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Perfect for S54 repower.

A 2001 Touring advertised at 16.5k... I wonder what a 2002 Touring might be worth? (Even if it has covered 7x as many kms... )

I think I tryed watching it once, but the presenters pissed me off too much. It seemed they were trying too hard to be funny, and they were not funny at all.

Those presenters in 'Top Gear' USA, are so cringe worthy.... they're just impossible to watch. It's just even worse that they run a show called Top Gear. Really shows where the BBC executives heads are. America has a lot of good presenters, but it seems certain they didn't go above and beyond to find them for that show.

I think the soul of the car is derived from the relationship a driver has between that specific car... If it gives them good feedback and the right vibes, through all kinds of experiences over many years then surely that car has some kind of inherent soul for that one driver, regardless if its a Jaguar E Type or a Civic Type R.

Yeah anyways ... tirerack.com still have PSS super sports for $347 USD + tax + shipping each so looking just over 1k landed... not too bad for 20s. Will be here in 3-4 days. Then around 20 per wheel to fit. Will be new rubber, not new old stock. actually just banged in the full set.. $2400 NZD inc shipping and tax by the last lot of tires I got off them. Still cheaper than 4k which is what tire shops hear will want for them.

Hardly surprising... You would assume any reputable TM store would be paying taxes on any profits, granted it's probably their main business. There is a wave of pseudo stores though, selling in bulk but not actually titled as a TM store... if they havent bothered with such I'm sure they don't bother keeping their books tidy either, no doubt those would be the ones the IRD wishes to hunt.

Thanks Kiwis. Hell of a ride.

OK its been a while and progress has been a little slow, ive been away for work for the last 6 odd months and relocated to Rotorua, BUT we have progress! I am defiantly going the resto route, since the last post i have finished a few things off; -Roof lining A pillars Cpillars and parcel shelf all recovered! massive improvement over the roof sail i had before! -Sunroof cassette removed, broken clips and bits replaced, it doesn't leave the shuttle in the roof and jam now, it also tilts and slides like it should! -Drivers door handel replaced, it stopped working, its really not cool looking like your breaking into your own car in westfeild carpark... -Door Handel surrounds replaced -Drivers window reg, missing bushings replaced, window clips replced <-- these, you can just push the reg into the clip with the split pin installed, saved me hours once i figured this out! -Drivers door, front guards replaced, front bumper plastic welded -Front inner guard liners installed (missing) -Front belly pan installed(missing) -misc panel work, rust cut out of tail light by battery, few other bits tidied up. -And the big one for now, Front cross member replaced. cracked and pulled through engine mounts! Up next; door cards, Guibo, brake pads + rotors + bleed, G'box flush, Diff flush (possible center re-build to 3 or 4 clutch setup, i've already done a 4 clutch 1 of these to go into my 328i, feel free to shoot any questions regarding this) and more bits of perished trim. ill endevour to keep this up to date as i go photos included. As the car is in auckland ill upload some general photos and some photos of the work i've done next time i make it back to the big smoke! Cheers and Take it easy Glen PS any members in the Rotorua/Taupo/BOP area ? PPS Thanks goes out to dave (M3AN), Jayden and Reid for helping out with the front cross member issue!

If any of you guys were to buy this and modify it in anyway, I'll cut you good

is there a more quintessential bad guy car? screams don't F with me.

Of course... I'm just speculating. Pretty much what most people do on this forum. I can see where you're coming from on the matter, but like anything some people will play it by the book, others wont. Such is life.

fixed it for ya mate

Love that colour!

Agree.

^ nope I wouldn't say that, I'm speaking more figuratively than literally. I've driven manual Mitsi Lancers that are not sporty but have connected me with the road and given me truck loads of joy. I was basically having a dig at Audis which make you feel like you're being driven by a computer...

Awesome work, Ben.

I think it's a fair price. Low kms, nz new. Sounds like it was bought by the right kind of current owner.

I like it and if I was in the market for a nice Touring that I wanted to hang on to I would pay 15k for it in a heartbeat. I'm an ex. 2001 330 owner and they really are bullet proof. Small things to watch on older but still low km e46 include suspension knocks, radiator expansion tank, water ingress into lights on cars kept outside.

Dahm thats almost high km's e46 m3 money!

Progressing nicely, despite a number of fairly major roadblocks. Revshift engine and trans mounts arrived from the states last week (finally) Now that the mounts I had been waiting for were here, it was all go. I installed the new engine and gearbox and connected up the new shifter mechanisms. Wired everything up and added fluids. It was at this point I noticed the big crack in the sump leaking oil all over my floor. I should have filled the engine with fluids before I put it in the car but live and learn. I decided to try to start the new engine anyway to check everything else was okay. Connected the battery and turned the ignition on, and sheets of smoke started pouring out from under the main ecu relay in the engine bay. Hooray. I cut back the insulation from the loom to assess the damage. The insulation on one particular wire was completely burned off, and had melted the insulation on several other wires in the loom. I figured there was probably a short somewhere in the loom, and I had the luxury of having another m20 loom sitting in my garage on my removed m20b20, so I went about swapping over the looms. m20b25 loom evicted from its home. m20b20 loom transplanted onto the b25. Oil still leaking from the sump, I again connected the battery and turned the ignition on. This time no smoke. Phew. Cranked the engine over but it wouldn't start. Confirmed I had fuel to the rail. Confirmed the coil was working properly. Did a spark test which showed me the distributor was at fault. Took it all apart and the dizzy cap appeared to be quite worn. Again, I pulled the dizzy cap and HT lead assembly of the b20 and transplanted it all onto the b25. This time I turned the engine over, and it immediately roared to life. The sound of an unmuffled straight 6 giving me much needed motivation. Time to address the sump. I already had the front struts out for various reasons, so it made sense just to drop the front subframe out. A few bolts later... The sump came off the b25 shortly after. The crankcase looked good, with no sludge etc. The culprit, seen above. I pulled the sump off the b20, checked they were the same, then went about cleaning up the b20 sump. All clean, below. I installed the b20 sump with Permatex red rtv after doing a bit of reading. Now just waiting the 24 hours for it to cure before adding oil and checking for any other issues.

