Take Two: Peter's Second Imola Sedan, or Why I Can't Seem To Get Away From Red E46s

[slater]

i would introduce you to this car, but you may already know it: https://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/show...-Black-Leather

a brief history:
the car was sold by EAG back in 2010 to chet (cdawes) in nebraska, who sold it to jeff in 2018, who i bought it from in april 2024 (in indiana). jeff gave me maintenance records from his ownership, but also chet's records and some from EAG, so i have everything for it dating back to 2010.

jeff only put on about 24K miles in the 6 years that he owned it, and it was garaged and stored every winter. i stored it in my garage this past winter as well. it is very, very clean underneath - it looks exactly the same underneath as in chet's photos from 2018 in the link above. the body is in excellent shape for a 21-year old car, with a few scratches on the roof, and front bumper paint chips from jeff. the interior has the expected peeling A/B/C pillars.

i bought this car mostly out of lust because i just couldn't stop looking at the damn pictures. also, my Touring came home 6 months prior, but with family health issues and travel, and rust repair looming i still had not got started on any work, and was antsy to drive a ZHP daily again.... and this one needed some refreshing, so i thought, OK, this is stupid, but i'll buy it and refresh it and enjoy it until my Touring is "done" (LOL) and then pass it on in 100% condition to the next steward.

probably not sound judgement.

but besides needing refreshing - mostly in the chassis, the mounts and bushings are/were original, etc - this car is a peach and pulls damn hard. i've done some work on it, with much more happening right now, actually. i will update this thread as work continues.

currently it is stock, aside from these bits that i added (except where noted):

- koni yellows (these were in the car when i got it)
- M3 front swaybar (also in the car when i got it)
- M3 seats w/ lumbar and bolster adjustment
- M3 engine mounts
- poly FCABs
- GROM BT-3 bluetooth module
- TRS ZKW retrofit kit
- ECIS intake w/ K&N mega filter (this thing sounds insane)
- 1.4 bar coolant exp tank cap
- under-parcel-shelf grocery bag hangers (eff yeah)

maintenance done in the last year:
- oil pan gasket
- OFHG
- VCG
- plugs
- coilpacks
- VANOS rebuild
- new cooling system (aside from the radiator)
- replaced the absolute sh*t DEPO headlights (sorry chet - they were probably good at the time) with TRS-retrofitted ZKWs, new bulbs and new headlight lenses
- replaced dying LCM (the DICE iPod module that chet installed had nuked the LCM... so i yanked that out as well)
- fixed taillight ground issue
- new windshield cowl and wiper blades
- refreshed the ORIGINAL alcantara wheel - chet kept it in good condition, but i don't think jeff ever cleaned it... i was able to revive it!

lots of upgrades/maintenance coming in the next few weeks, which i will detail in this thread.

here's a dirty pic from last summer... for some reason i haven't taken many pics of this car at all. this was one of the few i could find:



onward and upward.

[fredo]

Welcome back, Peter! You can't go wrong with IR.

[Vas]

Glad to have you back.

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[JohnnyGraphic]

Love those wheels! Gorgeous car.


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[BADCLOWN]

Welcome back to ZHP ownership

[Oli77]