e46 M3 Sedan...wait, what? (Insane build start to finish)

[speedminded]

As official as it gets anyways. An M3 conversion executed on a e46 sedan and driven like every BMW should be...


1998 318i sedan:


Donor M3:



Rear 1/4's from BMW to properly do the conversion, $500 each new:






















A little cut and paste for the fenders since they aren't direct swaps:














M3 being disassembled:





New suspension for the sedan:



and brakes:



Teaser:









Seats:



Modified spare tire well so the stock M3 exhaust would fit (M cars don't come with spare tires):





Work done on the CSL style trunk to line up the rest of the car:



After all that bodywork, still having fitment issues with an F1 wheel & tire lol!











Track wheels in:


Track tires in, used Porsche cup tires lol!





The owner/builder couldn't decide on a color so he had both front fenders painted in the choices they narrowed it down to: Space Grey or Le Mans Blue...



Space Grey?


or Le Man Blue?



He decides on Le Mans Blue...

















Engine coming out of the donor M3:


and suspension:



Sedan stripped and ready for M3 interior:







Cleaning and paint undercarriage:











Cleaning suspension:







Engine ready to go in:









Suspension and new brakes:











Mounting exhaust:





More!



Trunk painted:



Interior in:





Doors on:





Mounting seals & trim:





Underside finished:





Almost complete!







Finally!







With track wheels on:







Complete!










Track Videos: (must see!)
http://www.simracing.no/rudskogen_0001.wmv

http://www.simracing.no/vaalerbanen300809.wmv (The e30 M3 @ 3:42 it's pushing has 792hp lol!)

[GoodOlHerps]

great post. very detailed.

[speedminded]

great post. very detailed.

I summarized the 73 page build thread (1460 posts) to make this one lol! It was too good not to pass along! http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=578901

[BAD SS]

Wow.

[tnomud]

seems like a waste of time to me, but well executed................

[Mr. Clean]

so did they not make 4-dr M3s i guess? looks pretty damn sexy. if they didn't make them, they certainly should have.

[Elbow]

Cool, although the final product doesn't do a THING for me.

[DecoyOctopus]

so did they not make 4-dr M3s i guess? looks pretty damn sexy. if they didn't make them, they certainly should have.

x2....for some reason I like the "4dr" M3 rather than the 2dr.

[Shift_2WIN]

^x2

[shortdog005]

What was the time frame on building 4door E46M3. This is a great post, very detail.

[Ricer]

I think what made it for me.. was the fact that he didn't put any M3 badges on the back.. and took the little badge off of the front fender vents.. thats a win in my book

...i wish i had deep enough pockets to rip appart a (seemingly) perfectly good M3 coupe to make a sedan.

[awestun]

bad arse.

[alpine_aw11]

I think what made it for me.. was the fact that he didn't put any M3 badges on the back.. and took the little badge off of the front fender vents.. thats a win in my book

...i wish i had deep enough pockets to rip appart a (seemingly) perfectly good M3 coupe to make a sedan.

I agree. And fortunately he went with the blue, looks beautiful. I've always loved the concept of a M3 sedan. Has it ever been done before this one?

[thecrazyone]

interesting to say the least, def good work by the builders.

[sprix!]

Call me crazy, but I like the fact that there weren't any E46 M3 sedans. I prefer it as a coupe or cabrio. The new M3 looks fine as a sedan, but I would still rather have a coupe.

I still can't get wit the fact that he cannibalized a beautiful coupe to transform his sedan.

It is well done, of course.

[civic gsr]

looks nice i would just keeped the green m3 what a waste of shell blue one looks hella sexy

[speedminded]

so did they not make 4-dr M3s i guess? looks pretty damn sexy. if they didn't make them, they certainly should have.

They wouldn't have built it because the e46 came out the same time as the e39 M5. A 4 dr M3 would have taken away sales from their 400hp $85k M5...

[Mantooth]

Cool, although the final product doesn't do a THING for me.

I feel the same way. I always thought it would be awesome if they produced an E46 M3 sedan, but now I see why the didn't. I would much rather have the E39 M5, any day of the week.

[singhondeck]

damn shit looks soo fiire

[speedminded]

I feel the same way. I always thought it would be awesome if they produced an E46 M3 sedan, but now I see why the didn't. I would much rather have the E39 M5, any day of the week.

Question is would it have been worth the extra $30,000 for the M5 if this was available? It's an extra 100hp but also weighs 800lbs more...

[sina518]

this was a better conversion in my opinion, as far as looks go. http://e46.mit.edu/

[speedminded]

this was a better conversion in my opinion, as far as looks go. http://e46.mit.edu/

lol leave it to an MIT student...I like everything but the Reiger bodykit and wing. They didn't paint the engine bay either. The car in this thread was meant to have a 100% stock appearance, as if it was from the factory.

[Oz10]

Very cool build. Thanks for posting!

[HachiDori]

I love it! Such great work, the only thing i wonder is why they used a perfect donor for parts. Like why not get something salvaged and then used it as a donor. Well i guess some people just have too much money. sick build

[speedminded]

I love it! Such great work, the only thing i wonder is why they used a perfect donor for parts. Like why not get something salvaged and then used it as a donor. Well i guess some people just have too much money. sick build

The taxes on cars in Norway are extremely high, it would have been 80,000 Norwegian Kroner ($13,500+) to register the e46 M3 there not including the cost of the car. He went to Germany and picked it up and said the sellers was quite puzzled to find out he was just going to take it apart lol!

Personally I would put the S62 V8 from the e39 M5 in the M3 shell, install new front clip, then throw some suspension under it...

[HachiDori]

Got ya. Shits still dope haha

[RL...]

That is an amazing build....I don't even want to know how much all that cost!

I would've just bought an e39 m5 but this is nice none the less.

[speedminded]

That is an amazing build....I don't even want to know how much all that cost!

I would've just bought an e39 m5 but this is nice none the less.

The taxes alone on an e39 M5 would have been as much as what was spent on this car lol!

[UpSideDownDesi]

got money

[fivex684]

Awesome car without a doubt.
Why didn't BMW build them?

[speedminded]

Awesome car without a doubt.
Why didn't BMW build them?

Reply #17 answers that.

[Andr3w]

Damn that is pretty amazing.

[RedGTS]

Nice find, reps for you.
That is sick how clean the conversion is

[scabtastic]

very good find, car looks amazing...im just not too sure about the SMG..im just not a fan

[speedminded]

very good find, car looks amazing...im just not too sure about the SMG..im just not a fan

Why not?

[eYezs1ck]

reps. still looks gangsta

[Tray@Forged]

I love build threads! Nice post.

[RUFFIAN]

It's safe to say that his money isn't nervous...............Did anyone else catch the prices of the gas in that one shot.

[scooby_snack]

Cool, although the final product doesn't do a THING for me.

+10000

[speedminded]

It's safe to say that his money isn't nervous...............Did anyone else catch the prices of the gas in that one shot.

It costs about $120 USD to fill up that BMW lol!