take all the belts off the front and see if the noise is still there p/s , a/c and alt etc sounds like a bearing etc

Depends if they will look for the real sellers or just the amateur ones. Let's see....

Kinda relative I think. Where else do you find a mint low kms 330i, let a lone a desirable Touring. Then again it is automatic and it is an earlier 2001 model so it's possibly getting a touch steep.

the one true mod you can do is to flash the smg CSL style! ask ray/tom about it

The m3 is not bad on gas on the open road...but I guess it's how you drive it hahaha

Love how he ignored you comments Jooles lol haha, have never laughed so much in my life! would be a nice car ex the wheels, blacked out taillights, skull knob and matte black paint stripe which looks like has been done with masking tape and a can of spray paint from supercheap auto... wow 460+bhp someones going to get a bargin, I just hope he didnt withdraw it because someone bought it...then again if you were dumb enough to believe him, you probably deserve to be ripped off..

^ Ha! Me either... What a knucklehead. Wonder if TM picked up on the fraudulent claims and forced him to remove, or if some other poor sot bought it expecting a rocket under the bonnet.

I was incredibly nervous before the semi against SA, but basically had no feeling yesterday before the game. I guess some part of me knew it was a pretty tall order and I'd had enough of the tournament!

Whether or not it has more or less technology doesn't define a car's "soul". How does one measure soul? The soul of a car is purely opinion, based on everybody's individual experiences and preferences. Having driven both, I'd pick the "soulless" (by your definition being newer) 458 over the E46 M3

Do I think differently of Clarkson after this ruckus? Meh, it just got him over the threshold, it was the straw that broke the camels back. he has done a load of daft things in the past...they caught up with him. He is a buffoon, a self proclaimed one at that. We all know this. Two and a half men. Similar problem in my mind. The main actor was also the heart of the show, with everyone else playing superfluous roles. The mucky stuff hit the fan, and the shows producers made the executive call. They fixed it by bringing in a big name douche, to replace the big name douche. Whether it worked or not is anyone's guess. Viewing times play into that as well. For me it changed the way I thought about the show. I didn't watch one episode with the new douche in there, because it would be too different, it might have be better even? I don't care even if it was better, but what's better anyway, I didn't give it a chance, some will some wont. For me with Clarkson going, I may continue to watch it, because of my love of cars...but to be fair it will be cringe worthy, on top of it already being cringe worthy in parts. Everyone is replaceable. But whether people will continue to tune in, that's another thing. He has been doing this sort of thing, car reviewing that is for decades, and it had to stop at some stage. I will miss the idiot, like many will. He is not just the heart of the Top Gear show, for many he was also the sole representative of the BBC. It's the only program I watch from them. Top Gear Australia, is like X-factor Australia and Who wants to be a Millionaire Australia, the same format, but it's the characters and their symbiotic relationships that really make the show, and those shows are just...urgh. The originals are hard to imitate well, good luck finding a replacement for Clarkson, if indeed that's what they are thinking. I cannot help thinking the other car shows are rubbing their hands with glee, having been relegated to minor positions for as long as anyone can remember. Top Gear elevated itself above a car show some time ago. I know families and non-car enthusiasts who watch the show regularly, it really is something else. Rant over.

Gave her a good clean today

i was being a bit sarcastic, forgot to press sarcastic font button. last season and the one before it hit the perfect balance. this season however, i am 5 episodes in and not a single decent car review except for a brief one on the BMW i8 which i did enjoy, but only because it was from the brand i like. would love to pedal an i8 some day. (do you pedal it, or turn some potentiometers to make it go???)

It was probably clogged with oil from your valve stem seal problem.... have you had this repair done yet ? I don't know of a cat delete program or "code out" option for an N46 and they also don't like after market cats...been there

I'm fordguy17, I couldn't help myself

One of these would be ideal http://www.ebay.com/itm/1990-Mercedes-Benz-500-Series-560SEC-/271808129377?nma=true&si=sDW8Eb09VDNIfjVO6hU%252BPA4MrvI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I went the 19 inch RE050A (High Load) stock sizes front and back for just under $2000. Can't fault them wet and dry.

I have both in front of me, Z3 and Clubsport 3.0 racks. Deciding which one to use, Probably the Z3 one. I did some quick measurements as I read a few posts suggesting the turning circle is reduced, but LTL the inner steering rack comes out just as far on both Z3 and 3.0 racks. Anyone interested in more comparisons? I will probably be selling the 3.0 if anyone is interested, bought it from Ray a couple weeks back.

New (to me) Getrag260 now in garage. $400. To do list! Lots of cleaning to be done. Have ordered a bunch of parts from the US. Complete new shifter assembly (to replace my incorrect e21 one) and transmission crossmember. New revshift urethane engine and trans mounts. Condor Speedshop power steering delete kit.

HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU WANT FOR THEM?

Have you scrapped a Delorean?