Good stuff!
IYKYK — the journey of my Touring ownership
Finally putting together a thread. Bit of history to start...
Starts with my old B6 S4 Avant 6MT, owned for about 3 years. Nogaro blue exterior+interior, JHM headers to Milltek exhaust, coils then air then coils again. Thing was a beast and I love it to this day. Then my neighbor let me drive his well-modded E46 M3 (ported and polished heads, euroheaders, agency power Ti exhaust, coils, ZCP wheels with proper rubber) one day and my life was changed. I had to sell that Audi.
Sold the Audi on BaT. In between then I dailyed a 2010 A3 Titanium Pack with a 6 speed. Zippy lux GTI, but not for me. Then got an E90 M3 6MT. Blend of both Audi & BMW worlds and greater than the sum of its parts. 13,000 miles turned into 27,000 with Ohlins R&T coils, Eisenmann exhaust, and plenty of wheels over the course of my ownership. Following the sale of the A3, Purchased a touring here from @Dietrich. Already had plans to M-swap and was just finding the right donor car.
Pre-pandemic I decided to buy a house which sunk all of my funds for fun stuff with cars for adult stuff. Then I got hit by a lady in a Hyundai SUV going double the speed limit over a blind crest; insurance totaled the Touring because of frame damage on the front right corner (whoever gets that car in auction is lucky, it still ran perfect driving 40mi home from the accident (Sorry Dietrich
)). Super bummed. Then I stumbled across @ewcmr2 's FB marketplace listing for his S54 touring build. I thought, "This is amazing! I can start fresh and be further along then before!"
As you can guess, I purchased it and had it shipped right before the biggest snow of the winter in NJ, having it arrive and sit in the garage until spring 2021. Full M3 swap other than the bodywork.
Started work with fresh lenses and clear-corners
Then roof-rail delete
Wrapped the interior trim silver from the prior dark wood
KWV2s and 5mm spacers all around
Got my vanity plate and badges sorted, along with clear tails (know you understand the thread title)
Secured some Mtech side skirts
Went a lil crazy and drove from NJ to NC to pick up a set of Impulse Cloth manual M3 seats in need of some love
After dying
Deep cleaning prior to install...
After
And the most recent Rennline pedal install
So what's next?
1. New wheels. Probably a square set of style 68s. Maybe some TE37s or BBS RKs if I can find a set.
2. Short shift kit, most likely AutoSolutions Autocross 20% kit.
3. CSL airbox & tune. Not set on brand yet.
4. Reupholster. I don't have enough fabric from the donor M3 set to do the wagon's panels, so I'm going to sell the partial set and instead do my own take on impulse fabric using contemporary fabrics that are lighter.
5. Body conversion and full repaint.
Will keep you all posted via this thread
Starts with my old B6 S4 Avant 6MT, owned for about 3 years. Nogaro blue exterior+interior, JHM headers to Milltek exhaust, coils then air then coils again. Thing was a beast and I love it to this day. Then my neighbor let me drive his well-modded E46 M3 (ported and polished heads, euroheaders, agency power Ti exhaust, coils, ZCP wheels with proper rubber) one day and my life was changed. I had to sell that Audi.
Sold the Audi on BaT. In between then I dailyed a 2010 A3 Titanium Pack with a 6 speed. Zippy lux GTI, but not for me. Then got an E90 M3 6MT. Blend of both Audi & BMW worlds and greater than the sum of its parts. 13,000 miles turned into 27,000 with Ohlins R&T coils, Eisenmann exhaust, and plenty of wheels over the course of my ownership. Following the sale of the A3, Purchased a touring here from @Dietrich. Already had plans to M-swap and was just finding the right donor car.
Pre-pandemic I decided to buy a house which sunk all of my funds for fun stuff with cars for adult stuff. Then I got hit by a lady in a Hyundai SUV going double the speed limit over a blind crest; insurance totaled the Touring because of frame damage on the front right corner (whoever gets that car in auction is lucky, it still ran perfect driving 40mi home from the accident (Sorry Dietrich
)). Super bummed. Then I stumbled across @ewcmr2 's FB marketplace listing for his S54 touring build. I thought, "This is amazing! I can start fresh and be further along then before!"As you can guess, I purchased it and had it shipped right before the biggest snow of the winter in NJ, having it arrive and sit in the garage until spring 2021. Full M3 swap other than the bodywork.
