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Hey guys just joined up Just got my restricted licenses and been rearing to finish my project thats been going for a month and a bit now. I'm down on the Kapiti Coast and keen as to get out and meet some more guys driving cars of culture once she's all done. Anyone give me a shout and will be keen to organise something for the weekends comin up in a month (if the car is done). Here's a few picks of the seasoned veteran and some snipets of the process from start to now. Looking forward to some meet n greets or cars n coffee on the weekends. Any advice on the build is much appreciated and where to get the best value for money parts and spares from Cheers guys

Even rarer @ 1/2 the price: http://www.eurocarclub.co.nz/the-beast-of-elegance-meet-8m3/

red

Hey - signed up a few months ago and have been stalking since - thought it was time to introduce myself! Picked up my first BMW, a 2000 E46 325i touring a couple of months ago. Got off to a rough start (literally, though still haven't 100% solved it) but have completely fallen in love with it. Cheers, Dan

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1325558903.htm just 46,000kms $138,000

Correction the 1M has the same engine as the Z4 35is .... because it was never a true M engine, and never a true M car.

There are many on google. Its not overly difficult, and means you get to check the condition of your handbrake shoes etc. Easiest to replace the entire arm and axle from one from a wrecker, otherwise you end up mucking around with bearings.

Great stuff! Welcome - looking forward to following this project!!

correct and e92 335i interesting the z4 35is is the same as the 1M engine , so basically a tune and some bigger intake pipes and intercooler and you have a PRETTY QUICK CAR

It's not always as simple as reading a code and replacing the faulty part. Most of the time codes don't pinpoint the faulty item, all they say is that, for example, the O2 sensor is returning incorrect values. This could be a faulty O2 sensor, catalytic converter, leak in the exhaust, faulty ECU.. list goes on. Best of luck getting it sorted Treone, hope it doesn't end up costing an arm and a leg!

like a well-celared grand cru vintage, eh? nice work.

The black one advertised earlier this year is my mates and is still available via private enquiry. No current link sorry but there are pics floating around this forum somewhere. It was detailed a few months back including underside and is in humidity controlled secure storage, looks brand new. Too rich for me unfortunately but at least I still get to drive it occasionally!

Much appreciated. It worked! It wasn't so hard actually but doing it in the dark whilst getting hailed on probably wasn't helping my motivation

yes can help , just drive it and see how good or bad it is , worse when cold normally can be converted to a ZF auto , but will require , engine/trans loom and matching trans control unit , zf auto driveshaft etc

yes will be jatco , they seam to be jerky , some better than others , it can be fixed , they do seam to last well enough , cheap to buy , zf are so much smoother though and taller gearing , get better economy . can convert to a manual easy enough , have a kit if you need , or a replacement trans VIN WBABF42080JA91136 Type code BF42 Type 325I (EUR) E series E36 (2) Series 3 Type COUPE Steering RL Doors 2 Engine M50 Displacement 2.50 Power 141 Drive HECK Transmission AUT Colour MONTREALBLAU METALLIC (297) Upholstery LEDER CASUAL/HELLGRAU (P7TH) Prod.date 1994-08-30 Vehicle options S240 Leather steering wheel S243 Airbag for front passenger S423 Floor mats, velours S428 Warning triangle and first aid kit S481 Sports seat S494 Seat heating driver/passenger S530 Air conditioning S556 Outdoor temperature indicator S686 Antenna-Diversity S687 Radio preparation S704 M Sports suspension L807 http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E36-Coupe/Europe/325i-M50/R-A/aug1994/browse/automatic_transmission/automatic_transmission_a5s300j L807 code mean jap spec NATIONAL VERSION JAPAN(means it will have the jatco) S818 Battery master switch S900 Electronic immobilizer S925 Dummy-SALAPA

All stock. The swaybar is stock, and all bushings are OE. I'm not planning on tracking the car and really don't want to introduce any NVH at all.

Thanks Matt! Pete, I'd love to come on the epic, but although I've sorted quite a bit of deferred maintenance on the car (tyres, fuel lines, a new rad, viscous coupling, various electrical bits) the list of work-ons I have from Jon and Keren at Auto38 is probably a bit too long to be relaxed about a big drive at this point. I love this car though, and can't wait til it's properly sorted.

330i around $6k, sir? this looks interesting: 330i with thr Sometimes Maligned Gearbox (™ of @eliongater)... http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1325191601.htm and, oddly enough here's one (a 330i saloon) in tidy nick that was for sale on these parts a couple of months ago. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1326430648.htm (you'll need to be quick though, the vendor had threatened to sell it for scrap rather than take the market price). this one looks very sharp but is sold as-is, where-is... and no images of the front right of the car. we can only hope it was an oversight! http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1325897698.htm

PPI at Page European or Auto38 advised, for Wellingon-based cars. For Auckland-based cars you could engage Glenn at Bottany Motor Works, or BM Works, or similar. $8k5 for a 325i Touring? He's hopeful IMHO. Paying Wellington tax? Looks tidy enough, it's had a proportion of the main things done for the mileage. It's a complete pain in the ass when people put up photos of a vehicle saying "oh it doesn't come on these wheels, it'll come on some others" - I write them off as time-wasters. Similarly, $6k5 for an average mileage 325i Coupe... it's hopeful, given 330's go for around the same price. 325i's are great, should be reasonably priced. It appears to be a tidy one. The C class is an entirely different experience, not so much chalk and cheese, but at least Currywurst to the BMW's fusion cooking. Have you considered Kyu's 530i Motorsport in the for sale room? It's in your price-range. HTH

So after a few weeks of driving the M3 ive started to notice things that don't feel quite right, for example the on-center steering feels really dead, researching this i found that a worn steering coupler can often be the cause. Today i set about replacing it to find out if it would help solve the dead feeling Its a faily simple process, took me about 1.5-2 hrs. There were two annoying parts to this process... 1) Finding the right part to order as the LHD and RHD parts are different, namely the RHD has a heat shield as it runs on the exhaust side and close to the headers. The part number for the steering coupler is 32306761571, the two bolts are 32306778608. 2) On test driving with he new coupler the DSC was kicking in and activating the ABS. I was able to find and clear the fault with my Carly ODB2 connector and iPhone app, after it was cleared it ran fine with no ABS activation or steering angle faults. The difference with the new coupler installed was immediate, on-center steering was no longer dead, a much more direct feel with better feed back. So a great thing to do if you have a high mileage car, mine is 100k miles. Video here showing difference between old and new... And yes those engine mounts needs to be replaced as well, they are on the list ;-)

Got the headliner back for the 38. Installed it today, includes A B C pillars and rear parcel tray. great to get it in and sorted, did internal LED upgrade as well, much fresher and improved. ready now for next weekends Napier trip

Fit 2nd arm & bolt. I would not use a heli coil for this repair

Looked at the first couple of photos and thought that's not to bad. Oh boy until the one of the rear Ouch twice

patience, patience.... they're still trying to get from SH16 to the domain! it's still jammed solid, and now there's no light!

Recently lone wolfed a roadie and stumbled across the old Waikune prison and the caretaker gentleman allowed me to shoot a few photos.