Unicorn E46 Slicktop Euro touring -> S54 / 6mt swap (Orient/Individual/M Tech II)

[Redshift]

Hello everyone! Many of you know me from past (and currently ongoing) builds. There was the record-setting E39 M5 touring build that sold on BaT for $72k, my ongoing E46 M3 wagon/touring build (currently at body shop getting full repaint and fenders done with many more surprises after that) and of course last year's E91 335d manual-transmission touring with completely custom interior and over 700lb-ft of torque. But this thread isn't for that, it's for this insanely unique and rare bird that my buddy and I found and purchased from a local friend. Feel free to follow this and the other builds on Instagram at @bmwwagonguy or on Youtube (there's a video below if you want to subscribe. I'm not a huge YouTuber though)

Welcome to our latest project, this stunning Orient Blue E46 325i Touring (Wagon) Slicktop which we are converting to full S54 and 6-speed specification with a fully refreshed engine. The subframe has already been reinforced so we'll move on with the engine work and body/paint work shortly. This is the post from a few days ago on another forum but Obioban invited me here to post the progress so I'll put a few posts up at once.

Some information about this car:

• 2001 BMW 325i Touring (Wagon) Slicktop with 86k original chassis miles
• Only 2 owners, comes with 4 keys!
• Orient Blue exterior paint
• Individual Full Leather "Mosaico" interior - extremely rare
• Slicktop
• Factory M Tech II package -- unavailable in the USA, very rare (this is the ONLY car sold in the USA with it apparently), front and rear M-Tech II bumpers and ///M sport steering wheel with ///M logo sills
• Factory Shadowline exterior trim
• Factory Shadowline front grilles
• Factory Anthracite Headliner
• Factory navigation
• Factory Premium HiFi Harmon Kardon audio

Watch the journey as we transform this already amazing and unique wagon into something truly special.












[MEDIA=youtube]blmK1aofu88[/MEDIA]

[Redshift]

On Friday we spent much of the day sorting and cleaning all the parts needed for the swap and making a very extensive parts list for this build. Not only will EVERYTHING on the engine get replaced (all wear parts), but we will also be completely rebuilding and timing the VANOS with all of the best quality Beisan parts including their upper timing chain guide for extra safety.

We also completely cleaned and disinfected the interior using a new medical-grade disinfectant service that I have begun offering through my local company, Fibrenew.

[Tbonem3]

Honestly, it looks pretty great as is! Nice find.

[Redshift]

Today we made some more progress. Yanked the engine, stripped it down (we will be doing thorough cleaning and even possibly some really nice polishing on many of the aluminum parts) in preparation for body work. Tomorrow (if we are feeling up to it, having just received our 2nd Covid vaccinations this morning) we will pull the interior out and get the car towed to the body shop so we can then work on a full engine refresh and the custom interior while it's being painted.





LOOK AT THE AMAZING CONDITION OF THE ENGINE INTERNALLY! WOW!



Also power washed the engine bay and underside so we can look for any trouble spots to be addressed while it's at the body shop:

[Redshift]

Honestly, it looks pretty great as is! Nice find.

This car is so unique that we want it damn near perfect so we're leaving no detail untouched. We hope it fetches all the dollars on BaT!

[robgill]

Subbed! Very cool build. So one thing I’m confused on; it came with an S54 already in it?

[Redshift]

Subbed! Very cool build. So one thing I’m confused on; it came with an S54 already in it?

No, standard M54B25. We bought it from the old owner as an unfinished project.

[Sharocks]

That diesel wagon holy shit I want it.

[Redshift]

That diesel wagon holy shit I want it.

Get in line! LOL I would never be able to break even on it, even if it went nuts on BaT. Probably outspent what it was worth but it sure is unique and fun. If you want to read all the gory details, here is the build thread:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25371384

[Sharocks]

Get in line! LOL I would never be able to break even on it, even if it went nuts on BaT. Probably outspent what it was worth but it sure is unique and fun. If you want to read all the gory details, here is the build thread:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...php?p=25371384

Haha I know that feeling. My Z3M Coupe Project is an endless pit lol.

I remember reading the articles on the 335D, I was like when is he gonna make an account here?

Looking forwards to your build of this wagon, my E36 M3 was finished in Orient Blue as well so the color holds a special place for me.

[RoyalFlushness]

God I love wagons. Trying to source myself an E91 Touring as a daily

[liam821]

Love the wagon content!! I had a 2002 e46 touring that I was planning on converting into an M3 wagon...should have actually finished that project. I'll have to live vicariously through you.

[Redshift]

Some updates...car was towed to the body shop for some premium paint work/refresh/touch up and in the mean time we've begun tearing into the S54. My blast cabinet and upgrades will be here any day so all the parts will get a nice cleaning, but for now we've got the Beisan parts ready to go (everything they offer for the S54 including VANOS o-rings, rattle, solenoid, oil pump disk, hub, and upper timing chain guide) in. Our S54, like many, had a broken tab and this was caused by loose tolerances in the oil pump disk's inserts as shown in the photos.

Stripped for paint work:



Off to Precision Collision:

[Redshift]

Yesterday we had some time to work on the rod bearings and finish building our new blast cabinet.

In order to run the blast cabinet, you need air. A LOT of air. Like > 10cfm. So I upgraded my years-old compressor to a big Quincy 60gal model that delivers > 15cfm @ 90psi and plumbed it into my existing system from the basement of my house. The smaller 1/2" blue lines run to my shop and my pool area and the new, 3/4" line runs to my garage for higher pressure/flow needs on rare occasions. This thing is about half the volume of the old one and delivers so much air that even during blasting, the needle on the pressure gauge doesn't move.




And now for some engine p0rn:



Old bearings:



New bearings:




All done:



And now for some aluminum cleaning p0rn:

[Redshift]

One majorly exciting update and some smaller ones...

I found out that this touring is extremely rare. We already knew that the M Tech II package from the factory on a US car was rare and that the individual interior was rare but:



1 of 1! The only one with this interior and tdhe only publicly-sold with M Sports Package II out of 2191 cars.

The car is at the body shop getting minor surface rust issues taken care of. Apparently whoever owned it before had a poor windshield installation done and it wasn't sealed properly, causing rust around the A-pillars and roof where it meets the windshield. We're having everything properly fixed with Glasurit paint at a high end shop in town, sparing no expense, and then installing a proper OE BMW windshield, molding, and new cowl. Here are some photos:






Next week, the best PDR guy I've ever seen will come to take out a few minor dings in the roof and one in the driver's side, then paint, then reassembly and time for auction.

In other news, we have a new method for aluminum cleaning - first we bead blast using glass beads, then rinse well, then dry thoroughly, then coat with aluminum protectant.