Well since I'm new to the BMW scene I figured it would be a good idea do a build thread documenting my E46 330ci resurrection/turbo build.
I picked this car up for $300, no front bumper, no headlights or rad support, no tail lights, cracked windshield, no seats, one fender, no hood, no engine, no brake callipers, rust, and a few dents. Thus the reason for calling it resurrection.
First thing I did was bought a rad support and headlights, red/white tails, and then a 330xi parts car for the engine, callipers, seats and a few other small parts.
And since I've always been a big turbo guy I picked up a 6768 precision BB turbo, a couple intercooler cores, and sent my AEM Infinity in to have it repaired (long story but it was 100% my fault)
So I'll start off with a picture of the car just after I got it home.
I'll be picking up a bunch of parts this weekend from a very well known member of the forum. I'll leave it up to him to chime in if he wants
poorbeemer.jpg
Not really turbo related but part of the build.
Picked up a HFP front bumper which is pretty rare around here.
And the truck and trailer all ready to go to pick up a bunch of parts tomorrow morning.
Ill have some more pics when it’s all loaded up.
More updates soon.
Last edited by Lovitt; 06-22-2018 at 10:19 PM.
My shop has a lot more shelf space now....
Well as Adam said I headed over and helped clear up some space in his garage today
He was very generous helping me out with everything he sold me at very fair prices then threw in way more than I expected to get. He told me to bring a trailer so I took over a 12' dump trailer and after being there for a couple hours, seeing a tonne of cool stuff and learning a lot I really wasn't sure if the trailer was going to be big enough or not.
With that being said on with the pictures
Trailer almost all loaded up
Got head?? With the two I already have plus these 3 I should be good for a little while...
Some brake and suspension parts
One rear sub frame of two
Bins full of... well.... just about everything...
Some of the parts in the back seat of the truck...
The twin disc is what started the conversation of selling parts when I asked Adam what he would recommend for my goals... well chance had it he had one sitting on his shelf with a spare set of discs still in the wrapping.
And by far my favourite part of all the CAE shifter, pure beauty!
Got transmissions? How about rear ends??
That's it for now, I'll snap more pictures as I get everything opened up, sorted out and put away.
This is what 800rwhp+ diff carnage looks like....
Adam you did a number on it...lol
Getting ready to pull the cover off...
Looks good so far but there's some bolts missing holding the upper cover on (Adam gave them to me in a bag and told me before hand about it)
The springs were holding the top up so I couldn't turn the diff at all to get it out of the housing, had to pull them out then removed some of the ring gear bolts so I could get the top cover out of the way.
Center gears and pins were all broken. Clutches looks good except for the very top one.
Inside of the housing looks good.
All the springs and pins are still intact
Now it's time to get in contact with the builder and see how much parts or a rebuild will be.
After cleaning up the "good" parts of the diff today I found some more damage, pretty much the only thing that doesn't seem damaged are some of the clutches and the main diff case. I'm just gonna throw the towel in on this and look for a helical. Will probable just go to a 210mm M diff before investing in on though.
Then after putting everything from the diff in bags and away I decided I wanted to know exactly how the air flows through the intake manifold and how the DISA valve directs the air so I cut an intake manifold up to better understand it.
This is after I cut it all up, but just laying in the places they would normally go.
One runner showing, you can see the small IACV port
The other half of that runner.
Starting to get up into both runners.
These two sections are what I found to be the most interesting and explained to me exactly how the manifold works (I really didn't understand it untill now). So basically with the DISA closed the air enters the TB and goes to runners 1-3 and 4-6, then when the DISA valve opens it opens the entire manifold up to flow all together.
Really cool engineering behind this, so basic but yet very useful, it's almost like the VANOS system but for the intake manifold.
After doing that I took the rear subframe/diff/suspension all out along with the fuel tank (won't be using it for this car)
But of course I broke one of the control arm bolts off in the body. I'll just drill it out and use an easy out to get it out of there.
After that was all out, apart and out of the way I decided to cut the spare tire well out. I'll be putting a fuel cell there. Haven't decided if I'll build one of just buy one.
For now it's out anyways.
Then I started marking and cutting the area that is prone to cracking where the subframe fastens. What I'll be doing here is putting a 1/8" piece of flat bar from one side to the other so they are completely tied together on the bottom and welded in place. Then on the top I'll be putting some tubing from side to side with a plate that will run along the frame rail and be all welded solid. I'll also be putting a thicker cap on the strut tower and building a strut bar that will also fasten to the metal tubing below so everything is tied in better in the back.
Before the first cut...
First cut made..
Second cut marked out.
Second cut made.
Just put this up for a straight edge to show the idea behind it all for a flat bar all the way across from side to side.
Then I cut out all the top side. Once I start putting it all back together it'll make more sense. I just really want to beef it up solid since I would rather over build now than have to fix it later.
Last edited by Lovitt; 06-29-2018 at 10:30 PM.
Got a fair bit of work done on the back end of the car done over the last couple days.
First I fabbed up my gusset plates and test fitted them.
Then I cut out the cross bar out which is made of 1"x3" steel tubing on my horizontal band saw. This has been one of my favourite purchases tool wise that I've made for a long time! Saves so much time and is so versatile. It can also be used as a vertical band saw too which is what I use to cut out my gussets and other parts of the project.
Cross bar is setting in place waiting to be welded.
Starting to weld it all in place, on the top towards the front of the car I won't be welding it solid the whole way, no need for it plus I cut it back too much not taking into account the sheet metal angle behind it so I'll be filling it all with seam sealer before painting it.
Gussets are partly welded in place, and the cross bar welded to them.
Back plate in place and ready for welding
And all welded up!
The underside partially welded. You can see on the left of the picture the centre section isn't welded yet. I will be getting a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" angle iron for that section and welding it in place so the edge won't be so flimsy. As it sits right now I tacked it in a few spots and it's very hard to weld without burning through. Possible but the angle iron will just be a better option.
Made the other plates and put them up in place, started to weld them but ran out of filler rod so I'll go back at it sometime this week when everything opens up (Canada Day).
With no filler I started to rough out the mount plates for the strut towers.
AND then had this idea....
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