# ** Pic's of my collection... M3...JAGUAR..CLK's... BRABUS VITO V6..IMDIVIDUAL 330CD**



## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

*** Pic's of my collection... M3...JAGUAR..CLK's... BRABUS VITO V6..INDIVIDUAL 330CD***

Hello everyone

First of all, I hope this thread doesn't come across wrong but as a thread that i just want to share the passion I have for cars.

This will be one of those VERY long threads with lots and lots of pic's..... This site is the perfect place to share the love and passion i have for cars as i think if not all of us, most of us on this site have the same thing in common..... the love for our cars and the effort we put into our cars

I'll start with my E46 M3 that i've had for about 9 years now.... I bought this car with 20k on the clock.... Now it has 27k on the clock and i'm the second owner
It used to be oem for about 2 years and then i got bored so i decided to modify the car...... Now i'm thinking of putting the car back to factory oem.
I've bought a set of brand new original M3 wheels and they'll go on once the car is back to standard.... It's so rare nowdays to see an e46 M3 with original wheels as most of them have been diamond cut, painted or polished as no one can do the factory finish on this wheels.

This is how it used to look





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This is the list of things that where done to the car,

Custom front bumper.... front splitter blended in
Custom rear bumper... CSL rear diffuser blended in
ACS boot spoiler blended in
Lowered on coilovers
polished oem 19's [square setup]
Big brake kit
Euro tips
Wrapped in aluminuim grey 3m including the door shuts

Inside

Custom steering wheel
Imola red gaiters
Imola red arm rest
Acs pedals 
floor mats
Black front and side grills
Colour coded front grills [outer trims]
Tinted front indicators 
I think that's all the mods

This is how the car looks now



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The new wheels





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Next car is a Jaguar S type.... I bought this car for my parents as a gift 2 years ago when i go married..... This car had 20k on the clock... Now its done about 24k









No one had ever sat in the back

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Next is my Mercedes Vito V6
I bought this van about 2 - 3 months ago
First thing was to buy a private plate..... i think its a funny plate but to be honest all my friends says, Sam when it comes to your cars, you have OCD, so even though they say it as a joke, its kind of true 

I wanted to make the van stand out a little bit and I mean a little bit but of course as always when you browse car/van forums you get ideas and in my case if I like something I have to go ahead and do it.
At first I thought I'd get the front end painted as the bonnet, bumper had some stone chips and there was a dent at the bottom of the tail gate and rear bumper had a scratch.
The paint was shocking! I've never seen a car with sooo many swirls, plus all the signs that it had before you could still see 

As I was browsing the forum I found out you could do a facelift conversion! I liked that so I thought I'd just look on eBay and see "if" i could find the parts. At this point it was a big "IF" but I found facelift headlamps and made an offer. The guy excepted the offer and there was no going back now .

I then found the facelift wings
Ordered the wiring for the headlamps from Germany
Plastic inner arches
Viano front grill
Viano front bumper.
Now as for the bumper, I wanted the bumper that has the chrome bits on the sides as I read it's quite rare to have this bumper. I also found a pic of a brabus viano that had the same bumper with the chrome bits but with a brabus front splitter blended in not like the usual brabus front bumper that have a part stuck on.... I like that but it's not what I wanted. I wanted something that is all one piece and not something just stuck on

I found the bumper that I wanted but the chrome bits that go on the side of the bumper were missing. I thought it's fine they'll probably cost something like £50..... how wrong was I!!! £175+ later from Mercedes I had 2 chrome bits that are not even real chrome but plastic! Rip off or what! Anyways I needed them so had to pay the price.

Luckily I also found the front brabus splitter that I needed, bought that too.
It wasn't an easy simple fit as you'll see from the pics but the guys at the body shop done a really good job.

