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Aj's Imola, E46 M3 6spd

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    Aj's Imola, E46 M3 6spd

    During the last few months, I've been itching to get an S54 powered car. My E36 M3 was at a state where I was happy with it. The car pulled hard and handled really well. The only issue with it was the power. I've now had 3, S52 powered cars so far and I was bored with the powerband. So what was the next thing to do? Replace the S52 with a S54.

    I searched everywhere for wrecked E46 M3s. Copart, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook marketplace, etc. I couldn't find a parts car anywhere for a decent price. At this point, I even considered buying a used engine. But to my luck, I couldn't even find a motor. The numbers weren't working or the sellers were sketchy. The next solution I came up with was to buy a S54 swapped car for 20-25k instead. I was disappointed once again because I couldn't find anything. At this point, I wanted an E46 M3. I found 3 examples.

    The first one was a 02 M3 6spd, 152k miles. Grey with red leather. It had a rebuilt title and the price was very appealing at $7,000. The fact that it was a rtitle car and there weren't any records of the big maintenance items being taken care of. To my luck, this one sold before I could get down to Louisville to look at it









    Car number two, was an Imola vert with a smg. However, it had 77k miles. It had some maintenance done and I expected it to be a clean car for the miles. It was also a local car so it made sense to go look at it. My plan was to 6spd swap it if I bought it. However, this car wasn't as clean in person. The front end had a lot of rock-chips, there was concrete stuck in all 4 wheel wells, the passenger side skirt also had concrete on it. On top of that, there was a little bit of clear coat failing on the car. Needless to say, I walked away from it.





    Car number 3

    I was approached by an enthusiast that was looking to sell his M3. "02 M3 6spd. Imola/black leather interior with manual seats. 97k miles. Vanos done at 87k miles, rear subframe checked at 87k and no cracks and rod bearings done at ~22k miles."





    Needless to say, I was sold on the car. The color combo and the miles sold me on it. The seller and I talked back and forth. At first, we couldn't come into an agreement with the price because the subframe wasn't reinforced but after a few weeks, we settled on a price and I bought it.



    Night I bought it

    The car is bone stock aside from the csl trunk. It hasn't seen a single winter. There's not a single spec of rust on it. The previous owner put Bav auto stage 2 speakers on it and put the 18" wheels. He said he sold the 19s.



    When it had 19s.















    So far I haven't driven the car much after buying it. I've gotta do a few things to the car before I start daily driving it for the rest of the season. Here are a few things that are going to be done to the vehicle:-

    -Reinforce the rear subframe (I've bought all OE bushings for the rear end, turner subframe reinforcement kit, differential fluid)

    -Valve adjustment

    -Spark Plugs

    -Fluids & filters


    It's missing the BMW emblem on the trunk. I've read that Z4 ones fit perfectly. So I'll be ordering that.


    The first order of business after buying the E46 was to have the rear subframe reinforced. I ended up buying the OE comprehensive rear subframe bushing kit with the rear trailing arm bushing limiters along with turner motorsport, rear subframe reinforcement kit. I also bought new bolts and other hardware.



















    I also ended up buying new control arm bushings and right sway bar endlink since it was loose. I got a new center support bearing and guibo too. The control arm bushings weren't cracked (yet). For the life of me, I can’t find any pictures of the parts installed.


    Got a killer deal on Koni yellows with H&R springs. I installed the rears while the subframe was down.



    The car also got it’s 3rd valve adjustment done. Turns out only one valve needed adjustment. It also made sense to do belts and spark plugs while everything was apart.





    The car also got an oil change, new trans fluid with new plugs, and diff fluid.




    Got rid of the gross shift knob for a much nicer shift boot and shift knob






    Also got an alcantara ebrake boot





    Did a little cleaning and tossed on the LED tailights. I’m not a fan of this look. I’ll be reverting back to stock tails







    I also got a replacement BMW trunk roundel to replace my missing one.



    I made an impulse purchase on these wheels. Still haven’t put them on the car yet and I think I’ll be selling these.




    After all the work was done, I dropped the car off for an alignment. Came out to a nasty surprise that my rear right camber adjustment screw was stripped. I’ll be replacing the rear control arms with eibach or turner motorsport adjustable control arms.









    Next up

    Tires/Wheels

    Rear adjustable control arms

    Pulleys

    Brakes

    Headliner

    Interior trim
    Last edited by Ajcanadian; 01-08-2022, 09:24 AM.

    #2
    Good pickup! Looks like you got a nice one. When you pull apart the subframe to install the rear control arms, check the ball joints. Every E46 M I’ve bought has needed them. Steering guibo is a cheap fix too and tightens up steering feel too. The rubber gets a little soft over time.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by 8000RPM View Post
      Good pickup! Looks like you got a nice one. When you pull apart the subframe to install the rear control arms, check the ball joints. Every E46 M I’ve bought has needed them. Steering guibo is a cheap fix too and tightens up steering feel too. The rubber gets a little soft over time.
      Thank you. When i had the rear subframe reinforced, I had all of the rear end bushings replaced so hopefully I won't have to do those ball joints again. I just pressed in new balljoints in the rear control arms. I definitely will get a new steering Guibo.

      Comment


        #4
        Nice car! Love the OEM CSL trunk. What LED tail lights did you go with?

