So... its now JUNE... i havent worked on the car since the drift day, as ive been busy working on renovating my house (my other project)... I get back into the budget project & remove my most hated part of the car... the feckin BEIGE interior! *boke! I strip everything from inside; carperts to headlining... ALOT of weight comes out! {} {} {} Next, i strip the shell down ready for bodywork... {} {} {} {} When i remove the passenger skirt, i find a hidden hole in the sill... relatively minor, and appears tochave spread from the factory drain hole... other than that, i find no other hidden issues during the strip down... {} Ok, its getting late... il continue getting this build thread up to speed tomorrow, as ive still got ALOT of progress to catchup with!
So... at this point i had took 10days off my work... it was my intention to complete the bodywork in this time, & thereafter get the car prep’d for GarageFuckHouse street legal comp... so i had a lot to do, especially with a troublesome 10month old bairn needing my attention in between garage spells! As id previously mentioned; id been collecting bits on the cheap since i bought the car... these bits included; M-sport rear bumper £50 M-sport skirts £15 M-sport lip spoiler £5 M-sport front bumper FREE (due to it being damaged, & split, altho I was confident i could repair it). All parts were sourced from BMWspares bellshill from the legend that is Colin Dickson. {} I always try to turn my hand to everything... im a firm believer in DIY... if u cant learn it from a youtube video; Are u even a real man? Ha. For example, watched a video on how to do brickwork, then built my garage at my house that im fixing the car in... one thing i havent done myself is welding however... one of my closest mates Murray Turnbull, is the main man at MINTFAB. Hes a fully certified employed welder and is good at what he does. Murray popped round and ended up quickly mounted my hydro in position... id had this hydro for years in my garage... bought for another project and never used it. I know most people mount these to right of gearknob, beside steering wheel, but ive always prefered it on left of gearknob out the way... logic being if its out the way, ur less likely to hangoff it every second, and only use it when u really need it for a better style... {} {} So i head off to the paint shop to buy paint... paints not cheap sadly... £250 for everything I needed to paint and prep full car... this was only half my order and doesnt seem alot for all that money... but, what colour did i end up going for?!? {}
So... colour? As unimaginative as usual; I go for yellow... as its a BMW, there is only one yellow worth considering, and thats DAKAR! Now i have the paint I waste no time in getting the ball rolling... one thing that always annoys me when people change car colour, is when they are lazy and dont do door and boot shuts. I know its “just a drift car”, but it would annoy me everytime i open the door if i didnt do it... so with the car stripped bare, I prep the boot, door and fuel flap shuts, and mask the car. This doesnt take too long as the shuts are in great condition with no rust or damage... I lay down the yellow filler primer, quick wet sand (excessive for door shuts) but I want a good finish regardless of area, and then a couple coats of dakar... i leave it to dry... {} {} {} {} {} {} Now that its dry, i burst the masking on drivers door and drive the car out the garage and see the paint for first time in the sunlight... im very happy with the results! {} {} Now that the cars out the garage, i set up stands for the doors, boot, mirrors, fuel flap, bonnet and wing shuts... i prep and mask what needs done, & prime and paint the insides of these panels... {} {} {} {} {} {} Once the panels are dry, I reassemble the car, and get it back in the garage, in preparation for working on the main body... {}
Before I could paint exterior, had a couple jobs to do, such as welding up the old spoiler holes in boot lid, deal with a couple car park dings, and more controversially cut vents into bonnet... As i said, i want a reliable car... one thing i see alot is people struggling to keep temps down under bonnet, and maintain a cool air feed... so i opted for a naca duct which fed directly into back wall of the induction kit heat box, and two vents to let heat at each side of bonnet escape... minute i cut bonnet, i regretted it, however decided to push on to see if they would look better all the same colour... {} {} Another thing I had to deal with was that smashed rotten rear nearside arch... if u remember I previously tubbed the inner skin up on to outer skin to find solid metal, hadnt done anything else with it, and had a monster delam which tore the arch up at crail... Well, plan was to weld the inner and outer together... then rebuild arch using multiple layers of fibreglass sheeting... after several coats had cured i was left with this... i then cut out all the bad torn metal, and more coats on outer side, before sanding smooth... you can tell its rotten past, all rotten metals gone, and as i know how to fibreglass, the arch is solid... possibly looking at overfenders in future so it will suffice for now... i then coated inner arch with stonechip and hammerite for a durable finish... {} Once the whole body was prepped, i put the car into primer... again using a couple coats of thick yellow filler primer... {} {} {} {} Now was time to full wet sand the car... for a perfectly smooth canvas for the paint... now the bonnet was all the one colour, the vents are starting to grow on me... {} {} {}
So... cars all primed, wet sanded, and the canvas is good to go... time to lay down some dakar. Comes out the gun great, and leaves a lovely glossy finish! {} {} {} {} Leave it to dry overnight, then i rip the masking off like a wee boy at christmas, and i get a glimpse at what its like... {} {} {} So time to get the car out the garage, and time to deal with the shitty chrome trim... sand it back, prime, and satin black all the trim... i also satin black the grey insides of the headlights and the faded black frames of the wing mirrors... {} {} {} I also tint the red/clear standard rear lights... i just do a dark tint on the clear section, which lets the red standout sharp... Let it dry, and then bash it onto the car... the yellow and satin black looks amazing together and so fresh... {} {} {} At this point i realise that overspray has blown in from rear of wheels and the wheels will need refurbed again!!! Bollox!