As for wheels I wanted brabus wheels and I wanted 20s as I had some genuine brabus 20s few years ago for my w211 e class.... I found the same wheels that i had before but they were in a bad state. I love this style of wheels and I went ahead and bought them. I had the face of the wheels and the lip polished.... done it myself.... not a job i recommend anyone to do 
I ordered 4 tyres but later I got another 2 as I wanted to try different size tyres to see which ones looked better. 
Opinions wanted what you think looks best... rear tyres have bigger sidewalls

A rear spoiler was ordered.
Side steps 
Chrome mirror covers
Chrome door handles 
Chrome tail gate Handel 
Chrome tail gate trim 
Rear bumper chrome protected 
Leather trim for the steering wheel was ordered also.
Led number plate lights 
Led side lights 
Chrome indicator bulbs 
Custom leather seat covers (waiting to arrive) 
Eibach springs

Once everything was fitted the van looked a bit to high. I decided to go for eibach springs as I didn't want to ruin the ride or lower the van too much as I'm tired of very low cars. It drives beautiful now and it doesn't feel like a boat like they normally do when going around corners.

The van had no rust anywhere which is great as I'm sure you guys know how much they can rust.
It has some nice options...
Sat nav 
Parking sensors front and rear 
Cruise control 
And for the first time ever, I love the fact that it's an auto. Always been a manual guy 
If you've read all this, that's great, if not, I understand as I did write quite a bit 

I will post some pics now, some before, during and after

Here's the van after it's first wash and how it looked when i first got it....





Wheels before :doublesho



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After





This is the bumper i saw

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The guys at the body shop having fun fitting the splitter :wall:









Paint before



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some wet and dry in places





The day came to fit all the parts..... Big thanks to my friend that let me have access to the garage for as long as i needed





The arches, suspension, lower arms, exhaust, underneath and other parts were cleaned and painted

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Started detailing









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More to come....


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

Now the 330CD in Estoril blue..... I actually sold this car 3 months ago to make space for the van..... Its an e46 3.0l Diesel, 6 speed manual..... it was running 300bhp.
Hybrid tubro.... full egr delete....Custom 3inch straigh through exhaust system.....Custom intercooler....Custom remap
Genuine m3 mirrors.... CSL spoiler blended in.... Lowered on coilovers....BMW 6 series 19's painted bmw silver grey.... Individual interior as well

This really was a fun car to drive, it didnt sound like a diesel and it used to pull so hard. I upset a few people with expensive cars. 
I went around Europe my wife in this and in Germany i went off the clock and it didnt take long to get there



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Last 2 cars.... Mercedes CLK...... i had to sell both of them due to not having space .... the dark blue one i bought quite some time ago and the light blue one was sold not long ago.... The dark blue one had only 18k on the clock and the light blue one had 20k on the clock

I only have one pic of the clk320, i have more pic's in my other laptop but i dont know where that is

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The light blue one with 20k on the clock.... I went a bit crazy with the cleaning of this car.... took side skirts, bumpers off and inner arches to clean everything



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The car that was meant to be only for europe trips....Left hand drive X5 Sport, diesel and this car had about 35k on the clock and one owner from new

I done some work to this car too, mainly cleaning and refurb the wheels [myself]
I dont have too many before pic's







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After



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and that's all!!!! I must say it's been hard work posting all this pic's, nearly as hard as datailing a car lol


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

Nice collection Sir. You take great care of them.


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Very nice, and actually think the Vito is my favourite, Certainly different and that’s me all over.. Great work&#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57339;


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

The Vito is my favourite also, top work! The photos of the undersides of the cars/van, has that just been cleaned or have you re painted? What did you use?


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## angel1449 (Apr 15, 2012)

One of the best threads already on here mate, adore that m3 mmmm


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## chris.t (Jan 18, 2014)

Those are a credit to you:thumb:


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## Cy-Zuki (Feb 9, 2015)

That Van finish is stunning! What potions were you using....apart from lots of elbow grease on the clay?


