My Slow Burn (E46 M3)

[eforty6_m3]

Got a couple of smaller projects done last weekend before heading out to the Cape for a much needed vacation. One of which dealt with the M3. The passenger side Angel Eyes had shifted somewhat, which annoyed me. As I'm sure many of you know, they're not held on by much....two plastic clips and double-sided tape. So I removed the headlight cover and added a bunch more 3M double-sided tape and am pretty confident they'll stay put (for now):





Post adjustments, making sure they still power on before buttoning it all back together:






The next day, I needed to fill up on gas so used this as an excuse and hit up a nearby (empty....because COVID) movie theater for a little photo op. Think these came out fairly nice thanks to golden hour:

[eforty6_m3]

New Blipshift shirt to add to the already big selection (I've probably got 5 or 6 BMW-themed Blipshift shirts):



New BMW coffee table book; copyright of 1979, which is cool:






Needed an excuse to get the old girl out of the garage, so grocery duty was a better reason than nothing:



And even though Bristol cancelled the oldest and longest running 4th of July parade, I had to partake somehow (facing traffic, nonetheless):

[eforty6_m3]

Good thread is good.

Thanks!

[Mike0032]

Good thread is good.

[eforty6_m3]

Filled up the tank for the first time this season last week. And the car looked clean, so had to:

[eforty6_m3]

Nice another fellow OG'er! I was following before OG was even a thing. I know your car is well taken care of from the way we are wired. Love the garage, need those socks!

Yes sir! Same here. OG hadn't blown up quite to this level when I get hooked.

And thanks for the kind words, man. Right back at ya! I follow you on IG and am a huge fan of your car! If you don't already, feel free to give me a follow. I try to post M3 content at least twice a week!

[eforty6_m3]

I need a link on that keychain!

Store looks to be closed due to COVID, but reopening soon:

https://stitchboots.com/

[KhanArt]

Nice another fellow OG'er! I was following before OG was even a thing. I know your car is well taken care of from the way we are wired. Love the garage, need those socks!

[BMWahba]

I need a link on that keychain!

[eforty6_m3]

Almost forgot. For all my fellow auto enthusiasts, I HIGHLY recommend checking out this book:



Easy ready that's very relatable and enjoyable!

[eforty6_m3]

Some minor updates, nothing all that exciting. Picked up a 2005 BMW M3 Coupe/Convertible Sales Brochure in really good condition off eBay:











I also stole an idea from Tbonem3 and swapped out the non-///M oil cap for an ///M version (which I didn't know was a thing until seeing his build thread):






I also took one more step in getting the suspension dialed in. I lowered the height of the rear driver-side coilover, as it was previously sitting right around 1/2" higher. After letting it settle for a day or so, I took it for a drive during lunch today to get it completely settled. Haven't checked measurements, but just by the "finger in the wheel well" test, I can tell it's VERY close. Once the rear is set, I'll move onto the front. I think I want to raise the front a bit to reduce some of the camber and get the tires a bit more flush with the fender.

During that lunch joyride, I stopped at my old stomping grounds which has been vacant for a while now (they're fixing it up and turning it into a more modern retail/business/lifestyle plaza instead of the "indoor" mall it used to be) and took some photos. Nothing special, just some shots with my iPhone 11 Pro Max. Which reminds me, I really need to bust out my Canon 40D and get back into using that more:

[eforty6_m3]

Did a little something on Saturday since the weather was (finally) cooperating. Threw two car seats in the back of the M3 and went on our first family drive in it:





Stopped at my parents house to let the kids run around in the backyard for a bit. My dad is considered essential, so he still needs to go to work. And since he works at a plumbing warehouse with lots of trucks in and out per day, we decided we'd have to keep our distance from them. So, unfortunately, my kids haven't been able to hug/kiss their grandparents for well over a month. But we try to Facetime (oddly enough, they live 7 minutes away in the same town) them often and even hang out in their yard from a socially allowable distance from time to time. Took one shot of the M3 in their driveway as one of the neighbors stared at me, probably wondering why the hell I was taking a photo of my own parked car (if they only knew!):



And finally found some free time yesterday to get my new PedalHaus pedals installed:

[eforty6_m3]

Ahh that’s probably why. If I do it, I would want to keep the lock under the cover, so in case of emergency I can pop the cover off and still get to the lock to open the door.

I suppose worse case you can go in through the trunk since you have the lock removed?

Yeah I was going to swap the lock with the delete, but I had some issues getting it out from the old piece, so rather than risk breaking something, I let it be.

And yep, worst case, I climb my ass through the trunk. But hopefully worst case doesn't happen, ha! Maybe I'll give removing the lock another shot sometime soon and swapping that on.

[Inizes]

Ahh that’s probably why. If I do it, I would want to keep the lock under the cover, so in case of emergency I can pop the cover off and still get to the lock to open the door.

I suppose worse case you can go in through the trunk since you have the lock removed?

[eforty6_m3]

Was the part number 51217002277? I figured trimming would be needed to get around the lock.

Yup, that's the part number! In full disclosure, I didn't swap the lock onto the keyhole delete, so that's probably why I didn't have any issues. I figured it wasn't necessary, since I can't access it with my key, anyway, and the door still looks correctly with the keyfob.