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Pipe's Carbon Black/M texture M3

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    Pipe's Carbon Black/M texture M3

    So a little back story, I’m from Uruguay in South America and I’m 26 years old. My first car was a 316i E30 and over the years I had 3 more E30s (2 325i and another 316i). This one was the last E30.









    I’ve always loved the E30 platform in general and the last one was fully restored and a S54 was the next step for that car. As you could imagine South American cities are not the safest cities in the world and it was getting harder and harder to find time to use the E30, because it basically couldn’t be street parked anywhere. E30s are specially sought after in Uruguay because long story short, a lot of them were assembled over here in the 80s and 90s and the cars that were assembled here don’t have VINs stamped in the body or in the documentation and the only identification in the documentation is the engine number , so it’s insanely easy to have one stolen and to swap in another engine. I’ve always loved the E46 M3 and if had to sell the E30 and get something else it had to be for an E46 M3 but that would be easier said than done.

    In Uruguay we only received 5 E46 M3s coupe and 1 cabrio, for a grand total of 6 units in the entire country. Some didn’t fair well and have had big crashes in the past but luckily this one, the only Carbon Black one, didn’t. So when this one got posted for sale I had to check it out and after a couple months we settled on a price and I brought it home.







    The car is a 10/2001 SMG M3 with M texture interior, electric seats, halogen headlights and 220k KM. RACP and vanos were not bulletproofed and the bearings were done at 100k KM so they are almost due to being done again.




    This is how it looked the they I received it.














    Then it got its first wash.









    Then a neighbor bumped into the rear bumper but luckily she reckoned her mistake and had my rear bumper painted and I decided to have the front one done too. Decided to install new fog lights too.



















    The next day we took off to Buenos Aires (Argentina) because my girlfriend got us tickets for Autoclasica, which is a massive car show which gathers a lot of classics and new sport cars.




    The yaw rate sensor decided it didn’t want to live anymore but that got swapped once I arrived back in Montevideo.









    Random pic in Buenos Aires, we had rain all weekend and Autoclasica was almost completely called off.









    The rear tires weren’t in the greatest of shapes so I took the chance and bought new ones in Buenos Aires which were much cheaper than in Uruguay. Got some Michelin Pilot Sport 4, no 4s in OEM sized available. Also once I got back to Uruguay I had the wheels painted as close as I could to the OEM Chrome Shadow color.




    Before.









    After, also added new emblems.














    Got some new repeaters too.














    A friend gave it a very light polish to make it more presentable.









    Before the refinished wheels and repeaters.









    After.














    Soon after the cats were removed because we don’t have emissions controls and they were insanely clogged and rattling. Also decided to have the car baselined so I could have a baseline for the future maintenances and mods.









    An impulsive buy… Scorza section 3 with Ti tips.














    Next in line was getting the steering wheel refinished. Overall I’m happy with the result but I reckon the person who did the job could have been tidier.




    Before.









    After.






















    Since I got the car home it bugged me how the headlights and taillights were so deteriorated so I got Bosch lenses, turn signals and ULO taillights.




    Front before.



















    Front after.
























    Rear before.



















    Rear after.










































    That brings us to the present, next in line are the big 3. Already have the parts for the RACP reinforcement (Reddish plates and epoxy Vince bar kit), Beisan vanos refresh parts (luckily the hub is still in one piece) and all new suspension parts minus the springs (Std Koni Yellows for the front, TCKline rear Koni and stock bushings everywhere) and ACL bearings.

    #2
    So VANOS rebuild is happening, doing it as DIY and following Beisan Systems procedures. 220k km and the vanos tabs are in good shape and everything seems to be in original untouched condition.


    Last edited by PipeUy; 10-01-2020, 11:51 AM.

    Comment


      #3
      And some interiors pictures from when I just got the car about an year ago. Trim was missing because the orange dash clips were broken and it would fall out. Shortly after I also fitted some new OEM fabric floor mats.







      And some pictures taken by some local photographers are a small cart meet.













      Comment


        #4
        The E30 was a theft magnet so you replaced it with an E46 M3? LOL

        And only 6 imported in the country? Wow, to think people here claim their cars are rare spec! Nice work so far - looking forward to future updates

        Comment


          #5
          Beautiful! Love the direction you're heading in. Glad to see e46 m3's getting the love they deserve in South America too!

          Comment


            #6
            Very nice. Super jealous that you guys get euro spec cars over there.
            2002 Topasblau M3 - Coupe - 6MT - Karbonius CSL Airbox - MSS54HP Conversion - Kassel MAP - SSV1 - HJS - PCS Tune - Beisan - MK60 Swap - ZCP Rack - Nogaros - AutoSolutions - 996 Brembos - Slon - CMP - VinceBar - Koni - Eibach - BlueBus - Journal

            2012 Alpinweiss 128i - Coupe - 6AT - Slicktop - Manual Seats - Daily - Journal

            Comment


              #7

              Originally posted by freshprince2421 View Post
              The E30 was a theft magnet so you replaced it with an E46 M3? LOL




              And only 6 imported in the country? Wow, to think people here claim their cars are rare spec! Nice work so far - looking forward to future updates
              Haha yeah they’re extremely rare over here, Uruguay had a pretty big economic crisis in 2002 so all of them are early ones.



              Originally posted by skristedja View Post
              Beautiful! Love the direction you're heading in. Glad to see e46 m3's getting the love they deserve in South America too!
              Thanks!


