This car started life as a 2003 330i m-sport sedan in black sapphire metallic and is being built into an 'M3 sedan'.
While the car existed as a standard 330i, I replaced the seats and door cards with black leather units, and retrofitted an NBT from an F30:
The M54B30 was then removed and replaced with an S54B32 & 6-speed manual gearbox:
The VANOS was then 'bulletproofed' using the full Beisan kit, uprated cam gear bolts & S62 diaphragm springs, and the valves adjusted:
I then rebuilt the donor M3 brake calipers; the front caliper pistons weren't in great shape and were replaced:
Caliper carriers media blasted & painted:
Calipers prepped & painted (Duplicolor gloss black):
Next up was preparing the remaining M3 suspension and driveline components.
New Bilstein PSS10 coilovers:
Donor M3 subframe bushes removed:
CMP Auto Engineering solid subframe bushes were chosen for this car, even though it's intended for street use.
The reasoning is two-fold; no movement of the subframe against the RACP should help prevent any future cracking, and the bushes are designed to move the subframe closer to the body to account for reinforcement plates & the vehicle being lowered.
The M3 LSD was cleaned, drained and the rear cover replaced:
And reinstalled back into the subframe:
Trailing arms disassembled, wheel bearings, balljoints replaced & Syncro Design Works monoball RTAB installed:
Handbrake shoes & new springs installed:
For the front, new CSL kingpins and wheel bearings were used:
The old rear suspension & fuel tank were removed from the sedan:
And the boot floor removed:
No turning back now 😁.
A brand-new E46 M3 floor pan was purchased and the centre panel extracted:
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CMP Auto Engineering reinforcement kit installed:
The decision was made to go the 'full way':
Donor rear arches extracted & prepared:
Test-fitting with M3 rear bumper:
Tacked on & then welded fully:
View from behind:
M3 rear muffler brackets installed (pre-arches):
The rear suspension & fuel system were then mostly reinstalled:
ECS Tuning Monoball RSMs & reinforcement plates installed:
And some more parts removed:
A genuine M3 bonnet was then fitted. The guards will be created by joining both sedan and M3 guards:
Arches being filled and smoothed:
And with the front bumper lightly held in place (not properly attached):
Suspension back in:
Also sorted out the wheels for this project:
The car seeing daylight for the first time in months:
Finally after paint:
I've since fixed the missing lip on the bootlid, left-rear door trim, centre caps and fitted Bimmerworld adjustable rear camber arms.
The earlier-style mirror modules (non-ribbon-cable) have also been retrofitted, and the GM coded accordingly, so the M3 mirrors are fully functional on a car that originally used ribbon-cable mirrors.
While the car existed as a standard 330i, I replaced the seats and door cards with black leather units, and retrofitted an NBT from an F30:
The M54B30 was then removed and replaced with an S54B32 & 6-speed manual gearbox:
The VANOS was then 'bulletproofed' using the full Beisan kit, uprated cam gear bolts & S62 diaphragm springs, and the valves adjusted:
I then rebuilt the donor M3 brake calipers; the front caliper pistons weren't in great shape and were replaced:
Caliper carriers media blasted & painted:
Calipers prepped & painted (Duplicolor gloss black):
Next up was preparing the remaining M3 suspension and driveline components.
New Bilstein PSS10 coilovers:
Donor M3 subframe bushes removed:
CMP Auto Engineering solid subframe bushes were chosen for this car, even though it's intended for street use.
The reasoning is two-fold; no movement of the subframe against the RACP should help prevent any future cracking, and the bushes are designed to move the subframe closer to the body to account for reinforcement plates & the vehicle being lowered.
The M3 LSD was cleaned, drained and the rear cover replaced:
And reinstalled back into the subframe:
Trailing arms disassembled, wheel bearings, balljoints replaced & Syncro Design Works monoball RTAB installed:
Handbrake shoes & new springs installed:
For the front, new CSL kingpins and wheel bearings were used:
The old rear suspension & fuel tank were removed from the sedan:
And the boot floor removed:
No turning back now 😁.
A brand-new E46 M3 floor pan was purchased and the centre panel extracted:
.jpg.ef14272b8b67c7b36e4c00468296c77d.jpg)
CMP Auto Engineering reinforcement kit installed:
The decision was made to go the 'full way':
Donor rear arches extracted & prepared:
Test-fitting with M3 rear bumper:
Tacked on & then welded fully:
View from behind:
M3 rear muffler brackets installed (pre-arches):
The rear suspension & fuel system were then mostly reinstalled:
ECS Tuning Monoball RSMs & reinforcement plates installed:
And some more parts removed:
A genuine M3 bonnet was then fitted. The guards will be created by joining both sedan and M3 guards:
Arches being filled and smoothed:
And with the front bumper lightly held in place (not properly attached):
Suspension back in:
Also sorted out the wheels for this project:
The car seeing daylight for the first time in months:
Finally after paint:
I've since fixed the missing lip on the bootlid, left-rear door trim, centre caps and fitted Bimmerworld adjustable rear camber arms.
The earlier-style mirror modules (non-ribbon-cable) have also been retrofitted, and the GM coded accordingly, so the M3 mirrors are fully functional on a car that originally used ribbon-cable mirrors.
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