Introducing my "BMW Individual" Atlantis Blue BMW...

[Navin323i]

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted and a lot has transpired in my life since then. As you may recall, I was all prepared to purchase a Melbourne Red E92 M3 and do Performance Center Delivery with my wife once I was able to sell my twin screw supercharged 323i. However when push came to shove, I couldn't part with my 323i... it's so much a part of me... all the carbon fiber mods are a reflection of my carbon fiber heart implants, and I brought both my baby girls home from the hospital in my car after they were born. I still plan on buying my dream M3 but for now I decided to wait and undertake something special which I'll share with you all below...

10 years ago from today, 9/20, I underwent open heart surgery #5, defied the odds and survived my surgery. Fast forward 10 years to today... it's with great honor that I reveal Project "Atlantis Blau" all successfully completed and ready to take my heart awareness to the next level.

Why Atlantis Blue? Atlantis Blue is a metallic paint color which is a combination of 2 colors... blue and green. The color blue happens to be symbolic of "open communication" and green, in India, happens to be symbolic of the "heart chakra" or energy center within the heart... hence Atlantis Blue represents open communication about the heart, which represents exactly what I do with my heart awareness efforts. The moment I saw this color on my buddy Myke's IND M3 sedan a couple of years back I instantly fell in love with this color... Myke and his car definitely were an inspiration to me in choosing this color.

It was VERY hard to keep this project a secret from you all. I've never been one for progress threads and wanted to wait to surprise you all, but I'll be honest how tough it was to wait, lol.

I have a number of people to thank for this project... first off my wife, Kamini. All year, she and I were prepared to sell my 323i last month and purchase a Melbourne Red E92 M3 but at the last minute I couldn't sell my 323i and instead decided to take my car and heart awareness efforts to the next level with a full repaint. She and I are starting up a not-for-profit organization to raise heart awareness and donate the proceeds from our charitable events to the American Heart Association and other heart organizations. Kamini has been such a huge support to me and my modding over the years... she truly is the woman of my dreams.

I would also like to thank Revision Auto Salon in Rockville, MD for doing the paintwork sponsorship... they were extremely professional and courteous throughout the process. I would also like to thank Alan at **********s for selling me a CF CSL sedan trunklid... very happy with the trunklid and perfect fitment. I would also like to thank BASF for supplying the paint for my project. For those of you who don't know, BASF supplies the paint to BMW as well. I would like to thank Jason and Evan at getBMWparts.com for sourcing my new door sills from Germany. Finally, I'd like to thank my Europrojektz teammates for their constant support and encouragement throughout this project.

Pics are below... my photographer and I will be doing another photoshoot this weekend at more scenic places. Note that full exterior including door jambs, inside trunk, and visible areas inside the front hood were done. The only thing I didn't have repainted were the strut towers (decided to leave these in the silver color) and any non visible areas under the engine/supercharger components.

BEFORE
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Old trunk setup - OEM trunklid with CF ACS-style 3 piece spoiler... darn spoiler encountered severe "hazing" in the CF, hence I decided to get rid of this and get the CSL trunklid.


AFTER
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Special ordered these door sills from Germany thanks to Jason and Evan at getBMWparts.com for locating these for me.






I will end this thread on a comical note... I'm a sneaker guy for the most part, so my wife decided to help me "change up my look" and bought me these driving shoes below that match my Atlantis Blue 323i... I'm not real familiar with the make/model of the shoes but they're super comfortable!!

Ferragamo Parigi shoes



Thanks for looking!

Navin

[GOLFFRR]

sweet!

[SchnellM3]

Looks AMAZING!!! Great color choice

You'll have to give me a call when you head up this way to see it in person

[Navin323i]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

sweet!

Thanks! I appreciate your time and help earlier this year when I was looking to get the M3.

Originally Posted by SchnellM3

Looks AMAZING!!! Great color choice

You'll have to give me a call when you head up this way to see it in person

Thanks Zach! I definitely will, bro.

[Nate@IND]

Great story and one of the best BMW colors ever. Have fun with the new look

[Navin323i]

Originally Posted by Nate@IND

Great story and one of the best BMW colors ever. Have fun with the new look

Thanks Nate!! I look forward to working with you on my upcoming projects.

