Spirits e46 330 m-sport coupe project-unleash the beast

[Spirit]

Well let's keep this short the Audi is gone here is its replacement and the forum gets to see me push the limits of taste at times and never afraid to take risk as you already know.

Strap yourselves in lads its game on.

BMW 330ci 2001 Y plate Silver M sport, grey leather Auto, SATNAV, Memory seats, IPod connection, multifunction steering wheel, aircon
18 inch staggered mvs
Tiptronic gearbox as some people know I tore my archiles a while ago and its not healing right so struggling on my left foot atm so made sense to go for this instead of a manual.
Absolutely insane exhaust noise its intoxicating on acceleration and car goes like a scolded cat.

Few bits to sort inc a bubble on front drivers arch easy repair.
Slight bubble on rear passenger arch very easy to sort.
Feels like worn track rod end if I'm honest in braking but assured its not serious by Aaron reeve who see it earlier.
Needs a good valet and service as I'm picky lol.


























Will get better pics when clean

Updated the mk3 navigation unit today after finding links freely available on google and burnt some disc for my own use to update the system.didnt take pics as i was busy doing non car work on the laptop as well so i will include a video link showing exactly what ive done.look s very nice now but ideally for 7 digit postcode searches i need the mk4 unit down the line.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-__kMbR3aWs"]BMW Navigation MKIII Software Update - Key CD - YouTube[/ame]

New front droplinks on order inc new rear topmounts and lollipop bushes up front.all lemforder ones.

Audiovox rear screen control



And gone





IPod media control and freeview unit wired up and in glovebox for now.just need a iPod and freeview digibox to finish off.





One more parcel to arrive then its game on starting it all



So it begins its coilovers Time.

Warning very pic heavy and so ups and some downs but here goes and the 330 gets some love and some abuse

7 am start at Aaron reeve performance as i needed due to work commitments to get stuff done so he got started early to help me out













so that was new rear top-mounts on,new front coil overs on,new lollipop bushes on but no droplinks off the Hyundai coupe as there was some confusion over the correct part numbers so im running no drop links on it till tomorrow.coilovers weve soaked as they are seized due to being second hand but will be sorted tomorrow hopefully and ive had to buy some 6mm spacers as they are catching a bit:frown:frown:frown:frown:frown.
kind of annoying as i sold my front/rear 15 hubcentric spacers a month ago too thinking i didnt need any as i had the audi

Anyway here was its first view after i got stuck on the lift also:hihi:hihi:hihi:hihi:hihi



Then seeing as i had been up since 6 am and i wanted to be home till tomorrow and knackered from a long week at work last week i decided to hit some monster drinks/smoked some tabs and put slayer on my surround sound system in the garage and the car got its first clean



























Used some youtube guides to get my lights back up to new condition which scared me taking sandpaper on em



interior then got some love inc clean and leather revive











Then i used my own secret way to clean my engine bay











so bits still to sort and front to raise 25mm and rear i want 20mm lower yet but project is well and truly moving on quick.next stop mot/tax this month

Andy

Update-Rear lowered

Decided as some recent pics suggest the rear was way too high compared the front so obtained some e36 328 lowering springs off a mate for nothing and got cracking on seeing how far i could get it down to give me an idea of future fittments:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

original height



comparisons from old to new







new one in.notice on previous pic how i lever the gap more due to being on my own and it wouldnt move down far enough to release the spring so i used this method ive done before



And new height with more to settle yet













Bit too low out back even for me and used the springs to see where i need to be for the future but rides a lot softer and nicer than before and corners very flat and handles well.needs spacers to fill the gap as im running 8 j et47 225/40/18 fronts and 8.5 j et50 255/35/18 rearsand not liking the tucked look and want a much more squatted look with retaining the oem feel but doing my take on it also.new wheels isnt an option atm due to needing new wishbones and already forked out for the car and new rear topmounts/front droplinks/front coilovers/fitting bits and tax/mot all due this month :frown:frown:frown:frownalso.

