Basically post anything you've done that doesn't need/deserve its own thread!

Pictures are encouraged.

Bought new stuff?

Fixed something?

Added something new?

Finished something? (Finally)

...etc

Mods can delete if they think this is pointless...

I have no grand plans for this, it was cheap and in pretty average condition but it's a good (enough) base for a point-to-point daily driver for me. I was originally thinking of a 318 for cost reasons but when this 6 cylinder popped up for a couple of grand I couldn't say no even though I knew it would need another thousand or so (hopefully not much more!) thrown at it to get it to a serviceable state. It's a Jap import with the glorious Jatco auto.

Here she is in her original glory:

First thing I did was swap out the wheels with my track ones (and semi slicks, vroom!):

I have sourced a donor car, it is a 1993 325i sedan, however someone in its past has put in an alloy block m52b28 along with an m50 intake manifold, K&N cold air box, custom headers and exhaust. I am picking the car up this weekend so will only be able to confirm once I have it if it has undertaken an OBD1 conversion or if the older chassis was swapped out to OBD2. Once I have the donor car I will have everything required to do the swap except for a diff that is suitable, currently on the hunt for a Z3 diff to mate up to my Getrag 5 speed. If anyone has any suggestions on the best ratios to choose from let me know thanks

If anyone else has experience in doing this swap let me know any potential problems that you guys faced, I will also be swapping the larger front rotors and calipers from the sedan over to the Ti, this is an easy swap in comparison to everything else. More to come and hopefully I can have her all done up in time to take it around Ruapuna on the 29th of June

Heres my recently acquired E30 coupe in red. Had a pfl E30 325 coupe nearly 8 years ago and recently started looking for another one to build up. Was after a non sunroof coupe and overall tidy as such. 

Went slightly north and picked this up

As you can tell its pretty rough on the paint side of things and was also told it has no rust, before I took it away found rust in the boot, will be getting tidied up and full paint when it's all done

Anyway, got it home and put a polishing machine over it, come up alright for the meantime

Next on the agenda was the overheating at traffic lights , but fine on open road, was also told fluids had just been done...water was horrible

Thermostat was dry

Figured it hadnt been bleed so changed thermostat and new coolant, full bleed and bingo no over heating

Next issue, drivers window wasnt working, told it was regulator and given 2 with car. Pulled off door card and was unplugged, plugged in and was noisier than an outboard motor tilting on a stabicraft

Pulled off regulator and put new one one and wouldnt quite fit up, turned out the splines were different. So pulled apart the noisy one and found the ball at the bottom had worn out so swapped the shaft into a good body, and the existing cap (this is important to ensure window goes up on up button, at first I didnt do this and window was doing opposite)

Window all done, will lower it next and daily it for a few months. Have a m52 sitting in the shed for it, and will do a zf box. 5 stud it aswell to open up wheel choices. Slowly building up parts but keeping it on road until everything is ready

When I brought it 6 months ago it was running a little rough. After a quick trip to the Park Road E30 Performance Centre, the problem was quickly resolved. The distributor cap had a huge crack so that was promptly replaced and now runs like a dream.

Items that no longer require attention:

Oil change,

Fitted a SA spec boot lining and half a tool kit ,

Replaced the sump that had a hairline crack,

Removed the superlow springs in the rear that were not captive and replaced them with some lows,

Fitted E36 window switches,

Items that require attention:

Insert items listed on back of Heineken box here...

Here are some photos on the day I aquired the car.

Enjoy

2001 Jap Import 530i Touring with 279,000kms

What was really appealing is that it’s been fitted with a gen M5 front bumper but the factory xenons have been replaced with halogen headlights. That’s going to be sorted soon.

It’s in pretty average condition but the paint and body panels are good which makes this an ideal project for me. The engine is a beaut too.

The list of to do’s go something like...

-Front Suspension o’haul including msport shocks and 25mm lowering springs

-18 Staggered wheels

-a slight drop in the rear (factory self leveling suspension)

-Fit a business rds radio to get nz stations and fit a bluetooth adapter that integrates with the factory setup

-Replace the povo interior with Leather seats and door cards, fit the technical graphite/cubic finisher strips

-Fit the correct Msport parts behind and under the front bumper

-Cooling system overhaul, fuel filter, mictofilters.

Give the paint a polish and wax and a heap of misc bits n pieces to bring it back to its glory.

But with buying my long held ambition and first M3 along with some inspirational plogs particularly by KwS and M3AN I could/should/would.

So picking up the baton, in this case KwS’s old E36 M3

 and with thanks to mzhu031 for selling it.

So this was taken the day I brought it 4th April 

You know I’ve never had a white car and would’ve liked a racing white M3 but not for $38k lol. I have had silver and imho easy to keep looking clean. I like that it’s on 8.5’s all round but not convinced with the polished style 24s tbh maybe they’ll grow on me.

I had it checked by a local Indie which highlighted a few issues all fixable

Mechanically it’s in good shape and my early stage plan is to fix the above and tidy up the exterior and interior plus a few other enhancements

in no particular order

- Mount front lip 

- Replace rear shock mounts including reinforcement plates DONE

- Replace rear shock absorbers with Bilstein B6’s (Bilstein B6 struts front, stock springs all round tbc)

- Replace front tyres with Yokohama AD08Rs (matching new rears)

- Screws for front valance

- Front subframe reinforce and repair

- Clean engine bay and detail

- Service fluids engine, gearbox, lsd diff

- Source 2nd hand front bumper support brackets, highbeam covers 

- Repair LH door card

- Replace steering wheel with 3 spoke DONE

- Clean interior including steam clean carpet and seats

- Re-trim front seats

- M3 floor mats 

- Check spark plugs, distributor & rotor

- Respray boot lid and front valance

- Replace brake rotors and pads

- Replace exhaust back box

Have completed a few of these in a burst of enthusiasm and posted under “what I did today” forum.

