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Converting my heater over to electric started from the failure of the central locking system and electric windows on my coupe. During the diagnostics for the electrics I discovered 3 water leaks contributing to the water under the carpet that corroded out the +12V junction under the passenger seat. 1. One of the floor bungs had popped out allowing road water to enter when driving in the wet. 2. The seal between the heater and firewall had failed + the drain for the air entry into the heater was blocked. 3. My heater core is leaking (but only just). Because the heater solenoids are also stuffed with one side is stuck on hot and the other cold I decided rather than try to fix / replace everything why not convert the heater to electric. The BMW solenoid spare part is around $650+GST... My battery is in the boot with the main 70mm² cable running under the drivers seat. Tomorrow I'm going to cut this cable and re-join it with a barrel hex-crimp + fit 2 x 6mm² cables in prior to crimping. These 2 cables will be double sleeved to make sure there's no chance of a short to chassis. They will supply the bulk power to 2 new electric heater elements. I purchased a complete second hand heater from the wreckers. I also used this as an excuse to pull the dashboard out of the donor car so I could see how it's done and what old brittle plastic breaks in the process. It's remarkably easy, just time consuming. I've now stripped down the heater unit and removed the air-conditioning core and the heater core. My air-conditioning compressor died about 10 years ago and de-gassed itself in the process so I removed it back then - not worth fixing. When I did the engine upgrade a while ago I ripped out all the remaining air-conditioning garbage from the front of the car - got rid of around 60kg. I've purchased 2 x 300W ceramic PTC heaters from Ebay. These should draw about 21-23A at 14V since they operate almost like constant power devices. This means a total load of 42-46A on the alternator - hopefully it can cope. If not then I'll upgrade it. The new heaters should arrive later this week. I'm going to fit the new heater elements to an aluminum plate that will be glued into the position the old heater core lived. There's 3 openings that also need to be blocked up; where the air-conditioning pipes entered, where the coolant pipes entered through the firewall and where the coolant pipes enter the heater box. Now for the controls for the heater elements. The heater element will not be allowed to run unless the engine is running and the battery voltage is above 13.5V. This will turn on 2 relays that supply 13.5-14.4V to one end of the heater elements. The heater element on-off control will use the original water solenoid control signals. This will operate the left and right heater elements independently just like it used to. I'll construct a simple dual switch using mosfets which is enabled by the heater solenoid signals. There will be a temperature sensor on each heater element to limit the element to 95'C (similar to coolant temperature). The mosfets will switch on and off to keep the elements at 95'C. There will be a secondary sensor on each element to switch it off if it reaches 110'C in case the primary fails (drop out the main relays). The mosfets will pull the other end of the heater element to ground. The climate control system is expecting the heater core to run at about 90-95'C (coolant temperature) so I'm hoping setting the elements to this temperature means the temperature regulation will still work in a similar way to original. I suspect the 300W heater elements won't get to full temperature most of the time though. The airflow will likely be much higher than required to keep them below 95'C. It's also likely it won't create anywhere as much heat as the old heater core could have as 600W is not much power. It will be instant heat though as soon as the engine is running and it will still be enough to heat the small space - it just might take a minute or two longer to warm up. I'll take a bunch of photo's once the heater elements arrive and start fitting everything to the donor heater case. I'll also include the fairly basic circuit for the control of the elements once this is knocked together. Given there's a lot of E36 out there with failed heater solenoids and heater cores just waiting to leak (or already leaking) this mod might appeal to some people. The cost in dollars to do the conversion is relatively minor. The time is not. I'm guessing around 4 days to build the new heater, strip everything out of the car, bypass the heater pipework, fit the new heater and put everything back together. My car is already stripped out except for the dashboard - no seats (except drivers seat), carpet, glovebox or console - about a days work so far to strip everything out, clean it up and rust-kill a couple of surface rust areas that have been sitting wet for a while.

