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Old 03-06-2017, 07:00 PM   #1
John V
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rumatt's E46

Matt dropped off his E46 on Saturday with the goal of fixing everything that's wrong with it. This thread will serve to document that process.

This is a pretty special car for a few reasons. He's owned it since new, he took European delivery of it, it doesn't have a sunroof, and it's won an SCCA autocross national championship. Many of us have memories of this car back when it was younger. And when we were younger. I was surprised to see that it still had the double-adjustable Koni shocks, big front sway bar and Borla exhaust from back in the day.

The patient. Next to the usual patient. Aside from needing a front bumper, it is actually in excellent cosmetic condition on the outside. The paint is really quite nice.



It may be in need of a little maintenance, though.



Oil leaks abound



Leaking oil filter housings are common. I'm happy that the oil pan doesn't leak, nor does the front main seal!



Underneath the valve cover looks very clean.



It could probably use new control arms and bushings.



I'll try to do a better job of photographing things as I go along.
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Old 03-06-2017, 07:05 PM   #2
rumatt
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Context: the car has 170k miles over 13.5 years.

Exterior: I obsessively applied Klass AIO and SG to the car every 6 months for about the first 3 years of ownership. I haven't washed it or waxed it since then. I don't know how the paint is in good shape.

Maintenance: I did just about nothing other than oil changes. I attempted to change it every 6-7k miles using Mobile-1, but sometimes forgot and it was more like 8-9k. That cylinder head sure look cleaner than I was expecting.



.

Last edited by rumatt; 03-06-2017 at 07:49 PM.
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Old 03-06-2017, 07:46 PM   #3
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Wow. Neat!
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Old 03-06-2017, 08:05 PM   #4
rumatt
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Does anyone know where I can buy a leather e46 M3 steering wheel at a reasonable price? I recall buying one for $300 back in the day, and selling it to Bren's father once I discovered it was illegal for autox. Now I'm looking and they're $890 new.

I'm not seeing anything on ebay. I put a WTB on E46 fanatics.


EDIT: Bren does he still use it or can I buy it back?
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Old 03-06-2017, 08:05 PM   #5
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Nice!
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Old 03-06-2017, 08:09 PM   #6
rumatt
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Nice!
BTW, I think you're the only other one here who raced this car.
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Old 03-06-2017, 09:04 PM   #7
bren
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Originally Posted by rumatt View Post
EDIT: Bren does he still use it or can I buy it back?
If I tell him it's worth $900 he might sell it back to you.

When are you coming back to get the car? I might have to try and find some time to run out there....
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Old 03-06-2017, 09:07 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rumatt View Post
Does anyone know where I can buy a leather e46 M3 steering wheel at a reasonable price? I recall buying one for $300 back in the day, and selling it to Bren's father once I discovered it was illegal for autox. Now I'm looking and they're $890 new.
I bought one in a bimmerfest group buy for around that. Loved it.

When I traded my E46, the one condition I had was to remove the M3 wheel and reinstall the stock one. I went back to the dealership the next day and they had the M3 wheel waiting for me, and I gave them the stock one

I think I sold it to someone here... anyone still have it and want to get it to another Matt?
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Old 03-06-2017, 09:18 PM   #9
rumatt
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If I tell him it's worth $900 he might sell it back to you.

When are you coming back to get the car? I might have to try and find some time to run out there....


The return date might be a ways out given that I missed the winter when JV actually had free time. But I'll let you guys know, maybe we can do beers or something.
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Old 03-06-2017, 09:39 PM   #10
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The return date might be a ways out given that I missed the winter when JV actually had free time. But I'll let you guys know, maybe we can do beers or something.
That could be fun. As I shamelessly invite myself.
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