nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 So a little about me. I am new to this forum. I'm 23 years old and live in London (Croydon) area. I've owned 9 vehicle previously which has always been a bit of issue (commitment issues to one vehicle ). I've had some experience to the modifying world having worked on a few of my previous cars including bodywork, sound systems, lighting, etc. But now, after quiet a lot of moaning to settle down with one car, I've decided to go for a BMW E46 320CD convertible. I've always liked the way this cars looked and diesel is a must for me with all the travelling. I didn't want a vehicle that was already modified, just something that had no mechanical issues and working electrics as priority. Any comments and suggestions are welcome! So a little about the car: -55 Plate 320CD -owned since 1st January 2014 -Grey A08 paint with Cloth seats -Full service history -M sport model -Cruise control -Standard audio system So here are some pictures of the vehicle back when I first got it. Sorry for the bad quality these were taken by someone else when viewing the vehicle: She was very dirty and confused. She had AC Schnitzer wheels on one side and Black BBS Twist's on the other. I never did really understand this : The_Judge_ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockman_321 Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Nice I have those exact same wheels (on both sides). What are you planning to do to it? I want to sort my interior out but not really sure how to go about it. Don't want to change the whole thing. Just want to fix the leather on the seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Cheers buddy. I've already done quiet a bit to it to be fair, just posting them slowly. Doesn't really look like the above anymore thankfully. Your car looks very nice! I'm a big fan of Black E46 convertibles so much so I even considered respraying mine to black . Those wheels really suit your car. You could get the leather damaged areas re-coloured or repaired from an upholster. I know a shop in Croydon called Gemini seat covers who can practically replace the whole leather or just parts to look like new at a very fair price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 The first thing I did was get my hands on a hardtop. Managed to source on near me in Wallington for £400 with the stand and store it in my garage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 The next most urgent thing to do was the wheels Running an odd pair was making me look a slight bit nutty Lucky me! I managed to get a set of 19" 3sdm 0.01 alloys brand new with new tyres staggered set up for £345 locally. Tyres had quiet a bit of stretch on them. They were mint and never used at that price was a bargain. It really did change the car completely : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Next thing was a little spraying of the hard top to make it a bit different. Just getting it ready for winter: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 So the next thing to do was to really get rid of the winter grills. They didn't really go with the car. So I got myself a pair of matte black grills. I genuinely understand how some people feel about these they were awful! Therefore the only thing left to do was get them sprayed body colour! You'll see more of that later when the thread comes together Next thing was getting the bonnet debadged and removing the only scratch i had on my car on the wing And finally on came these CSL splitters in gloss black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Angels? Yes! I originally made the rookie error of buying depo headlights hoping they would be bright but they just disappointed me. Yellow was a no go for me! Managed to source some HID 8000K though . Here are the depo headlights i had: The only solution for me was to fit some good old rings in. I got my friend Adzman1 to get these in for me who did a good custom job for me. Was very pleased! Off came the headlights: Got myself a set of Umnitza Orion V4 angels with night controllers: Off came the lens and work got underway. I decided I wanted the blackout effect for the headlights so got the interior smoked. The chrome rings had to go! Pleased I also decided it would be wise to get the fogs changed to CREE lights: Very Pleased Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Syxx Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Welcome was going to suggest ditch wheels but you done that already lol. Looks a lot nicer now suits it well. Love the interior that alcantara is quite rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Cheers DJ Syxx. I wasn't a big fan of the alcantara interior to be honest. They're actually just sitting to be sold now as they've been replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Here's a picture of the angels and fogs during the day with the splitter now fitted: Defo need to get some lows in there ^^ Here's the new and improved front end with body coloured grills, M badge, splitters and a good old polish! And finally the angels where wired to the footwell to come on and off with http://vid1277.photobucket.com/albums/y487/nevkid91/whole%20shots/IMG_0317_zps1455e218.mp4 Edited October 12, 2014 by nevkid91 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Next I had a few small things to do. Firstly I wanted to get a neater aerial in there. But...... I broke it instead So had to go buy a new base from BMW which was surprisingly not expensive And then had to order a new passenger wing mirror since the motor was completely knackered. Changed