Started work with fresh lenses and clear-corners
Then roof-rail delete
Wrapped the interior trim silver from the prior dark wood
KWV2s and 5mm spacers all around
Got my vanity plate and badges sorted, along with clear tails (know you understand the thread title)
Secured some Mtech side skirts
Went a lil crazy and drove from NJ to NC to pick up a set of Impulse Cloth manual M3 seats in need of some love
After dying
Deep cleaning prior to install...
After
And the most recent Rennline pedal install
So what's next?
1. New wheels. Probably a square set of style 68s. Maybe some TE37s or BBS RKs if I can find a set.
2. Short shift kit, most likely AutoSolutions Autocross 20% kit.
3. CSL airbox & tune. Not set on brand yet.
4. Reupholster. I don't have enough fabric from the donor M3 set to do the wagon's panels, so I'm going to sell the partial set and instead do my own take on impulse fabric using contemporary fabrics that are lighter.
5. Body conversion and full repaint.
Will keep you all posted via this thread
19
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
Central Shore, Red Bank!
Don't threaten me with a good time
I'm actually working with an engineering friend on how to make those vents functional in tandem with hood or fender trickery. I don't anticipate finding anything worth doing, but it's in consideration.
Thanks! I have a set of 3D printed plugs from @redneckvtek waiting to go in. Right now they're just covered with outdoor rated black electrical tape.
Also forgot a few things:
- I have some M3 mirrors that are waiting for paint to be installed
- little trunk lip that's flying in from Deutschland right now
- on the list for @George Hill 's carbon roof whenever production hits
- Zealous Manufacturing "Beauty Washer" hardware kit (core support, hood locks, hood hinge)
- @///Mark_D 's lowpro plate frame
You are about hour 30 from me!
I don't have a S54 in my wagon, but i'd be neat maybe one day to take pictures of our wagons together!
Gas cap keeper went, so replaced that, and fulfilled my guilty pleasure of cleaning a place only appreciated by myself and people I share the photos with.
Yucky before
Yummy after
Still need to clean off the rubber cement on every tab location before the new grilles go in, #e46things
Also this frustrating adventure, but I don't have the mental capacity right now to document the full details without feeling annoyed again...
Yucky before
Yummy after
Still need to clean off the rubber cement on every tab location before the new grilles go in, #e46things
Also this frustrating adventure, but I don't have the mental capacity right now to document the full details without feeling annoyed again...
5
This steering wheel rewrap really reignited my love for the car. I'm a big believer in tactile and interaction points being of utmost importance (same reason I'll spend way more on my bike saddle, shoes, handlebar, and gloves than anything else). A little extra thickness fits my hands better. The new wheel is a true 6MT wheel and not the old, gutted SMG wheel (big ups to @VonGeiss for donating it to me before he gets his done with my old SMG wheel playing placeholder).
The craftsmanship for the price is phenomenal, despite any small flaws. Matching shiftboot is amazing, and the e-brake boot needs some breaking in because it's a bit too small right now which results in it pulling up in the unreleased position (not enough to trigger the brake thankfully). I know the non-M colorway will be a point of contention, but given the opportunity, I love going outside of the norm. The inspiration is a combination of the TiGrau paint, interior trim, impulse cloth seats, and this lovely Joseph Noble fabric I got a sample of with intention of using it for upholstering the full interior cushions in the future. You can see the "Gunsmith Grey Voluptu" fabric used in the 12 o'clock marker.
I do love the color-coordination of the E9x 6-speed shifter, but I miss the ZHP/ZCP shape and plushness, so that will be on the list whenever I get around to ordering one of the AutoSolutions shift kits.
The craftsmanship for the price is phenomenal, despite any small flaws. Matching shiftboot is amazing, and the e-brake boot needs some breaking in because it's a bit too small right now which results in it pulling up in the unreleased position (not enough to trigger the brake thankfully). I know the non-M colorway will be a point of contention, but given the opportunity, I love going outside of the norm. The inspiration is a combination of the TiGrau paint, interior trim, impulse cloth seats, and this lovely Joseph Noble fabric I got a sample of with intention of using it for upholstering the full interior cushions in the future. You can see the "Gunsmith Grey Voluptu" fabric used in the 12 o'clock marker.
I do love the color-coordination of the E9x 6-speed shifter, but I miss the ZHP/ZCP shape and plushness, so that will be on the list whenever I get around to ordering one of the AutoSolutions shift kits.
2
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