Stripping/prepping e46 for track

1361 Views 12 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Spearfishin, 5 mo ago

Spearfishin

Discussion Starter · 6 mo ago

Split a 330i with a buddy and splitting the effort to get it stripped/caged/etc. Using my shop to get it done, and my 2 year old has declared it's "her racecar".

But she has been helping, so I'll give her a minority stake.

Currently we're chasing down oil leaks, stripping interior and replacing wear parts, bushings, etc. Actually been a pretty straightforward car to work on, so far.

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m13s

· #2 · 6 mo ago

Rear suffrage and the front shock towers are weak points. What are you going to race it as ? Sprint? Endurance? Drop an LS in it and crush everyone.

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Spearfishin

Discussion Starter · #3 · 6 mo ago

Have reinforcing plates for all of the above! For the rear sub frame, my slowly developing tig skills will get a workout with all of the overhead stuff.

As for the goal for the car: my buddy wants to try to prep it for Spec E46, so motor will stay in place and stock. Between time and budget constraints I think this is going to be a build spread across years, not weeks or months, so trajectory is likely to change a few times along the way. Referencing those same constraints on time and money, I honestly think any wheel to wheel ambitions are...ambitious... But I figure worst case I'll be able to spend time in the shop working on something fun and will definitely get some track time in a car a little lighter than the CTS, if even just at track days. And if it works out that we can race it, all the better.

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m13s

· #4 · 6 mo ago

SE46 is a good class and BMW CCA runs a good show. Good luck with your build. They are fun cars to track. I had my car down to 2700 lbs 1/3 fuel no driver. Light. There are really balanced from the factory and it shows on the track you can point and shoot and toss them around.

Have fun and post build pics.

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subaru335i

· #5 · 6 mo ago

Chasing down oil leaks will be a full time job lol. For my BMW's it has only a problem once they STOP dripping oil everywhere cuz that means they are out of oil.

But the E46 is a good car. I like BMWs as much as I sometimes hate them.

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Spearfishin

Discussion Starter · #6 · 6 mo ago

subaru335i said:
Chasing down oil leaks will be a full time job lol. For my BMW's it has only a problem once they STOP dripping oil everywhere cuz that means they are out of oil.

But the E46 is a good car. I like BMWs as much as I sometimes hate them.

I have an e38 "sporty shorty" that's waiting for it's turn in the project bay of the garage. In the meanwhile it's just growing roots in the driveway. Wife made the comment a few months ago "I didn't realize you fixed the oil leak on that one", pointing at the e38.

"I didn't, why do you think I did?"

"Looks like the puddle stopped growing"

"Oh, it's just empty..."

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subaru335i

· #7 · 6 mo ago

Spearfishin said:
I have an e38 "sporty shorty" that's waiting for it's turn in the project bay of the garage. In the meanwhile it's just growing roots in the driveway. Wife made the comment a few months ago "I didn't realize you fixed the oil leak on that one", pointing at the e38.

"I didn't, why do you think I did?"

"Looks like the puddle stopped growing"

"Oh, it's just empty..."

E38 is a nice car too. The last good looking 7 series IMO.

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Spearfishin

Discussion Starter · #8 · 6 mo ago

subaru335i said:
E38 is a nice car too. The last good looking 7 series IMO.

That was one of those "I've always wanted one of these" purchases that turned out to not be as good a deal in the light of day. Rather than take a bath and resell at a loss, I'm going to take an even bigger bath by LS swapping it, but that's a while from being at the top of the project list. It's silver just like my e46 and my CTS. Silver is far from my favorite color on a car, but I take what I can get.

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m13s

· #9 · 6 mo ago

It's quite amazing that the e46 platform was designed over 25 years ago and is still being used for racing.

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Double e

· #10 · 6 mo ago

What part of the country are you going to race at which tracks?

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m13s

· #11 · 6 mo ago

And which series?

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Spearfishin

Discussion Starter · #12 · 6 mo ago

VIR, Summit Point, Road Atlanta, Pit Race, NJMP and maybe mid-ohio are "in reach".

And see post #3 for ambitions. Unfortunately, in my pessimistic brain, it may just be something we work on, do HPDE's with and realistically it may never make it further than that. But, as the plan currently stands, we will prep it as if it will run Spec E46 events with BMW and/or NASA.

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