Immaculate low mileage 2004 Silver Grey CSL Inspired Build

[Flow]

Your car is just so clean... Love seeing all your pictures
Also, thank you for sharing a couple of pictures from that meet

But...

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and an Alexander Calder Z3 M coupe homage.

[...]

That huge typo on the windscreen is a shame haha.
Orignal BMW Teile and not tiele !!

[Avedis]

Took the family to SoCal Vintage today. We have been to this annual meet a few times now, and every time I am stunned at the amount of vintage BMW builds in the SoCal area. The shear number of cars (around 600) is wild, but the quality of many of the builds is even more impressive.

A lot of really unique cars like this Alpina themed E30 M3 (my son had to go take a peek), and an Alexander Calder Z3 M coupe homage.




The best car of the day wasn’t even part of the meet. E46 M3s aren’t old enough to partake, and I found this gem parked on the street across from the meet. LSB E46 M3 with all genuine CSL parts, including roof and interior? Yes please. I hear it belongs to a forum member…..


After the meet, I was feeling inspired to finish my M3. I knew I wouldn’t finish the whole rebuild that day, but I could at least continue to chip away at it. I jacked up the rear end, removed the wheels, then reinstalled all the plastic wheel well liners with new hardware.




If anyone is looking for the jack pad adapters, these Burger Motorsport adapters are the best. Manufacturing quality is super high, and they have a slight trapezoidal shape with beveled edges that matches perfectly with the factory jacking point.




Couple more adjustments to the trunk. This seems to be a never ending process based on compromise, not perfection.




I then moved on to the rear window seal. I’m not going to lie to you guys, this literally took two hours. What was described by many as a “just press the new one into place” type of job, was an absolute pain in the ass. I’m assuming these seals are installed when the windshield adhesive is still wet. When I tried to install the new seal, it was getting caught up on the old dried silicone adhesive and would not go in properly. This required me to carefully cut the adhesive with an x-acto blade, soak the area in tar/adhesive remover, then use a combination of scraping tools to clear out the channels without damaging anything.







In the process, I sliced my finger open and got melted silicone adhesive all over my workspace and the paint.



The seal was finally in! Ignore the streaky look of the seal, I was soaking it in a rubber conditioner/protectant. Passenger side and rear of the car complete! Time to move onto the front end and wrap this project up.



First up for the front end was the CSL front bumper. Before the bumper could be installed, I had to glue in the intake vent mesh grill. I dropped the mesh grill onto the alignment notch in the bumper, then used one of my kid’s heavy toys tied to some string to keep downward pressure. I got this trick from another member who said he tied a bag of coins, really good trick and it worked great. With the grill in place and being held down, I used some black RTV silicone and put a nice bead all the way around the mesh grill. I then used my finger to smear the bead, similar to how you would caulk a bathroom. I put one extra blob of silicone onto the alignment notch for extra peace of mind.




Next up was the main bumper mesh grill, which was extremely tight and harder to get in than I had anticipated. I think is this because the carbon bumper has almost no flex.




With the silicone drying, I removed the factory bumper mounts and installed the Trinity graphics mounts. Just like the rear, they are a much beefier design, and have greater adjustability. I knew the alignment on the factory mounts was decent, and I didn’t want to start completely from scratch when I removed them. I hung some tape as a reference point, then removed the factory mounts and installed the new mounts.





Next I removed the brake duct bracket, then the brake duct with modified CSL intake tube I made a few months prior. The bracket was reinstalled, then the genuine CSL intake tube was installed





That's all for this update. The next step is to fit the front bumper, which I will need a second set of hands for.

Are those exhaust tips still available? They look great.

The seller is a UK based guy who makes the exhaust tips in small batches. I purchased them from eBay, but they don't seem to be listed anymore. Reach out to bavarian3, I believe he bought them from the same seller, but through a Facebook group. Here is a LINK to an expired ad.

[0-60motorsports]

Very nice progress and it looks beautiful.

[D-O]

BMW does not make one for the E46, unfortunately. Only options from BMW are the imitation leather and alcantara.

Now, you can get the one piece F10 M5 or F80 M3 shift knob and boot (ZHP style knob plus real leather boot, both have the illuminated shift pattern as well) and transfer an E46 shift boot frame (glue) to either of them to make a ZHP and real leather shift boot combo. DIY here - https://chrisparente.com/2017/05/30/...b-replacement/

I went with the F10 M5 knob/boot and glued it to the frame. Looks perfect.

[bavarian3]

Love that you're knocking out these updates this week. Keep them coming! I hope the front bumper is next 😀

[bran.stum]

Man this is turning out excellent looking. Almost exactly what I'd like to do with mine.

