My introduction and resurrection thread....



I'm new to ZHPMafia, but not new to E46s. I've had over a dozen E46s and multiple other BMWs and presently have a stock 323iT that is my wifes driver, a 2003 325iT sport wagon, my S54 swapped 323iT and now this '04 Imola ZHP sedan. I've been wrenching professionally on BMWs for over 14yrs now and just in the last 6mos ventured out on my own to pursue a more specific BMW clientele to allow me to do the "fun" stuff like racecars, swaps, hotrods, etc. So while I am mostly interested in the cars BMW never built I still make time for the soccer mom daily drivers as well. Business has been good and because of that my projects have been pushed to the back burner.

Enter the 2004 Imola ZHP. I've had a Imola M3 and love the color. When this one popped up for sale for a very low price not to far away I did my best to talk myself out of buying it. But that didn't work... I originally bought it with a buddy as a possible S54 swap condidate, but he decided it's a bit more of a project than he was interested in getting into at the moment so it was passed over to me. I've got a few projects ahead of it and so the S54 is on the back burner for the interim. The car is fairly rough and I think I may have overpaid for it considering what it will take to bring it back to it's glory but it's still an Imola ZHP and I love it. Here are my initial findings...


Water leak in the passenger compartment, most likely a vapor barrier.










Suspension has seen better days.














Couple of oil leaks including a massive leak from the steering rack.










Front bumper is wrecked and minor bumps and bruises over the rest of the body consistent with the age of a daily driver.










The first step was to pull the carpet back and get the interior dried out. After that was completed the car sat. I have a HPDE coming up this weekend and was planning to take my 332iT, but just sold the Brembos off of it and that leaves the only other viable option, the ZHP. But it needs a ton of work. And did I mention the DE is this weekend? I am thrashing to get it ready so here goes...

Here's my black friday purchases.






Started by going after the oil pan gasket. In the process I removed the entire fronts suspension as most of it will be getting replaced.






Then the oil pan came off. It's dirty but everything looked good and the oil pump nut was tight. That is where we left off last night.