              Originally posted by heinzboehmer View Post
              Very nice. Super jealous that you guys get euro spec cars over there.
              Yeah we always get euro spec cars over here which is a big plus.



              A couple weeks ago I parked the car in a friend’s house and we started tackling 2 of the big three, vanos and rod bearings. Vanos tabs were in good shape and everything else was in original condition, had to clean everything quite a bit which took a long time but we got the vanos completed with evert Beisan part and engine timed correctly (after having to order a new damper from Schmiedmann since mine was delaminating). During the vanos rebuild I also changed the front main seal for an original Bmw one and all the belts and tensioners, we also flushed the cooling system and filled it up with Motul Inugel Expert. I still have to refresh the cooling system but that will happen in early 2021.











              Then it was time for the rod bearings which were changed at 100k km at the dealer during the recall, the car has now 221k km so they probably were due for a new set. Before we removed the oil pan we ran through the oiling system a can of Liqui Moly engine flush because the oil changes weren’t done as regularly as they should have been done. Disassembly went smooth with the only problem being that the pan had a pretty big oil leak and everything was covered in crud.




              Rod bearings didn’t look too horrible but some had some wear, so it wasn’t a bad time for the refresh. The bearings that we swapped in are ACL and the ones we removed were original Bmw.











              That brings us to the present day, we are now assembling the front suspension/subframe with all new bushes, control arms and tie rods and throwing in some Koni Yellows since the shocks look like they are the original Sachs units.

              Comment


                #8


                Before considering buying the car I did a lot of research about E46 M3 possible problems and of course the RACP cracks were among the top. So when a friend and I inspected the car we knew we had to look for those. We did find that it was cracked but of course we didn’t know the extent. About an year later my friend had time and the space to take the car in and we started with the repair process.









                We could see some separation in the sound deadener.









                After removing the sound deadener we could clearly see how the floor was tearing itself apart.














                Then the teardown of the rear axle started, both gearbox mounts were shot and the center support bearing was repaired very poorly by the previous owner.














                The diff had a small leak from the input and right side flange, also it had a lot of free play on the right side. More on this later.



















                The floor right side tear from below.









                Rear axle removed.



















                Cracks in the front right mount.









                Left side.









                Totally necessary to clean the underside to find the small cracks.






























                Comment


                  #9


                  Took the time to clean the gearbox too, it was really caked in oil.



















                  We zinc coated all the bolts and nuts.









                  I’ve been reading this forum since it was created and the old one for a while too and it was clear that only the Redish plates were not enough and something had to be done to the top too. So I got a Vince Bar to make sure I never get to do this again.














                  We had to get the rear teared floor in the position it’s supposed to go in before we could weld it, so we lowered the car very carefully onto a jack stand so we could get the metal back were it should go.














                  Then we welded the Vince bar to the car and improved some of the floor welds.



















                  We also welded the Redish plates and every single crack of spot weld that was broken.












































                  My friend managed to hide the bar as well as we could. I think it turned out really nice.














                  Then we riveted in the front reinforcement cups.





                  Comment


                    #10


                    We got the floor undercoated.



















                    And then we got some paint made using a small bracket we removed, it turned out darken than what we imagined but it still looks factory.
























                    The inside of the boot too.














                    Not willing to take apart the car again I got all new bushings.














                    Diff carrier painted and in place.









                    More bushing swapping.









                    Finally we had all the rear suspension in place.




















                    Comment


                      #11


                      I ordered a Racing Diffs free play shim and LSD clutches, it has fixed a lot of the free play, hope it lasts a long time.
























                      Fully done.



















                      This completes the rear end repair, we were quite happy with the result.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Then since we had the car apart it was time to manual swap it, the SMG was starting to drop gears on hot days and I’ve always wanted a manual E46 M3, so it was time.









                        The clutch was really tired and contaminated by an oil leak coming from one of the flywheel bolts.














                        Then we had the bell housing modifications done, used the following guide and everything worked out perfectly.
















                        Checking that everything was working properly.









                        New LUK flywheel and clutch.









                        And gearbox mounted.









                        Gear knob installed.









                        Pedal too.









                        Removed the paddles.









                        Here is where the pictured start to run low, we had the driveshaft rebuilt and new exhaust gaskets. Then we assembled all the plastic covers and heat shields.









                        Bled the brakes and clutch, old fluid was nasty.









                        Coded the car and went for a short drive to make sure everything was ok.









                        Then it went in for an alignment and everything checked out.

















                        And this is were things end, the car now drives beautifully with no weird noises and everything works as it should. The big 3 and the gearbox conversion completed, now it’s time to enjoy the car and tackle small things like an interior refresh.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          A few weeks ago I bought a set of CSLManual's paddles covering panels for the missing SMG paddles. They fit really good and tidied up the back of the wheel which was visible from outside the car.

                          Not the best pictures in the world but you get the idea.




                          Comment


                            #14
                            Great job on the big 3!
                            DD: /// 2011.5 Jerez/bamboo E90 M3 · DCT · Slicktop · Instagram
                            /// 2004 Silvergrey M3 · Coupe · 6spd · Slicktop · zero options
                            More info: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...os-supersprint

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Tbonem3 View Post
                              Great job on the big 3!
                              Thanks! It's nice knowing that the car is solid.

                              Comment

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