I do a full detail everything 2 or 3 years.

Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Messages
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Location
The Willow Creek District AVA
Hello:

Every two or three years I do a full engine and undercarriage detail of my 2003 BMW E46 330CI. I special ordered the car from the factory because I didn't want a sunroof. Not once, literally not once, has the car been driven in the rain or on a wet road. I have other cars for that. Never has it spent a night parked outside. It was never used as a commuter. Aside from the air bag recall, California emissions testing, and my personally selected alignment guy, no one else but me has done anything to it mechanical or otherwise. It's got 93K miles on it. Other than a short 20 mile test drive by my wife when I first got it, I'm the only one to drive it.

Here are a few pictures of my progress so far. I need to spend another day or two on it. Tomorrow I'll work on the rear portion of the undercarriage.

The under trays are off, as are the serpentine belts.

FWIW,

Scott

IMG_3184 2.jpeg


Engine Top 1.jpeg


Engine Top 2.jpeg


Engine Top 3.jpeg


Front Center 1.jpeg


Engine Under 1.jpeg
 
Thanks guys. Some of you may not know this, but I'm 67 and still laying on concrete! There's no lift in my house!

Not only that, I was laying in a pool of hot water heater water and P21s Total Body Wash. This is the only car I do this stuff to, although there have been others in the past. I've made extensive modifications to E46, so it's set up exactly how I like it. Relatively softly sprung but well dampened and high roll stiffness to quicken transient responsiveness. Lot's of other things, trick bushings and many other subtleties, plus Cup 2 tires on BBS. It's one of the very best cars I've ever owned, for sure the best handling. On warm pavement with heat in the tires, plus all the other suspension changes, the cornering grip and braking power is amazing. Although extensively modified and meticulously maintained, it has never had even the slightest hiccup, aside from the airbag recall.

Scott
 
I've said it a long time ago in one of your threads before. I'm not much of a German car kind of guy.

But I drool over this car
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My Genesis is 12 years newer with 30k less miles. The wear I have on it would be like 930,000 miles on this car.
 
Awesome. A car can stay very nice if kept out of the rain and babied. I like the extreme care you have taken of the car and thanks for posting the great pictures.
 
I am jealous not only how clean your car is but that yo have time to detail it. I assume its not the car for trips to HomeDepot?

My truck looked good on the exterior when it got professionally detailed. But its also treated with a rust proofing product that creeps and you can see that.
 
Holy smokes - that is beautiful. I've got a car with two thousand miles on it that's dirtier right now than this car probably ever has been. Amazing.

Thanks for sharing.
 
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