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In the end I bought Aaron's Montreal Blue e36 328i. Really well looked after car and lovely to drive, a credit to the previous owners.

Hey @balancerider Well - here are my observations... great daily driver - although the start/stop engine behaviour is quite unsettling at first, and the not putting the key in the ignition is also a new thing for me average fuel consumption on mostly urban driving is ~11.2l/100KM - so lower than all the others, as you'd hope for a much more modern vehicle! It is nice having all the modern tech - BT audio and phone are the most useful - but not sure if anything else really matters Black paint is a pain ? the modern turbo six sounds beautiful and the torque is epic - very different to all the other NA vehicles. On the digital sport gauges it is reporting 240KW against a claimed 225KW - but who knows if this is correct... steering is nice and light but firms up in sport mode flies very well along country roads and handles great despite not being a Motorsport model - was great on the recent Napier/Hastings trip the blindspot detection doesn't seem to work at all - will get that checked when it goes in for a service at Winger After spending a lot of time driving this vehicle, it's safe to say that something like this (especially a touring) is quite conceivably all the BMW you ever need - super nice to be in, goes like the clappers with buckets of instant power - and handles well, while being reasonable on fuel. That said, I enjoy all the different driving experiences with the vehicles we have, and the V10 M5 still makes me smile the most. Driving the 335i has put a F80 M3 somewhere in my future plans... turbo 6 3-series = a damned good thing!

Started this job Friday and an easy pace over the weekend plus I’ll need another weekend to finish (won’t be this weekend as the BMW Festival is on at Hampton).. Anyway the dreaded the E60 leaky alternator bracket seal saga plus much much more! The oil drips on the ground were bugging me so when I had to have a wof and airbag sensor replaced I had the dealer look at the cause. Dealer quoted 30 hours and about $4.5k to replace the alternator bracket seal, plus replace a weeping timing cover gasket, plus do vanos seals and valve cover gaskets while there. Checking in with the Alpina B5 forum and researching the solutions on-line I’ll do it myself thanks. Of particular note every where I read was take your time and not rush. Sourced all the necessary parts through the dealer and with my BMW club discount was much in it with os prices. On the surface things look so pretty and clean.. The major differences with getting to the alternator and top-end with the B5 vs say the 545i is the supercharger and oil cooler. I started at the top removing covers and extracting the supercharger. And as seems to be the case with me I like to check and clean as I go.. Oil passing the seal in the supercharger can be a problem for (Alpina anyway) superchargers. Some oil is normal as the CCV feeds into the charger after the vane. A good check is at the bottom of the intercooler and how much oil has collected. Thankfully there was nothing out of the ordinary. Another cause can be that the CCV diaphragms perish over time. The breather hose was pretty wet so I replaced both diaphragms. The sc bracket also has to come out to get to the alternator and the LH timing chain cover. An oil feed to the sc passes through the bracket. Moving to the bottom of the engine and having removed covers first thing is to move power steering pump and swing out of the way. This does require emptying the reservoir and releasing the supply hose. From there you have access to the alternator. Make sure you remove battery terminal before attempting to detach the electrical connector and power cable to the alternator ?. Getting the alternator out is a bit of a juggle given it’s weight and clearing oil pipes and suspension bushes and sway bar but turning it to different positions got it out. Then to the toughest part.. the alternator bracket which just happens to have engine mount arm sitting on it and bolts passing through! I should have removed oil cooler first and swung it out of the way which would have made getting to the front 2 torx bolts much easier. To get to the rear bolts you need to go through the wheel well. All bolts need a combination of swivels and extensions to get them off. Seal had definitely hardened and obviously leaking. Next steps will be to put the bottom end back together then replace valve and timing cover gaskets plus vanos seals and sc bracket seals. Plus replace spark plugs while I’m there. Anything else I should do?

2000+ km of road trips stuck on the old girl over the christmas break, didnt miss a beat, went up and down old taupo road a few times, even got a clean run over the saddle road in manawatu... so much fun. We are on track to knock off 300,000km on the odo this year, and it'll finally be broken in.

Really enjoyed reading this thread.

