Project Heinz is a 2001 BMW 330ci purchased here in sunny SoCal.
I had been wanting something fun and rear wheel drive for a while. Here in SoCal there are some amazing roads, and it’s a crime not to have something to drive them in on a regular basis.
However, there are certain parameters for this project. My initial budget for purchasing the car and getting it into shape is just $7000 in total. From there, it’s going to take some inventiveness, sharp shopping and a crack mechanic going by the name of Nando to turn the car into something fun and interesting.
I found a nice clean 330ci in San Diego advertised for $7000. Only thing was he had been quoted for a couple of standard E46 oil leaks and rear trailing arm bushings he was going to get done before actually selling it. We told him not to bother and waved $4000 in cash, and drove off with it one Saturday afternoon.
wI was super happy with the paint for a 2001 California car, loved the M bumper and trunk lip. Everything else is stockwasas stock. I wasn’t pleased about the grey interior and it’s a little shabby but I have plans. The real concern was not having to do any bodywork, we simply aren’t geared to that. Anything else we can figure out.
The first thing we found was a leaking rear damper. So the obvious thing to do was to remove the sport suspension completely and bolt in a suspension package from Turner Motorsports consisting of matched H&R springs and Bilstein struts and shocks. Dropped just a little and a little bit stiffer the car is sharp.
Currently she is in the workshop having quite a bit of work on her, so details on that and pictures to come…
