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no, they belong in the smallest thing you cram them in to.

^^^ That right there says to me it's had typical NZ car owner servicing - Engine Oil and filters - nothing else matters - haven't you heard?

Great walkaround vid^. Guards complete and painted. 6 days work fabricating and painting in total.Big thanks to Quest Fabrication & Graeme Hughes Panel & Paint. We swapped the M3 front on today (complete from A pillar forward). Starting to really look the part. Now onto the rear starting with M3 bumper modification then guards.

Stilling wait for pics of flatmate...

1) Ice cream truck impersonators. Ie the dudes who drive around with music (Britney spears in this case) blaring from megaphones on their front bumpers. Seriously why you want to attract attention to yourself in a clapped out Legacy is beyond me. Is this just a south Auckland thing? 2) reading what you just typed and realising your turning into a grumpy old man

Very frustrating ringing up about car dealers ads on TradeMe. They keep listings up months after the cars has sold trying to get calls out of the old listing rather than doing the decent thing and take the listing down!! All manor of excuses and BS when you waste your time calling... oh its all trademes fault, car just sold then two weeks later call again, car just sold... etc etc. Any one else noticed this? Top of the list: Buy Right Cars Auto Z Cars

People who don't show pictures of the flat mate

Big day tomorrow. Doubt I'll be able to sleep much tonight. 6am start in the morning and drive to Hamilton to pick it up then the drive home with it on a trailer. Then the fun begins..lol

i am very biased. The e34 used to be mine.Only buy the e34 if you enjoy a very "manual" experience.Even a manual 540 e34 and a manual e39 540 feel very civilised compared to the 535i.The straight six is awesome .The clutch is heavy,the gearchange is "slow" the brakes are good .You are always aware that it is a heavy car on a windy road but the grip and traction is good. Thirsty for what it is but if its only for the weekend prolly doesnt matter.It is a very original car and still in very good condition.I had it from 150k to about 260 k.Dont waste your money getting a BMW checked by the AA.Get it checked by a BMW dealer or independent BMW specialist.Not sure there were only 6 but there wernt many.In 1990 it would have cost more than the average house.

I actually had a dark green E34 535i manual myself about 4 years ago. I really enjoyed that car, but I missed the E39s and their ways, but that's just me. Everyone has their own opinions about cars, but at the end of the day, it will be you that will be driving it, so chose what you feel is the one and even the non Motorsport E60s can be tuned nicely. I've spent all day on emails and phones to various BMW tuners and owners in regards to easy modifications for the E60, so if you chose that, I can send you some decent reading

lol................. could be done..... at this stage make sure you get some winter pictures of your BMW in the snow!

missed this thread, great news! cant see why the iL appeals in the E38, looks wierd, the i makes more sence

Thanks guys I really appreciate all the comments, Ill try get some nice pictures of it in the sun. Only got my restricted licence on Friday, so this was the first chance I had to go and spend some time taking some nice photos.

Hmm i might start asking if they can please please please find me one ASAP as I have the money to buy a car this week!! So after they have rung round all their dealer buddies and find one get it to the yard and ring me back ill have to give them the bad news that ive just bough one from <insert car yard opposite them>....

"free oil and filters from a friend" - hmm, I bet they were real high quality then. I would be trying to get hold of this "mechanic friend" and sound him out, and get some more info from him about what products were used. If doesn't matter if the oil was changed every 6,000kms if he was putting cheap crap back in!

Pretty sure these are on eBay, the guy that sells all the ///M badges has a few.

I picked up a 540i dirt cheap, after wrecking it i made a profit and got to keep the engine.

I guess if your going to look at it like that then you could pick up a later E39 540 for about $5k. 300hp/420-440 NM for bugger all after selling what you dont need. And as long as you got the right car it would be more or less plug and play electronics wise into an E46. I'm thinking a sedan with no ski hatch or sunroof for max ridgy didgy. You'd still need to source a gbox if you want manual and relocate oil pump but it's all achievable.

Hmmmm I can see the LS1 as a good option. They are a popular engine for a reason But I've always felt they seem a little pricey on the market because of the popularity. From what I've seen a half cut package is on average $6000 for a 350hp/490nm LS1, That makes for $17.5 per HP and $12.2 per NM Where as the 3UZ V8 half cuts seem to float around $4000 for a 320hp/430nm engine, making for $12.5 per HP and $9.3 per NM On the flip side, I know Toyota engines well, what to expect with , the wiring and fueling aspects so they are an easier choice. Not the most powerful, but easier

Haha old sanch, almost 2.5 years and still not going! Maybe next years calendar hahaha

Such a shame this car is in AKL! I'm win welly but I'm up in AKL from Thursday. Let me know if you want to give me a viewing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha is love an 8 cyl but I don't see any reason to spend any more than 10-15k at this time. Maybe when I'm woman free totally I can drop some cash into this fully and get a new one! That's the e60 And this, is the 34 Does your opinion change any when comparing the two? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Really appreciate that Francois. Have you ever driven e34? Also I hear you on imports- especially Singapore where humidity is high, I have heard some horror stories re electric cables fraying and rust. I inspected the car as much as I could when I drove it and it seemed to be fine. All electrics seemed sound and I spoke to the previous two owners and they haven't had any issues. It's been in nz for the last 9 years. An aa report is probably un-necessary but I guess you never can be sure! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Be interested to see how you get on mate, I found my last tyre ordeal very interesting. Was very impressed with the Bridgestone boys in Greenlane if you want to venture down the road for better selection...

