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BozzaFC

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Posts posted by BozzaFC


  1. 165,823 kms. 

    Finished off the annual clean by cleaning and conditioning the leather and thoroughly wiping and vacuuming the interior. She is properly clean now!

    After spending over seven hours cleaning the E36 I spent about five minutes cleaning myself. That must mean I’ve got my priorities right!

    Also noticed it’d been 5,000kms since the last oil change, so did a quick oil & filter change this afternoon. Something about having a clean car with a fresh oil change feels so good. Reset the service light and ready to roll. 


    CA6FE10F-5B49-4E60-B16F-9A0E763E69A3.thumb.jpeg.9461d5b5631ec35457f9323e0657c2b6.jpeg

    And to top it all off, I finally replaced the most annoying thing on the car - an upside down M sticker! This was embarrassingly satisfying. 

    Before:

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    After:

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    • Like 3

  2. 165,820 kms. 

    After getting sick of being hit in the head everytime I had the bonnet up, I installed new bonnet struts over the weekend. What a difference! Such a cheap upgrade. 

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    I also got time to do the annual detail of the E36. Wash, clay bar, wash again, polish and sealant using Autoglym products. Montreal Blue really is stunning when clean. 

    It always surprises me how different it looks in different lights too:

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    • Like 2

  3. I also replaced the broken driver’s side rear quarter window with one of @M3AN’s spares. Now all of the window seals are looking fresh and watertight 👍.

    But it’s never plain sailing with these cars - when I was driving home to Whanganui for Christmas, the air duct / belly pan under the engine decided it didn’t like the E36 any more and fell off. Given these aren’t visible and are ~$200 new, does anyone have advice for where to find a nice used belly pan? 

    • Like 2

  4. 165,360 kms. 

    Transformed the front end with two new Michelin PS5 tyres. The level of grip on these things is immense! Will upgrade the rears post suspension refresh.


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    Replaced the faulty passenger door lock actuator. A frustrating but deeply satisfying upgrade!

    • Like 5

  5. 163,217 kms.

    Long-time no post!

    I’m still loving the little E36. It has been so good to me and puts a smile on my face every time I thrash drive it. Living in Kelburn and working / studying in the CBD means that I rarely have a reason to take it out of the garage (except for the weekly grocery shop), but I often find myself driving it just for the sake of it. 

    Updates since last time

    • Replaced the original perished windscreen cowl / cracked windscreen / old wiper blades

    Before

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    After

    IMG_4699.thumb.JPG.7afe65e14ffca49141b9bfbebaf3e7e0.JPG

    • Replaced broken fog light bracket (absolute pain to change!) and fog light bulbs
    • Dent Magician removed a couple minor door dings (ding free now)
    • Brake upgrade – installed E46 330i front brakes and 328i rear brakes / new brake pads / new rotors / rebuilt calipers /  fresh brake fluid
    • Basic maintenance (Oil changes, filters etc)

    IMG_3812.thumb.jpg.8be6ac38fbe35ade0e53749d62f64e3f.jpg

    • Couple WOFs, including the obligatory “she’s pretty tidy” as the inspector hands back my keys
    • Fixed squeaky seat and steering wheel
    • Replaced rubber gaskets around both rear quarter windows. [Until I screwed up the driver's side when I was reinstalling the window – I over-tightened the b-pillar bolt and snapped it in half. Unfortunately, the window is designed so that the bolt is glued to the glass. I think the best step forward is to find a replacement rear quarter glass. Any ideas?]
    • Regular cleaning, finishing with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection
    • Multiple road trips, from Waihau Bay over the summer break to a recent trip with the BMW Club to Castlepoint, without any issues. Surprisingly, it hasn’t used a single drop of oil in my ownership and doesn’t leave any puddles in my garage (in stark contrast to my previous E39 540i)

    Chocolate Fish with the BMW Club (photo credit to @TermiPeteNZ)

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    (Photo credit to @adro)

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    Castlepoint with the BMW Club

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    Southward Car Musem Coffee and Cars

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    Summer road trip to Waihau Bay

    IMG_7844.thumb.jpg.4479d78061919364efd7c4fd97c0482c.jpg

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    • Featured in the BMW Club Dixi magazine

    Me, an amateur model (photo credit to @Olaf)

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    • Been naughty

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    To do (short – medium term)

    To do (longer term)

    • Manual swap
    • Rebuild and install purple tag steering rack
    • Repaint front bumper
    • Replace scraped front spoiler
    • Paint correction.
    • Like 7

  6. I remember it being on the market for a long time for a ridiculous (about $20k?) price. The previous owner obviously spent way too much on the paint job / conversion, realised it needed the same amount again in mechanical work, and tried to recoup his losses. 

    I wouldn’t touch it, personally. 

    • Like 3

  7. On 1/4/2022 at 5:50 PM, leonf said:

    Welcome, Boston.  Amazing to me that the Alfa was a write off with that damage.  I'm guessing its value was not too high, and we all know the cost of repairs in this country is horrendous.  All it really means is there are a lot of vehicles meeting premature deaths here.   Shame.

    Unfortunately, the damage was more than superficial.  It didn''t take much for the repair estimate to exceed its $4.5k insurance valuation :(

    $4.5k is a steal for a tidy manual V6 156 nowadays!

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