Next up, all the side trim, roof rail trim, lip spoiler, tow hook covers, skirts, and bumpers... set up to hold it all to paint at once... {} {} Prime, then wet sand... {} Lay down some dakar, and let it dry! {} {} So now every panel that needs paint is painted, i can line up the lights, wings, bonnet and bumper... once lined up, I can bin the stock bonnet pins, and cut in some locking aerocatches! {} All panels and trim back on the car... and i drive it onto the drive way for a look in the fading daylight... {} {} {} Just need to find some amber corners and indicators...
So I got my ambers for a fiver!!! Bargain! And i fit them along with some fresh number plates... Time to get the car jacked up, and deal with the rot in the passenger sill... as u can see by the bottle of ginger sticking out it, it was a sizeable hole hidden by the original skirts... {} {} If im gonna do it right... may aswell cut away anything thats soft... turns out by time i was finished, it was a sizeable hole, that also surrounded the rear jacking point... {} So around comes murray from mintfab, and turns a bit of sheet metal into a perfect sill shaped plate, after re-enforcing the jacking point. I then apply stone chip and waxoil, and u wouldnt even know there was the usual rot ever being present... {} Whilst the cars jacked up, i plumb the hydro in... its now a week before GarageFuckHouse Street Legal comp, and I run into a big snag... the cars along way off being ready... and as im bleeding hyrdo in i find the drivers rear caliper is seized and the bleed nipple sheers!!! i now how to source a new caliper which i eventually source, fit and bleed up... hydro works amazing! {} So... for the first time in months (since the crail big track day), I finally take the car for a drive... drives so much better without the weight in it, and im loving how it looks... {}
Sadly thats not gonna happy. Taylor sold his car last month, as his mrs is pregnant, and I can not see him ever building another car... the days of taylor driving are sadly long in the past... Cheers mate... still alot to update aswell!
To this point of build i had spent £1437gbp... i always keep a list so i can keep a close eye on spending... obviously I havnt paid for labour as Ive done it myself... but proof in the UK, drifting doesnt have to cost a fortune, and cars dont have to look utter shite... {} It is some transformation when I look at it... Start to finish on bodywork process was 10days of graft... got loads still to update on this build, but Il do that later... {} {}
Gutting he was a helluva driver and you two were always super entertaining to watch! Someone local get his car?
Gutting he was a helluva driver and you two were always super entertaining to watch! Someone local get his car?