Do you need all four? Bridgestone have a deal on at the moment where the 2nd tyre is half price or the 4th tyre is free. I was pretty impressed with their quote for 4 Potenza RE003s (2 x 255/35/18s and 2 x 225/40/18s) that came back at $1k...

Or anything else it seems - I actually made them refund me for the shitty test they did on ovens. I paid $20 online to read the test, which toild me absolutely nothing I couldn't get from the brochures, then they tried to argue that I'd gotten value for money. I thought $20 to find some good info on $6K+ ovens was worthwhile... turns out asking the salesman was just as "informative".... Yes, I do eat a lot, and am overweight.

yea they don't go for much these days , the bigger more expensive models devalue so much you don't want to know what I paid for my black on black 98 750il 130k's sitting on 20" rims , no key and dead-locked , reg lapsed police impound ex drug dealer ,money launder dudes car turned out to be a really good car

10/10 Ray and team, you've done it again! I still can't fathom how foolish BMW was not to make the Touring an M3. Looks superb. Very RS4 esque with the wheel arches... can't wait to see the rear done too.

What the f*ck!? Who would do that.

Yeah. This is one trip I never thought would happen. I feel like a kid the night before Christmas morning. lol

Exciting! I love such trips.

Reckon all ya need is an e46+ls2 michael....

It would be kinda cool if they were looking at actual automotive journalists, instead of the nearest b-list celebrities they could find.

Thanks Brent. Nice to meet you on the weekend, and thanks for tracking down those bolts for me. Definitely a nice little DIY, a bit fiddly but it really does all come apart pretty nicely - and like you say, the devil is in the details. Now time to try to find some sport seats!

Before I looked at getting my current e87 (yeah I saw your comments ) I went on a good hunt for some e39s. I eventually came across a 2000 facelift, m-spec 530i that was in very good condition. Took it for a test drive. While I was convinced by the look, the feel and the fact I'd owned a 530i before - I wasn't convinced by something I felt hard to explain. Perhaps the $8k price was a little too high or that I was just over the prospect of owning another older BMW. I thought the joy and the lower price points of the 90s gen BMWs would've been enough for me - in the end I just felt over the older models. The only other BMW I considered when I was looking at the e87 was the e60 sedan, had to be m-spec and a dark colour with tints though.

Hit the little 'Community Watch' thing on any listings where this happening, we usually chase up dealers on this sort of thing pretty well.

Remove the maf and smoke test it.

Its also against the fair trading act as a retail entity.

nice work , its all the little things that count , I just did the odo gears in my 635csi have to see that car sometime when your done

Few more days of running. No big issues. Really pleased with everything. Chilling at home Major increase in power. So much more torque at the low end. It really highlights the flaws of the m20b20. Significant NVH increase with the more solid mounts, but throttle response is fantastic. The whole car feels very solid. Shifter is much better than before, and the ratios of the new gearbox are much better than the Getrag245. Finally got around to working on the odometer. I found out there were several different types of gears available, and that I would have to pull apart the cluster before ordering them to make sure I got the right gears. Wheel off, cluster out. Cluster surgery begins. Gears in situ. Broken teeth seen below. Worked out I needed version 'B' of Garagistic's KM MotoMeter gear replacement kit: http://store.garagistic.com/ocart/KMH-motometer-gears-b Gone ahead and ordered this. In the meantime i'll put the cluster back in the car so it's drivable.

I was only off by $300! Wow

Nice call on the e46 mate, I agree that it has aged really well and agree with your thoughts on the e90s styling interior/exterior. What about looking at the 330ci non-m-spec e46ers? Could be quite good for the engine conversion, they still look great and they'd be super comfortable without the harsh ride of the m-spec ones. My 325ci m-spec e46 I had was an awesome looking car with great performance although I got tired of the extra harsh ride and also the 5 speed auto-box, especially on the western side of the lake!

Meh. Spend double the money and get a proper E30. http://racecarsdirect.com/listing/56656/bmw_e30_m3_dtm.html Who wants to put around the street in something that should be screaming on track. Or spend less and have just as much fun. http://racecarsdirect.com/listing/56975/bmw_e30_m3_evo_race_car.html

Even Brosnan would agreed, he was clearly enjoying his in the back seat:

^ This.

Needs cord for extra retro cool - plus you can strangle annoying passengers with it if necessary.

Yes. Because your average kiwi will think its just another BMW. Because, well, it will just be another BMW! Im so lost that there are actually new BMW's that I didn't know existed. I spotted a 435i 4-door the other day, I didn't even know they made a 4-door version of a two door version of a four door! So many models. But. I did spot a nice new X5 yesterday. Now that was an impressive looking car. Self park, as in a car that "valets" it self would be handy. I was reading that Mercedes already have self driving cars but they are not allowed to release them yet. Would be handy in morning traffic. Think of all the Facebooking/work you could get done on the way to work.

We can help you convert it no problem

When my laptop gives me bad news. EDIT: Snooze that sh*t!