I REBUILT AN ABANDONED BMW E46 M3! ITS ON THE ROAD!

I found this Laguna Seca Blue BMW E46 M3 abandoned at the side of a racetrack. i couldn't say no to buying it! The colour and the fact its a manual really makes this BMW a future collectors item. Being a track car its had a hard life so ive been restoring it the best i could, working through all the common faults like rod bearings, prop shaft bushes, cracks in the boot floor, new diffs etc etc but todays the day i finally get to drive it on the road for the first time!!
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[@spantney]

Genuinely my favourite project of yours that you've done so far Mat. Absolutely awesome work, and really appreciating the OEM+ approach. More 'restorations' please mate!

[@phcollins101]

Agreed! Great to see the older cars being saved. Especially when it’s an E46 M3 🤩

[@MrXaero76]

My favourite project too, maybe because i own a 330ci e46 😅

[@richhillman4661]

I'm pretty sure if you press and hold the traction control button for about 5 seconds it will turn the system completely off matt, love your videos!! 👊🏻

[@psvhangoveral]

Correct

[@oldskoolbass5432]

Yep

[@marls1990]

+1

[@katrinapritchard2801]

Most definitely

[@friguy4444]

You're thinking of other BMW models. Like the E92 or E90 or other E46 Models that aren't "M" models. On the E46 M3 all you need to do is press it once and not hold it and it's off all the way. When that light is on the Traction Control is totally off. Trust me I know I have one.

[@TomSheldrake]

On the short shifter.. go for an E60 540 shift linkage with clubsport weighted gear knob.Perfect OEM+ upgrade, looks stock, has a shorter throw and feels much nicer than stock, I've got one on mine :)

[@Jim-iy6ue]

Smashed it pal. Going from fixing your TT on your driveway to having your own workshop. It’s crazy how far you’ve come in such a little time keep smashing it pal love the videos 👌🏼

[@charlesphoshoko6604]

Love what you're doing with your M3. Good job on giving it a second life, truly a classic. That rear bumper isn't working for me thou, the black bit...I prefer the stock look.

[@MatArmstrongbmx]

Yeah thats being painted with the rest of the car as i mentioned in one of the previous videos

[@charlesphoshoko6604]

Come on!!!

[@tishawnlopez1518]

It's really good to see you give the BMW E46 M3 another life 💪💪💯💯🔥🔥

[@StephvH87]

This build fits perfectly in your KZbin page. I hope when this one is done your gonna do another one, maybe a 90's car. Keep up your great work, love you vids and vibe!

[@Mr_Matt_Lee]

I love the fact you ended this video at Metheringham Airfield. Literally around the corner from my house! I may or may not ‘test’ my cars there too 🤫

[@ethanhatch1835]

I don't care what anyone says this is the best looking car out of Mat's fleet

[@JaimieSigamoney]

Super glad that the m3 is on the road.. great job Mat 👏

[@br4d101]

I think with the e46s you can use the z3 gear selector as a short shifter upgrade, there is also two more bushes that you can replace on the gear mechanism!

[@AA-bf3dg]

Really? On my Z3 I wouldn’t have even said that it’s that short

[@br4d101]

@@AA-bf3dg I done it on my 330ci years ago! It’s the same as buying a proper short shift kit for well over double the price and it’s genuine bmw!

[@frankt5285]

I absolutely loved this rebuild series Mat... Keep them coming!! 👏👏👏

[@rabmc]

You need a purple tag rack, cheap upgrade and shorter turning circle too, also you can get a shorter (in height) gear stick from another bmw can’t remember the exact model, but shorter throw too. I’m sure it cost me £100 with the gear knob too. And looks factory.