3335 hp. Nice.

thought it was about time to join this page and share some photos and yarns of my turbo e30 build that has been on going for nearly 3 years... not to sure what else i'm meant to say

Well that's subjective. Many would agree the E34 M5 is one of the most iconic BMWs of all time, inside and out.

sounds super, nice work Michael! has it improved your perforance too?

that might be easier, I have left over - 475/9 diamond black paint + thinner (1:1 mix) (1litre each / 2 litres once thinned) - 2k clear + hardner + autothane thinner 2:1 + 5/10% thinner - universal thinner Let me know ... should be able to sort something out

Nathan I got a compressor and some paint gears if you want to borrow it.

Easy choice. E61 530i M-Sport LCI. The E91 isn't fast enough (unless it's a 335i) to counter the E61s superior size and comfort. https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1408654204.htm https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1421022125.htm edit: neither of the above are facelift unfortunately but they do pop up frequently.

The CRC liquid cut and Polish works amazing btw. Got a 2 step finisher that adds nice deep glass look Still a few finger prints in that photo lol Trialed with some cheaper compound prior to crc and can definitely notice a difference especially in the time to get the result.

It all depends how much you really want a coupe with a bit more poke under your right foot. I don't think there would be any point in doing it for a monetary gain excercise as by the time you take into account all the little bits and pieces and cost out your labour time it wouldn't stack up. My suggestion would be to drive the 4-door and fix / repair any little bits and pieces that need doing as you go along, then if you still really need a 2-door sell the 4-door and buy one.

Given it's in CHCH, i'm tempted to go do a tyre kicking and report back here.

Took the girlfriend to Kaikoura for a day trip. Also gave the wee red best a wash both before and after . Had an attempt at drifting on tarmac at the drift track, however being precious about breaking the car and open diff life resulted in not too much sideways action but still good fun! Photos to come from more recent updates too!

I reckon it is do -able, a bitza 325 manual coupe is worth 6 to 8k. Buying a coupe will set you back about 3 to 4k, I assume the labour is free, so the difference will be at least 2k. Best bet would be to find a 320 coupe and that might mean no cert required.

yeah subliminally i've been uploading this stuff not just as a progress memory for the future, but to tempt others to get into it. I mean who else wouldnt want black mesh, and black kidney grills, they make the car look way more agressive if you have a 330ci, you have to look aggressive. I can't believe the before and after shots of the car, wen't from average looking vehicle before - to 1000x

^ dude, let me tell you about racism at the gas station! I'm a white guy in a BMW and I pulled up to the bowser the other day and the coloured dude at the pump next to me filling up his POS didn't even offer to wash my f'ing window. Does he not know who I am? Geez.

Some rag on cream\tan interiors but to me grey interiors are my least favourite. E34's like this where the grey and black console are mixed never look that great inside compared to a nice black or dove white interior. The 2 tone body kits detract from the overall look of the car but you'd be in the minority of people who didn't appreciate the E34 lines. I used to get many comments on my old Mtech 535i, they also look way tougher and sure stand out from the crowd far more than dime a dozen E39's etc

13k overdue for a service? Man the service interval on the computer is 25000km already, that would scare me the hell away. I think you're taking a big risk. Good luck. Pray oil was changed but they didn't reset the computer :/ I can't believe someone would own an expensive car like a 335i and not service it. That's so wasteful. You certainly don't need to pay 1k for wipers, tell whoever gave you that quote to f*** off. You just need new wiper blades, should be under $100 off FCP Euro or Ebay. Try find a BMW specialist in your area, not the dealer. Cobb is outdated now. MHD is the latest craze now, more developed than Cobb. But don't even think about tuning until you've sort out maintenance or you'll be digging a bigger hole for your bank balance.

Finished the exhaust, now with ceramic coated 4-21 headers Mid section, M3 resonator and 745i round mufflers, because every Toyota needs more BMW parts.

Sell your house instead. Problem solved.

You can probably get an oem filter shipped here for less and with a lifetime replacement... https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-engine-oil-filter-325i-328i-525i-528i-530i-535i-x5-330xi-x3-041-8195