Benefits of this are fairly obvious - M54B30 power. I can retain much of the work and $ spent ive done on my existing car and don't have to do it all again on another unknown car. I like my car colour and don't want to own another silver BMW especially one which has a grey interior (528i has both).    

Buying the extra motorsport bits shouldn't be hard or expensive given these cars are plentiful and worth jack so it should help keep costs down.

The swap seems fairly straight forward. The coding side of it appears relatively easy with my MS43 DME. May be some small pedal issues as they appear to have changed things around in Sept '97. Possibly a little wiring and\or a few plug changes to get the drive by wire working etc with pedals for cruise control etc. Will deal with the issues when i come to them as using early M52 manual setup is a little different to the M54 auto and not properly documented as far as ive looked.

Plan is sort of a 3 stage deal given i don't want the car off the road for long periods at a time.

1. Remove 528i gearbox etc and my 530i engine and transmission to fix up some small oil leaks. Fit M-suspension bigger swaybars whilst its out. Fit manual box with all new shifter bushings with E60 shorter shifter and ZHP knob. Replace all driveline and clutch components (apparently the PO has a new clutch with single mass flywheel installed not long ago so i shouldn't have to worry about that part).

2. Sort some upgraded springs and dampeners. Will look into rebuilding my KW coilovers i have here with Koni adjustable inserts but will look at other options if too expensive with the added cert.

3. Black motorsport interior to replace my beige one as most sports seats seem to be black on these. Then lastly put back in what BMW accountants took out - the LSD experience.

I will start dismantling the 528i tomorrow to find out what parts i need and will commence work once they arrive. In the mean time im happy enough driving an old 5 series manual again.

Our offspring are approaching driving age, and I want them to learn in a simple manual gearbox car, with none of those fancy driving aids we associate with steering, these days.  Helps that one can see every corner of the car, too.

Sr E-Thirty Andy kindly agreed to come with for inspection, as e30 expert to help with my mid-range mech capability.  We determined that it was an honest, reasonably tidy example, needing some TLC.  It had only been doing around 250km per year for a number of years now, but had been garaged.  It started (stone cold) willingly, first go.  Serviced last week by Mike Page.  It was sold through Shelly BMW when new, and when the last owner bought it new; I even found @Barryn's card in the service book from back in the day.

A deal was struck, I did the ownership change, paid the cash, got the key stuck in the driver's door, Andy sorted that out, phoned insurance and paid, and set out for Wellington from Paraparaumu.

I'm pretty taken by it, it's nice to be back in an e30.

Plans:

• give it TLC to get it machanically sorted (clutch and associated bushes and seals), precautionary cambelt kit, general servicing and maintenance (leads, cap, rotor, fan clutch).
• In summer, check out what's underneath those front guards, and sort out bootlid
• keep it fairly stock for next three years until both of our scone-grabbers have their licenses
• then - quite possibly - make it into a well-sorted clone of Andy's "MY E30".  Or at the very least, a 318iS.

Hence "project" rather than showroom.  Here she is in monochromatic glory:

New pads & discs- done
fix ps leak and new fluid
driveshaft coupler
T.stat
waterpump
coolent
radiator flushed
diff, gearbox and engine oils
oil filter
fuel filter
vanos filter
air filter
cabin filter
sparkplugs
test coilpacks
viscous fan or fit electric fan
check/replace belts-Done
clean afm
clean throttle bodies
clean icv
check valve clearances
get all sensors checked to make sure within range
vanos rebuild-done

So I went on the hunt for a E34 sedan as i love the shape. Managed to score the 540i sedan off joKer here on bimmersport.

Wasn't in the prettiest of shape but fixable. 

So on the hunt for parts to fix up the sedan and I see this comment on a trade me ad. Seller saying wheels were off a e34 540i touring and he was looking at selling that one day.

I hit him up and he's keen to sell. Nice I'm thinking to myself i have a complete car to strip parts from!

So long story short I pick up the touring and it is is such mint condition apart from sitting for 3 years. it would be an utter shame to wreck this beast.

So this is where i am now with a daily E34 540i sedan and rare E34 540i touring that i plan to 

New Plans

#̶1̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶v̶e̶r̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶u̶a̶l̶     #1   Daily E34 sedan - swap to m60b44 and convert to manual

#̶2̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶6̶0̶b̶4̶4̶ ̶s̶w̶a̶p̶   #2   Sunday driver E34 touring leave auto and m60b40 add supercharger

So currently both cars are running. 

Sedan just a general clean, got bonnet painted and fitted new from bumper.

The touring had a bit of work to get it going mainly a new fuel pump, drain old fuel, new oil, dry out the carpet and a good scrub.

Here are some picture of before and after of how both vehicles looked.

after pictures 

enjoy team.

So i'm a new member myself and thought i'd kill two birds with one stone and introduce myself. 

Names Richard and i'm here to share my journey with my dream car build.

Yes you read it right i am going to drop a v12 into the best shape ( my opinion ) bmw ever made. So i had purchased the v12 motor and auto box off trade me late 2015. Have also managed to find a rare 6 speed box that come out of the 850csi bmw that i had to get shipped from Britain. 

