2002 Steel Grey 6spd coupe Daily/Restoration project

[antknee]

never knew you could replace the windshield gasket on the E46s without pulling out the glass. great job!

[Tbonem3]

Staying in the engine bay...

New charcoal filter



As you all know, the 01 and 02s didn't get front strut braces. I upgraded the one in my silvergrey, so I put it in steelgrey. I also maxed out neg camber in the stock mounts by removing the nipples




Remove the nuts, and lift the car enough to take weight off so that you can slide the mounts inward. A pry bar helps, be gentle.




All done!

[Tbonem3]

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I've made a lot of progress on the car, but didn't update the thread here as I went, so I've got tons of photos to sift through, and my posts here will probably be out of order. So here I'm replacing windshield gasket and cowl and cleaning engine bay, but you'll see the bumper hanging off as I did this stuff before fixing the bumper. It'll get back on track as I catch up here.

Gross:




Gasket removed, but still need to clean out the "gutter"



Was actually really easy to pull old one out and put new one in. Started at one corner and worked my way around:





Cowl next. Have to pop off wipers. Be careful, it's easy to crack the glass. I used a small puller to get the wiper arm off the spline



Oh My




Removed all the plastics, and first blew out the leaves/dry dirt, then washed the engine bay



I also wash, then soak plastics in a rejuvenator/cleaner. I really like 303, but for heavier duty cleaning and restoration (as opposed to just protecting), I'm actually loving this Meguiar's stuff more. It's a marine product, but wow it works.



New cowl. Comes with new pop rivets and wiper gaskets, so don't bother buying those separately.




Wiper arms from silvergrey and newish Bosch wipers:



Soooo much better lol. The gaskets and the headlights made a massive difference. A paint correction will have this thing looking B+ maybe A-

[Tbonem3]

MOAR

Bumper on, getting the trims back in, foglights from the silvergrey (bought new ones for silvergrey), the new(ish) headlights, new grilles





New side emblems and clear lights. Gilles (chrome) were in good shape.





Oil change. PO did an oil change a bit before I bought the car, but it was at a Mobile 1 place and they put in 5w30. So I got cheap LM for now. I'll prob use Castrol next year forward. Only annual changes as I don't drive the daily much either lol



Da boyz:

[Mpower04]

Motivating me to get back in the garage, great progress!

[jet_dogg]

84 would be passenger side btw

[jet_dogg]

Dogg get new door insulation, that shit would drive me nuts it's only 40 bux 51488204283.

Love me some fresh plastics.

[0-60motorsports]

Love watching the work on this brother!

[Tbonem3]

New bumper guides, liners ready



Forum member Bassel wanted me to have new oe grills thank you!



Luckily found a set of bimmian painted reflectors in steelgrey for $40! Inventory is low (no longer being made?), some colors are out of luck. Ind has them for $110 iirc.



Removed the lower headlights trims and sprayers



Cleaned and conditioned them



Glued the rubber edge gasket back on at the ends (common issue)



Found like new headlight lenses (AL) on ebay for cheap, score!



Sliding the bumper back on





I can tell the bumper's been resprayed. Looks like the rear is too as well as the pass door/qp. I was hoping it was more original, but it's understandable for this 19 y/o car owned by a regular person. PO vaguely remembers, but not why the door and qp. Perhaps keying.

[Tbonem3]

Thanks guys!

Lots to post, still have silvergrey content too, but trying to catch up here

Rear view mirror was leaking, so put in an e34/36/38 era one that I have in silvergrey too from my old 325i. Simple, light, wide.



Took the front bumper/cover off to fix it, using a new pass lower liner and guides, but also remove washer tank/pump



Put it in front of Silvergrey and you really see how light silvergrey is. I focus on steel for a while and then see silverg & it looks like tiag to me lol. Imo, steelgrey is too dark, and it just feels very prefacelift I know how that sounds, but I can't shake it. Maybe it's condition makes it seem older too.

I have to say, honestly, I have an even deeper love of silvergrey after owning steelgrey now for a bit. Steel is too dark except in sunshine, but not dark enough to give the reflections of schwarz. It's a bit lost, a bit muddy. Too much color as well, looks purple brown a lot. In sun, it's absolutely brilliant. Silvergrey in sun is too bright! It's beautiful, but hard to look at without straining sometimes (my eyes are sensitive tho). In all other lights, silvergrey is sublime. It also contrasts better with the non painted surfaces than steel does. Silvergrey is also the (main) csl color ofc, so ya.

Then there are moments, in the right light where steelgrey looks it's lightest, at first glance, I mistake it for how dark I know silvergrey to get in the right light. It's a trip.
_

Sold the 128i to pay for e46. Twas a decent car but nahhhh too goofy, too short of a wheel base. Too cheap inside, too new for me. New owner appreciated the slicktop 6spd which I'm glad about. Adios.




Everything was really dirty, but dry, and lots of debris, ofc



Hosed it all down, scrubbed it



I then spray anything black (plastic, vinyl, rubber) with this meguiar's product. Same as the professional auto stuff, but half the price. It does a great job at cleaning and renewing. I still like 303 for the interior, but this stuff is just as good, if not better for exterior. Makes the perfect tire tressing imo. You can dilute too.




Ducting after wash/condition/dry:



Tank down and out/disconnected in 3 spots iirc since this car has headlight sprayers.




New lower liner vs old torn up one


.

[jet_dogg]

subbed

damn lot of work my head hurts just reading this shit man fuck that water

[0-60motorsports]

Very nice

[Maxima SE]

Installed a new outer door trim to finish. All of the trims need replacement

nice work so far. I have an extra set of brand new trim for the rear 1/4 windows. I'll give them to you

[Tbonem3]

Got the glass out and put it in the sun so tint just peeled right off



Replacement regulator with motor. You might notice the vapor barrier missing.



So I sealed it up cheaply. Those thick, reusable plastic shopping bags are useful!



Installed a new outer door trim to finish. All of the trims need replacement



Checked the areas you might see cracks/separation, in the trunk, and find zero evidence. The same for what's visible underneath. I'm not in a hurry to address the racp (other than add rear strut brace for more rigidity) esp not really driving much anymore with WFH



Went to install stereo power wire, and noticed debris down in battery tray so ended up pulling battery out. Seems like water's getting behind taillight.



Cleaned



Power wire/fuse holder installed, and battery back in


.

[Tbonem3]

Fixed the broken trunk handle



Then I uninstalled this mess of a sound system:




I'll clean up the harness later with amp install. Look at this ground they did lol:



Found a nice looking oem battery under the sub tho



Oh there's the bracket and more debris



Cleaned the hardboard



With new hardware, got the battery secured



Pulled passenger door to fix window, they put in some shitty 5.25" coaxials lol



The window wouldn't move, no wonder:



And the gear wore itself out so I need a motor too