Immaculate low mileage 2004 Silver Grey CSL Inspired Build

[0-60motorsports]

Nice update! I emailed braille about shipping the battery to Bahrain, let's see if they can do that lol

Update: They couldn't ship to Bahrain which is a shame.... so I think the Antigravity will work out better in my case and a few hundred dollars cheaper shipped too....

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/h7-group-94r-lithium-car-battery-w-restart-antigravity-agh740rs

[Nate047]

Right on, car is coming along so nicely.

[Avedis]

Couple of small updates:

The battery that came with the car was an O’Reilly unit dated 2017. I’ve been wanting to replace the battery for quite some time, and finally decided to pull the trigger on a lightweight battery. After doing research here and speaking with a few forum members, I chose to go with the Braille i48cx battery. The i48cx weighs 10.75lbs, is a direct drop in part, and is fully compatible with the NOCO Genius 10 charger that I already have in my garage. While weight loss isn't priority one for this build, shedding 40.5lbs while swapping out a part that needed to be replaced anyways seemed like a no brainer. If anyone is thinking of going this route, I highly recommend Braille as a company. They replied to every email I sent almost instantaneously, and picked up the phone immediately the one time I called to clarify info.

Here you can see just how light the Braille battery is. I am able to fairly easily hold it up with one hand. It was so light that I couldn’t weigh it on my regular bathroom scale, and had to use a more precise food-grade scale instead.



Compare that to the boat anchor that I pulled out of the car (51.4lbs)


Installation was essentially drop in. The only thing I had to do was move a small white plastic spacer over so that the battery did not slide to the front or rear of the car. While the battery was out, I vacuumed, wiped, and inspected the battery tray. Everything looked perfect.


Battery was hooked up to my NOCO chager and it was set to Lithium maintenance mode without issue.



I’m still fairly new to the E46 M3 platform, so it took me a while to notice that my car never came with the ISOFIX covers in the rear seat. After seeing the price (~$75 shipped) for two tiny pieces of plastic, I put off the purchase for a long time. Unfortunately, once I knew they were missing, I couldn't unsee it. It bothered me every time I looked into the back seat of the car. My attention to detail is both a blessing and a curse I suppose. I caved and spent the $75. I took them out to the garage to ceramic coat them prior to installation.

Is there a final weight for the Mile End bumper vs stock, including fog lights etc…?

It is going to be quite some time before I get to removing the bumper for paint work. When I do, I will make sure to weigh both bumpers with all the hardware and accessories.

[Arlen4369]

Beautiful build

[Gt4]

Is there a final weight for the Mile End bumper vs stock, including fog lights etc…?

MEC bumper are around 7.5lbs

[Nate047]

Is there a final weight for the Mile End bumper vs stock, including fog lights etc…?

[Avedis]

Looking good. How/where did you get the seatbelts done with the M3 colors/accents?

Thank you. See post 48 and 51 for seatbelt info LINK

Do you have the part number for the blind plugs?

Absolutely. Part No. 51718170298

They are a little snug so sometimes a tiny portion of it will pop up. You can stop this by putting a little slit in the circle portion on the underside. This will allow it to be more oval shaped and follow the contour. When you see the plug, you’ll know exactly what I’m referencing.
If there’s anything else you need, feel free to reach out.

[Projecte46m3]

Everything reinstalled. Along the way, I broke some clips which will need to be replaced at a later date. For now, I will be leaving the headrests out as well. The headrest holes were plugged with a rubber BMW blind plug. Thank you to Casa de Mesa for the idea. I will update once the new speaker grills and replacement clips arrive.

Do you have the part number for the blind plugs?

[0-60motorsports]

That Looks beautiful. I still need to get the seatbelts done.

[Advorsor]

Looking good. How/where did you get the seatbelts done with the M3 colors/accents?

[Avedis]

I'm now at the point where the interior is nearly done. There are a ton of really fun details in the interior, and I acknowledge I have done a really poor job of properly sharing them with you guys.


I had an unexpected and rare day off of work today. To top it off, both of my kids were in daycare for the day. This gave me an opportunity to do a maintenance-detail on the interior and exterior, and take it out for a coastal drive. While out, I took some detailed photos of the interior.















The front seats are the last major component for the interior phase of this build. I will go into detail once they are ordered/received, but the current plan is to go with Recaro Sportster CS, with custom upholstery by AMX Performance. I owe a huge and public thank you to Bry5on. He was incredibly patient answering all my questions about his bespoke Recaro mounting setup. He even helped me order the mounts via Send Cut Send since CAD is far out of my skillset. I am genuinely appreciative of the help, generosity, and the knowledge-base of this community.

Here are the custom mounts and momentary power switches to move the seat backward and forwards:

[M3_mann]

Amazing build! Let us know how the mile end fitment is. Planning on getting one to complement the karbonious airbox

[0-60motorsports]

Very Nice! If i was rich i would get a spare, clear coat it and hang it on the wall as ART. LOL

[Avedis]

By the time I got into the E46 M3 world, Mile End Composites had not been taking new orders for 1-2 years. I was disappointed that I had missed the opportunity, as you only hear extremely positive things about their products.

In the very first post of this thread, I spoke about doing the interior of the car first. That plan still remains the same, but it lives side by side with the new rule I’ve learned while building this car. I’ve said it a few times now, buy parts when you can, not necessarily when you want.

I have no plans to do any paintwork or install any CSL exterior components for 2024. That said, when I stumbled upon Gt4 taking preorders for Mile End Composite’s CSL front bumper, I had to jump on the opportunity. I’ve been racking up CSL parts at a near frantic pace, but it will be quite some time before they all go on.

Here are some photos. I tried to include some detailed shots of both the front and the rear of the bumper. This thing is a piece of automotive artwork.

[ugaexploder]

80 gallons of raw uncut maple syrup

that would actually cost more than the bumper