Pics of coilovers up front,old but still ride nice and will do for now fitted with shortened Hyundai coupe 05 onwards droplinks and due to the design of the lock rings and adjuster rings i needed no spacers up front as i have at least 5mm gap to spare















Right mot/tax as said this month and things are very very tight financially atm due to a holiday i really need in may so updates might be scarce for a while but 15mm spacers all round might be a welcome addition too if anyone has some going cheap with longer bolts:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

Andy

[Spirit]

Just need mot /tax then I can move on.current height on 18 s atm

[CandySucker]

clean start
love non m e46 builds

[Spirit]

clean start
love non m e46 builds

Thanks buddy me too

[Spirit]

Remember these oem grills well this happened



***** the all silver look so lets go



time to get to work











And finished





So thats that.mot booked for thursday and now minus my usual mechanic as i feel im getting messed around too much as a customer atm so its being prepped ready by a mechanic ive known for a while for a national chain who i trust and hopefully a pass straight away:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup.
once march is out the way as financially its very bad for me maybe april as well it will move very very quick before show season 2014

also meant to say im running 15mm front spacers and 13 mm rear spacers now as well

[Spirit]

[Spirit]

Well as some of you who follow me on facebook or instagram or indeed a bit earlier i finally passed my mot after failing yesterday on my BMW Achilles heel yes you've guessed it the dreaded handbrake but after some adjustments today in which the mot guy himself did it as he fucked up royally the day before as i did it within tolerances then promptly told me oh sorry machine didnt register it and i had to do the test all again and then it failed:frown:frown:frown:frown i think he guessed i wasnt gonna let it lie in my mood.did the test straight after he adjusted it and it passed ....just so will replace the handbrake system usual suspects in future........only advisories was worn disc front/rear but not dangerous or warped and thats it and commented the co2 emissions were the best he had seen in a very long time on a bmw and said in his opinion a very very good car
Taxed the car straight after for 154 quid for 6 months the robbin bastards

Only sour bit was since ive had the new topmounts on i still get clucking on turning on occasions but ive sussed that its the helper springs moving a bit-easy fix yep they are getting binned asap:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup and steering wheel is off centre to the right quite a bit and car doesnt feel 100% so as the manager was getting grief off me they are having it back on monday for no charge and will refit it all again with the manager watching his no1 mechanic doing it and set it up on an alignment machine for me assuming i can get on the ramp

Anyway my worst fears of not passing ever are over and a clean bill of health once monday goes well hopefully i can proceed full pelt on bits i wanna sort first

oh quick question i fitted a non sport arm due to cost if that makes any difference(read its no difference just ones better quality can anyone confirm this?)

Right here we go after a very quick clean and swopped spacers round so its now 8j fronts et 37 on a 225/40/18 and(13mm spacers) and 8.5 j et 35 rears 255/35/18(15mm spacers)rear springs are std m tec lower springs and pro-sport front coil overs(helper springs to be removed) and 45mm drop atm as its all at mot friendly height

side shot







front





rear booty shots





Really really busy with work atm so will be all or nothing depending on work schedules and financially viable how quick i can start,bare in mind ive not owned it 5 minutes either

Andy

[Spirit]

Right then i took a day off from work for my own sanity and i cracked on so here goes

Helper springs gone due to the broken center plastic dividers but its causing an issue i diidnt imagine in which the car is actually too low in what i want atm and causing rubbing on full lock on my 225/40/18s WITH THE 13MM SPACERS which im really baffled on as i was lower and didnt before with helper springs in,only thing ive noticed is the springs on the pro-sports is very short compared to my e36 coilovers i use to run and ive had to raise the collars to the max height up i dare without coming off:frown:frown:frown:frown and still the cars mega low so i need to address this issue.
The cars front arches ive now rolled and flared too without breaking the oem lines nor any issues with paint cracking:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup .
Rear arches lets just say will require a lot more effort in sorting them as the paint on the inner arches is bubbling like mad and breaking off as i roll so i will return to this when my back heals more as ive pulled it again(ive had an underlying back problem for over 20 years due to a car accident when i was younger and still goes without warning from time to time)plus the sealant is far far tougher than my loons was so a lot more effort will be needed yet-will include pics of this warts an all as i will not hide anything on my project threads if i have issues you will all see it as i do