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Excellent and some very nice motors there 

Really liking how the Vito looks now - a definite credit :thumb:


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## enc (Jan 25, 2006)

C L E A N :doublesho


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## scooobydont (Feb 25, 2017)

Wow! Well done, they all look stunning. Loving the 330d and M3.


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

My word you've had some cars! Really like the 330Cd  you're work getting them clean is outstanding!


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## matmak81 (Mar 28, 2011)

You are the man the van and beemers look bloody epic :thumb:


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## Allydfr (May 17, 2018)

What a collection! And leave that M3 alone it is top notch lol


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## Streeto (Apr 3, 2008)

I’m not going to lie when I first read the thread title I though ‘this sounds like an unmodest post if I’ve ever seen one’ but obviously reading through I can see your clearly an enthusiast and perfectionist who wanted to share. Those are some really nice and clean cars inside/out & underneath which really was the extra bit for me very rarely are cars that clean underneath in this country.


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## rob267 (Nov 27, 2015)

Wow. What a post. Simply stunning. Love the van. 
Cool as hell. 
Credit where credit is due. You have done a outstanding job to all the vehicles.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

*Thank you very much everyone for your kind comments, appreciate them all!!!
I'm glad the thread didn't come out the wrong way. 
I get the cars up on a ramp, jet wash them, then spray viro-sol to the underneath and jet wash it again. In some places I use a brush depending how dirty the car is. Once it's all dry I check which parts need touching up and paint them.

As for polishing, once I used clay bar, I then polished the car with 3m polish.... fast cut, ultrafine, extra fine plus.
Polishing pads I used meguiars pads, cutting, polishing, finishing.
And then sealed the paint with autobright zonyl PTFE*


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## mechrepairs (Aug 11, 2008)

Where are you based, noticed one of the photos has a leicester telephone code?

Cracking effort of the cars.

Carl


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

mechrepairs said:


> Where are you based, noticed one of the photos has a leicester telephone code?
> 
> Cracking effort of the cars.
> 
> Carl


Thank you Carl 
I'm based in London


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## Cy-Zuki (Feb 9, 2015)

Thanks for the info above. Feedback on the tyre walls...to me, the large walled tyres at the back look slightly better and I guess will be less prone to punctures.


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## Benfr16 (Dec 3, 2016)

Good stuff! I like how your interiors look factory fresh


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## s60_WAFFLED (Feb 21, 2017)

Wow. Top work!!!!

That M3 is absolute filth (in a good way). love that interior


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## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

Drive past that petrol station all the time in the M3 pics! Will keep an eye out. Very nice example.


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

Thank you guys! I've learned a lot from this site when it comes to cleaning the cars. There's always room for improvement. I love seeing the work and effort that lots of you put into your cars or customers cars.



Cy-Zuki said:


> Thanks for the info above. Feedback on the tyre walls...to me, the large walled tyres at the back look slightly better and I guess will be less prone to punctures.


I've been thinking of fitting the front tyres same as the back ones and see how it looks. I will give it a go and see how it drives too



georgeandpeppa said:


> Drive past that petrol station all the time in the M3 pics! Will keep an eye out. Very nice example.


Thank you! You probably won't see me in the m3 as that doesn't get used much. I've done about 200 miles in over 2 years in the m3. I'm hoping I'll be using it a bit this year.


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## voon (Apr 28, 2010)

The Vito has the highest bling colour... Nice blue! But you should drive an M3 more. Cars are for driving, not museums


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

voon said:


> The Vito has the highest bling colour... Nice blue! But you should drive an M3 more. Cars are for driving, not museums


Thank you!
I know, I hate it that I don't drive it more. It's easier to drive my daily everywhere as I don't worry about parking it, just find a parking spot and leave it there. Hopefully this year I'll put some miles on the M3


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## slimjim (Mar 22, 2007)

Loving the M3 , but all lovely and a credit to yourself . Very enjoyable read .


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

slimjim said:


> Loving the M3 , but all lovely and a credit to yourself . Very enjoyable read .


