incredirog Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 (edited) Hi been reading on here a while now and thought I’d share some info on my car. I’ve had the car for about 2 years now. Here was the advert photo. Out of the factory it was a five speed 184 facelift touring with sports package, alcantara manual seats, HK so not that highly spec’d but I liked it and it was the only manual 330 touring sport of either fuel on autotrader at the time! Now it’s around the 185k mile mark and I’ve slowly been tackling the usual jobs. A Quick list is: Front lower control arms, Drop links, ARB bushes, Battery, Alternator, belts and pulleys, radiator, top hoses, expansion tank, water pump, tstat, all the fluids, all the filters, wiper blades, prop mount, prop doughnut, four tyres (Nokian Zline), a pad wear sensor, EGR delete, reverse cam, Chinese android HU, relocation panel, coupe electric seat frames, limo tints, metal dog guard, Msport number plate surrounds, led interior, yellowy CCFL AEyes, led number plate light with tint film to reduce brightness to current model OEM level. Probably more but it would be really mundane stuff like replacing fasteners. Heres a few pics! (comparison with my first 3er) The list going forward is pretty extensive but it’ll be where I want it when it’s done! Mtec brakes front and rear, H&R cup kit, H&R spacers, RTAB, RARB bush, rear droplinks, alignment, terraclean (experiment really) E46 figment Sty32, New pusher fan, sensible remap but over 200hp, repaint front bumper, paint correction all over, find a tool kit and that’s it oh and maybe a heated leather interior, I’m undecided, if a nappa touring interior in red ever appeared I would be a very happy man. Might post some more pics up when I do the big jobs, usually forget to take pics though! Edited March 21, 2018 by incredirog sorted the pics Markxr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 Looks smart that.. Same age as my coupe too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted March 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2018 weekly wash, paint is in horrendous condition, got to stick to the plan of sorting the mechanicals before the cosmetics! upload your images Ruesta 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted March 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 I was never happy with the wiring of the cheapest angel eyes money can buy so I went back in and did it “properly”. I took a trigger wire from the glove box torch circuit ran through the dash to a 0/I switch. Neatly, though not perfectly, drilled into the squidgy bit of dash just to the left of the main light switch panel, it’s a tricky angle for the drill with the steering wheel. From the switch the trigger wire continues through a large grommet visible when the oddments tray is removed into the brake servo box. When I bought the car there was a green multi purpose relay in the armrest, I assumed it was a dud but kept it. Anyway i tested it and it seemed good so I decided to use it, ran an in line fused live from the little + box and a ground from a convenient nut leaving only my two outputs to go to each angel eye inverter grounding on convenient fasteners on each side. Surprisingly it worked first time and now my angel eyes come on with the accessory circuit, so remote on/off with the locks or 16 minutes after last door closed/ignition off. They can also be turned off manually via the switch, useful for when waiting in the car on the school run and I’ve got my sidelights back as I’d bodged the wiring into that harness initially. Pretty happy with it, and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkynut Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 Looks like you're dedicated to the cause and have it pretty much how you want it now. Just one question - what miles did it have when you bought it? Consider changing the dual mass flywheel and therefore clutch at some point. They OE ones are LUK and Eurocarparts stock them for a fraction of the price BMW want. Kirkynut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted April 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 7 hours ago, kirkynut said: Looks like you're dedicated to the cause and have it pretty much how you want it now. Just one question - what miles did it have when you bought it? Consider changing the dual mass flywheel and therefore clutch at some point. They OE ones are LUK and Eurocarparts stock them for a fraction of the price BMW want. Kirkynut It was around 175k when I got it, the DMF and clutch are on the horizon but it doesn’t slip and I only get a very slight judder when pulling away. Been quoted £800 by a specialist though as it’s probably too much for me to do on the drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted April 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 (edited) I’m waiting on some E46 parts to come in the post and need to keep Mrs Incredirog on side with all this car stuff so I’m ghetto refurbing a set of oem VW BBS RXII’s to stick on the family bus, 2007 Touran. Unfortunately it’s got me thinking about lows and body kits... Also it’s a good test run to see how well plastidipping works with a view to tidying up my MV1’s on the cheap. Oh and they’re 16” wheels, gonna paint and lacquer the rims as they are beyond polishing had to put too much filler in. nearly finished the prototype, need to clean up the bolts, get the colour combo signed off, plastidip do metalizers so they may be going anthracite and flat and lacquer the rim, then she’s got to decide between bbs centre caps or vw. Edited April 3, 2018 by incredirog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted April 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 refurbed the glove box torch much to the wife’s dismay, I’d put a led bulb in it a while ago but the old battery was toast, a few google searches and a few more ebay searches and I’d bought a brand new varta 250H which is a like for like replacement. Slight bit of modifying of the solder contacts, and all is bright in the world again! TREV1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted April 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 finished the wife’s first wheel decided to polish the lip in the end, extremely labour intensive and not that satisfying due to the badge in the middle. only 3 more to go! TriggerFish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontpannic Posted April 13, 2018 Report Share Posted April 13, 2018 (edited) Looking good mate! Nice work on the torch. Did an LED upgrade on mine and so far the battery is holding up! Tourings FTW Where did you get the yellowy CCFL's from? I had a set a couple of years ago but the seller stopped selling them, now I can't find any anywhere! Cheers Edited April 13, 2018 by dontpannic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted April 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2018 (edited) On 13/04/2018 at 10:06, dontpannic said: Looking good mate! Nice work on the torch. Did an LED upgrade on mine and so far the battery is holding up! Tourings FTW Where did you get the yellowy CCFL's from? I had a set a couple of years ago but the seller stopped selling them, now I can't find any anywhere! Cheers Pretty sure it was these I bought, nice colour goes great with the halogens. