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Oversize E92 M3 bonnet dome roughly cut out .

Project: Convert E46 HELLM3 into a S65/manual E46/E92 hybrid. Our approach will differ to the other more complicated ways of making things fit. We aim to not tamper with steering and suspension setup. Started with a donor E46 to use as a mockup with a cutoff wheel taken to a subframe. Engine /gearbox placement has been achieved quite nicely (great skills `HellBoy`) Engine mounts ,gearbox mounts,exhaust to be fabricated by Quest. To compensate for the extra height added by the E65 plenum we will fabricate an E92 M3 bonnet dome onto the E46 M3 bonnet. Pics will tell the story.

Latest update - car is running great, and I'm a bit embarrassed. So couldn't figure out the ticking noise, and I was scared it was a sticky lifter or the eccentric shaft not timed correctly. The planned second oil and filter change was done after 70kms of running, and the noise was still there. I went and saw Glenn at Botany Motor Worx and he quickly had it diagnosed. Using a stethoscope he could tell it wasn't a problem anywhere in the valve train. He located the ticking to an exhaust leak at the back of the motor. He let me listen through the stethoscope and taught me what to listen for - the guy is a legend. Needless to say I will be buying a stethoscope this weekend as its a very useful tool to have. Got it home and checked the torque on the exhaust manifold bolts (for the third time) and it all seemed correct, so I wondered if I had damaged the manifold gasket on install. And now for the embarrassing part. I took the vacuum pump off to check the seals as Glenn had also spotted an oil leak there. And it was then I noticed I had forgotten to install an engine plug in behind the vacuum pump, and that is where the exhaust leak was! I installed the plug, reinstalled the vacuum pump (with the o-ring correctly aligned this time) and fired it up. She runs beautifully! No smoke, and no funny noises. Took it on the motorway and kicked it in the nuts and it performed awesomely. So happy. Big thanks to Glenn.

Thanks for the nice words Nathan..... and the beers glad it's all sorted now A stethoscope is a tool that every person who works on cars should have... cheap as chips too

Hi everyone, Thought we'd join up here since we now have a couple of e39s. We love these cars. We think that they are the best looking BMWs ever and that Chris Bangle is the prince of darkness We got into these cars a couple of years ago after buying a white 1997 520i for no other reason than it was cheap and looked nice. Didn't even need it - already had 4 vehicles. Fast forward to today and we have just added a metallic black 2003 530i Msport to the fleet for the wife. We knew what we were after it just took some time for the right car to come up. 130,000km, leather, full documented service history and not least of all - NO sunroof!! We now have 6 vehicles and tempted to add a 540i manual 6 speed to the fleet. Would keep the 520i though as a runabout and garage the others to keep km down - maybe take em out on nice days. Look forward to learning from and maybe meeting some of you Sandy

Kia-ora! Previously owned a 2008 325i e91. Loved it. Got the itch for more power, and after scouring the Japanese auctions for a while, finally got my hands on a 2007 335i e90. Came in stock standard, apart from some 18" BBS LM's that I was pretty happy with. Will post some photos of the refurb I got done by member Jas, who did a great job, in another thread. Planning on doing some performance mods once I do some more reading and research, but will keep the cosmetic stuff fairly simple as I want a sleeper! Better photos to come, once I get the wheels on. cheers, Julian

Mate I had my best aussie accent on, I learnt it all from Trent, there is no way they could of known. A dingo ate my baby!

Can you branch this out to tradespersons, or just basically anyone in NZ with a web enquiry form on their website? I've stopped using them now and just ring, even though e-mail is far more convenient, as my success rate with web forms and getting a response is about 5%

Here's hoping!

Could be the start of the E36 M3 price rises? They've been bottomed out on price for some time

Weddings. Why the sh*t would you hold your Wedding on New Years eve. Now I have to fly back to NZ for Xmas and New Years of which I had planned an epic trip around NYC and Chicago. I expect it will cost me around 8k to get there and back. Mrs best friend trapped us by making her a bridesmaid. Oh and it's in Napier. I really don't like Napier. Boring.