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by RoyalFlushness View Post
          Nice car! Love the OEM CSL trunk. What LED tail lights did you go with?
          I went with the depos. They don't throw a code but the plastic piece inside the trunk doesn't fit. It's the trim where the bulb for the trunk lights up when the trunk is open. I'll be selling the depos soon. Other than that they're great.

          Comment


            #6
            Hey AJ - welcome to the forum! Glad to see another Imola. Maybe one day we will cross paths since we aren’t too far apart.
            2005 ///M3 6MT Coupe Imola/M-Texture



            Build Thread

            Instagram

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Inizes View Post
              Hey AJ - welcome to the forum! Glad to see another Imola. Maybe one day we will cross paths since we aren’t too far apart.
              Hey, I hope so too!

              Comment


                #8
                Nice pickup on the Imola M3 and glad the Koni's and H&R springs worked out for you!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by alexM3Chicago View Post
                  Nice pickup on the Imola M3 and glad the Koni's and H&R springs worked out for you!
                  Thanks Alex! It was the right timing, I was about to pull the trigger on bc coils but the moment I saw your price, I couldn't have said no.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Click image for larger version

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ID:	80486 I've been a little busy with school and work but I've managed to do a few little things here and there.

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                    I ended up pulling all the tint and got the car tinted at 35%. Old tint was gross and the previous owner peeled the tint off the front two windows.

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                    After having the subframe reinforced, I got to enjoy the car quite a bit before tucking it away for the winter. Click image for larger version  Name:	Snapchat-1294743453.jpg Views:	0 Size:	54.8 KB ID:	80478
                    I bought bc coilovers for the car. I figured since this is a street car, it should be fine.

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                    The soft touch plastic on the center console was showing a lot of wear and I wanted a cleaner look so I used fcps black friday sale and bought the euro center console.

                    Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_20200927_130857.jpg Views:	0 Size:	48.6 KB ID:	80488 ​​​​​​Gave the seats the leatherique treatment.

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                    I was coming back home from Ann arbor and the car triggered a Service Engine Soon light. Once i got home and scanned it, turns out it was for the cats. I wanted to buy the euro headers but I couldn't manage to find any at the time so I bought the Megan's. I'll be installing these once I do the rodbearings. The car has a hair over 100k miles and the last time they were done was under recall when the vehicle had ~22k miles on it.

                    My foglights were showing a lot of wear and one was also cracked. I bought depo clear fogs and painted them yellow.

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                    I absolutely hate the amber reflective corners. Not only are they a PITA to get out and install. They look awful. I bought clear ones and then painted them in imola red. I managed to break one of the new set after painting it while installing it.

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                    My interior trim pieces were showing a lot of wear. The previous owner wrapped the brushed aluminum trim and swapped the door panel arm rests too. They didn't look like they belonged to a 100k mile car so they had to go. While removing the door panel I discovered a lot of mismatched/broken interior trim clips. I wonder where my rattle was coming from.

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                    Also got new sidemarkers
                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by Ajcanadian; 01-27-2021, 09:10 AM.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Isn't that M5 on Cars and Bids right now? Looks good man.
                      2004 BMW ///M3 Carbon Black/Cinnamon 6MT
                      2005 BMW ///M3
                      Interlagos Blue/Black 6MT Dinan S3-R

                      2008 BMW ///M3 Alpine White/Bamboo/6MT Track Build
                      2000 BMW ///M5 Royal Red/Extended Caramel 6MT
                      2004 BMW X5 Toledo Blue/Sand Beige 6MT
                      2023 Toyota Supra //A91-MT CULG/Hazelnut 6MT


                      Instagram

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Sharocks View Post
                        Isn't that M5 on Cars and Bids right now? Looks good man.
                        Correct, it's my step brother's. Managed to talk him into getting him that

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Ajcanadian View Post

                          Correct, it's my step brother's. Managed to talk him into getting him that
                          Color combo is rare, is he just bored with it? I guess there are other fast sedans now that do it better to a degree.
                          2004 BMW ///M3 Carbon Black/Cinnamon 6MT
                          2005 BMW ///M3
                          Interlagos Blue/Black 6MT Dinan S3-R

                          2008 BMW ///M3 Alpine White/Bamboo/6MT Track Build
                          2000 BMW ///M5 Royal Red/Extended Caramel 6MT
                          2004 BMW X5 Toledo Blue/Sand Beige 6MT
                          2023 Toyota Supra //A91-MT CULG/Hazelnut 6MT


                          Instagram

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Sharocks View Post

                            Color combo is rare, is he just bored with it? I guess there are other fast sedans now that do it better to a degree.
                            He found a different car he wants to approach, that suits his liking more. It was more of me telling him to buy it and it sold him when he heard it's got a V8. He's more into JDM cars and American cars. He's got this 240sx that's fully built. I'm the one that like's EU cars more.
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                            Last edited by Ajcanadian; 01-22-2021, 07:58 AM. Reason: 240 pics

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I seent that GT350R. You weren't joking.
                              2004 BMW ///M3 Carbon Black/Cinnamon 6MT
                              2005 BMW ///M3
                              Interlagos Blue/Black 6MT Dinan S3-R

                              2008 BMW ///M3 Alpine White/Bamboo/6MT Track Build
                              2000 BMW ///M5 Royal Red/Extended Caramel 6MT
                              2004 BMW X5 Toledo Blue/Sand Beige 6MT
                              2023 Toyota Supra //A91-MT CULG/Hazelnut 6MT


                              Instagram

                              Comment

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