Navin

[dillon0066]

very nice....never seen an e46 saloon in atlantis before

[SHADY1]

First I want to tell you congrats on your two baby girls I really like the new paint job on your M3 I sure wish that color was a option when I ordered my M3 . If I was to ever change the color on my M3 it would be that color for sure When it comes to Carbon Fiber you are the King in my book


Thanks for the pics and good luck on your next project

[Navin323i]

Originally Posted by dillon0066

very nice....never seen an e46 saloon in atlantis before

Thanks Dillon! I might be the first to do this since I don't believe when I bought my 323i brand new back in early 2000 that Atlantis Blue was a BMW Individual color option (can someone here confirm?)

Originally Posted by SHADY1

First I want to tell you congrats on your two baby girls I really like the new paint job on your M3 I sure wish that color was a option when I ordered my M3 . If I was to ever change the color on my M3 it would be that color for sure When it comes to Carbon Fiber you are the King in my book


Thanks for the pics and good luck on your next project

Thanks for the kind words, bro! I actually got the new paint job on my 323i which I'll be keeping forever. I plan on getting the M3 later on when I can comfortably afford having 2 BMWs, lol.

Be safe in Iraq, bro... thanks for serving our country.

[Jaypod]

Congrats Navin - car looks great! "Personalizing" your car at its best. Thanks for sharing - enjoy in good health!

[studntloan]

congrats!

[Cptn Mo 703]

Looks great Navin, revision does great work. Nice wheels

[Blindside_137]

loving it! very cool of you to stick with it, stay healthy my friend!

[Navin323i]

Originally Posted by Jaypod

Congrats Navin - car looks great! "Personalizing" your car at its best. Thanks for sharing - enjoy in good health!

Thanks Jay!! Best of health to you and your family as well!

Originally Posted by Studntloan

congrats!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Cptn Mo 703

Looks great Navin, revision does great work. Nice wheels

Thanks bro! Hope to meet up with you sometime soon!

Originally Posted by Blindside_137

loving it! very cool of you to stick with it, stay healthy my friend!

Thank you so much, my friend! Please stay healthy as well!!

[Lagunae92]

I've got those shoes to match my LSB e92...ha

[Navin323i]

Originally Posted by Lagunae92

I've got those shoes to match my LSB e92...ha

Same exact colored blue suede Ferragamo Parigi shoes?

They are SO comfortable!!! 1st pair of Ferragamo's I've ever owned. Turns out this color is discontinued but I called Neiman Marcus that showed they only had a size 7 on their site (I wear a size 10) and their customer service rep said there were only 2 size 10's left in the entire country... one in Ft. Worth Texas, which I bought, and another one possibly in San Francisco (assuming it wasn't sold already).

I got very lucky... they actually match my Atlantis Blue 323i quite nicely.

[Lagunae92]

Originally Posted by Navin323i

Same exact colored blue suede Ferragamo Parigi shoes?

They are SO comfortable!!! 1st pair of Ferragamo's I've ever owned. Turns out this color is discontinued but I called Neiman Marcus that showed they only had a size 7 on their site (I wear a size 10) and their customer service rep said there were only 2 size 10's left in the entire country... one in Ft. Worth Texas, which I bought, and another one possibly in San Francisco (assuming it wasn't sold already).

I got very lucky... they actually match my Atlantis Blue 323i quite nicely.

Yup, great shoes. Enjoy!

[Johan@WSTO]

Hey buddy,

The car looks great with the new color!! Love the shoes too

[MolanM3]

nice shoe.. LOL

[inter1032]

looks awesome but i would of got the e92 and kept the e46 lol

[Navin323i]

Originally Posted by Lagunae92

Yup, great shoes. Enjoy!

Thanks! Enjoy your shoes as well in the best of health!

Originally Posted by Johan@WSTO

Hey buddy,

The car looks great with the new color!! Love the shoes too

Thanks Johan! Tell Julius I said hi too! Feels like yesterday I met you both at HIN Chicago.

Originally Posted by MolanM3

nice shoe.. LOL

Haha... thanks!

Originally Posted by inter1032

looks awesome but i would of got the e92 and kept the e46 lol

Thanks Bro! Yeah, I'll definitely go this route later on... can't afford 2 BMWs right now, lol.

[Rob@StrasseForged]

Congrats on the surgery and two baby girls! Car looks great!

Let me tell you, i just picked up a pair of those Ferragamo's in black and MAN they're comfortable haha!