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Hey Google, what’s an Evo? “Based on your recent search history, I could only find one outcome” ? https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/a27193651/bmw-e30-m3-sport-evolution-changes/

With respect, I think you're missing the point. What you refer to as 'fiddling around and looking' is in fact Diagnosis. The professional operator is exactly that; a professional. Anyone can plug in a scanner; it's what they do with the information provided, and what the discover beneath the hood and in driving the vehicle that results in a diagnosis. It's based on training, experience, knowledge. They'll recommend an approach, estimate or quote for their work, and stand behind their work and the parts they've supplied. Nothing wrong with 'going it alone', plenty of us here do so. Though with healthy respect for the professionals. Cheers!

Yes the owner does Nathan. You can't contract out. That's why sensible repairers will only diagnose the faults and supply parts for the repair themselves. It becomes a sh*t fight if it turns tits up and the repairer gets bad feedback for doing it. I'd rather read a book and have a few coffees and watch the grass grow than get into that situation . 99% of getting an effective repair done properly is diagnosing the repair properly first and then using quality parts to effect that repair in a timely fashion.

Couple of snaps from the Skid Factory meet at Greenlane.

Engine in the hole! 45 mins was all it took to go from flying engine to bolted in. Super easy in the end. Popped the inlet manifold on to check how good it looked. Pretty happy. Unfortunately after these pics were taken I had zero time on the car for 8 weeks due to work commitments. It hurt!

That may indeed be a blessing for the professional workshop operator.

Cheers @WYZEUP! You were a help re cert process a couple months back when I messaged you. Still have the WOF to get when the cert plate arrives, and one of the things I failed a WOF on was headlight direction. Thought I'd show a wee before and after/how-to on the process. Firstly, remove the 2 screw from the grille along with the 3 clips on top. Then I removed the 3 screws holding the headlight assembly to the car, along with the 3 very brittle plugs at the rear. You'll be left with something very mad max looking after you also remove the clips from the kidneys. My WOF guy didn't want to touch the headlight adjusters as they were seized up and didn't want to risk breaking them. A couple squirts of silicone penetrant and a wriggle of the adjuster with pliers on the metal free'd them up good as gold. Also took off the headlight metal surrounds to remove the light surface rust and give them a quick paint. Only paint I had lying around was Arctissilber from the E36 ? But it actually looks really nice. Job done. Had a quick line up of the headlights on the garage door but now that the adjusters move freely under finger tips, I'll let him use his reflector to dial it in. A keen eye will notice I've removed the IS lip. This lip is less prone to driveway scrapes when toing and froing from WOF/CERT etc.

2002 spotted in Yogjakarta, Indonesia. Car was locked and no details on it about running gear. E30 spotted in Kuala Lumpur. Again no badging. Full black sport leather interior. Very straight. Enjoy.

okay, here's one of mine...

If you diagnose incorrectly or the part you source fails prematurely you have no comeback. Its always better to have the person installing the parts to also supply the parts, then there is no excuse like 'it failed cause your part was no good' etc

I think you might struggle to find someone to do that for you. It would be better to have the workshop diagnose it correctly and then you carry out the repair if you interested in saving money. In my experience, jobs where customers to self diagnose never goes well

Congrats dude, such a good feeling knowing it's all done and dusted and you can fine tune it now ?

Quicker around any NZ track... possibly for the first four or five laps (less if its Hampton Downs International or the full Highlands Park track), then the brakes will start to be an issue as you haven't upgraded those in your shopping list, shortly after your road tyres are going to be overheating due to the tread blocks moving about under load, so you'd need a set of semis at least, missed off the list. Then you'd be sick of rolling around like a Spanish galleon through corners, so you would need a new set of adjustable shocks and springs, all times two of course as its for both cars. At which point you then find out how flogged all your bushes are so they all need to come out an be replaced. So now you have an EVO that can stand up to a decent track day, or even race event, oh but wait, the piggy back ecu and tune has now caused the over-stressed engine to blow a foo-foo valve because none of the cooling has been upgraded on the shopping list. So that's a rebuild (or two) and while you're in there you probably want to go forged internals, chuck on a bigger turbo, and do some head work. How much are we up to by now..? Once the engines all back together and been on the dyno for a good few hours to be broken in and tuned, you should be all good to go back to the track, at which point the 250,000km gearbox and or centre differential decides it's had enough of all this extra torque and abuse and lunches itself. It's about now you start to think to yourself what was that expression about fast, cheap, reliable racecars again? Thanks for your input Tony Quinn, unfortunately a lot of those "Gentleman Racers" don't have as much ability as they have available horse power in their cars, so can be almost as much an issue as the Flat Peak Cap brigade in their cheap Evos at Pukekohe track days. It does if you don't take it to the track and just keep it in the garage... but where is the fun in that. Or you can do what I do, and have a racecar that never makes it to the track and still costs lots of money each month, I must be going wrong somewhere?

Yea third time round! First time I claimed insurance and was $2500 to be repaired. Second time put a wee crack right on the bottom edge and broke a mount for the grill, so not a major. Maybe I need a big alloy splitter and just cut them in two haha

http://hdr.co.nz check these guys out, the owner is a european specialist. I have never been there personally.

This was on Discovery Turbo last weekend, worth a watch - it'll probably pop up again on the same channel some time soon. Still prefer Ed though.