Das Race: My '97 M3/4/5

[Jake]

Or do same thing but with the focus, I'm sure it can tow

Center-mounted exhaust, muchacho

Scored a $Free lighted shift knob from my GTS2/3 buddy Jim. Between this and the $500 speakers in the car, I may have the blingiest TTD car at VIR in October.



Also spent Saturday working on the E46 that I have come to care-for-by-association, thanks to my dating a fine gent who happens to own it. It's a 6-speed 330i Premium/Cold Weather, non-Sport. Not a bad little daily driver and only has 92k on it, but reeeeeally needed a lower control arm.

Woke up on Saturday after being out way too late and up way too early and Paul (the special-man-friend) looks at me and goes "you know, I'm actually kinda excited for the wrench day." This relating to working on his newly-acquired E46. Yeah, perhaps lower control arms weren't the best "first DIY on your car" project to throw at him...



It's a PA car, so the exposed threads on the upper ball joint studs were massively rusted. Took us just shy of forever to get the driver's side nut off. Passenger side (which actually had the bad ball joint) didn't put up any fight. Figures.

Anyway, after many hours, countless swear words hurled at the stupid silver BMW, and some cold beers, we got 'em replaced. Joey has the patience of a saint and seemed content sitting cross-legged in the driveway wrapping all of the interior trim in leftover CF:



So, a public thank-you to Joey for making the trim look more young-twenty-something and less old-man. Paul got my old shift knob so he didn't have to keep rocking the burl-wood mis-matched with the carbon fiber. And the new knob has a set screw so he won't throw it in the backseat when driving coworkers to lunch (which, apparently, they all found hilarious).

And finally, I scrounged up some leftover Plastidip and sprayed the kidneys. I think they look great on the silver paint:



More plans for his 330i include angel eyes (he wants them, I'd go without, but whatever...) and HIDs, clear corners/tails/sidemarkers, Plastidip on the chrome door trim, and (the biggest hax0r of all time) a Nexus 7 in the dashboard. Not-a-car-guy my ass