Thank you .... I've finished with the interior now in the vito. Need to post some pics.


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## carrera2s (Jun 28, 2009)

Sam87 said:


> Hello everyone
> 
> First of all, I hope this thread doesn't come across wrong but as a thread that i just want to share the passion I have for cars.
> 
> ...


Hi fab van and write up! I have a Vito Sport X van Magma de 2007 and I am the 2nd owner and have driven it for the last 10 years. Its my work van as self employed.It has 107 k on it at moment and I love it :thumb:


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

Lovely Jubbly, some VERY clean motors there, i think my favourite is the Jag, but those seats wouldn't stay that clean for too long matey.


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## H-M3 (Jul 13, 2006)

You mention somewhere you have a wife! Man the amount of time you spend on these beauties you sure she’s not jealous :lol::thumb: if you sell your m3 give me first Dibs:driver: hats off to you man. Where about in London are you based would love to see the bimmer in the flesh.


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

H-M3 said:


> You mention somewhere you have a wife! Man the amount of time you spend on these beauties you sure she's not jealous :lol::thumb: if you sell your m3 give me first Dibs:driver: hats off to you man. Where about in London are you based would love to see the bimmer in the flesh.


Haha  she's a very understanding wife  she actually asks to help me when I clean the cars! To be honest I try my best not to let cars or work take my family time. As much as I love cars there's other priorities that come first. I'm in west London. I'm hoping to go to gaydon this year for the bmw meet and take the m3 there. I used to go every year but the last 3 years I haven't been able to go. 
Is that your m3 in your dog? Love Laguna seca blue!


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## H-M3 (Jul 13, 2006)

Yeah that was our car few years back. Took a big hit on that m3 as the recession hit in at that time! But was a top spec car with all the toys. Never been Gaydon but might go this year.


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## shabba (Sep 28, 2008)

so amazing undersides there! cracking job and nice collection!


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## Sam87 (Dec 20, 2007)

H-M3 said:


> Yeah that was our car few years back. Took a big hit on that m3 as the recession hit in at that time! But was a top spec car with all the toys. Never been Gaydon but might go this year.


Ah that's a shame! They're going up in value now and the m3 you had is a desirable colour. Then again if we knew that some of the cars we've had would go up in value in the future we'd probably still have them today.



shabba said:


> so amazing undersides there! cracking job and nice collection!


Thank you!


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## H-M3 (Jul 13, 2006)

Sam87 said:


> Ah that's a shame! They're going up in value now and the m3 you had is a desirable colour. Then again if we knew that some of the cars we've had would go up in value in the future we'd probably still have them today.
> 
> Thank you!


Tell me about it. Biggest regret is, we had a 911 turbo whale tale the air cooled one several years back. Boy that was a true car, but we sold it after few years. looking at the price they sell these days:doublesho


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## americanvolley (1 mo ago)

This is the bumper i saw

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The guys at the body shop having fun fitting the splitter :wall:









Paint before



images hosting

some wet and dry in places





The day came to fit all the parts..... Big thanks to my friend that let me have access to the garage for as long as i needed





The arches, suspension, lower arms, exhaust, underneath and other parts were cleaned and painted

free screen capture software

mporary image hosting



Started detailing









 windows 7

All done :buffer:
















fee photo hosting





More to come....
[/QUOTE]

Hey my friend. The Vito looks absolutely awesome. I know it has been a while, but can I ask you what the specs were for the Brabus Wheels? Monoblock VI 20 inch, but what widths did you use and how were the offsets? Did you use any spacers or anything as well? I love these wheels, they are timeless, sporty and classy, so perfect for this style mercedes. I see you also went with 245 45 20 tyres. Any issues with rubbing or anything? 

I also wanted to ask, where did you find that bumper? I looked everywhere and I'm not sure it exists any more, hahaha.

Would love to hear your feedback 🙏


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