Just joined; '04 coupe AW/Blk project car

[Will]

Hi,

I was randomly browsing craigslist late Monday night (11/21), just to gauge current e46 m3 pricing and alleged condition, and I stumbled across an ad that said "2004 BMW 330ci, Performance Package, Aerodynamic Package, Sport Suspension" that was listed for $5,000. "ZHP" was not mentioned in the listing. I wasn't looking to buy any more cars. I wasn't looking for more projects at this time (just finished an extensive list of maintenance items on my m3), but something compelled me to go take a look. I saw the car Wednesday (11/23) morning and decided just to buy it as a project. I didn't want a protracted negotiation, and I don't like "low-balling" people. It's already bad enough for the seller that his pride and joy "died" and now he has to "bury" (sell) it, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. We agreed on a slightly lower price.

It suffered an overheat and subsequent head gasket failure. Codes showed misfire cylinders 3 and 4. When I pulled the spark plugs for a compression test the tops of pistons 3 and 4 were wet, confirmed to be coolant when the fluid sprayed out when cranking (fuel pump fuse pulled). I sent a sample of oil to Blackstone for sh*ts and giggles, "just to see" what the numbers looked like.

I'm usually on m3forum (user name "e30will"), but thought I'd join this forum as a member rather than a lurker. My other current cars: '03.5 m3 MT, '15 i3 BEV, '89 m3 (in need of lots of work, for a later time).

Other background on this ZHP:

• 99,721 miles
• One owner
• Owner loved the car, but is not a "car guy." Wife said when they go to Costco he parks so far away from the entrance to avoid door dings.
• Kept outdoors, but under car cover daily. Paint is 8.5-9/10, and interior is 9/10
• AC blows cold (I knew the engine was kaput, and would be replaced, so I didn't mind running it briefly to test AC)

Info on car:

• 4/04 build
• Coupe
• Alpine white
• Black leather interior
• Premium Pkg (I think, since it has leather seats and moonroof)
• AT
• Xenons

Options that I wished it had:

• 6-spd manual (I'm probably not going to do a conversion due to cost and since I have another car that's MT already)
• Heated seats (I might retrofit this option)
• Homelink (I have a homelink unit, will probably install)
• Perforated leather on the steering wheel vs the old alcantara (will probably send it to Coby Wheel to be recovered)

Things on the to-do list:

• Replace engine. I don't want to deal with potential issues down the road due to distortion of aluminum block & head even after machining the head and block-deck. For the price, effort, and time, a used engine would be better.
• New cooling system parts, all of them.
• Vanos lockdown with Beisan parts
• R&R the injectors to have them cleaned
• New O2 sensors
• Exhaust hangers if necessary
• Intake boot
• Replace OFHG
• DISA fix with G.A.S. kit
• Cold weather CCV, still considering whether to get G.A.S CCV that just came out
• Fluids (engine, trans, diff, p/s, brake, coolant)
• Filters (engine, trans, cabin, fuel, p/s (the reservoir has non-replaceable filter so just get new reservoir))
• Rubber mounts/bushings (engine, trans, diff, guibo, steering guibo, CSB, rear subframe, FCAB, RTAB, and on rear control arms too)
• Rubber hoses (vacuum lines, and if necessary the p/s lines too)
• Tires (all four are old and cracked, and they're mismatched original style Pilot Sports on the front and PSS on the back)
• Rear brake pads (fronts are still ok)
• Koni yellow dampers (I love the way they feel matched with stock springs), and new strut mounts, axial bearings, bump-stops, RSM.
• New head light lenses, if possible (I didn't see it listed as a separate part on REALOEM. Maybe an error, because I didn't see a radiator part number listed either lol)

On to the photos:









Coolant in cyl. 3 (and also 4):




I'm happy to join the community, and hope to learn and contribute. Any perspectives, advice, and knowledge would be appreciated, thank you.

[fredo]

Welcome, sir. Car looks great. On the coupe the headlights are sealed, you can't just replace the lenses.

GL on this project.

[ELCID86]

Welcome Will. Looking forward to the project updates.

[danewilson77]

Will, welcome. Should be awesome.

Sent from my S8+

[BMWCurves]

Welcome, good luck with your project!

[Will]

... On the coupe the headlights are sealed, you can't just replace the lenses.
...

That's what I suspected, how unfortunate. Well, I guess will polish them and get some clear-bra material to protect them going forward.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone. I'll start a project thread when this finally gets going, currently in planning and cost analysis phase. I still might just get a new reman. engine from the dealer, weighing the pros/cons of the options at this time.

[holyc0w]

For the OFHG, consider the viton OFHG sold by bavauto.

[johnrando]

Welcome. GL with the project.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Will]

Thank you, fellas.

For the OFHG, consider the viton OFHG sold by bavauto.

Thanks for the heads up. What's weird is this same part seems to leak more frequently on m54 engines than the s54. I've changed 2 on my '01 330i and finally changed my first on the m3 (as preventative maintenance, but no leak).

[Kris]

Looks like an awesome project. AW is always the right color!