Treated myself to a nice New Zealand new 2000 manual 232i for my birthday earlier this year. Very nice looking with the factory 18inch mags and msport half leather seats and factory spoiler kit too.

So here the build begins.

over the 3day weekend i disassembled the engine to start cleaning parts for the rebuild. Had already took the heads off and sent to an engineering place to price up getting some custom cams and an ITB set up made. I also have a full new gasket set, head bolts and piston rings that will be replacing all the old stuff, a custom dry sump set up from the states as the oil pan had to be modified to fit the factory cross member. 

Here are a few picture of the motor in bits. 

feel free to pass on feed back or any advice team happy to share this build with you guys.

• Birds B1 Dynamics full kit - Bilsteins/springs/swaybars/quaife LSD (about time on the LSD front!)
• SuperPro Bushes on everything, including rear subframe, new spring pads/tophats/bumpstops/shock mounts/Meyle HD links etc etc and everything inbetween
• E92 M3 LCAs etc
• New SMF and Clutch, deleting the SAC and CDV, new centre bearing and guibos
• New Waterpump and thermostat (232k on the clock of the original, and got a canbus com error with it last week)
• Upgrade/Rebuild shifter

And decided to say F work for a few weeks and do it all in the carport  Might be a lil bit interesting pulling the gearbox with the car on jack stands. 

The only thing left to order is the tool for the subframe bushes, still screwing around with either just buying it (and probably selling it) or just making something. 

Pics to come! 

I’ve crated a page on Facebook so people can follow the rebuild and the journey to leadfoot in February 2020.

search for “Road to Leadfoot 2020” to find it if your interested in seeing the rebuild and on board video etc  rolled off the road at approximately 140kph.

https://www.facebook.com/BMWroadtoLeadfoot. Not sure if that’ll work?

Here’s a few photos of the damage...  about 80 days left to the big event!

Some history about how I came to fall in love with BMWs. I had recently sold a MK4 Golf and didn't have a huge budget which made trying to find a respectable car pretty tough. I had only really dealt with Japanese cars before the Golf (Toyota Surf>Mitsi Mirage>Nissan Skyline 300GT>EG civic>Mk4 Golf) and was always told to stay away from euros for their price of parts and unreliability.

My girlfriend however had an E46 and I couldn't believe how much car she got for so little money. I thought I'd risk it and venture out into the realm of old BMWs and see what $4k was able to get me on TradeMe. The 3 series was were I started to look as the 5s, 7s etc were out of my budget or if cheap enough would require a lot of work that my limited knowledge wouldn't cater for.  I wasn't keen on E36s as i thought they were too "bogan" or "hori" due to the examples I had seen (completely different story now). E46s were ok, coupes were expensive, sedans were a bit boring but super comfy. I then decided to go older and came across the E30. Holy carp. Those quad headlights. That boxy '80s shape. I researched and researched. Compiled a list of common faults and went out and viewed a couple. My checklist (so I thought) was fairly basic. Coupe, no sunroof due to the potential rust, manual, 4 cyl due to them being cheaper, white, <200kms, but most importantly a straight rust free body. I searched for a couple of months and was starting to get desperate. I had only come across rusty bodies, fiddled wiring, or cars that were just generally pretty badly beaten up. I then saw a post on facebook and headed out that night to view at a mall carpark. The misses and i saw it roll into the carpark and we couldn't help but to grin at the wee car. A quick look over showed that it was in good knick apart from the noisy lifters, ripped seats and gross wheels. I took it for a drive and then decided I wanted this car (June 2016).

Some history of the car. Built in June '90 and then sold in NZ by Team McMillan BMW in '91 as a NZ new 316i. Its a Bronzit Beige coupe that was about as poverty spec as it got. Manual, wind up windows, M40B16 engine, no sunroof, unpainted bumpers/mirrors etc, no spoiler, tan cloth interior. "Mr Black" the original owner, took good care of it by the looks with regular servicing carried out at the dealership. It was then sold through the family to his daughter where it most likely served as the boring daily driver. Somewhere along the line it had been purchased by the guy i was buying it off.

The car became my daily and I was absolutely in love. It was completely stock but people still stared at it. Then this weird thing happened... strangers were waving to me who happened to be sporting the same old german car. I started looking up club pages and found all the perfect examples for sale I had been looking for! Oh well, I was stuck with my beige four banger and couldn't have been happier. The noisy lifters started to be a bit of pain in the neck and was starting to get so noisy that people were no longer turning to look at the car, but were turning to look for the ticking time bomb. I researched into replacing the lifters but that soon became too expensive for what it was. I saw a build with a M52 but that was going to be WAY too hard and out of my league. Meanwhile the old M40 is starting to get REALLY loud. No amount of oil changes/additives were fixing it. I then looked into doing a M20 swap which seemed like a good idea, so i started down that track. Finding a good example however became quite hard and parts availability was also a concern with the ageing motor. Back to the M52 swap it was and many a night was spent seeing how hard it actually was. Thanks to the help of the forums and facebook I slowly started to accumulate the parts needed for the 24 valve swap.

Now I can start talking about the interesting stuff. Stage one was the donor car. I wanted a donor car as that would be the safest way to see the motor running plus i knew I'd be able to cannibalise parts off of it. I came across a cheap E36 328i that had went into limp mode. After some poking around I found that the cause for the limp mode was low transmission fluid due to a trans cooler leak that hadn't been looked at "after it stopped leaking" aka no more ATF. This would be the perfect car to pull apart and I didn't feel bad at all due to the poor interior/exterior condition (November 2016).

