Readers' Rides: CJ's Supercharged E46 M3

Anyone who's spent time immersed in car culture will have heard the phrase 'built not bought'. It's thrown around to mock those who buy a car that's already modified, and on the face it you could say the same about CJ and his E46 M3. But he's done enough wrenching in the past to laugh in the face of naysayers.

A massive Honda fan, his first car was a 1986 Prelude. That was the car that set CJ down the petrolhead path, as he would tear it apart and put it back together, learning as he went. Now with a full license in his hand, it was time to get a new ride. Keeping it Honda, CJ picked up the '94 Civic del Sol Si that would see him through college. During that time, he became the go-to Honda guy: "I would buy a broken down Honda for $500, fix it, and sell it. I went through eight cars by senior year."

Then one day everything changed. As a regular at local car shows, CJ often found himself around nice rides, but it was a couple of E36 M3s that really caught his eye. Cruising the back roads after one such show, the pair simply left him standing; "I had a ton of money dumped into my car and these stock BMWs are owning the country roads."

That was it; he had the M3 bug. So when he totalled his beloved del Sol, CJ sat in his hospital bed and decided that now was the time to make that step. Saving every penny he could - "I didn't even go to beach week!" - he managed to get an M3 on his driveway just in time for his 18th birthday. For reasons known only to himself, CJ ended up selling the M3 for an E46 330ci, and spent "thousands of dollars" modifying it. But it just wasn't an M3.

After much soul searching, the only option was to get another M3 in his life. And that's how he ended up with this stunning E46 model. It had been sitting for two years and needed a lot of love and attention to get back to where it once was.

So what makes this particular M3 stand out? It's got a stage one supercharger kit by Active Autowerke bolted to the engine, while a full exhaust system by Borla helps it breathe. Power? More than 400bhp is entirely plausible although he's not had it dyno tested yet. TC Kline coilovers give the car better cornering ability and an improved stance, and the BBS LM wheels complete the look.

The previous owner's lack of interest in the car meant that CJ had a lot of work on his hands. Having sat for two years, the engine was running horribly, but "after many long nights in the garage scratching my head and trouble shooting, the M is back and healthy." He's currently working through the issues, replacing worn out items with their OEM counterparts, no doubt striving to get back to those stock M3s that left him standing in his del Sol.

CJ has fallen back in love, and it's all because of his M3. Having saved it from a neglectful owner, he admits that refitting stock parts is "not your usual project, but a fine example of how one man's junk is another man's treasure."

If you want your car featured on Readers' Rides, email darren.cassey@carthrottle.com with a pic and a few words explaining why you love it so much. If we like it, we'll feature it!