Leaderboard

Mission accomplished this evening. Built my spray booth for the calipers. I wanted to limit overspray, but I needed to be able to turn the workpiece while I was painting. I used an old plastic storage box that was destined for recycling, I up-ended it, clamped it to my workmate, and made a hole in the top edge. I wanted light transmission rather than shading; this would be ideal. I prepped and masked the second caliper. Those foam earplugs are great for plugging the holes. I trimmed and bent stiff wire to suspend the caliper parts from, and devised an in-booth (exo) support from a broken rake handle (thanks kids, I knew that would come in handy!). Paint a piece, turn it, paint some more. Support workpiece with left hand, turn. Repeat. Squat down, spray underside. Lift, turn, spray more. Support workpiece with left hand, remove rake handle, carefully remove workpiece and hang away from your booth. Install next piece, rinse and repeat.. This time I set up a tub of hot water to warm the spray cans before I shook them. 3 coats of VHT caliper paint, ten mins apart. Two thin coats, then a medium wet coat. Shake can 10 secs after every minute it's been in use. I found the VHT caliper paint flows well. Perhaps the warming helped. And painting onto a porous surface makes it easier. No runs that I could detect. Above: the caliper frames hanging after 3 coats, while our neglected 90's hardtail race MTB's hang in the background. My wife's '96 Gary Fisher Supercaliber, my modded '96 Supercaliber, and my custom '96 GT Zaskar LE. I reckon I need to start pedalling again. Perhaps when the e30 is sorted. And after pausing to appreciate my work, I really pushed out the boat with Rustoleum “universal advanced formula” Gloss Black on the bars, one clamped in each vice. The Rustoleum paint is just great. You can twist the nozzle to get a vertical or horizontal spray patterm, and it flows out great. A thin dusting coat, let it flash off, then a wet coat and it flows out nicely.

Made a clock from leftovers.

Secondly we have the tramp (Claudia) , a really stubborn 96 323i Coupe. Now running an M50B25TU and an array of other modifications, she likes to have issues. One step forward and two steps back, but I still love her and as the first BMW I've owned it will always have my heart no matter how much grief it gives me!

That's pretty respectable, my 335i was definitely worse than that. Well, I've taken the plunge and just bought an E90 M3, see I'll find out for myself soon enough ? Not a big issue for me as I'll be averaging down with the Polo daily.

Well, part of me wants you to be right about the curve, it would be great for BMW and enthusiasts. I'm not confident though and it's not because I don't like them, I do. As you say, time will tell, let's hope I'm wrong about the AMG comparison.

This was my old car/listing ....

Will definitely keep everyone posted on here as best I can for both cars of which major things for Claudia! It's crazy really Luna still has still go that new car feel even though its 22 years old. Everything is so crisp from the headlight switch to the doors shutting. No rattles creaks or anything!

Thought I'd start a thread to display the happenings with both my daily driver and weekend E36's. First off is the lady (Luna). A recent purchase of mine to be my new daily driver, a 1997 323i Sedan. With 84,000kms on the clock and me being the second owner (excluding dealers) she is a real stunner! With only the usual shopping trolley dings and dents and a near perfect interior I just couldn't pass it up! VID_20190512_124901.mp4

Markets change, consumers change so companies need to change to keep up otherwise they will be left behind so you can't really compare today's cars to the old. They may not have class defining characteristics as you put it but they are class leading. Enthusiasts buy for a number of reasons but I don't think depreciation factors into the purchase otherwise no one would buy a brand new car. They buy generally with the heart and not the wallet. The E9X and E60 are approaching the bottom of the curve now and in 5 years they will head up much like the rest of the M cars. They may not appeal to you but to many of the kids these days they do appeal and they are the ones who will buying them in 20 years

What have any of them actually sold for in NZ recently?

Wut? ? That clock is not reading 11!

Just found this car previously for sale on here: Certainly appreciating

Sounds promising. I have a spare steering wheel with multifunction buttons that could suit. I want to make the implementation as useful - and as safe - as possible.

Tells great time, too. It’s Beer O’clock!

You can buy the wiring kit to add multifunction wheel onto the vehicle for e46. I have part number in a spreadsheet, let me know if you need it. Last time I looked it was under USD30.

Wiring for the multi-function wheel will not be there. I had to add the wire to the DME when fitting a cruise control stalk to a 2000 E46 base model.

Changed the trans fluid on Mrs M's Baur. Trans sump was clean and free of any debris - fluid was pretty dirty. Certainly makes a difference. I suspect the trans may have been slipping a little, but consistently so that it wasn't immediately evident. There seems to be a more direct correlation between pressing the accelerator and forward motion. Changes smoother, too.

I don't find it confusing at all. No enthusiast wants to buy a Mx which is effectively obsolete in 2 years. But upgrading every 2 years does appeal to some, it's just an entirely different market. M cars of olde will be remembered forever for their class defining characteristics. New ones, they're easily forgotten and are all merely depreciating lumps of metal and silicon (edit: albeit fun for a time).

Been following on Instagram. Love Claudia! Keen to see more progress.

Mines stalled currently. But it is the next item on the list.

Hi there - I also recommend the "factory" Westfalia tow bar - it bolts onto the chassis unlike some after-market types that get bolted to the bootwell. I bought it brand new from the BMW dealer for a very good price several years ago (was a cancelled order) - I liked it so much that I removed I sold my old e60, and transferred it onto my new e60! I can also confirm that the Sedan and Touring bars are the same item. For wiring, I used one of these modules: https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/parts-other-makes/electrics/listing-2174753524.htm?rsqid=10769303910648f09ba4aa398421c351-010 The wiring module is fairly straightforward to fit if you have some basic circuit testing tools. It's actually the exact same box that most tow-bar fitters in ChCh use when wiring up Euro cars with fussy LED indicators and park lights etc. Cheers, Paul

Havent read the article but probably referring to the M performance exhaust. Care to elaborate? The driving dynamics of any modern M car are an enthusiasts dream. You may rubbish all the extras, naming conventions but doesn't take away from the way the car is designed to drive and how it does drive

Monstrously decadent wanker tank

Is this going onto the V10? Filled it up with garage stuff- shifting houses tomorrow. I hate shifting houses

The only EV worth owning - E31 840ci ? http://www.evbmw.com/ He has been building this for 2+ years. It has Tesla components installed and looks very interesting. He has done some pretty cool conversions of 90's era BMW's. The E30 looks to be very tidy and well done!