Looking forward to watching the rest of the progress!

[Kipjames3]

Are those exhaust tips still available? They look great.

[Avedis]

Made some great progress on the rear today. The car is starting to look like an actual rolling and functioning machine again.

First, I pulled off the rear bumper and installed the diffuser. I did this while the bumper was resting on a table. It just made things so much easier to see. After it was secured with new hardware, I snapped a couple of beauty shots.






Next up was the Trinity Graphics rear bumper mounts. They are not only significantly beefier, but the mounting holes are extended so that you can get a huge amount of adjustment.




I got some more help from my neighbor and installed the rear bumper onto the new mounts. We put the adjustability feature to work, taking the rear bumper off no less than 15 times, each time making a micro adjustment. In the end it was worth it, I was able to get the rear bumper aligned with the quarter panel with millimetric precision. Although the alignment was done, I still need to install the clips that close the gap between the rear bumper and rear quarter panel. This will happen when all of the wheel well liners go back on.



Really glad I went with my gut on these exhaust tips. They pair so nicely with the CSL diffuser.





With the rear bumper mounted and secured, I installed all of the trim pieces in the trunk. It was probably the least sexy job so far, and therefore, not many photos were taken. I gave the trunk compartment a quick vacuum, then put everything back together with many overpriced genuine BMW fasteners.







Lastly, I conditioned all the rubber components, which were in need of some good hydration.

[Avedis]

Progress throughout my workweek was slow. Today was my first day off this week and I used the free time to attack the trunk.

First I polished the taillights, which came out incredibly good. The depth and clarity were off the charts, and that was before I ceramic coated them. Prior to going on the car they received a single layer of ceramic coating, then new inner trim pieces were installed.






On the bottom of the taillights there are two small pegs which stick down and rest on the rear quarter panel area. From the factory, there are two small protective pieces similar to PPF that protect the paint from these small pegs. I had every intention of purchasing genuine BMW versions and reinstalling them after paint. Once I saw the price ($32 each) for a 40mm long piece of protective film, I bailed on my initial plan. Instead, I bought a bulk piece of 3M PPF and cut my own. Before the taillights went on, I installed the protective strips and new rubber buffers on the rear quarter panel.

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I ran the wiring loom back into the trunk prior to the inner taillights being installed. This way I had maximum hand space to work while installing the trunk lock mechanism. I taped the loom to a wire hanger, then pushed the loom up the channel and back into the trunk.


The lock gasket was installed, then the lock mechanism itself. I never noticed that the CSL didn’t have the emergency trunk release (from the inside of the trunk). I initially installed it onto the lock mechanism, but ended up deleting it after I realized it had nowhere to run to.




Next up was the locking latch, then the inner taillights. Prior to being installed, the inner taillights also were polished and ceramic coated.






I then installed new rubber hinge caps, rubber stop buffers and fresh genuine BMW struts.





Next up, the license plate lights. When I purchased the CSL trunk, it came pre-wired for LED license plate lights. That said, the wiring was done poorly. I took the whole wiring harness apart and rewired/insulated it properly. Then the wiring harness went into the trunk, and staged for the lights themselves.




Once it was wired, I installed the roundel grommets and license plate grommets. The license plate lights needed a little work to fit. The opening on hook that clips into the trunk is slightly too narrow and protrudes slightly too far to clip into the trunk. I peeled back the foam gasket and filed the hook portion (not pictured). Afterward, they fit snugly into the opening.




A few more exterior parts such as the BMW roundel and magnetic license plate mounts were installed. License plate lights were tested as well.




The final piece of this project was the CSL specific inner trunk liner. I waited until everything was installed and tested for functionality. I attempted to install it but the fitment out of the box was seriously bad. The section closest to the rear bumper (with the trunk in the closed position) was far too wide. It was so wide that it prevented the liner from sitting flush with the trunk, meaning the expanding rivets that hold the two together would not go in. The fix was to cut about 1/4inch off of the bottom section so that it would sit flush. After I got it to sit flush, I could see that nearly every hole for the expanding rivet was either too small, or slightly off. You can see in the photo that there was one hole that wasn’t even drilled out during manufacturing! I used a drill bit to bore the holes out as necessary.




Nothing about this project was really difficult, just a lot of components. Once I started building it out, everything fell into place pretty intuitively. The trunk alignment still needs a few more micro adjustments, but the fit is 90% there.