SOLD! Well....that time is near...so i thought i'd put it out there.... Never thought this day would come...I am about to put my E36 on the market, toward the end of April, thought i'd try the BMW community first, and generate some interest if there's any, ?.... 1998 E36 328i Coupe- Auto ZF ( NZ NEW ), 173, XXX Km's, in a stunning Avus Blue paint, Registered first in February 1999. Non-Sunroof, Full Leather ( Electric front seats ), no door card sag, no rips in leather, however headlining has decided to let go of life altogether haha. Owners : 6 in total, 4 Private Owners, including myself, and 2 Companies, Finance Branch and a Car Sales outfit... Partial Service History, most of it from me ?, I have used BMWorkshop - Botany for all major services, and minor services i've done myself. Most of the major work needed for the E36 machine has already been done, it has never broke down on me once in all the years i've owned it, and with the right up-keep from a dedicated owner...it should continue to soldier on! Not even the typical "Cooling Failure" which i am extremely fortunate with the E36 prone to this. I purchased the car in December 2011, from an elderly man, whom was a perfectionist and maintained it like a show car...you get the idea... UPDATE : Anyway, it has full Bilstein suspension all round, purchased new late last year, and have travelled less than 3K km's, about the last thing i need to do is the Headlining, and Passenger Electric Seat Tilt function seems to be stuck now, so very minor, but will hopefully get these smaller things done real soon, otherwise the car is in great condition and drives extremely well. UPDATE : 21/04/2016 : "FULL SERVICE COMPLETED" YAY!! All advisories taken care of, only the Air-Con was a bit weak, and i've been told it needs regassing but as we're heading into winter it can wait, although it still functions well, that's on the "to do list", pretty much gave my arm and leg on this service LOL! all things that were significant have been done, and all the usual heavy maintenance costs that you encounter with an E36 have been covered during my ownership and previous good owners, WOF & Rego till October 2016 completed through BMWorkshop. UPDATE: 06/09/2016 29/08/2016 - BMWorkshop Botany, Air-Con Unit Re-gassed, Cam Cover Gasket seal replaced, eliminating the typical oil leakage. New Trasnmission Mounts, old ones had seen better days and needed replacing whilst at BMWorkshop. Side Notes from Maintenance Service : The slightest play in Front Left Shock, slight creak when turning at low speed, but not noticelable half the time, could be related, rather strange as they were new, but may need to look at rebuilding / replacing that one Bilstein Shock. Rear Trailing Arm Bushes are getting tired, may need attending at some stage, but hasn't been set as anything urgent. Also had resprayed the Front Right Guard last year in December after some idiot tagged it in the car park, fortunately they were honest and it was sorted out with Insurance, replaced the Panel and resprayed it at South Suburban Motor Bodies on Cavendish drive, Manukau. Looking for $6K-$5.8K, price negotiable for members ( prefered to have enthusiasts take it ) motivated to sell up and move onto other projects, Pictures will follow down below, Thanks, Peter.

Hi, I'm Adrian. I've been looking to buy an E30 for the last 2 years. I finally pulled the trigger when this NZ new 1990 325i SE came up for grabs. Plans are to convert to manual. Change rims Drop it an inch. Here's some pics:

awesome news, Nathan. you'll be all ready to swap in an M54B30 now, yeah? #8 )

^ You can take the man out of hamilton but you can't take the chlamydia out of the man?

YAAAY i love happy endings. Always give me the warm fuzzies

The guys at TidyCar did an excellent job on my front headlamps - very happy with the result. Here's the 'before' and 'after' pics.

Welcome Adrian - great pics @Makara and the car does look super tidy. Look forward to meeting soon. Can't make the museum run due to kids' swimming lessons. :\

Hows your life insurance?

haha came here to post that. thats bloody decent money for a legit original LHD one, would be one to buy and enjoy.

tons to choose from on TM: searching 325i 2000-2005, up to $7,500 nets heaps of results... Nice looking 325i with under 100k kms in New Plymouth at $6k. and it's "the right colour". Or there are cheapies around $3000 up. Plenty to choose from, and enough change in your pocket to put on some good rubber and have some judicious servicing done. The world's your oyster!