Perfect timing, while I'm at it I'll replace all the gear shifter bushes as well.

Can you guess what these are. Big thanks to Rockwell for saving me so close to Christmas

Bolt layout and sizes, I spent 3hrs with torch on head, mirror in mouth lying on back towards the rear of the car trying to get the top left bolt out (miss info from net on size)

The 14mm at 9 o'clock was pain 5 shops and I couldn't find a wobble head to work. Had to really lower the engine even more. 

Looking up her skirt

Secondary air pump oil leak (gone now)

Rod bearings replaced and ARP bolts installed, the old shells had approx 100k on them but looked fine.

Dismantled the oil pump, no sign off wear.  

Don't forget to pack it full with vaseline so it's primed if you don't it may not pick up the oil in the sump. Remove fuel pump fuse or remove coil pack so the car won't fire/start. 

Starting the car for the first time was the most terrifying part, turn the car over for 5-7 seconds approx 6-10 times and breath again when you see the oil pressure get to a safe level.(remembering I have an oil pressure gauge installed)   

Lower chain tensioner wear, decided while it's open I'll replace it. while waiting for the new part to arrive.

I grabbed front and rear reinforcement plate kits I had and welded them in.

Below the old and the new, as well as the tool I made for removing and installing the clip shown. A piece of flat bar, shaped as you see to remove, slotted on top to install second picture down.

On the net the DIYs say that the front cover has to be removed. I did mine from underneath, it is tight up there. 

Here's the trick the metal springs/lever is actually two levers separate them and have a look. Put it back together, but.

Leave the low one out 60% but so it's still under the other.  Install the bracket on the pin and manipulate/slide the upper lever into place.  

Once the upper lever is in place you just have to push the second lever up and it's guided into place by the first lever...............  The will make sense I promise 

Feb 2015

Dual pickup fuel pumps, along the lines of the Pumpkin setup. 

This pump sit in the passenger side tank with the engine return feeding into the filter. This pump then feeds fuel to the engine pickup pump sump. 

Finished product, does it work as of 2017 I haven't had a chance to see. Just some notes after multiple attempts at trying to get the fuel gauge to work constantly I gave up.

It works most of the time, but now I also use the trip meter as a back up.    

Brought a 20 ton press

New Ball joints for my front control arm, they deserve them after 170km

Nov 2015

235 x 40 x 17 R888  (god I love the smell of new rubber)

Jan 2016

Made myself a String Alignment Box,  why New Tie Rods

Digital C/C Gauge w AccuLevel™ and Quick Set™ LW Adapter

Bottom line ..... if I had a pit it would be great, my car is to low for me to adjust the toe without jacking. Easier just to take it to an Alignment shop.

Jun 2016

After my weak performances at Hampton Downs in Jan & Feb driver training, I gave up trying to diagnose the problem.

Booked into Gavin's he's the man, he did his magic and now we've cracked the 200 (ye baby)

2017 update got a chance to get back on HD now because of conditions no lap records were set but, I ran out of 3rd gear leading up to the big sweeper and changed into 4th only a quarter of the way up the hill on the front straight. But interestingly still only managed 193km at end of the front straight taken from GPS (speedo read 200km)

Package from Ground Control, upgraded to adjustable Race inserts and a pair of adjustable rear control arms. 

Now you know why, both the front and rear passenger side shocks were leaking

During the changeover I found this a small crack, I believe it is from me adjusting the camber and with the camber plate sitting on that weld it gave way.

I've ground down the weld, but I wasn't allowed to do the repair welding as the expert didn't trust me.

I found my old tower reinforcement plates and modified them to allow for full camber adjustment. Why didnt do this previously I don't know 

Aug 2017

RallyRoad front strut bar and rear end Black Powerflex bushes.

RallyRoad strut bar installed not the 5 min job I thought. Needed to order the special nuts and had to trim them as they sat proud. (sorry the part # for the nuts is missing forum change platforms and lost most of my writeups)

Rear end removed, time to install the Powerflex Black Bushes

Tried the drilling out.............smelly and messy

Went back to the 20 ton press, gave up the first time because of some of the fun angles and packing I tried seemed dangerous.

Second time was just as scary, I hid round the corner a few times. 

When fitting the GC adjustable control arms, I needed to adjust both the lower bush and the control arm opening so it didn't bind.

Replaced my boot loom, don't remember what I had in the write up sorry.

Thanks to Dave (M3AN) as I said to you didn't need to provide me with a new loom but it is appreciated. 

Sep 2016

I know it's not Christmas or did it just come early. But these were listed on Trademe for the second time this time I had to have them.

Recaro CS Sportsters full leather, heat........................

Weight saving only 12kgs total

As these are not standard BMW E36 M3 seats here in NZ you need to get any modification Certified, including my rear adjustable control arms.

The first certifier I went to was a total num nuts. His requirements, required me sending numerous emails to recaro germany, spending days fabbing up slider releases (which I got to work)

But I was still 15mm short of exist distance on the drivers side and germany wasn't helping with the other request removal of airbags.

In the end I rang Wellington spoke to LVVTA, then went to another certifier all the above was a waste of time and stress. If it doesn't sound right just call Wellington it's worth it.

Just for the record no 95% of aftermarket seat mounts/sliders are not certified, which means you cannot mount your safety belts to them.