the covers over and on it went And finally a USB birthday present from a good friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 The alcantara seats just didn't do any justice when the roof was down and had a small tear in the drivers seat, so next I managed to source a full set of black leathers for £250 posted to me and i was pleased. Very good condition too. The old interior: The New interior: Both interiors: Decided to give her a good clean whilst the seats were out: Shortly after a while: Much better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 The next thing had to be sorting the roof. The most annoying thing for me in this car has to be holding the button to get the roof down and the roof not operating whilst moving. So I decided to invest in a smartTop system and get it over from America. It let me operate the windows full up and down with the remote. Operate roof up and down with remote. Operate the roof whilst driving. Mirror switch to bottom when in reverse gear. No need to hold down the button to have the roof being operated. Doors self locking whilst driving and unlocking when turning off. Most things are adjustable and you can set it up using a USB you leave in your vehicle. Here is a few videos but I'm not sure how to post them on here so just the links for anyone interested: http://vid1277.photobucket.com/albums/y487/nevkid91/smart%20top/IMG_9793_zpsa79764de.mp4 http://vid1277.photobucket.com/albums/y487/nevkid91/smart%20top/IMG_0174_zps504097e1.mp4 http://vid1277.photobucket.com/albums/y487/nevkid91/smart%20top/IMG_9791_zpsb403d4da.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Next came the sound system. Got rid of the original business setup and invested in some aftermarket parts with flush fitting. ISO blocks and steering wheel adapters where used and are working perfectly I began by getting myself an Alpine PDX amplifier. Why? Because it fits Next came the kenwood flip out headunit and reversing camera that was fitted to the number plate light: http://vid1277.photobucket.com/albums/y487/nevkid91/sounds/IMG_9631_zpsd102b6b9.mp4 Initially I had the older Type R subwoofer but that was quiet large and looked quiet used so in came the new one with a custom box to fit the convertible boot: And finally, I had a USB connection put in for the headunit and another USB charging port for my iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Judge_ Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Some detailed work going on there, keep the progress coming The M badge on the front, hmmmmmmm You may want to check the state of Your EGR at some point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 The_judge aka suf Thanks! Much more has been done and i will get that loaded tomorrow hopefully. I had a lot of people tell me the M badge wasn't that nice too not sure what i think, might take it off this week and take a comparison photo. The EGR got cleaned recently with a full service and water pump, alignment, tracking, etc. Running quiet sweet! I'm not sure if the swirl flaps have been deleted thought Might need to get that checked asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Judge_ Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Not sure if you have swirl flaps, do a bit of googling, there are sites describing which engines are affected, you may be lucky Edited October 13, 2014 by The_judge aka Suf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks for the tip! After a bit of googling I don't think i do which is a big relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabaza Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Im 95% sure your car does have swirl flaps. Definitely worth having a poke about in the engine bay to be sure. Looking at your display pic, I'm sure I've seen your car or those alloys around - candy red X5s right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Im 95% sure your car does have swirl flaps. Definitely worth having a poke about in the engine bay to be sure. Looking at your display pic, I'm sure I've seen your car or those alloys around - candy red X5s right? Might just do that in the morning to be sure. Sharp eyes They are candy red X5s now should be loading those up tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockman_321 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Mate your car looks so good. Those wheels look so much better!!! I'm in London so wouldn't mind going to that shop in Croydon. Could you send me the details? Love your car mate. It looks too good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockman_321 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 I have just seen your avi !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Mate your car looks so good. Those wheels look so much better!!! I'm in London so wouldn't mind going to that shop in Croydon. Could you send me the details? Love your car mate. It looks too good! Cheers mate shame the 3sdms are gone though, but I wanted something much much different I'll load those today. The shops details are 9 Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon London, 0208 778 2894. Very kind and very fairly priced service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockman_321 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Can I ask how did you feed the RCA's from the amp to the hard unit? I'm doing an install this week and that's the only thing I'm unsure about. Also if I got new trim would they also do that? I couldn't get through this morning will give them a call later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
