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1.02.14 - Update - Rear subframe removed ! So after last nights discovery of cracks forming around the spot welds forming the subframe mounting points I took the subframe out completely tonight. Pretty easy job actually, took about 2 hours or so. Ill be glad to get rid of the old subframe, as I have a nice clean 328i rear end to go in with vented disks etc, of which I'm replacing all the bushes and links with new parts. I have yet to find a LSD diff though.... whoops! Anyhow here's the damage to the mounting points, not as bad as I thought but bad enough, the Front Right and rear left have taken the biggest toll. NOT good!! Just as well I decided to stop using the car, good excuse to take it off the road too. I've jumped on to Pelican and gone parts shopping for a rear end rebuild kit. God damn it mounts up! Heres my list 15.11.13 - Update - Took the E36 down the 1/4 mile strip tonight! Sooo tonight in the E36 at the Meremere Dragway I managed to crack a best 1/4 mile time of 14.0 @ 98mph! Followed by 3 very close runs all dialling in at 14.1 @ 100mph / 99mph / 98mph! Pretty decent results for the level the car is currently at. I was hoping for low to mid 14 second times so I am pretty stoked! Next time an LSD diff and a few other tweaks will bring on the 13s easy! Did 9 runs in total, the car ran flawlessly! It was fun early on, between 5-7 pm when few people where there, I managed to get quite a few runs done between 6-7pm which was great fun. Of course it started to get busy by 8.00pm and the delays longer (30 mins between runs!) so I called it a night not long after this. Time slips everywhere! Can't wait to try it again when I've sorted out the traction (non LSD) issues and some other go fast things! ______________________________________________________ 28.10.13 - Picture Update I had some time off today (Labor day) so took the car for a drive and snapped some general pictures, no fancy stuff just with my Iphone haha. At the moment the next goals on the to do list will be to finish rebuilding the rear subframe with new components along with fitting in an LSD. When the old subframe gets removed, I will have the 4 rear reinforcement plates welded in as per stock M3s. Anyhow heres a few shots, I'm very happy with how its looking but as mentioned, IN 2014 I will see to it that the rest of the M-tec body work gets fitted! photo uploading ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 27.9.13 - Post Build Thread So it's been a month since I got the certification completed on the E36 with the 1UZ-FE V8 I custom fitted over the last 2 years bit by bit. 7,000kms in since dropping the motor in all is going well, and it's finally at a very decent level where the cars performing as it should while being reliable at the same time. I've done about 1500kms over the last few weeks which has been a long time coming having been working on it for so long, I guess the fruits of my labor are starting to pay off!! Today I took advantage of the good weather and went for a 3 hour outing to Maraetai, covering some 100kms or so, the real test was to see how well the tiptronic / shift kitted auto setup I've tweaked religiously over the last half of the year goes and it seems to be working really nicely on the open road, having all 5 gears at the flick of a retro fitted cruise control stick makes for a unique experience offering engine braking, over run noises and quick slick changes, especially fun when the road gets twisty or exiting out of corners onto straight roads. I snapped a few pictures today: There is still plenty left to improve the car beyond where it is, namely exhaust camshafts, MAF sensor replacing the old style AFM, a Link G4 ECU with a tune and the whole rear end rebuilt with M3 parts and a LSD - the lack of the LSD is the achilles heal at the moment, but I'd rather tackle it all at once rather than do it bit by bit. I would also weld in the rear subframe M3 reinforcement plates while the subframes out. Further more, he are some under hood shots, and the exhaust system I fabricated. I still have yet to paint the alloy plenum and cam covers to get a nice satin/matt alloy finish, it's been all about function over cosmetics for the most part! Here are a couple of shots of the exhaust system too. I designed and made these headers from scratch out of mild steel, they are now HPC coated. Specs are, 4-2-1 running 1.5" primaries with 4.00mm tube wall, 2.00" 'secondaries' to a 2.25" collector. After the headers where done, I made the exhaust system over Christmas & new years, it's a pretty simple but effective, 89 dBA peak in the test and IMO makes an awesome noise! 2.25" ID tube, 2.5" Magnaflow metallic high flow cats, 2.5" Mid mufflers, twin Boysen RS4 mufflers on the back. with 4x 2.5" SS Tips. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

So Phil and I went for a hoon in the M3s yesterday and came back with some photos (thanks Phil - the master on the camera). So here goes.... introducing my new E46 m3 (which no doubt you recognise)! I have had it for a few weeks now and it has seen some intensive grooming including clay bar, 3M teflon polish and hand glaze. I'm having a great time with it, intend to do a few things to it to bring it back to 'fresh of the assembly line' standard and look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Mmmm very nice! Looking forward to more photos!

^ +1

I have been working on these engines from there release in 2001 and in that time have never seen a crankshaft seal fail, for those with no experience looking for oil leaks on the n42 it is very easy to make an incorrect diagnosis thinking a rear main is leaking when fact it is the sump gasket. It is possible your engine has multiple leaks, as others have mentioned take it to someone with experience for a proper diagnosis.

Sorry if this is a repost folks, but some good nostalgic footage here (in 4 parts): http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/monaco-monza-macao-wellington-1990 Enjoy.

Cool doco. Hadn't watched it in years. The old man.

Great stuff Jason It'll be 3 years for me on the 20th