All modifications Certified, I got my little piece of paper and cert plaque riveted in my engine bay  

Below give you an idea of what's required, you will need to go to LVV site download the H template and instructions to work out your individual seat belt receiver location and height.  

Lower/Upper Plates were from Auckland Seat Belts, in Glenfield. They sell them as a kit.

Needed a spacer

H points marked

Airbag occupancy light removal: no dash light, air bags are always active.

March 2017

During regular maintenance back 2016, I came across some oil in my Plenum.

So for Christmas I got a ECS oil catch can

So decided to remove the plenum, check the throttle butterflies and install the ECS oil catch.

(You may also notice the Power pulleys from ECS as well, but they manufactured for TMS which don't fit Euros. Well the power steering does and is now fitted.)  

On inspection 1-2-3 were dirty but 4-5-6 butterflies were a real mess. Throttle body cleaner and toothbrush to the rescue. The vanish in 4-5-6 was impossible to remove.  

Location of catch can

 I cleaned the IRV and oil separator, replacing the hose # 5 as it was very mushy. As you can see I have left the OS in place and have just added the catch can inline.

Routing the hoses was fun setting the hose clips, so they didn't rub or impede putting the plenum back on took a couple of tries. 

This was a resolute of plastic fatigue  not a hose clip for a coolant hose on the back of the plenum and me having too much spinach.

Many thanks to Aronn for sending up his spare. Means I'm driving my baby 7 days early.  

Installed, will update after a few Kms, late April update I have not removed the lower canister, but after approx 700ks and a driver training day there is no sign of oil on the dipstick.

At the last monthly coffee meet, I mentioned to the guys that even though I loved the sound of my car. I was driving like a nanny because it drew to much attention.

Here's my first attempt, start with the tail pipe got some silencer packing cut it to fit the inside made a cage and slipped it in. I couldn't get the cage to fold nicely around the ends so just cut out a panel and fitted it in.

Result: did take the edge of the exhaust tone. UPDATE..... April 2017 driver training, blow the cage and packing out of the tail pipe

Next idea, now I know that Scorpion exhausts are guaranteed for life but mines dated 23-99 so I thought maybe the silencer/sound packing had maybe disintegrated.

I did some research ordered  3 x Acousta-Fil Boa bags from GB @ $18 each NZ, $100 with delivery.(once again NZ company did themselves out of a sale $69 a bag)

A bag of 35mm stainless steel plugs and borrowed a mini camera.

Here's where I'm going in

I couldn't believe how much packing I got out, took a couple of hours. I had to make up some hook tools. So much for the silencer packing being disintegrated  

Used all three bags, inserted the plug with some high temperature silicone.  

June

Was looking at CAE & RTD shifters online a month ago. Then blow me down a RTD was put up for sale on here... Couldn't help myself.

Spent some time trying to contact the manufacturer. So I could buy the RTD DSSR ,spoke with John he recommended just going with UUC.

Installing was a PITA only because I know better than most (right) and installed both pieces with the exhaust and drive shaft still in place.  

It's tight under there and the tolerances are also amazing. I needed to remove the gear selector input shaft joint and sand the bush slightly to get fit the DSSR to fit.

Reinstalled the DSSR, then spent a couple of hours trying to get the DSSR and RTD lower arm to match up for the connecting pin I could get it within 1.5mm

I ended up making a temp pin approx 0.5 smaller with the leading edge chamfered.   Got it back together went for a drive but got the first base location wrong couldn't get into 2,4,6th.

The bolt on the hazard light end of the base only just catches the base plate. The OEM knob sits slightly skewed to the left. 

Time for a drive up around the bays, interesting totally different from standard very precise you need to shift quickly when I shifted at a leisurely pace I'd get lost  

Drivers training in 2 weeks need to work on the muscle memory till then  

Driver training  after a dozen emergency braking exercises  I once again lost 2nd, 4th and 6th gear. On inspection I cannot tell if the units base has moved.

I'm guessing as the fixing locations are maxed out, once things hot up it moves outside of useable tolerance. 

July

Keeping to my philosophy of there must be an easier way............... e.g. not removing exhaust, driveshaft etc to remove shifter

Tools I adapted to reach nuts from inside the cabin. With the base in place.         Marks on tunnel not centred misaligned offset to the left

I forgot to take photos, one day.

So the plan was as above extend both top slots and angle them slightly to centre base, just slotted them as above.

Didn't extend the sides but extended the rear nose (now a closed in slot) and have had washers and nut bases welded together to reinforce the tunnel sheet metal. Upsized the nuts and bolts to from 6mm to 8mm. Also made reassembly from inside the cabin a breeze. I have only cruised around Devo, but changing gear, finding gears is much easier. But won't know if the reason I did this works till some spirited driving is done.   (see update below)

Dec 2017

Coolant flush and new thermostat.

29th Dec driver training.

Good stuff first, RTD shifter is superb. I love it .

As always 1st session was just a shake down, second session pushed a little harder 1.19:5 but then 

sad to say only lasted 1/4 of the 3rd session before this happened

Damaged my radiator, rad shroud, fan and oil cooler lines. Waiting now on parts

These arrived today Vibra-Technics BMW362MX 

Removed Poly Engine mounts

Well a picture or two are worth a thousand words: No heat shield to speak of (top right), the poor old passengers side bolt & plate have moved under the strain.

New parts in waiting, over the top heat shield for drivers side engine mount. Think I'm going to have to strap it in place.

Feb 2018

Installed finally, engine mounts, uprated heat shield drivers side, oil cooler pipes(4wk wait) radiator including mounts, vent pipe, fan and shroud.