Rear bumper i sorted out as my ocd kicked in and wasnt straight enough



Then seeing as i was on my day off and rolling arches wasnt possible i turned my attention to the front end of the 330 and stuff got done like the front lower grill



lights split then this happened -original





Then the granville tint liquid came out to play once again







second coat went on-still keeping it subtle as much as i could





Well well lets get rid of the oem silver and add different approach shall we on the headlight inserts



bit of bloody awful white halfords crap primer as i ran out of my 2k proper stuff



hit with some plasti kote matt black super paint from b/q:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup



thats where im up too waiting on the inserts drying so fit them back tomorrow now.notice in the pics the numberplate surround is off also and will not be going on as tbh i **** it so i will drill some fresh holes and just run a plate then remove for a clean look for shows once i fill the center hole up:hihi:hihi:hihi

Cheers for looking

Andy

[Spirit]

[Belgian_Astra]

Looks great man!

Grtzz

[Spirit]

Looks great man!

Grtzz

Cheers buddy

[Spirit]

Right all will be revealed why later in the project but due to technical trouble in rolling the rear arches due to a crazy amount of rear sealant and unable to dig it all out as per usual and roll n flair as i usually do i ran into other issues so this happened as my solution to it and i will show more detailed pics as i overcome it













Yep the rear arches inside lip got cut royally out and i will show you where and why later once i start on phase 2 of the work........dont worrry there was a very good reason for this:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

To be continued

Andy



And first proper clean and polish for 2014

[Spirit]

Did this today on mine so took a fare few pics along the way so hope it helps.didnt take pics of behind my headunit or my control box as i had already had that in so basically ive moved the location of my ipod for ease of use now than having it in the glovebox before.

sorry for the poor pics my usual phones died and im using a shitty 50 quid alcatel pop thingy atm

Glove box media bridge



Rear dvd screen i ran through my seat but basically its all hidden wiring along the trim then cut a slit in the carpet than up through the guts of the seat



Right really sorry didnt get a pic of this bit but run your lead from your glovebox behind it and head the cable towards the centre panel(there is a black trim section that joins the centre trim like this






What i did was use a large flat head and very carefully lift the trim out and tuck the wire along the tunnel so its hiddenthen remove the top part very carefully of your panel under your arm rest(i used a very small flat head and pried up until the clips released.



I used the gap just behind the seatbelt clip to then go underneath so its tight but carefully lift trim towards the passenger door then fee the cable up to this point,bend the metal inner tab down to allow the cable enough room to pass through








And basically refit it all carefully to be left with this:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup









And when parked up close the hatch for safety



YEAH YEAH THE CAR NEEDS A CLEAN INSIDE TOO SO STAY TUNED FOR OTHER MINI GUIDES

Andy

[Spirit]

Right back on track on my thread lol here we go more updates and still using my crappy camera phone(mental note must get a better camera)

Rear arches are now desealed and rolled and pulled inc the infamous now de-lipped plus fronts are rolled and pulled a little bit,sorry no pics as it looks like Armageddon on the lips and bits as the paint was shit and cracking so i will work on bringing that back up to my standards and will inc the pics then not now as i was in a hurry to crack on today.sounds worse than it actually is plus some twat in asda has clipped the drivers arch a bit and dented it.tried to pull it out with the roller after but no joywill need to sort that out later.

Anyway cut the shit lets go

front indicators gone from clear to smoked courtesy of hycote tint spray-anyone who uses this shit shit shit total waste of money but the fronts came out ok









As you know my main beam bowls are yellow so the fog lamps got the same treatment



Rear lights went badly wrong as the tint spray started bubbling on pass three and this was the third attempt as the other two did exactly the same way,confused me as the fronts i did exactly the same way and didnt bubble at all so if anyone has some spare tinted lamin x going spare give me a shout as im not happy at all with the rears but running with it due to work commitments .








Front end view now



And the new led rear numberplate bulbs courtesy of@mekas buddy who sorted me a set for a fiver inc first class delivery within a day i might addvery very bright in real life its like Blackpool

illuminations



As always thanks for looking and i move on with my other plans i have for her

Andy

[HarryB]

Change the wheels man, need some epic stance here!