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07214PW92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ao80Ab31PBTN3 Edited April 16, 2018 by incredirog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontpannic Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Nice one, cheers. Might sort out another pair at some stage. Much prefer the oem yellowish ones - much more OEM. The fitments are all wrong though, the "non-projector" versions are actually universal for all E46's bar the facelift coupe. Tried the "projector" versions with 131mm rings all round and one is always too small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted April 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 I wouldn’t say the fitment was perfect but you can’t tell really unless you get your face up close and look directly at it. Great opportunity to flash the high beams in the wife’s face! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Just a quick pic of my angel eyes DRL over ride switch. Annoyingly not perfect but close enough. Also been collecting parts parts for the suspension overhaul, trying to stealthily buy lots of bits like top mounts and ARB bushes and RTAB and special tool and lots more. Sneak all that in under the wife’s radar and then make out like the H&R cup kit is the only sizeable purchase!! In the meantime to keep me busy I bought a pair of power fold memory mirrors to retrofit! and one of these implausibly expensive purple switches took a while to find one under £50 One question I have, if anyone has done wing mirrors before. The triangular mount on my manual mirrors is the gloss black shadowline, the new ones look matte. Is this something I can swap over? Edited May 9, 2018 by incredirog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 Got bored, removed the soft touch bits of plastic centre console and ended up sanding them down. Anyone considering this think really hard about it because it’s a nightmare getting that rubber stuff off. I found after trying a whole load of abrasive techniques that wet sanding them after a long soak in a hot bath with fairy liquid in was the most efficient. Unfortunately my naive idea of simply removing the coating isn’t going to cut it so I’ll be plastidipping them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 Dipped the soft touch bits, don’t know how well it will stand up to 3 kids and a dog but it’s easy enough to strip and touch up. Also been feeling a bit selfconcious about the 330d badge, mainly the d bit so I’ve blended it in with more black plastidip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 (edited) made up some spacers with washers and bolted the “snorkel” to the slam panel. time is a crucial resource with a young family and the Mrs doesn’t share my enthusiasm for cars, can’t be spending a day looking for a vacuum fault on the strength of a bit of plastic coming loose. also I’ve had the new mirrors apart and it doesn’t look like the triangular base can be separated so looks like i’ll be losing the gloss black manuals in favour of matte black plastic powerfold memory. in reality it will make almost no difference to the aesthetics but I wish I could swap them feels like a very slight downgrade. also back to the Mrs not sharing my enthusiasm she’s veto’d me picking up a set of touring nappa leather in a very unique aubergine colour. http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123081336165 she just doesn’t share my vision 😂 oh and I finished the wheels for the family bus! Edited May 15, 2018 by incredirog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benji83 Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 😍 Blackberry interior! That would have been perfect. I'm impressed with your angel eyes wiring, nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 (edited) On 17/05/2018 at 10:33, Benji83 said: 😍 Blackberry interior! That would have been perfect. I'm impressed with your angel eyes wiring, nicely done. Thanks sadly it’s not to be for those seats. Here are some more of the AE wiring although it’s very much a case of spot the additional wiring. I didn’t want anything looking tatty or aftermarket so I got through a fair bit of black electrical tape! This is where I’ve positioned the relay, it’s my least favourite bit of the job as it’s just floating but it was the easiest cable run for a switch next to the light module. runs from the relay blended into the factory loom, grabs an earth from next to the washer bottle then into the ballast which is tucked under the slam panel with some double sided tape. the four white wires are loomed together with more black tape and poked through a slit at the top of the rubber cup. Oh and I put a new pusher fan on the other day, no pics it was very boring. Got a new TRW replacement from the father land for £80 posted which is a brilliant price. Had a different frame and the cable needed extending also the transformer or whatever the big lump of metal is didn’t line up with the holes on the old frame so I cable tied it on. Works flawlessly and my AC is super chilled when stationary! Edited May 18, 2018 by incredirog momo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 (edited) Got a big weekend coming up, everything I need for an inspection 2 service. Plus all four discs pads brake hoses and DOT5.1 fluid flush/change. Also I got the wheels for the family bus finished and discovered that between MkIV and MkV golf platforms they changed the PCD of the wheels from 5x100 to 5x112. Got some adapter rings on order but it feels like a bodge. Anyway the upshot is with the 20mm spacing and offset of the new wheels the wheels should fit flush with arch giving it a more aggressive stance. Edited May 21, 2018 by incredirog forgot some stuff momo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 (edited) VW wheels are on her car, what an absolute nightmare, never again... Edited May 22, 2018 by incredirog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2018 went a bit mental and pulled the H&R trigger, got a shiny new cup kit winging its way to me from the father land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2018 250 mile round trip today, sat at 70+ for most of it returned obc 43.5mpg. Flawless engine wise as always, handling a bit sloppy but I’ve got something coming to fix that! Anyway got home decided to make my parts pile get smaller and do the oil and filters. Spent a good hour refitting the air filter housing finally got it on took one look at the fuel filter and gave up for the night. momo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 Yeah the air filter is unnecessarily complicated on these.. Thankfully they moved it to the top for the E90 onwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredirog Posted May 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 I’m sure I’ve had really old cars where it was a single wing nut on top of the carb. The oil change and fuel filter change went smoothly. Want to get the brakes out of the way before the H&R kit arrives really. It’s complicated by wanting to paint and decal the calipers in a nod towards the blue msport calipers on newer bmw’s I’m also gonna see how “mperformance” decals look on the side skirts. It’s a bit marmite so they might not last. momo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...