Leaderboard

Shifter progress

Paul at Milland is excellent, and the service is incredibly prompt. I have also had great results from Gavin at EuroItalian. I usually email both and see who has the best price. And another big recommendation goes out to Glenn at Botany Motor Worx. He can come across a bit grumpy sometimes, but its just because he doesn't do shortcuts/bodges and gets annoyed when people advise others to do so. He really is fastidious and 'do it once, do it right' which is exactly what you want from a good mechanic. He is also extremely knowledgeable and always willing to help - he has saved my bacon many times.

Why not keep both I've also got a set of style 4s, but was looking at these for variety EDIT: And it's cheaper to buy these than it is to buy some tyres... Especially if I go to e34 brakes where I need bigger wheels

He put that on the front grille, because the original 2.0 XL sticker was already in the "correct" ///M badge spot.... I had a spare one after I took it off the E39, so I made good use of it:

Just had a look.. 556 and 558! That's pretty wickedly awesome.

Most tradesmen that know their sh*t usually do come across as cranky - mostly because they're over being messed about by jockeys that think they know better because their mate / brother/ dad / random 'expert' on the internet told them so. I got sick of hearing it as a brickie, so I hate to think about the crap that guys like Glenn must hear on a regular basis!

They prob thought the Miss part was BS and you were actually an overweight 50 year old man about to start grooming unsuspecting M3 owners into handing over their cars. Bet they thought this and the alarms went off.

I guess it was inevitable that a near-30 year-old car with more than 350K kms has become a project. Aiming to keep it a maintenance project and doing my best not to allow too much mission creep. Anyway, got stuck in today literally... Starting with replacing a cracked left hand tail light that was glued in with a couple of kilos of sikaflex: Used replacement cost $80 and brand new OE gasket $25 (E31 equivalent would have been $100 just for the gasket!!!).

I have had a VTNZ Wof on my e46 with tinted tail lights and front indicators as well as made an insurance claim recently on it with no issues. I don't have a low volume cert and I even run stretched tyres with no hassles so I would say you would be okay in the event of a claim Amber. No issues there. I have been pulled over by police numerous times and not once have any of them ever tried to tell me any of these things are illegal on my car and yes I am known by police around the shore due to my colourful schoolmates who are now police officers but if they didn't know me I assume this would be the same case. I say tinted is the way to go Amber! love the new car and I definitely cannot wait to see it at the ECC meet in December! Currently prepping my car for that also

I would suspect so, as long as you weren't using some weird crossmember. I think they fit most e30/36 stuff. See more info here: http://www.revshift.com/product-p/ptm-bt.htm

by all means make your point, but no need to get personal, tread very carefully

Agree with Kelvin - nice enough wheel but reacon the weaves better suit

I sold my (very tidy) ~170k '95 3.0L for $16k last year.

I wonder if the difference is the compact? I know for sure it was a 4cyl box and linkages used in my 323i coupe, with the linkages cut and shut (and the shifter position was crap). Had to replace the linkages with proper 6cyl ones to get the position sorted. This is where my shifter sat straight after the conversion, in neutral. Would hit the surround in 2nd and 4th.

Sounds like the dealer is a fu**wit, to be blunt. The one you've linked to sounds like a dog. PM M3AN, he has an S50B32 coupe so he'll be able to fill you in on more detail than I can The Technoviolet Jap car has gone from TM, dunno if it sold or the dealer just got tired of listing it - last I saw I think it was under 10k. Personally I'd stay away from the SMG one too. KIller colour combo, but the early SMGs are crap, to be honest, and the adjustable suspension sets off alarm bells too. I'm sure you've come across the hours stories of E36s tearing rear upper shock mounts courtesy of rear coilovers. The Dakar Yellow sedan in Dunedin is a treat, get some decent springs back on the car and it would be pretty hard to beat! http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-973192201.htm Surprising how few E36s are on the market now, I guess since the E46 has dropped to the 25k mark people just aren't selling them. Good luck with your search, wish I was the one in your predicament!

I take it this is the LHD one you are talking about? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-835013543.htm The US Spec purple one doesnt look to be listed ATM. IMO a proper RHD 3.0 should net 10-15K depending on KM and condition, even then it was hard for me to sell mine in that price range (205KM, NZ new, good condition). An Evo would be 12-18K, with the exception of the SMG1 car which has a very small market.

Can i just say how awesome those lms are and so cheap

resistance of the ICV wont tell you if its jammed shut, not alowing to open correctly, slow to respond etc. you have diagnosed its not an electrical failure of it, but could be mechanical failure.

let me know if/when you are in town Dave be good to put a name to the face

PM sent for flywheel

Spotted. Me in a new 320d Was very nice

JB Weld aye m8

Did you realise this v.2 is only 2 chassis number away from v.1 !!!