Yeah i did mate... the sill is completely hidden by the side skirt; hence how it passed mot with rot, as all e46’s are exact the same, and theres probably thousands of e46’s out there passing mots with pumped sills! Once welded the full sill was undersealed black, with floorplan, Prior to sport skirts getting fitted. Never got any pictures of the 330, but these are my old 46’s sills done exact same way... weld before or after paint makes zero difference. {} {}
Next up rectify a small problem I had at last drift day... the stock exhaust is so quiet, I couldnt hear what my engine was doing, over noise of some cars around about me... Remember this was a budget build, set to build a car for same money as an entry level enduro all-mountain bike... bearing that in mind, I managed to get a Direnza stainless back box. As the e46 exhaust is one piece, you cut original pipe and slip it over, fastening it with U clamps and exhaust putty. This should be enough to give me the “sporty” noise i need to hear whats going on with revs on track... id love a full stainless set up, but they cost a fortune, and im not paying £800 to get a stainless setup for a car that cost £1400 to build so far! I remove the original one piece exhaust by myself lying on my back... was not a fun experience as its heavy and awkward. Its in excellent condition however (albeit covered in yellow overspray as everything in my garage is!) {} So measure twice and cut once... ensure u are dead certain before cutting, slip over new back box, and offer up to car... {} F*CK RIGHT OFF! Then you realise the tailpipe of new back box is designed to stick out an inch further than stock, and therefore ur measurements are now an inch too short! {} Reweld an inch or so back on, and smooth welds! It now fits perfect, but leave exhaust off as I have another part to fit!!! {}
So been looking into ways to wake up the lazy 330... fitting the auto 330i diff with the 3.38 ratio did liven it up, but not enough for my liking... So a bit of searching on internet, revealed a not very well trodden, but interesting path... basically an E83 X3 diff fits the E46 subframe cradle. Petrol X3 diffs come in interesting ratios as follows; E83 X3 2.5 = 3.91 E83 X3 3.0 = 3.64 E83 X3 3.0s = 3.73 Problem is... X3’s were shite, didnt sell particularly well, and petrols are particularly rare... so when a petrol x3 finally comes up for breaking, parts sell quickly, and breakers charge a premium! Id been looking for months to get any ratio petrol x3 diff... everytime i found one, they were priced at £500+, and i refuse to pay that for a diff I intend to ruin by welding it, ha! Eventually, I find a 3.0 petrol X3 breaking at Colin Dicksons, BMW quick spares in Bellshill, and he says I can have it for £300. Still more than I want to pay, but I know it will transform the 330, so stump up a sizeable amount of the cars small budget for the part! {} For anyone interested... to fit the diff is straight forward... I followed the guide on the Usa page that gave me idea... 1. Drain, clean, and weld it as usual... top up with diff oil... 2. Swap output cups/flanges on diff with your current 330i cups/flanges... u do this by tapping them with a hammer, till they pop out, and tap in replacement ones... simple... 3. The diff itself is an inch longer than 330i diff with a different bolt pattern, so u need to use a shorter prop... you will need a both parts of prop, cause your 330 prop is 1piece! Now... the guide I read... tells me I can use any prop as long as its 6cyl (323/325/328), however this is bullshit... >>>> {} {} Basically, i bought a manual 323i prop following this guides advice of “any 6cyl prop will fit”... but this is shite... the guide was written by someone doing it on an auto; and this lies true as all auto gearboxes are same length and all use the larger LK96mm guibo donuts, so any 6cyl prop will convert a 330auto. HOWEVER, manuals are different!!! 323/325 use the smaller weaker gearbox which uses a LK78mm guibo donut, which is a different length to the more desired 328/330 ZF 5speed box which uses the larger LK96mm guibo! So take this as a revised guide for anyone doing this mod>>> On a 323/325/328 to run a petrol X3 diff, all you have to swap is your output cup/flange in diff. You can keep your prop! On a MANUAL 330i the only prop that works on this conversion is an e46 328i manual prop!!! The front half of prop has the guibo size to match the ZF gearbox, and the rear mates up perfectly to the X3 diff! {} Sadly, I had bought a 323i prop, and only after doing more research and measuring did I realise I needed a 328 prop! Believe it or not, i struggled to find an e46 328i manual breaking... i eventually find two breaking on ebay, and i choose to buy one from the “specialist BMW breaker”... who promises to post it out next day... After many lies, and broken promises, the chieftain bullshiter eventually posts my prop 16days after paying for it! I was raging as my cars lying taking up space in my garage with it throats cut... The fat liar told many tales of woe about the parcel being returned to sender, failed courier uplifts, family issues, lost tracking details... truth of matter is, he was just a lazy twat... he forgets social media is available to everyone, and i was able to see he was away on trips, out drinking ect... i also phoned the courier his buisness had an account with, and I was able to see no parcels had been attempted to send to my postcode from his buisness... all he had to say was “parts still on car mate, and i wont have time to post it for a couple weeks”, when i spoke to him on phone and explained the urgency, but he was quite happy to lie to me... I wont hold a grudge, and name him or his buisness, as i did eventually get the part weeks after promised, but you know who you are, and if you read this; “I HOPE YOUR NEXT SHITE, IS A HEDGEHOG YAH FANNY!” {} So with all parts now sourced and fitted, refit exhaust, and drive car out garage under its own power... new diff ratio makes a HUGE difference. And exhaust has a nice note, which i can now hear in the car, and the tailpipe is all shiny, and everyone loves shiny bits! {} I also sold the 3.38 welder that i removed for £120, so put that cash back into budget!
