After a 5 year hiatus to do some adulting (start a family) the stars aligned and I've begun another e46 project. I sold off my previous time attack e46 during the winter of 2020: Build Thread I've missed that car over the years, but my priorities in life have shifted. Lap times take less of a priority, being able to share cars with my boys, and getting more use out of a car that I've poured hours/dollars than the occasional track event all take priority. So with that in mind I'm setting out to build a dual purpose car. It won't be as fast as a dedicated track car, and it won't be as comfortable as a bone stock wagon.
Rewinding the clock 8 months, we moved from MI to AZ for work, which gave me the opportunity to shop all the rust free offerings down here. I found a basic non sport package, automatic 325i wagon. I was specifically looking for an LCI model with the MK60 ABS (more to come on that)
The first step of wagon ownership for me is always a Costco run to make sure it can wagon as expected. Mission successful.
Shortly after that I started hunting for a few parts to make some incremental improvements. Junkyard hunting lead to a set of sport seats and leather door cards to replace the peeling door panels and non sport seats the car came with. I also scored some aero roof bars off a volvo suv that happened to fit the profile of the e46 bars pretty well:
I also found a set of Apex ARC8's in nearly the right fitment.
Confirmed bike hauler capability.
3 months into ownership a listing on marketplace popped up for an M3. reading between the lines of the listing the car was either a basket case, a scam, or the deal of the year. IMO it proved to be the 3rd option. So this 2005 1-owner, 107k mile, all original factory 6spd manual M3 came home with me, for hardly more money than people ask for a clean automatic e46 wagon.
I considered for a little while whether I really wanted to tear apart a car this nice as a swap donor, but ultimately decided the low miles and maintence history was exactly what would make this a great swap donor.
So I drove the M3 and Wagon for a little while as I started to formulate the plan and acquire parts. Eventually the pile got big enough that I thought it was time to start the project. These are my only 2 cars so the goal was to perform the swap about as quickly as I could, while using my gravel bike as my primary mode of transportation.
The highlights of the parts pile:
MCS 2 way coilovers with dual use appropriate spring rates
WPC coated rod bearings
Euro knockoff headers with OEM euro cats to remain emissions compliant
E82 6 piston brake calipers to use with M3 sized rotors
E82 fitment 17x9 Apex Arc8's to account for the extra width the M3 suspension will add
it's been a constant battle of scope creep, but I finally have enough progress that I thought it made sense to start a build thread. I plan to provide a few more posts over the next couple days to get the last 3 months of work caught up.