M3's are known for their poor handling and snap understeer.

From memory the Jap one is the US 'S50' engine - iron block M50 with a 3 litre stroker kit and slightly hotter cams. Has been repainted as well, engine bay is a different colour to the exterior - possibly bent then repaired at some stage? Makes 165-ish kW as opposed to the proper S50 which generates somewhere around 210kW and a far superior driving experience. The later 3.2 EVO models had nice touches like aluminium doors that the earlier models didn't get as well. I've anectodally heard of higher km (200,000+) examples selling for 7-11k, lower km well maintained ones are more like 15 - 25k. Really depends on whether you want a pristine minter that is just drive away material or a project, but be aware that the cost of genuine parts is not cheap, nor are they readily available here in NZ. I have no beef with LHD models as they're better balanced than the RHD ones, but the real world difference is pretty minimal for a car that isn't being raced. My guess would be aim for $15,000 as the midpoint, and go as far either side of that as you see fit / the budget (or the wife / significant other) will allow Factor in a Vanos overhaul and cooling system replacement as part of the buy price too, would be pretty terrible if you maxed out the $ to discover it needs another 3 grands work before its drivable!

E36 M3 Price ranges? Answer: $1-$50,000 Real answer (in my opinion): NZ New 3.2L low ks: $15000-20000 ` anything in between ` Jap Import 3.0L high ks: $8000

Be careful with the LHD ones as some of them are US spec M3's which have no real value here in NZ.

Hi and welcome! I would say that is a fair estimate of the current prices, you may find exceptionally tidy cars for around $20K - but most are in the range you mentioned. I have seen that imported left hand drive M3, and I would say that the reason it hasn't gone is that most people dont want a LHD car when right hand drive models are still somewhat plentiful. What price difference between LHD and RHD is a matter of personaly preference but in general I would say that a LHD car will be at least $2-3K less than an equivalent RHD car.

I have four of these off my E30M3 which is not an Sport Evo, but is a late 1990 Euro Spec which came with the 16" upgrade. They look the same as yours and same spec and part # , so maybe your search doesn't need to be limited to Sport Evo wheels.

Paul from Milland is excellent. Gave him a call re: thermostat and housing a while ago, gave me a discount and had it to me 18 hours later.

call me some time

^ Wife - "why is there a hole in our lounge floor?" Allan - "Really? There's a hole in our lounge floor? Oh, by the way I sorted the engine on the BMW!"

Just over 290000 miles.

Yes.. my smoker... I make my own bacon

Paul is very very good.

Unless you hook it onto a joist that holds up the lounge floor above, and pull it down

Am I the only one who sees 'bagged' on an ad for a car - any car - and just moves on? WTF is the fascination with this? It's seriously spoiling my ability to pretend to spend money I don't have.

Looking at the photos I'd guess all the above parts are toast except the diff. Maybe. Would want to have an expert check the state of the bearings before I put it into another car. Given the state of the left front and rear right corners I would be keeping stress fractures and collapsed rollers in mind regarding the bearings. Sway bars will probably have bent too. Engine looks reasonably unscathed from the photo (God knows what its like underneath though) and one would assume the gearbox is ok. Good luck to all the interested parties, you'll probably be fighting Ray and Brent for it too!

can't have been that bad the roofs still on.

really, i like the CSL bootlid very much, of course, on an M3 with the correct rest of the body. a CSL lid on a 318i is no good

faaaa that looks good. the wheels look great on the pheonix yellow. not sure why this colour gets so much hate i reckon its pretty nice

But if it makes everyone feel better, I'll just go ahead and purchase pretinted ones.. Didn't think I'd get this much flack on BS for doing it.

Went through this with my M3. Can 100% confirm they paid out, despite indicators being tinted with film. They questioned it, but I was protected. If it was such a big black mark, I don't think I'd have my blue M3 today lol. And NZI ain't a small insurance company..

The last car was done the same. No issues working for Car Folie I saw it all - and know the laws, but thanks for the heads up anyway. In saying that, there is also a protective law for us insurance consumers, that if the modification (like tint) was not the main cause of the accident or any contribution towards that accident, insurance can't not pay you out. And yes it is a grey area. Because I've had VTNZ wofs with tinted film indicators Can we get back on topic please?

Pukekos are stupid, you shoot one and it's mate comes over to have a look at what's going on lol. Any other animal would scamper