As a precaution after the failure of the engine mounts, I loosened the gearbox cross member and gearbox mounts and re-adjusted them.

May

New Crankshaft sensor

August 

Driver training on Sat 11th at Hampton Downs was existing to say the least.

New Best Lap 1.17.65

On the next lap this happened at the turn in of Turn 4, poor RacingBrake.com couldn't handle it.

The RacingBrake front rotor exploded.

So after contacting RacingBrake.com again, I received no reassurances from RB as to the quality of their product.

Hell, they didn't even reply to my requested for an invoice for Oil and Dust seal kits so I could recondition my calipers.

October 2018

So the quest began, as my existing calipers and brackets fit my wheels. The need to buy a full new front BBK wasn't a requirement, I only needed to decide on the rotor size (existing 328x28) and buy new hats.

 I've decided to go with APRacing CP3580-2900, 330x28. As always buying from oversea looked good, but shipping, gst and the exchange rate bumped the price up considerably. So I approached Aaron from Race Brakes NZ and the prices was competitive. ( update ) After receiving the hats, I received a VAT refund. So if you minus VAT of the rotor price/costs. Importing would have cheaper.

The hats were going to be a one off and there would be a min of 6 weeks wait if I was lucky. So I contacted AP in Britain, they recommended BG Developments in the UK who said they should be shipped in 2-3 weeks. (Took 3 1/2 wks) I wanted my car back on the road, so even though it was more expensive, I put time over cost.  .

Old Rotor and hat ........6.4 Kgs (a side)

AP Rotor and hat .........6.7 Kgs

Also replaced the front brake lines.

Reconditioning my front calipers myself didn't work out 1 piston on the passenger side leaked, 2 on the drivers side.

Advanced Seals and SVS in Albany are making up a new full set of Dust and Pressure seals.

Nov 2018

I installed both sets of seals only to find that the dust seals lip was to thick so I couldn't insert the pistons.

All sorted.    

Full fluid change, diff, gearbox and engine.

Feb 2019

Replaced my twin coby SLC10 with SLC16 approx 6 decibels quieter.

March 

Tried and failed to de-stress my front rotors at 11.00pm on the Northern motorway doing a dozen 100kmh to 50kmh hard braking trying to get the rotors to 435F or 225C

De-stressed my front rotors at Pukie on the 9th,

Purple steering rack installed (thanks Dave M3an)

New PS Reservoir, (looking forward to putting it in ) as I'm replacing my rear SS brake lines decided to renew the caliper bush guides as well.

Changing my silver pedal set to black 

June

Driver Training Hampton Downs, the new rack was nice it was also nice to complete just about a full day.

Fuel starvation raised it head again during the last session (Turn 1 & 2) approx 20 litres still left in the tank.

New time 1.17.165

July 

Driver Training Hampton Downs,  only change replaced my front pads Hawk DTC 70 with DTC 60

New time 1.17.01     (I'm back )

August 2019

Custom J Hook Machined Reyland Motorsport 7.2kg each

September 2019

A set of Aluminium doors   (Thanks to M3an for the heads up) 

Aluminium Door 13.3kgs with Window regulator attached.

New Fuel flap, clips and fasteners. Turtle Laboratories door card repair brackets

Aluminium Door 13.3kgs with Window regulator attached.

Steel Door  20.0kgs with Window regulator attached.

6.7kgs saving per door

        Oct 28

As you can see from the timeline there has been some delays. I started on the passengers door  swapping over the internals, adjusted the door alignment and window. Tried to install the weather strip clamps, first problem steel doors are 2mm thick, Alloy doors 3mm. Thanks to M3an, Dave used his vin in Realoem and found an extra part number. During this time I start dismantling the Driver door only to find, when my drivers door window was replaced the repairer had rounded the two countersunk screws that hold the glass to the rear track slide. The the door handle chassis had broken in the usual places and the door handle cover had been glued in place..........      So a second lot of parts were required and received.  Missing from the photo is the new drivers side door handle.

As for re-installing everything: I needed extra shims for the hinges, I found that because of the extra thickness of the alloy panels, I had to file down the door handle pin body location so the clip would slid onto the pin. Also the door handle cover top claws needed a light file to widen the opening.   

Below Steel v Alloy door clamp (Part # 51418187492)

Nov

So I received some advice about installing the door bump strips. Unlike steel doors where you just line the clips with the holes and whack them with the ball of your palm, with alloy doors you need to support the skin from the inside (so you don't install the door cards) and of course the skin is slightly thicker than steel.

Well what I thought would be a 15min job took a bit longeeeeer. She who must be obeyed was not impressed. As we struggled with the last clip on each end of the doors. I tried supporting, but the internal frame shape...., grabbing them with pliers and melting a hole, threading a wire and pulling, removing the condom to no avail.

Here's how I got it to fitted, install the green plug and also install the condoms and white clips in the holes at each end of the doors. Let's revise this, worked on one door the other had popped out overnight.

What a Btch, broke 4 new clips had to use 1 of my old ones on the drive side below the door handle it was a PITA. But finally got it.(Famous last words)

Install the rest of the clips onto the Bump Strip as normal.

Get your helper with the hole support, ( I used a 13mm socket on a 200mm extension).

Start from the middle and work your way out to the ends, using the ball of your palm.

This is my 1989 BMW E30 coupe project.  I've built cars my whole life, and this one is #68 of those I've owned.   

