Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1

    Gawd, I hate New Member introductions...

    Hmmm... What to say? New Members (or older members...) Well, I imagine I fit into both categories. I am retired, meaning the conversations I have that are not car-related are mostly health-related. I have turned into the guy for whom a good day means having taken a good poop. A strong cup of French Roast really helps.

    But even into my 60's I am still racing, a little habit I picked up in college, starting with autocross, advancing into SCCA Club and Pro racing, and, finally, devolving into 24 Hours of Lemons. We currently have a three-car Lemons team, including a 1981 633 CSi. I also just bought a Spec Miata.

    I am not new to the E46. I worked for BMW during the product launch in 1999 and was a driving instructor on a traveling Ultimate Driving Experience for three years. So, I have done thousands of autocross laps in an E46. Thousands. I have only owned three E46's, however. A 2002 330iC, a 2000 323iT, and the new-to-me 2003 ZHP.

    This ZHP popped up on CL in SFO on Wednesday night for $3,000. 204k miles. I emailed the guy early on Thursday morning and didn't hear back for hours. I was convinced the car had been sold. He wrote back Thursday evening and asked when I could be there on Friday to look at the car. Well, I live in San Luis Obispo, 225 miles from Oakland. The ad described a running, driving car with some body damage and stuck in limp mode. So, I figured I better drive up early, be the first one there with cash, and bring a trailer.

    Got there at 10am and the seller could not have been a nicer guy. Other than the drivability problems and the motorcycle hit to the RR 1/4, the car looked quite nice. Decent paint. Decent black Alcantara interior. Thousands of dollars worth of repair records. We struck a deal, and I loaded the car just in time to join the Labor-Day-Weekend crawl down the 101.

    Overall, the car is tight, drives smoothly, shifts well, and there are only a few minor clunks in the rear. So, we started checking codes and diagnosing the drivability problems yesterday. There were almost 100 codes between the engine and the body, including a steering angle sensor. We took note of them, cleared them out and test drove the car. Only the O2 sensor codes came back. Today we will check the O2 sensors and see if we can get it out of limp mode.

    My plans for the ZHP? Well, since it has that body damage, I think I want to swap the drivetrain into my wagon. A ZHP wagon would be bada$$. Then I would have a bunch of leftover parts for sale to help fund the swap. Meanwhile, I will title it, register it, and drive it around for a while. Once I have an opening to do the swap, I will likely have the interior, ZHP trunk lid, 18"wheels, front/rear bumpers, and some other ZHP goodies for sale, although I may swap some stuff into my wagon. TBD.

    Here's a picture:


    --bb
    Attached Images Attached Images  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    OC, CA
    Posts
    322
    Welcome! I support the plan for the zhp swapped wagon too!


    2004 BMW 330CI ZHP, Silver Grey Metallic, Dinan: Stage 2 Software, High Flow Intake,
    Free Flow Exhaust, Front Strut Bar, Stage 2 Suspension System, Staggered Hartge Replica Wheels,
    M3 Mirrors (Side and Interior), M3 Seats

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Alpharetta, Georgia
    Posts
    109
    Excellent intro! Love the ZHP Touring swap.

    On the heavy side they may be, but those wheels help define a ZHP on sight. I'd run them on the wagon if I were doing it. In fact, I'd want all the bits I could use that are unique to the performance pkg.
    _________________________________
    2004 ZHP Convertible (OB/NB) - current
    2004 ZHP Coupe (SG/Alcantara) - *sold*

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Welcome, Billy. And congrats !
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    4,903
    Looking forward to reading the progress!
    325i, 2005, 5MT, Silvergrey, leatherette, Sport package; CDV delete, KONI STR-T & KYB Excel-G, Weisslichts, Stewart H2O pump

    328i, 2010, 6MT, Spacegrey, dakota leather, M-sport packages; has a 330 intake but no tune - yet
    http://s900.photobucket.com/user/othibau/media/Junesig.jpg.html][IMG]http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/Junesig.jpg

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    Welcome and congrats!

    Sent from my SM-F936U1 using Tapatalk
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Independence KY
    Posts
    2,832
    welcome to the site and nice pick up!

    A couple full "ZHP swapped" wagons have been done (i.e. bumpers, interior, motor, etc) and they always look REALLY good.
    2005 BMW 330i ZHP - BMWP brakes/intake/strut bar/shifter, Coby wraps interior, BBS CHs, Eagle Eye LED tails, LED fog lights, GC coilovers, Sprint Booster/sport button mod, 4.5 LCM w/ programming, Xtrons 9inch HU, BSW stg1, dynamat, M3 sedan dead pedal, oCarbon CF interior trim, CF seat backs, 2x2 CF MTECH2 diffuser, CF cabin filter cover



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