[@glennbeattie3437]

Glad to see it’s on the road Mat, you’ve done a cracking job with it. Can’t wait to see the exterior back to it’s former glory. I’m not usually jealous or an envious person but I’m super jealous and super envious that you own this timeless beauty ❤️

[@scoobydoostu3130]

Binge watched this build and have loved it! Keep up Mat love the fact you profess to not being a professional, yet take on jobs others would baulk at ! Brilliant

[@anthonybrand6137]

I think this is the most interesting project you've undertaken to date. I also appreciate the fact that you have decided to keep this classic BMW M5 essentially OEM, with a few subtle mods & improvements. Really love the colour of the car as well. Keep up the great work! 👍🔥👍

[@waynebaldycanning]

What a great looking motor. Even better with those wheel spacers on. Great work 👍

[@radimodise9751]

I have seen plenty of rebuild channels on KZbin, all impressive but I gotta say yours is by far the best, even making me want to start rebuilding cars, keep up the good work

[@Karmasmusic]

I had a e46 ci as my first car, I had it for 12 years, this was my dream car and designe still continue to amaze me, wish I had a mechanic like you to keep it în best shape. Wish you all the best from romania Mate

[@kristopherlawson3893]

This man is a freaking legend 🙌, I've legit learned so much from you Matt! Love your energy and tenacity!

[@BKxTwin]

I love how positive you are in your videos, makes them so easy to watch!

[@rhystilaks5440]

This is by far my favourite channel on KZbin, love watching what you do to all your cars, this e46 is something else though! Great job again Matt can’t wait for the next video 👍🏼

[@andrewkidger7048]

Car looks great Mat, enjoying all the vids as usual, top job, well done.

[@ryanlilley1550]

Fantastic car loved watching you save this one matt. This one is surely a keeper I absolutely love it. Keep up the great work

[@MrWaheedulHaque]

Finally the car is ready im proud, i would have been stuck just looking at it, did a bumper replacement on my channel just few days ago and it was such a headache problem after problem haha, but we got it done and learnt some new tricks haha, this is why i love your channel i get to learn new things, now i just need to sort my own BMW out now

[@US-px7wc]

These were the last golden years of BMW s. No turbos just straight 6xs

[@jujujonbitcoinisplanbcrypt9618]

The best build to date, love this one! Well done bud! Cracking job! 👍

[@s19lun]

Another great video Mat. Keep up the amazing work, your enthusiasm is the best.

[@NicoSchrauwen]

Earned yourself a new subscriber with this car mate. I absolutely love E46s. Your work ethic and effort into these videos is top class! Also can't deny the enthusiasm you exert is contagious!

[@Finlayno9]

Well done Matt been watching since the TT days and helped me choose a 1 series (125d) absolutely love the look of this m3….. one day I have to get one keep up the good work and great content 👍🏻

[@alansukut8742]

Hey Mat, love what your doing. Just thought I should recommend using a 2008 z4 shifter. They are a factory short shift that works great on our e90. It makes a world of difference. All the best from Canada.

[@joncamilleri2172]

Nearly complete and looking good. Paint shop soon please, i love this build.

[@Marty1976]

Fantastic journey you have been through with that M3. Really enjoyed watching you put the man hours into that car to get it to this point, and I'm not a petrol head but I love your video's. Keep it up 👍🏽🔥

[@paulavis4055]

By far your best project! Also good work on tackling some rather difficult jobs, keep up the good work look forward to seeing the c63 finished 🤘🏻

[@stephencollins7714]

Congrats, you really have saved that car from a almost certain date with the crusher. Very brave to take that on and really push yourself on the mechanicals, look forward to seeing you address all of the remaining minor issues and truly start to enjoy a fabulous car.

[@BarneyRubble]

Hey Matt well done! Love this car and the build. You’ve smashed it ! 👍😊

[@darcchylde]

What an amazing project. Good to see this one through. What a build

[@MegaVinny73]

E46 best BMWs ever IMO. I had the 330Ci M Sport, great car. Went for that over the M3 at the time as had to commute and fuel economy was a big thing at that time. The E46 M3 is simply the best looking BMW they've made. We won't likely see the likes of again.

[@paulclasper3708]

Love the channel love the cars great to see the confidence in Matt grow day by day! Video by video keep up the good work Matt, peace out! 😳👍

[@ImranKhan-iq2gf]

not only do I enjoy the cars your building but How you present your videos, well done Matt 👏 keep these videos coming 👍

[@danbrown4110]

If you tap DSC it doesn’t fully turn it off. Hold the button down and it will come up with a red sign instead of yellow. That’s it turned off properly

[@tourquecars]

Love these videos Mat! Very inspiring to do my own build every time you buy a car! Cheers for the good content on the feed!