I'd spent 4 years pursuing a coupe, particularly a non-sunroof facelift version.   I finally found this on Facebook and after a quick drive I bought it in December 2018.

Prior to this was an E46 coupe that I ZF manual swapped - which was awesome, but plagued me with electrical headaches.  So I wanted something simpler to work on, but with the same drivetrain....queue the E30!
 

The Plan

Originally it was going to be a facelift M3 body swap. After working out costs (even performing the bodywork myself),  I moved to an Mtech2 goal   However as this project has now cost way more than originally planned, I've subsequently sold the MTech2 kit to progress finishing it off as is and enjoy it.

In a way it suits the original car better.  It is / was a 318i base model, with only electric windows, a/c and pop out rear windows - a nice, simple car!

I always wanted an M54B30 and ZF to go in it, so that's what's happened.  Just, a little more complicatedly than expected.

I've decided that I need another E30 in my life, and this time I planning to do it right.

Rewind to 6 weeks ago, some friends and I are having a few drinks on a Friday evening. One friend was browsing facebook and mentioned that he found a '96 328i factory manual for sale. Only $1000 he said. This sounded too good to be true....and it was...sorta...

The car was water damaged - I'm not 100% on the details, but something something Dunedin floods. Surely if it's a factory manual, the manual parts alone would be worth the money and effort. 

I thought about it for a while, and then tried to convince myself that it was a stupid idea and to forget about it...I failed. I called the guy, and told him I would take the car and pick it up tomorrow. The car was located in a wreckers yard in Dunedin. I managed to persuade a friend of mine with access to a car trailer and shop to make the trek from Christchurch down to Dunedin with me the next morning.

Jumping forward a couple of days and this is my view: 

After decoding the VIN number of the car, it turned out the car was actually a factory automatic and must've been converted at some point.
We started tearing into the car, and it quickly be came evident that, yes, this car was very water damaged. A thin layer of silt covered everything.

As we dug deeper, things started to look worse (not unexpectedly). We found water sitting atop cylinder 1's intake valves, but 2-6 all looked perfectly fine. Draining the sump resulted in roughly 10L of water with mixed about 6L of chocolate milk...not great.

Further investigation found that the car has a ZF 310 5 speed transmission, an OEM 328i dual-mass flywheel + clutch. Cool, at least the conversion looks like it was done properly.

At this point I still hadn't decided what I wanted with to the parts from this car, But I'd been looking for a project car, and I felt I needed another E30 in my life.

As it turned out, my friend's father has this little beauty that he's willing to sell.

It's by no means perfect, but it's a straight, rust free, registered, '89 318i automatic coupe in my favourite colour (Delphin grey).
A good starting point for my project E30.

Jumping back to the present, I've pulled the engine and drivetrain out of the 328. The engine is sitting on a stand, and I intend on stripping it down and rebuilding it.

Once it's ready, I plan to swap it into the E30 with the manual transmission. From there I plan to do new suspension, med-case LSD, wheels + tyres, and general tidying up. Eventually I would like to have the car's paint redone as it's a little rough in places.

Looking at the task at hand, I know I have a fair bit of work ahead of me. But I'm ready for the challenge!

Any help finding the various 24v swap components would be great.

• I know I need the sump, oil pickup, dipstick, and throttle cable from a 525i E34.
• Not 100% on what to do about the brake booster, although moving it over a bit seems like the easiest solution.
• The water-damaged ECU is toast, so I need a new one. I would like to keep OBD2. Thinking of getting a (red-label?) ECU and having it flashed (EWS delete, rear O2 delete, M50 manifold, maybe even a higher redline?)
• E28 535i engine mounts seem to be the way to go, although I've read mentions of an additional spacer is required?
• Subframe reinforcement is also something I want to do.
• I would like to use as much of the 328i's factory exhaust as possible as it's still in good condition. Not sure how much of a plain it would be to chop it up.
• I want to use the E36 radiator and do an electric puller fan conversion.

Recently picked up a 1994 NZ New E36 M3 from Christchurch and drove it back up to Auckland. I wasn't specifically looking for one as I had been building an E36 328i for the track but when it comes down to it the 328i will never be as good as an M3. The S50 is an amazing engine and I've missed my old M3 (and the ones before that..)  ever since I sold it/them. Being a 1994 the car started life as a PFL 3.0 M3 but in circa 2012, it underwent a transformation which includes the updated and superior S50B32, 6 speed 420G, steering rack, arms, brakes, cluster and interior all from a donor with 90,000km. From what I can see, the only things that remain PFL include a medium case diff, climate control, steering wheel and colour (Avus blue). I still haven't worked out what the car is in my mind- a frankenstein M3? 'M3 evo'? ultimate 'PFL M3'? I want to say its an evo but I know that's not strictly correct so I guess its just an M3. 

List of things that I may or may not end up doing:

Motor
-Rebuild vanos unit (Seals, rattle kit etc)
-Change spark plugs.
-10W-60 oil change.
-Carbon fiber intake plenum (Dreaming a little..)
-VAC secondary air pump delete kit.
-VAC underdrive pulley kit.
-Clean up ICV, PCV and throttle bodies. 
-Replace perished vacuum lines. Everything checked out after close inspection

Drivetrain
-Fluid change on gearbox
-Single mass flywheel and clutch kit (one which doesn't chatter at idle)
-Replace shifter bushes
-Fluid change on diff
-Repaint diff
-Braided clutch line

Brakes
-Rebuild calipers (Back right sticks slightly)
-Replace rotors 
-Replace pads
-Fluid change

Suspension/ chassis
-Powerflex LCA's
-Powerflex RTABs
-Powerflex camber arms
-X brace
-Front and rear strut braces 
-Shock tower reinforcement plates
-Coilovers?