Alex: PM'd you Nathan: E39 has a bigger centre bore of 74.1mm instead of the standard 72.6mm so E46 wheels wont fit.

Can you post photos of what you are wanting, I too have a set of tsw wheels that I am wanting to freshen up the centres . Have a look on mm e34 part out thread to see what mine look like .

Just got back from an awesome trip. Nascar is great when you are there. It was like Talladega Nights IRL. Everyone yelling and cheering. The noise was DEAFENING! 10X louder than any other motorsport I have been to. And the track was so small the noise is there 100% of the time. Quickly purchased ear plugs. Still deafening but no longer painful. Was hoping there would be sweet cars in the car park to share. But it was Southern Virginia and if you drive a car and not a truck you are a female. Every second person was wearing their hunting camo as everyday attire. The Roadmaster was just as floaty as you would imagine. But it sat on the 70mph speed limit no worries. Surprisingly it is not very roomy inside. Massive Boot and Dash means less cabin space. The steering is so vague it was just like steering a yacht.

Hmm...yeah...perhaps the current owner thinks someone would pay a premium for a vert....probably not...but it's a nice car, hope it goes to a good owner.

Hi All, This is a celebration of the HB British & European Car Club. We've been going strong for 25 years, so we thought we'd have a dinner to celebrate, complete with a local celebrity! Greg Murphy is our guest speaker for the evening, please see the poster for info and contact details for tickets. Will be a good night.

BOOM SOLD, 10 hours later :)

Had to check my driveway. Looks exactly like mine, but weaves not bottlecaps.

well yeah, but think of all the freendom and choice you have!?

Now I have no car. This is not ok lol

Finally get E30 on the road and go to my goto WoF guy, didn't realise i have aftermarket concentric(?) bushes up front, he won't pass them. It needs certing anyway for adjustable shocks, motor swap, manual conversion etc... but I'm getting over the endless list of sh*t this car needs... Thinking about throwing the towel in and either getting a better quality of E30 that's already had the work i want finished or just a 335 wagon... or brents E34 544iT... or i just don't know, i want all the cars.

I remember peanut butter sandwich lunches and 60km commuting two up a 250cc motorcycle to save money.4 years.Not owning a TV for 5 years, no going out unless birthday or similar. Wife did degree over 10 years in evenings and weekends. I did whatever overtime I could and pushed myself at work.I Had the same e30 for 15 years /330,000kms. First house paid off in late 30s. Apart from the Auckland market I tend to smile at people b$tching and moaning about getting into the housing market yet will have $1k cellphones , $40-60k tied up in a cars and spend a few hundred on a Friday entertaining themselves. It's a matter of choices and some hard work.

Just sent out a bunch of stickers now. I got this under control guys.

I know of an E39 M5 for sale .... :-)

The problem with these late model alloy blocks is that they have little structural strength and the little they have does not like overheating. They often twist and damage the main bearings which lead to oil pressure loss and big end failure. If you ever strip one of these late model blocks they have brackets to support the sidewalls of the block to the main bearing caps. Guys using these late model engines for racing make up a cage that goes into the block followed by the sump

You can try to torque the old ones, but it's not quite the same. Alloy blocks change shape quite a lot too My mate is an engine machinist, and he's seen blown headgaskets, just from the liners (either cast inserts, or full alloy blocks) moving down, relative to the head bolts. He's had some shops say they tested the threads, then had them pull when the torqued the head anywyay. You have to be able to drill straight down, into the holes - you can't do that on some models (like E39 5's).

NATHAN !!!....... call it a day.... It's now a parts car or donor . The engine has issues and the transmission is toast. Even if it was running properly it's only worth $5,000 on a good day

That transmission is now toast without a rebuild, including the torque converter which also has a lock up clutch in it