Third time lucky.... After adventures with my E81( 2 door) 130i and my parts car E87 130i, I've now bought a Manual E87 M-Sport 130i! So far I've given it a thorough clean and a good drive around the Wellington hills, very happy with my purchase. Both photos from the sale listing. Its a Jap import that's been in the country since 2015, and I've got a folder full of extensive service history since then including major bits replaced like DISA valves, valvetronic, and waterpump. Car has been converted to NZ Navigation and is a high spec example from factory with black leather seats/silver trim/Idrive/Heated seats etc. Exterior is in exceptional condition bumper aside, interior is also quite nice. It has several mods: Ohlins Adjustable Suspension Works Emotion D9R 18" wheels BMW Performance rear spoiler Tints all round BMW roof racks Rear Wiper Delete Exhaust flap removed "eyebrows" As part of the purchase it had the PCV and relevant pipes replaced and MAF sensor changed after being picked up as a fault in a pre-purchase check. Outstanding issues with it include headliner sagging in the rear and front bumper damage from being backed into near the license plate. Will be fixing headlining shortly. I have had a go at cleaning paint marks off the front bumper somewhat successfully and the actual damage isn't obvious or structural. Will likely get it fixed but not a rush job. Otherwise car is in fantastic nick and drives beautifully. I'm planning to remove the eyebrows and BMW Roof racks asap, will need to find some roof rack covers for the roof. I also have a SuperSprint exhaust backbox to fit on. Think I'll replace the kidneys if/when I get the front bumper fixed as they're painted black. Big decision for me will be about the wheels, didn't originally like them but they're growing on me. They're quite special being 5x120 and relatively rare. I do like the 18" M-sport factory wheels which I have on my 4 door. Have been really enjoying the drive compared to my suspension modded E81, and stock E87 130i. Both which will be for sale now or shortly. Manual makes a big difference in the drive and feels like a bit more power is available. Adjustable suspension is a tremendous ride. So a very happy camper who finally got his manual 130i

Wtb. E39 auto dimming mirror in excellent condition. Passenger side or driver's side. Must be clear and blemish free with all clips etc intact

Pleased to see you making progress, Jon, keep the updates coming

Early model e30 hcv needed have late one can swap or buy

Congrats John - very nice!

Funny I live in Upper Hutt and that's Bogan Harley territory. I have a 1150GS and I have no black Leather. They all look at me like I am an alien or something. Sorry but I like my twin cylinder motors to BOX!

Having had Ohlins in my E46 I can say it really makes a difference. Very nice 130.

Its a shame I didnt know you were looking to move the others on earlier, would've been interested in the E87, but have a Saab now. The white looks great, as do the wheels. Should sound good with the supersprint on it. Will you move the swaybars from the E81 over too?

I dunno, was probably asleep when i posted that ?

Tempted!

Got a chance to do some nice cosmetic upgrades just before Christmas. First was the rear parcel shelf. It was faded and looked tired. I took out the rear seats, c-pillars and lights and @str8_6 very kindly helped me to dye the shelf back to its former glory. With the c-pillars out, we used this opportunity to glue the loose material back up to where it should be. I also cleaned and conditioned the rear seats while everything was in pieces. After leaving it out of the car for a week to dry, the shelf was popped back in and I'm very pleased with the result. The rear of the car looks much fresher! Next I installed the shiny new 540i badge. I reckon it looks epic. I also bought new centre caps and valve caps for the wheels. I was going to wait until I got them refurbished but I got impatient. The centre caps seem to be a slightly different design to the old ones - more sleek without the bulky outline (they also fit a lot more snug). Finally I got round to getting euro plates. Man, what a difference euro plates make (see picture of the M62 in its second home).

Those wheels are so wrong, they look like they should be on an X5 (or larger). Just check that the airbag light works (comes on and extinguishes as expected) because that's a non-3 series steering wheel (5er) as far as I can tell (it's not the normal 3er 4-spoke).

180,000 kms. Vanos solenoids + gaskets installed. The engine is running smoother and has more mid-range torque. Unfortunately, hasn't fully gotten rid of my lumpy cold idle. I've noticed there is occasionally a puff of blue smoke on startup. PCV? Front + rear pads and rotors installed by Jon at Auto 38. Managed to source ATE parts from BM Workshop Auckland. Great service and reasonably priced. Highly recommend. The brakes feel great and the stopping power is immense. You can't go wrong with these brakes. Got the windows tinted last week. Took it to the same guy in Whanganui as I took the 530i to. Again, he's done a great job. I took the rear parcel shelf out too, which he said made the job a lot easier. I also had a few days spare so I spent some time on the paintwork. The paint definitely needed some love; it felt rough and lacked shine. Fortunately though, it had very few swirl marks. Using mostly AutoGlym products, I first gave the car a quick shampoo as it was covered in bugs from night-country driving. I then applied the Magma iron remover over the paint and rims and shampooed the car again. Then I clay barred the entire car, followed by another shampoo, polish and AutoGlym paint sealant. Really happy with the results! The paint has got so much more shine and is seriously smooth to the touch. Also took the M badge off. I'm liking the de-badged look at the moment, but I've got a 540i badge for it which I will put on eventually.

17s look fine to me

Im so jealous. I really want a Titan E39 540i.

Hand brake needs adjusting bad, and still feels like there is a little air in them still, but they definitely look the ducks nuts.

All done, just waiting on the stainless lines now. Cars at 265000km now, thinking the next project will be to get myself a N52B30 long block and rebuild it with MILVS, and some nice headers, and a BPC tune. Maybe even swap engines first and rebuild the current one, it runs mint but Id like to see what a 300,000km N52 looks like inside.