[Avedis]

Picking up where I left off, the passenger side of the car. The fuel door went back in, and it was kind of a pain in the butt. I should have paid more attention when doing the disassembly, because I struggled through the reassembly of the fuel door area more than I should have. There a lot of accessory parts and little tricks to get everything back together just right. It doesn’t help that the hand space to work is really tight. You can tell I’m paranoid about damaging anything during this rebuild.








While working on the fuel door, I couldn’t help but notice and appreciate just how accurate the orange peel on the new paint was vs the factory texture.



In order to complete the passenger side fender, I needed to ceramic coat/install new side grills and side marker lights. First the side grills.




Next, the side marker lights. After the ceramic coating, I installed some stealth bulbs, then reinstalled the side marker lights into the fender. I should note that both the driver side and passenger side got the same parts/treatment, I just didn’t take photos of the other side.






I moved onto the last missing interior piece, the a-pillar. The pillar had the common issue where the bottom 1/2 inch of fabric delaminates and bunches up. Fortunately, the fix was really simple. Fold the fabric back, mask the pillar, apply adhesive, tac dry, then affix the fabric.







After the fix, the a-pillar was reinstalled. Not much to document on this one, the install is pretty straight forward. That’s all for today. I’ll chip away during my work week and report back in a week or so.

[Avedis]

I had typed out an entire order of operations for the exterior rebuild so that I could stay on track and organized. Having a plan was nice, but when my son realized that “his” M3 was back in the garage, he couldn’t wait to work on it.

We went out to the garage and took on all the easy tasks. The order that we were doing things made absolutely no sense, but it really wasn’t about being efficient. I know these are memories are something I’ll hold onto forever, and I was happy to just be present, productive, and bonding with my son. It’s been really fun to see his understanding and passion for cars grow as he has gotten older.






After he got sick of working on the car, I stayed on the passenger side of the car and kept reassembling. All new hardware went into the body and onto the side skirt, then side skirt was reattached.




New lower window trim went down, then I reinstalled the shadow line trim, window gasket, window, b-pillar, and reattached the seatbelt.








I then detoured and took full advantage of having my neighbor home for the day. I used his extra set of hands to install the hood and passenger side fender.



I went back to the passenger side and installed the rubber door sill, plastic lower kick plate, rear door panel, rear bench and front door panel. Really good progress for a single day, i'll keep this thread updated as I continue the exterior rebuild.

[AWE46M3]

Let’s go!! 🫡

[Flow]

Very nice !
I just hope that the immaculate condition won't keep you from driving the car
Can't wait to see the next updates

[bavarian3]

Let's go ! The results are going to be epic.

[Avedis]

The painting process took a lot longer than expected, but I’m really impressed with the results.

After Monterey Car Week, Dave was able to get my car painted. If you recall, he sprayed about 10 color samples a while ago, two of which looked incredibly close. He picked the best color match and sprayed the quarter panel before painting all the accessories. Dave wanted to make sure he was happy with the color match before painting the bumpers and trim pieces.

About a week later Dave called me and informed me the color match was not to his standard. Despite us both agreeing on the color samples being an excellent match, the color did not quite translate to a larger scale for some reason. I have so much respect for his professionalism and perfectionism. I can almost guarantee you that any other shop would have pushed the job through. Dave special ordered some large scale panel spray outs so he could test the color match at a larger scale. They mixed up a few more batches and settled on a new formula.

Another week later, Dave called me and this time was much happier with the results. He invited me to come to the shop to see the color in person, and asked for my final approval. What I appreciate about Dave is his willingness to allow the customer to be a part of the process, ensuring that my concerns are heard, and that I am satisfied with the work being done.

When I arrived, the car was parked outside, and I got my first look at the paintwork. This was straight out of the paint booth. The color match was so good, and the orange peel texture was identical to factory. The most impressive part of it all? Zero body shop dust on the car, not a single spec. No over spray, no surprises, just great work.


Although I always knew paintwork was difficult, I’ve gained an even deeper appreciation for this skill. There are so many variables that go into a good paint match including the manufacturer itself, mixing the colors, the amount of metallic, pressure settings and arm speed for orange peel, blending vs butt matching, etc. Doing it at a high level is kind of an art form.

Couple days later, the rest of the parts had been painted, and the car was ready to pick up. I got my first look at the finished result, which was stunning. My goal for the paintwork was to go from the previously repainted quarter panel’s 90-95% color match to 95-98% color match (depending on the angle). I’d say we absolutely accomplished that goal. The only way the paint match could have been any closer would be to blend in the adjoining panels, which I was not willing to do.


I cautiously loaded the car up onto my neighbor’s trailer, then followed anxiously as we caravanned back home.




It felt so good to have the car safe, undamaged, and back in my garage.




Lights out for the night, let the rebuild begin in the morning!