We’re happy to introduce Andy Nissen-Barber as the first competitor in our 2014 Import Meet Street Car Competition. The IMSCC is an event that will compare some of the best import cars in multiple categories (drag racing, autocross, dyno, car show, etc.) in August 8-10 in Seattle, WA.

Other competitors will be announced leading up to the competition so be sure to check back regularly. Join the Facebook event page for notifications.

Sometimes second chances come around in car ownership. The car you see on this page is actually the second E46 M3 that Andy Nissen-Barber has owned. Around 4 years ago he began building his first M3 after starting his career in the automotive industry. The car was mildly built and Andy used it as a daily driver. Unfortunately, the build was stopped short since it was totaled when another car hit him in the middle of an intersection.

Text & photos by Matt Haugness. Video by Dustin St. Hilaire (Jessup Visual Works).

Watch BMW M3 Turbo on YouTube.

Andy took advantage of knowing what he wanted and began his search for the perfect modified E46 M3. He knew it made more financial sense to buy something partially built and then change it to fit his style than starting over from scratch.

“My previous E46 M3 was never built to this level. After the accident and moving on to a better job I decided to upgrade to this M3. I’ve had this car for 2.5 years now.” His first upgrade was to change up the exterior. After installing a Vorsteiner CSL front bumper and rear diffuser, Andy and his crew at Vogue Autowerks wrapped the car in Oracal matte purple vinyl.

“My favorite mod and the one that stands out the most is the vinyl wrap. My car started out silver and the wrap totally transformed it. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and the attention it gets on the road and at car shows,” Andy said.

To further improve the exterior, he went with a set of 18” CCW LM20 wheels custom powder coated to offset the color of the wrap. For tires he’s currently running 245/40/R18 Nitto NT05 up front and 285/40/R18 Nitto NT05 in the rear. For the IMSCC, he plans on running a set of Toyo R888’s. Lurking under the hood of what some might think at first glance is an all-show-and-no-go BMW is a 600+ horsepower engine. It’s fully built with 9:1 compression Wiseco pistons and Arrow connecting rods. The engine was built this way to support the stage 2.5 HPF turbo kit with a T6776 turbocharger. Engine management is done via an AEM piggyback on a flashed stock ECU.The kit was further upgraded and tuned by Lab22 out of Portland, Oregon.

“I think that M3’s built to this level in the Pacific Northwest are fairly rare. I plan on making even more power in the future but for now I’m fairly happy with how much it produces.” When it came to suspension mods, Andy went with BC Racing coilovers, UUC Motorwerks front and rear sway bars, and polyurethane bushings throughout the chassis. E46 M3’s are known for their less than ideal rear subframe design so he also decided to go with an HPF reinforcement kit to make sure that everything on the rear of the car remained solid.

“My goal for the car has always been to make it a ridiculous street car. It’s important to me that I can have fun with it on a Friday night, drive it around normally on Saturday, and then still be able to take it out for a night on the town.”

To make sure that the car comes to a stop in a reasonable distance, Andy upgraded the front brakes to a KSport 355mm 8 piston big brake kit. When asked why he thinks his car will do well in the IMSCC, Andy responded with:

“I think it’s a pretty well-rounded car and it will do well in all of the events. I’m expecting to excel in the dyno, drag racing, and show/build quality portions of the competition.”

His future plans for the car are to make it more track-oriented with racing seats and a half cage. This winter he would like to upgrade the ECU, go to a flex fuel setup, refresh the engine and change to a larger turbo.

Andy would like to thank the following people for their support and help with the car: his crew and business partners at Vogue Autowerks, John and Mitch at Lab22, BC Racing, Vorsteiner, Image Dynamics, Mark II Collision, and his girlfriend Brie.

Modifications

Exterior/Wheels/Tires:

Vorsteiner CSL front bumper w/ 1 piece carbon fiber lip

Vorsteiner CSL diffuser

Vorsteiner CSL trunk

Depo headlights

LED taillights

Black grilles

Full matte purple vinyl wrap by Vogue Autowerks

18” CCW LM20 wheels custom powder coated gloss & flat black w/ 245/40/R18 Nitto NT05 (front) and 285/40/R18 Nitto NT05 (rear)

Interior:

Suede wrapped wheel

Gloss black trim

Double Din touch screen

Full Morel/Genesis audio system

Stealth installed Escort 9500ci

Rear seat delete with custom panels

330cd shifter

Engine/Transmission/Differential:

HPF stage 2.5 turbo kit

Built engine with Wiseco pistons and Arrow rods (9:1 compression)

Steed speed manifold

Precision T6776 turbocharger

Garrett intercooler

AEM piggyback with stock ECU custom flashed

HKS SSQV blow-off valves

Carbon fiber vented valve cover

Carbon ceramic clutch

4″ carbon fiber intake

HPF oil catch can

Radium fuel cell

Rogue Engineering exhaust mid section with electronic cutout

GruppeM titanium muffler

Suspension/Brakes:

BC Racing coilovers with pillow ball uppers

UUC Motorwerks front and rear sway bars

Polyurethane bushings throughout chassis

KSport Front BBK

HPF rear subframe reinforcement

Special Thanks to Our IMSCC Sponsors: