Robs E46M BRG Street Build

[usdmej]

wicked fast progress! curious how you loaded the car onto the dolly with no power tho

[0-60motorsports]

British racking Green, BMW Individual Color 312 😉. Continuing the 50s-60s F1 Country Colors theme.

That'll be gorgeous! Cant wait.

[robgill]

Couple final items before paint. First got the OE CSL trunk installed. Why OE? It fits perfect with no BS. I just lined up the bolts in the same place as the original trunk.



Then swapped the new hood on the track card over to this car. Bye bye Nardo wrap!



For bumpers I decided to go with a new OE rear bumper (no pdc). And for front a Mile End CF bumper!! Super happy to pick one of these up (thanks @Gt4!)





This time around I decided to handle car transport to the body shop on my own. Tow trucks in the Bronx can be a real hassle... Also my street is pretty narrow and I would rather move the car on an off hour with no traffic. So pushed it out of the garage, rolled it down the hill, and loaded it onto a U-Hual dolly 😂. Worked great and only a couple miles to the body shop!





Back at Mamaroneck Auto Body for paint!! In good hands with Mario, Marco and Marco Jr.

[robgill]

Awesome work. What color are you going to paint the car?

British racking Green, BMW Individual Color 312 😉. Continuing the 50s-60s F1 Country Colors theme.

Awesome and inspiring work! Can you please weigh the steel roof panel before you throw it out? Curious what it weighs compared to the carbon fiber unit.

Confirmed! Mine was also ~22 pounds.

[02_lsb]

I wish you were closer. I’d take the exhaust off your hands. I’m getting too old for the supersprint.

[Casa de Mesa]

Awesome and inspiring work! Can you please weight the steel roof panel before you throw it out? Curious what it weighs compared to the carbon fiber unit.

22.5lbs per HERE. The first post in that thread has a ton of great info.

[nyc951]

Awesome and inspiring work! Can you please weigh the steel roof panel before you throw it out? Curious what it weighs compared to the carbon fiber unit.

[Casa de Mesa]

Next is the support bar. Last time I welded it in and wasn't super happy with that. So this time around I decided to bond and rivet is on. Inspired by @Casa de Mesas build! First I pinned it in place with some sheet metal screws to let the panel bond dry, then I drilled the holes out and installed rivets. Much happier with this solution:

Rob - this is like one of those "and the apprentice becomes the master" moments, lol!

I STILL go back to your Rossa build for inspiration. Legit, your build was a huge motivating factor in me doing my color change.

I can't wait to see how this turns out. Everything you do is to such a high level, this is going to be so much fun to watch unfold.

[0-60motorsports]

Awesome work. What color are you going to paint the car?

[heinzboehmer]

Great work! Thanks for documenting the process too. Will be useful for when I do mine.

[robgill]

Last big item before heading to the body shop; carbon roof! Decided to stick with the RKP roof from IND-Distribution. I have the same roof on Rosso and the fit/finish was perfect. For tools I used:

• 3M 08115 Panel Bond
• Dremel 80 grit flap wheels (don't buy the cheap ones...)
• Blair Spotweld Cutter 11308
• Spot Weld Buster
• Bunch of clamps from Harrbor Freight

First getting all of the spots welds drilled out. Only need to go 2mm or so deep, the panel is pretty thin!


The you can use the spot weld buster to split the front and back panels, plus a few more up the channels. There is some glue under the front that I hit with a heat gun. Then I stand in the sunroof opening, grab the front, and rip it off!



After a clean up of the welds with the dremel the test fit is perfect! I try to leave as much of the e-coat on as possible.




Next is the support bar. Last time I welded it in and wasn't super happy with that. So this time around I decided to bond and rivet is on. Inspired by @Casa de Mesas build! First I pinned it in place with some sheet metal screws to let the panel bond dry, then I drilled the holes out and installed rivets. Much happier with this solution:




I also trimmed the roof to keep the roof rack mounting nuts. Also make centering the roof a lot easier when you glue it down. Last step was to bond it on!

[robgill]

Next goal was getting the drivetrain out. I've gotten pretty good at this and knocked it all out in an afternoon. First off is the front clip. BMW was smart on how they designed this and the whole thing comes off as a unit. Disconnect the various plugs, hood latch and bumper carrier. Remove 10 or so bolts and done! You can even just leave the headlights on if you want.



Then off with the radiator, A/C condenser, cooler etc. Going to replace all of those so straight to the trash for most of it.


Next dropped the exhaust and drive shaft. Anyone need a stock exhaust setup??


Ran into my first heavily rusted bolts. The section 1 to 2 and 2 to muffler bolts had to be cut off. Also had one exhaust hanger bolt that I had to grind off. Managed to not damage the stud, just needs a thread cleanup!



Back to the engine bay to remove more accessories, unplug the engine harness, remove the A/C lines.



My preferred way to drop the motor is to the leave the trans attached. Then disconnect the lower suspension (control arm, tie rod, sway bar) from the wheel hubs. With the engine suspended on cherry picker i can just drop the sub frame bolts and raise the chassis using the Quick Jacks. Then pull it out the front. I keep an extra strap tied to the passenger side engine mount bracket to keep the motor from naturally leaning in that direction.





I put the subframe and rack back in so it will roll and steer. Then after a ton of cleaning its ready almost ready for the body shop. Last item is getting the carbon roof installed!!

[robgill]

Just read your Rosso build. impressive work! How do you like working with the Quick Jacks? Any safety concerns getting underneath the car with them?

Also, how was prepping the engine bay for painting? We’re you able to sufficiently clean all the nooks and crannies?

I absolutely love my Quick Jacks, easily one of the best purchases I ever made. Safety is the primary reason I got them, they have a mechanical stop and are infinitely more stable than jack stands. As for the engine bay I clean everything with Por 15 degreaser and elbow grease... feels like 90% of this project is cleaning... Paint shop does the final prep.

[Casa de Mesa]

Funny, I was just getting the itch for another project. Love that you are doing this Rob! Can't wait to watch this unfold!!

[nuc1]

How do you like working with the Quick Jacks? Any safety concerns getting underneath the car with them?

I use my 7000 lb Quick Jack for the wife's X5, my Tundra and the M3. Rock solid. I still put a jack stand/cribbage in place as required as a backup.

Mike