[@maxlandy7642]

Another top video. Thise spacers made a bug difference. Glad you got it all sorted. Doesn't even look like it needs a respray. That colour looks great.

[@dionwilkinson3028]

well done mate keep it up watched u from day one on these rebuilds

[@sammoylan2144]

Repairing/Rebuilding old cars from ground up is amazing Mat! Good money to make too, an RX7 or something like an MR2 TBAR, guaranteed classics in time. Old bmw from 80s ect go for 150k-300k

[@abdulrahim52]

Well done brother absolutely smashed it with this project, when you smiling near the end after the mot that feeling of relief and achievement can't be measured. Well done again brother 👏 👍

[@FoodFighter46]

Welcome to the E46 M3 fam! Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers from Japan

[@paulford8256]

Good job fella stoked it's mot passed car looks brilliant keep up the good work dude

[@harismemisevic454]

Love your channel Mat! Have been following you almost from day 1 ❤️. Good job! Its always fun to watch your videos. I have learned a lot from you, thanks for that! And this E46 project is my favourite, it would be cool to see it with compressor kit and new paintjob with same color 🙏🏻😍.

[@poolio_69]

Great job, love these had to sell mine back in may last year, find myself looking at them almost constantly. I feel i may be buying another ☺

[@jamesstone7597]

Loved every step of this build especially as it one of my all time favorite cars, can’t wait to see it with fresh paint & maybe a carbon airbox for some added audio 😉

[@cb8143]

You have a real gem there. Laguna Seca Blue is one of my all time favorite colors. And the E46 M3 is one of my all time favorite cars. Just a pure driving experience. Congratulations on fixing that annoying clunking sound. Enjoy the ride!

[@Ziieno]

One of your best buys and rebuild without a doubt! BIG UP!

[@mateuszswierczynski9843]

Hi. I have been watching your channel for some time and watching all the movies that appear on it. Your positive energy when you repair these wrecks is great 😀 I'm from Poland and I watch a lot of Polish channels devoted to repairing cars, but none can compare to what you present on your own. I look forward to every new movie on your channel I tell my friends from Poland about it and encourage them to subscribe👍 keep it up and keep making great videos (still smiling) greetings from Poland and 1 million subscriptions ❤️

[@chrisdion07]

Yes Mat. Great job! What a car. Looking forward to what Yiu have in store for it next

[@The_journeyy]

*I'm convinced Matt is a magician because he's forever performing miracles* 👏👏

[@zzr1400lee]

Not a BMW fan mostly but i would love that car. The colour makes the car stand out from the rest and the wheels are perfect. great video Mat

[@kirkhamilton775]

Hey Mat, when you use the longer bolts for spacers you really need to check that the torque meets spec. They do alot of fabrication work (in quality spacer sets) to know the type of load that will be on the bolt when properly fitted. If you overtighten, you are actually putting extra load on the bolt which can cause them to snap. Hub centric certainly helps, but i would just double check. Literally only things i torque to spec are the bolts for my spacers and spark plugs, so im not that guy either lol

[@derekcraig6670]

This one is by far my favourite.love restorations of older classics.althoigh I'd put the bigger spacers on the front.think it would look better but love love this car

[@chrisdowns3069]

I've really enjoyed this resurrection! Iconic beema in the best colour. Nice work and I'm glad you are sorting all the little annoying bits and pieces

[@gerrymctominay4093]

Amazing work as per usual mate on the M3 I’m Loving these vids keep up the good work mate!! 👍🏻😉😬

[@T.S.T2014]

Definitely my favourite car you have done so far, what a great effort Bud.

[@paulmoor595]

A fantastic car and super enjoyable to watch. This has been the most enjoyable as its bringing back an icon we all listed after. Definitely you can be proud on this one.

[@JayKronik]

My absolute dream car, you done a great job, love the vids!

[@mrbriandooley]

Another class video bro, tints looked awesome aswell for a first attempt 👌🏽

[@Hcarmad]

Absolute beaut of a machine. Love the E46 M3. MA keep up the great work

[@michaelrose7258]

Mat that looks unbelievable beautiful car, and a great job. Well done mate

[@roberthargrave573]

Looking amazing matt, you've put alot of hours into it to get it where it is now.

