AdiS
Well-known member
I am part of a dying breed. Whilst I am a young person, my motoring soul is old. Motoring purists like myself, exist in increasingly small numbers today, as we witness the world and the motor industry drift further and further away from that which is dearest to us.
Cars of today are better in every way. Faster, more comfortable, safer, more fuel efficient, cleaner, more versatile, and ostensibly more reliable. Better in every way, except the ways that I care about. It is no surprise then, that I have little to no interest in the cars that are being produced today with specific reference to my passion for driving. At this point I should make a clear distinction between loving cars in their utilitarian capacity, and loving cars for their ability to deliver an exciting and sensory driving experience.
From the perspective of the former, it is hard to criticise what is being produced today. However, when it comes to the latter, the relics that are us purists, find ourselves increasingly needing to turn to the past in order to satisfy our passions. Sports cars of today are becoming a contradiction - delivering uncanny performance, but in heavily sanitised and muted packages. They really don't make them like they used to.
I have wanted an E46 M3 for the better part of the last 15 years. I was lucky enough to experience the car a considerable amount when it was new, due to one being owned by a family member. Those experiences all but cemented the dream of one day owning this car, and as of this week, this dream has been fully realised.
The car I bought is a 2004 registered, 04/2003 build facelift model. It is a 6 speed manual and has no modifications whatsoever.
The first viewing:
Fundamentally, it is a clean car, but a far-cry from the condition of my former E46 330i. The reality however is that it is basically impossible to find an E46 M3 that would have come anywhere near close to my 330i for a sane price. I had to make concessions, and in return I guess I have a project on my hands.
After viewing, the next step was to get the car to BMW for a mechanical inspection where I could poke around underneath and properly assess the car.
Car arrives at BMW:
Onto the lift:
During the inspection we uncovered some wear and tear issues that needed to be attended to. The engine however, made above average compression which was a good sign, and overall the car appeared to be unmolested. After some deliberation I just decided to take the plunge, so I concluded the deal with the owner.
Collecting the car after the transaction:
And arriving where I was staying at the time in Durban:
To give context, I am from Cape Town and had flown up to Dbn to view the car. Originally the plan was simply to drive it home, but on account of the fact that the car needed some work, and that JHB wasn't all that far away as compared to Cape Town, I decided to change my plans.
I decided that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it properly and get the right work done by the right people. So I decided to drive the car up to JHB to have Gizmo tend to the wear and tear work, and then the car would go to Peter (A1exander) for his magic touch (Clearances, VANOS, Rod bearings).
First stop in JHB was Gizmos, here is me arriving:
Gizmo made a wonderful thread documenting his work on the car, see here:
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=65864
Warren did a great job and was fantastic to deal with. After he had completed his work, the next stop was Peter / Axis Engine Works, where VANOS remedial work would be done, valve clearances adjusted and ultimately changing of rod bearings in order to completely de-risk the engine.
To see the condition of the bearings that were removed, please see Peter's thread here: http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=67356
I will update Peter's thread with more insight related to his work once I have driven the car a bit more, but he was extremely accommodating to me and I have fantastic peace of mind knowing that his work was done right. I will just say that if you own an S54-engined car, it is a necessity that it pay a visit to him.
The above process was an arduous 2.5 month wait. I have questioned my sanity multiple times. But, finally, after much commitment to this exercise, the car was put on a train, and eventually arrived:
Of course the train was late:
But it did finally arrive:
Something is emerging:
It is here:
At home, finally.
At this point you will notice that the wheels on the car have changed. I swapped my 19s for a set of 18s with another forum member as I prefer the practicality offered by the 18s.
Next order of business was to get all the admin done.
Roadworthy:
Wheel Alignment @ Precision Wheel Alignment
First Wash:
The radio head unit had a messy volume control and stuffed LCD, so I swapped it out with a spare unit that I had:
Old:
New:
And here ends the first chapter.
Cars of today are better in every way. Faster, more comfortable, safer, more fuel efficient, cleaner, more versatile, and ostensibly more reliable. Better in every way, except the ways that I care about. It is no surprise then, that I have little to no interest in the cars that are being produced today with specific reference to my passion for driving. At this point I should make a clear distinction between loving cars in their utilitarian capacity, and loving cars for their ability to deliver an exciting and sensory driving experience.
From the perspective of the former, it is hard to criticise what is being produced today. However, when it comes to the latter, the relics that are us purists, find ourselves increasingly needing to turn to the past in order to satisfy our passions. Sports cars of today are becoming a contradiction - delivering uncanny performance, but in heavily sanitised and muted packages. They really don't make them like they used to.
I have wanted an E46 M3 for the better part of the last 15 years. I was lucky enough to experience the car a considerable amount when it was new, due to one being owned by a family member. Those experiences all but cemented the dream of one day owning this car, and as of this week, this dream has been fully realised.
The car I bought is a 2004 registered, 04/2003 build facelift model. It is a 6 speed manual and has no modifications whatsoever.
The first viewing:
Fundamentally, it is a clean car, but a far-cry from the condition of my former E46 330i. The reality however is that it is basically impossible to find an E46 M3 that would have come anywhere near close to my 330i for a sane price. I had to make concessions, and in return I guess I have a project on my hands.
After viewing, the next step was to get the car to BMW for a mechanical inspection where I could poke around underneath and properly assess the car.
Car arrives at BMW:
Onto the lift:
During the inspection we uncovered some wear and tear issues that needed to be attended to. The engine however, made above average compression which was a good sign, and overall the car appeared to be unmolested. After some deliberation I just decided to take the plunge, so I concluded the deal with the owner.
Collecting the car after the transaction:
And arriving where I was staying at the time in Durban:
To give context, I am from Cape Town and had flown up to Dbn to view the car. Originally the plan was simply to drive it home, but on account of the fact that the car needed some work, and that JHB wasn't all that far away as compared to Cape Town, I decided to change my plans.
I decided that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it properly and get the right work done by the right people. So I decided to drive the car up to JHB to have Gizmo tend to the wear and tear work, and then the car would go to Peter (A1exander) for his magic touch (Clearances, VANOS, Rod bearings).
First stop in JHB was Gizmos, here is me arriving:
Gizmo made a wonderful thread documenting his work on the car, see here:
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=65864
Warren did a great job and was fantastic to deal with. After he had completed his work, the next stop was Peter / Axis Engine Works, where VANOS remedial work would be done, valve clearances adjusted and ultimately changing of rod bearings in order to completely de-risk the engine.
To see the condition of the bearings that were removed, please see Peter's thread here: http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=67356
I will update Peter's thread with more insight related to his work once I have driven the car a bit more, but he was extremely accommodating to me and I have fantastic peace of mind knowing that his work was done right. I will just say that if you own an S54-engined car, it is a necessity that it pay a visit to him.
The above process was an arduous 2.5 month wait. I have questioned my sanity multiple times. But, finally, after much commitment to this exercise, the car was put on a train, and eventually arrived:
Of course the train was late:
But it did finally arrive:
Something is emerging:
It is here:
At home, finally.
At this point you will notice that the wheels on the car have changed. I swapped my 19s for a set of 18s with another forum member as I prefer the practicality offered by the 18s.
Next order of business was to get all the admin done.
Roadworthy:
Wheel Alignment @ Precision Wheel Alignment
First Wash:
The radio head unit had a messy volume control and stuffed LCD, so I swapped it out with a spare unit that I had:
Old:
New:
And here ends the first chapter.
