don't have the Lupo over here.

however, i am aware of how small they are and i liked what you did with it.

even though you say you "lost" money on the resale i gotta say the enjoyment you got from each car for a year and the experience you gained by modding them is worth way more so i'd say you came out on top.

I totally agree with you on rich people who mod cars or rich people who just buy expensive cars. There's certainly a place for those types of vehicles because some people do work hard for their money and have earned the right to show it off.
However, i feel that shows and competitions need to include a "Budget Class" for people that know how to stretch a dollar (or a euro).
There's a lot to be said for people who can properly mod a car whether it be for speed or looks or both on a tight budget.
Honestly i don't see the point of throwing 10's of thousands of dollars at a car unless it's used for competition and you're sponsored. I'd be too afraid someone would wreck it or steal it and all my hard work would have been for nothing.

I'm a drifter at heart and i spend a lot of time and effort and as little money as possible on that hobby. To me, drifters are true car enthusiasts. They mod for the love of driving the car to its limits, which is what a car is meant to do.
Cars don't want to sit in garages and trailers waiting to be shown off once a month and then kept under lock and key the rest of the time. Cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed.

The US scene is diverse and full of different sub-cultures all of which have their own appeal.

I applaud you for getting away from the VW's and getting into the BMW's. I am on my 3rd E46 Bimmer (323ci, M3, 325XIT) and i've loved every single one more than the previous one.

Keep on modding, i think you'll thoroughly enjoy the BMW for the quality as well as the community. I've never owned a car with more dedicated and helpful fan base.

Yeah i definitely think the money is worth the enjoyment and experience. I know a lot of people who blow all their money on nights out only to wake up and not even remember it. I definitely think im making better use of my money haha.

yeah im definitely loving my BMW so far, one of my friends has also made the move and bought an e36 328. We actually spent today raising the engine on that in preparation for fitting coilovers next weekend.

hopefully ill get a lot further with this car. i'd like to think so anyway.

[austinscottphotography]

Yeah i definitely think the money is worth the enjoyment and experience. I know a lot of people who blow all their money on nights out only to wake up and not even remember it. I definitely think im making better use of my money haha.

yeah im definitely loving my BMW so far, one of my friends has also made the move and bought an e36 328. We actually spent today raising the engine on that in preparation for fitting coilovers next weekend.

hopefully ill get a lot further with this car. i'd like to think so anyway.

it's hard not to fall in love with a BMW (except for the new ones....too many computers and they've flooded the market with all the new series that look exactly like one another)

what are your plans for the interior?

[Thooooom]

so on tuesday i broke down, lost powersteering then moments later noticed the engine was overheating and lost all power, after getting recovered home i realised it was the water pump, the bearing had gone which resulted in chucking the auxilary belt off which drives a/c, alternator, water pump and power steering. managed to get a pump the next morning, fitted it straight away, considering i only have a small amount of mechanical knowledge i was pretty happy to have sorted it myself. it was runnning fine again within 24 hours of breaking down, which i was pretty happy with!

also...

I GOT MY FACES BACK FROM PAINT!

they look awesome, went for reflex silver just to give them a standard wheel colour. after some issues getting the faces sit flat on the barrel due to the thickness of the paint, theyre now back together!



built them up today with some friends, all seems good so far! going to add another bead of sealant tomorrow and then get the tyres fitted tuesday







im really happy, despite a few problems i think it seems to be going too well, im half expecting to go to put tyres on on tuesday and for them to just deflate instantly haha. hopefully not anyway!

also a picture of my friends b5 s4. just fitted his e28's the other day, waiting some 30mm adapters for the rear as it tucks like crazy at the minute, definitely going to be something special though



lots and lots of awful phone photos, will be getting some nicer photos of the wheels tomorrow with my DSLR, also planning to do a test fit just because its cool. hopefully the next update will be with the wheels on!

[Tino21]

Really like the colour.

Gotta post them test fit pics fo sho !

[Pandy]

Nice work so far man! I completely agree with you on the whole UK scene rant, it does just seem to be the same cars featured everywhere because of people having the ability to throw cash anywhere, while other builds that have taken some hard grafting get overlooked because the paintwork isn't up to par etc. I'm not saying that the feature cars aren't impressive, they do look amazing, but i'd rather look at something that I could afford to build and drive everyday myself

Also, im sick of VW, gonna have to be a BMW for me next haha, keep it up mate I'm looking forward to seeing this!

[Thooooom]

Nice work so far man! I completely agree with you on the whole UK scene rant, it does just seem to be the same cars featured everywhere because of people having the ability to throw cash anywhere, while other builds that have taken some hard grafting get overlooked because the paintwork isn't up to par etc. I'm not saying that the feature cars aren't impressive, they do look amazing, but i'd rather look at something that I could afford to build and drive everyday myself

Also, im sick of VW, gonna have to be a BMW for me next haha, keep it up mate I'm looking forward to seeing this!

yes exactly! its nice to see someone working hard with their friends in the cold and dark in some random carpark just to build a car, rather than someone paying some guy £1000's to do it for them. a lot of people seem to be making the move to bmw's at the minute, cant say its a bad thing!

[Pandy]

yes exactly! its nice to see someone working hard with their friends in the cold and dark in some random carpark just to build a car, rather than someone paying some guy £1000's to do it for them. a lot of people seem to be making the move to bmw's at the minute, cant say its a bad thing!

Haha yeah I'm trying to do as much as I can myself same with a lot of my friends, it just feels so much more rewarding!

Im considering an e46 next or maybe an e90 depending how many years it is until I next change car. They're pretty reasonably priced for what you get, especially the e46s atm

[Thooooom]

more photos as promised! also some test fits shots. went fairly well, the rears are a bit wider than i was expecting, so might have a few issues there. mostly worried about police though.

anyway

so new specs are
fronts 17x9 et 19
rears 17x9.5 et 13








and test fit photos







so yeah, not sure what to think so far, front is spot on, i still have about 2 degrees of camber adjustment on the top mount so they'll sit spot on, the rears might be a bit more difficult, hopefully i'll get there. kind of just wish i went 9" all round though haha.

fitting tyres tomorrow!

[Tino21]

Roll, slight pull and camber arms for the rears and youll have no problem.

Im building a set with similiar specs for mine...cant wait to get everything together...yours look awesome !

[MadMax]

looks awesome !

[Thooooom]

Roll, slight pull and camber arms for the rears and youll have no problem.

Im building a set with similiar specs for mine...cant wait to get everything together...yours look awesome !

looks awesome !

thanks guys. yeah roll and slight pull is the plan! arches are a bit delicate though due to the common rust starting to seep through on the inside. i'll have to see what i can do!

[austinscottphotography]

damn that looks good!!! looks like i won't be going wider than 9 in the rear...lol

[Thooooom]

damn that looks good!!! looks like i won't be going wider than 9 in the rear...lol

hahah! its the low offset thats the issue. it is very wide though, more than i was expecting! thanks for the kind words though. ive put too much time and effort into them to give up now. i'll make it work.... i think.

[austinscottphotography]

car guys always find a way to make it work

[Minuki]

Rears should fit fine with some camber and rolled arches