[@996Revival]

This is such a fun story and project. I hope you keep it🙂

[@robbiemcelwee9139]

Hi Mat, try the shifter from the 540, I used this on my one, plug and play and vastly improves throw!👍🏼

[@sukhbirsingh8967]

Looks Amazing!! Great work Matt!!

[@timrust574]

Best fitment on any Matt Armstrong car by far!! love that!

[@hawaiisteve932]

Awesome , I feel the same about my 1971 BMW 2002 , It has a HOT M10 engine it's a BLAST to drive . I love the M3 .

[@r1chardb]

Great job, Id have gone with 15mm spacers on the back too, but the overall look is awesome. My e46 M3 was carbon black with the same CSL wheels and eibach springs!

[@benjaminluby5241]

Wasn't that excited for this build but turned out amazing keep up good work 👌👍

[@davidamutenya1735]

Your best project by far😌 Just waiting on the complete rebuild of the C63, that think is a beauty 💯

[@williamnock8500]

Matt that looks amazing already what a beautiful build.

[@stefanrezmuves6030]

Great work putting her together AMAZING work mate

[@kingfisherdecor5533]

You may want to think about putting some of those foam sound proofing squares around your work shop to deaden the echo. Makes for much easier listening. Good work on cars and congrats on your success.

[@johncoyle5002]

Amazing watching these videos Mat u are some boy 😁 and this is one of my fav cars ever, so we'll done mucker. All the way from Glasgow here bud 😉😉

[@JoseLuis-ur3ho]

So nice to see that you have saved another classic . Love the bmw m3 .

[@markopolo9559]

Love the E46 content, my favourite build of yours Matt. Defo could do with a short shifter especially as its got the closer ratio diff in it also could be good to stick in alcantara steering wheel in it too?

[@garyedwards4452]

Makes me miss my E46 M3! Great work mate! … also worth removing the clutch delay valve - improves the gear change!👌👍

[@luvit7567]

This build just gets better Matt, without doubt my favourite so far 👍

[@almehgub]

You’ve absolutely smashed it with this one Mat, as you always do. Well done my friend.

[@stevegoodsell3771]

Fantastic series of videos. I really feel your pain with some of the technical challenges. It seems its all part of owning an E46 M3. Worth It though.

[@Forest_Pawzz2014]

This is without doubt, the best car on the channel yet... ☺

[@JamesLenane]

All similar issues to the E36...ie door locks and exact same way to reset the key, gearboxes are usually bullit proof but you can change it to a shorter shift by using the gear stick from a Z3 if I remember correctly you would be surprised how many parts can fit in various beemers from engine's and suspension parts from E36 model's being put into E30's.... well done 😉 one thing you should have done is put new hand brake cables in when you had it all dropped and your best friend for checking bushes 9 times out of 10 is a good pry bar but well done for getting stuck in and getting your hands dirty....oh to depressurise the fuel system on a beemer take out the fuel pump fuse and remove filter cap then start the engine will stop in a few seconds then your good to go on petrol tank's, injector high pressure hoses etc😉 you got a new subscriber

[@sidrens5292]

This was BMW’s best design era!!! Looks magnificent Mat 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🔥🔥🔥

[@quincy5855]

gorgeous colour 👊👊 doesn't look like a 20yr old BMW ....timeless

[@muhammedmotara08]

This car is an absolute beauty it looks gorgeous one my my favorite colours as well matt u have to keep this car this cannot be given away

[@iandavis8725]

Best project of the lot, I like subtle mods and this one is spot on.

[@NGHTSHFT]

So great to see on the road. These cars are such a different drive to anything else.

[@andriessneep1973]

love the vids! you're getting better and better!

[@stuartwatkinson9720]

Another fantastic video amazing job yet again ,Matt.

[@PravinKumar-ui1sb]

Never felt happier for this car. Keep up the great work!!

[@angusmacoatup7359]

Another awesome video. Keep it up mate. Fan from Australia.

[@scalecrawlnl]

Awesome MA rebuild series. Thank you.

[@GTNick.]

Coming together quite nicely! Takes a bit to get e46 M3s sorted, but they are so worth it

[@777spectre.]

Car looks great matt 👌 awesome work 👏