Cosmetic/Misc.
-Fog lights
-Refurb wheels
-GT front splitter
-Cut and polish
-Replace window rubbers
-M3 evo steering wheel

Here are some pics anyway. So far the only real thing I've done is wash it and take the hideous wheels off. The engine bay needs a lot of loving. Currently borrowing some DS1s from. @atlantiskiwi

So its been a pretty painful couple months for me. Working around the E30 rally build, it all started to get a bit tough, suspension, rust, lack of information on rally builds etc the finish line just kept getting pushed out further and further. So after doing a bit of research into what the rally boys in the UK are doing, I've stored the E30 and got my hands on a 318ti to start a new build which will be alot easier. The E30 will be resurrected one day in one form or another.

I picked up the compact from Mad-Max on Saturday and started stripping all the interior out. The engine & gearbox had already been removed which made life a bit easier

The good news, is all the parts that I've bought apart from the M3 front guard and boot with spoiler can transfer straight across, and fit alot easier. The same engine gearbox, M52b28 with the ZF box out of the donar car will be dropped in. Need to swap my sump back over. If anyone wants a sump to convert their E30 hit me up, I've also got some 24v Revshift engine mounts I don't need anymore.

Partslist:

• Group 4 Escort Bilstein coilovers
• R33 GTST 4 pot fronts & 2 pot rears, with standard 328i rear caliper for the hydro handrake. Will use 328 discs
• M52b28 with ZF gearbox
• Single mass flywheel & clutch (to source)
• Alloy Radiator & Oil cooler
• 188mm LSD with 4:27 gearset with double ear cover
• Homemade-special shortshifter, based on the CAE shifter (need to finish)
• Hydro Handrake (to source)
• Msport front & rear bumbers (to source)
• Multi point roll cage, seats, belts etc etc

The plan is to have the car running minus the cage for a autocross in Feb, could be an uphill battle but I'm hoping I can make it. I'll be running a version of the old Benson & Hedges liveries, converted to Fences & Hedges.

Cheers,

So as previously mentioned in the intro page I'm building an E30 coupe rally car. Basically turning this...

Into this...

Some of you will notice what I based the livery off.

The aim is to have a car that looks like a gravel spec M3, unfortunately without the $$$$$s14. Engine wise, I was hoping to get my hands on a S50b32, but might settle on going down the M52 route for a start so I can get the car running sooner. It will be running a 5 stud conversion with group4 escort bilstein coilovers in the rear, with hybrid group4 escort/E36 front coilovers.

I have most off these bits, just a few little bits to finish them off. Brakes are from a R33 Gtst skyline, basically the biggest brakes I could get to fit inside a 15" rim, apart from going to APs etc.

And today some M3 panels arrived...

I'm going down the steel panel route due to gravel destroying fibreglass. Finding the bits will take awhile, but I'm set on doing it.

The car is stripped right out, ready to go onto the rotisserie to start stripping the underseal off, and cage build.

Took the motor out and stripped it down, will take the head's to the engineer shop tomorrow

for crack testing.

it wont be a fast project but we will c how it goes.

I was on the hunt for a genuine M325i for a long time and found this beauty its had an extensive service history and came with 17inch Alpina (Kopi Rep) wheels.It may look familiar to some of the older members as it was CRZARBs (Atta’s) car.

Enjoy the photos  

Rough list of things which need addressing:

• Exterior: peeling clear coat, few dents, few small rust spots
• Interior: seats, door trims, roof lining, a really good clean
• Engine seems healthy, although wanting to upgrade later down the line
• Mechanical list of things pending WoF

Wish me luck!

Purchased in Jan 2014 as my daily driver it has been getting attention in fits and starts over the years as time has allowed, and for the past few years was relegated to weekend driver with the purchase of a sturdy Toyota TownAce 60HP diesel (now gone)

My main goals with the car are to ensure everything works exactly as it should, keeping it looking original, with mild upgrades (it's a convertible after all) & modernisation as things are given attention.

Plans (I'll make a post for each in this thread):

-Refresh cooling system/timing belt replacement - Completed May 2014
-Replace convertible roof fabric/seals - Completed Apr 2015
-Fix electro-mechanical folding mechanism - Completed Dec 2016
-Replace all suspension/bushing components - Completed Apr-May 2019 (Special thanks to Nathan (zero))
-Rebuild diff (+mild upgrade - Z3 torsen... while you're in there eh?) - May 2019 (Kayne Barrie Motorsport)
-Rebuild head - TBC, planned Jan 2020 (slow oil leak from head gasket down block... a case of while your in there - no coolant mixing/ loss or compression issues)
-Convert AC to R134a - TBC (all parts sourced)
-Audio upgrade - TBC (CD43 - E36 CD player for something tasteful in the dash, small inline Alpine amp + Bluetooth adapter sourced)
-Install new alarm system - TBC (and tidy loom behind dash from butchered install of old ?Dynatron system)
(Above 3 to happen concurrently with dash out)
-??? Re-dye leather (keeping original patina) - TBC
-??? E46 rack swap - TBC (purple tag sourced - still pondering whether I want to make this change, considering certification requirements)
-??? Respray (same colour) - TBC

The car was had many small issues when I got it - see post:

Original build sheet (pretty well spec'd, NZ new, 'special request' is the high-stop on the boot):