My Progress Thread!

Hey guys, so ive been on the forums or a while now, not really active but I look at a lot of diys etc. Ive seen many build/progress threads and I thought it'd be fun to make my own. Now be warned theres no awesome mods on my car like a supercharger or a S54 swap or anything, but theres some good stuff! This is really for me to keep track of what im doing to my e46 and for anyone who wants to get ideas for themselves! Keep in mind im making this thread after ive already done most of this stuff but theres more to come!
And some mods I didn't take pictures in the process, I didn't think id be making a progress thread!

So heres my baby when I first got her! Honestly it looked pretty bad to me, bumpers chipped to sh*t, NONE of the windows work, and the passenger window is missing. :ben: Oh and the headlights.... This will be a fun project.


So the first thing I did was sand the headlights down and buff them, they still looked horrible but I was busy so I washed her and parked her in the garage for the first time. (you can see their still bad in the photo.)


Next I sanded down the headlights again because they still looked really bad. :thumbdwn: I was at it for a solid hour going from 1000 grit to 2000 and finally 3000 and this time, they looked brand new. Then I got some halo lights off eBay for $60 which id pay $200 for if I had to. I also replaced all the window regulators, put in a new passenger window, and got new emblems for the hood and trunk.


So I was looking at e46 pictures on the internet and I came across this :yikes:


I knew I had to do this. But I looked at them and they're just stickers. I thought to myself, thats not gonna last a month, so I did it my way. I headed to home depot and picked up three cans of spray paint, primer, and clear coat and did this.


Heres it finished.


(Excuse my disgustingly chipped bumper.)


I know a lot of people don't like this because my cars a simple 325i not an M3 but IMHO it makes my car unique. Just a few weeks ago I was talking to a friend at school and we were talking about bmws and he said have you seen that sick black bimmer with the stripes on the front? and I was like yeahhhh thats mine :craig:

Next I got the windows tinted, I didn't want it too dark but not too light either, 25% all around, looks darker than it is in the garage.


Next I installed some gauge rings, I gotta say they make the interior look 5+ years newer. (Check engine and prake bad lights are gone!!!)
Before:


After:
<a href="http://s1215.photobucket.com/user/merlion713/media/IMG_2223.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc509/merlion713/IMG_2223.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_2223.jpg"/></a>

The next week I read someones diy on a homelink retrofit and I thought why not


I had already bought brand new cooper all seasons for my stock 16's thinking I wouldn't get rims for a while due to the cost. I did however run into an e36 with some decent rims which were also 16s so I thought why not, so I swapped them. the e36's rims and my tires = decent epicness at almost no cost. :woot:



They put on the tires in a way that the sides that were facing out before were now facing in so I needed a good amount of tire shine when I got home to make it look snazzy! :thumbsup:

I had some extra money lying around so I decided I wanted to put in a dynavin, I found out that the dynavin was almost 1k so instead I bought the replica one on eBay for $500. Yeah I know eBay stuff is this and that but honestly I like it better than the dynavin and it looks and operates like it came with the car. I also got the climate control relocation kit which made the interior look even better because my old console was scratched up pretty bad.


So a while back I saw a guy dye his door panels two tone black and imola, I fell in love with it but dyeing the leather seemed like too much work for me. So after some research, I decided id give duplicolor vinyl and fabric a try. Im still pissed at myself for not taking pictures of the process but this is how it turned out. (The red looks really bright because of the flash because I cant use a camera to save my life, but it really looks close to imola)


I also put in some new shift boots with m stitching!


I also bought some led tail lights! I don't have a picture of the new lights right now but ill get one tomorrow! We all know what they look like tho!
Before (She was getting that infamous OFHG replaced, that thing was solid compared to the new ones)


Next came the part I was waiting for the most, a mtech 2 bumper! :excited:
this was an exciting day! (anyone who needs a stock bumper pm me because I still have the old one! just needs some new paint.)
Before:

<a href="http://s1215.photobucket.com/user/merlion713/media/IMG_1900.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc509/merlion713/IMG_1900.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1900.jpg"/></a>



After:


I cleaned the garage up a bit and painted the walls, kinda off topic but it gave the e46 a more comfortable home :thumbup:


I didn't really do anything for a while except maintenance for a few weeks. Things like new spark plugs, valve cover gasket, hooked up my new bumpers fogs, put in hid headlights 6000k, and polished her with turtle wax black box kit (great stuff!)

So I had seen a picture of a guy that had some red on his engine cover and intake etc and I thought id do it too. Heres how it looked when I thought I was done with it:



A few days later I was on ecs buying a few parts and I saw some red tubing they had and I thought id put my fog light wires in them to make them look nice. I also got an ecs sticker for the back window, but then I had an idea:


I also found a K&N CAI for a really good deal brand new that I couldn't pass up, so that finished up the engine bay


I love the sound the CAI gives the car, it gives it that extra noise to draw some heads. And honestly I feel a little power gain but its not for someone whos looking for mainly power. I wanted it for the sound.

I also decided to paint my ugly dirty calipers red. Which really made the wheels stand out, sometime in the near future, im looking into some vmrs :excited:




So heres how my baby looks so far, shes come a long way from when I first got her! impin:




Theres more to come, now I know to take more pictures!

Work Done:
DISA Replaced
New Fuel Filter and Pump
New Tranny Pan (it was badly bent), Filter, and Dexron 6 Fluid
Oil Changes Every 4k Miles (yes I know too early)
New NGK Spark Plugs
New Power Steering Filter (reservoir)
New Intake Boots
New Power Steering Pump
Water Pump
Valve Cover Gasket
Oil Filter Housing Gasket
New Front Rotors and All Pads
Coolant Flush
All Four Window Regulators Replaced (PO played with the windows alot apparently)
New Ambient Air Temp Sensors

Things left to do in the next few weeks
CCV replacement
New serpentine belt and pullys
Sport or M steering wheel (PM me if you have one!)
electric fan swap (maybe)
coilovers (not sure yet)
new leather for the armrest that matches the boots with the m stitching.

Anyone who has any questions, ideas, or comments feel free to post them!