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Very recently collected an Orient Blue E46 318i built 03/04/2001. Another very late M43-engined model. Low(ish) kms at 140000, 12 months WoF, 3 months rego. Prepped for us by the thoroughly wonderful Andy P ( @_ethrty-Andy_ ) . Drove nicely on the way up from Wellington, but not before giving us a bit of a scare in the Welly CBD when it dropped some coolant - coolant was running from under the car, and could be seen pooling on top of the expansion tank, under the hose and cap. ? We think this was due to the expansion tank cap not being quite tightened down far enough but that's difficult to tell as the cap insert stayed in the tank when I tried to remove it. I've seen this happen several times before - design fault? Or me having too big hands? - so we'll get a new one. I was able to tighten the 'empty' cap on to the insert in the tank, and there were no more leaks. Getting it apart may be more fun, but I'll sort it. Only other issue was a suspected dodgy thermostat. Temperature rose nicely to show as a vertical needle on the gauge, then after 50km or so started to drop. I don't like that - having had some coolant drop, and having seen this happen with low coolant, it was a bit of a concern. Stopped, checked under bonnet, but no sign of any leaks. Kept a close eye on it and the needle came back up to normal again. It did this a few times on the trip back, even dropping just below quarter at one point, but no warning lights. I'll get a new thermostat. The previous owner was one of those drivers who'd use 'touch' parking, but we'll not be worrying about that. Looks like they were hit in the rear quarter, or backed into something reasonably hard, at some point - the rear bumper has burst off the mounting rails. Should be an easy fix. All four corners have been somewhat 'modified'. Still... It's for a student and if that's as bad as it gets, I'll be surprised. Interior is tidy. Seats are all good, but the door pockets have had something melt in them at some point. Yuck. So. Nice car. Nothing unexpected and we're happy. Time for Dad to start sorting some of the little problems. Lots of little pieces missing. Nothing of significance, and I'll pick them up from someone breaking an E46 (M43) or from Brent @BM WORLD, Kerry at Mosen, or wherever. I'll clean up the corners and do what I can to make sure they don't rust. Oil and filter changes, engine and gearbox, obviously. Now... one of the things I've found with this car that I've not seen with others we've had is that it still has all the emission control - air pump gubbins in place. I doubt it's doing any harm, but it's not really necessary... Any gotchas with removing it? A good clean and polish, and she'll be a'right.

31 Oct 2018. 258,177kms ... more small stuff. I got the rear ARB and hardware ready for install, found my M8 tap (to chase out the factory holes), and got my tools ready for tomorrow. EDIT: A little more on anti-roll bar bar prep. The few spots of scab rust on the bar (to be expected of any used ARB) were treated as follows: clamp bar in vise with soft jaws strip rust using flap-disc in angle grinder, feathering out the edges treat rust (I used CRC Rust Converter) when ready (nice blue-black finish), paint. I used Rustolleum all-in-one Black Gloss spraypaint. About $20 at Bunnings. Thin coat, flash off, another thin coat. I repeated three times with about 15 mins between coats, in a warm-ish workshop (not following the instructions to the letter, mind). The paint flowed-out nicely, didn't run, and hardened nicely. It blends in well with the factory epoxy finish, too. Result! I hadn't even bothered to prep the bar with scotch-brite! I tested the used radiator Jon had kindly lent me (sale or return). My dreamt-up test rig worked, though sadly the rad failed. Leaking at the seam between LH side tank and core, at 15psi. Hey ho, perhaps I'll need to get a new 'un. My better half is now teasing me that surely I'd already exhausted the parts budget for this car? ? Question: Where's the best source in NZ, folks? 17111719024 for M40-powered Manual Trans e30? Here's an image of my test rig. Tyre Tube with hose clamps around apertures, pressure cap on tank, schrader valve on one inlet. Fill rad and test for leaks. Bicycle pump gentle part-strokes up to 10PSI, then slowly to 20psi (the cap's rated pressure - 1.4bar). It made it to 15PSI. Oh well, at least I didn't install in the car then learn. So I guess I should buy a new one. Wish me luck for tomorrow, rear bar install.

Holy jebus that's an amazing build. The story that goes with it is great too, proper enthusiast stuff, not just cheque book building.

Hi a number of you may have seen this car for sale a couple of months back. It's been pretty much out of sight for some years but is known to a few people and once again is back on the road with me as its third owner. #328 was NZ new and has just clocked up 116k km. If I have this right in 1991-ish the ACS wheels and body kit were fitted and the engine was given a healthy dose of Dinan "love and attention" upping its performance ... Mileage at that time was approx 80k km. There is no evidence of repair or rust, it's very original and except for the OBC everything works. As I understand it the same guys (guru's) have serviced and looked after it all their lives, which I find particularly cool. That said it's needed a little recommissioning , new tires have transformed it, leather rejuvenation has made it look like new inside along with a few bits and pieces. The biggest ticket item being a NOS AC radiator. Next week it's booked in to spend sometime with a couple of the well known BMW guru's being dyno''d. I'll let you know how it goes. Regards Julian

Had this el-cheapo Brace turn up ~9 weeks after ordering on eBay today too, appears to fit too!

I used a similar expanding foam product to fix my ACS front lip on the E36 after I drove over it. Worked a treat! Put 90% of the front end back together over the weekend, replaced smashed/cracked fog lights in the process. New 635i radiator for the E30 arrived today! Fitted and warmed up the engine before finding various leaks from sensors etc...worst being from the thermostat housing so rad will have to come back out again to get the housing off and resealed

Forgot it had that. Probably about the only good thing about it ?

Japanese imports always have the air injection systems fitted. For removal you will need a blanking plate for the exhaust manifold (either bought one or fabricated) and some vacuum line. I did have a spare plate one lying around and will have a quick look to see if i can find it.

25, M Coupes (hardtop) 1998 - 2 1999 - 12 2000 -7 2001 - 3 2002 - 1

Oh, and PS: come to e30 Mega Meet!

Looks like 53 E39 M5s road registered as of Sep 2018. 1998 - 0 1999 - 16 2000 - 11 2001 - 12 2002 - 9 2003 - 5

^ Note, all NZ new E46 M3's are registered as "M3 Coupe Manual" even if they are SMG.

Got some of that expanding Gorilla foam to fill the void between the top and bottom pieces of my new race car splitter - to give it extra strength and rigidity without adding too much weight. Well - F#$k me that stuff goes everywhere!! Over estimated how much I needed to put in by about 300% so nearly all of it came out when I squeezed the two halves together. Then proceeded to do some kind of old school comedy act of getting stuck to everything as I tried to tape the two halves together. I should have filmed it for YouTube to show how not to do it. But now it has cured and hardened off I am pleased with the end result. Still nice and light, and much much stiffer. Just got to work out where to put the slots (to allow for adjustment) and then I can put the CF wrap over the top to make it look like a bought one!!