Leaderboard

Welcome back to the cool kids club, now... keep it for longer than a week

Done deal. Damn it feels good to be back in a NA 6. I missed this sound so much!

Just test drove one... wow. My wife wasnt keen and said it looks too feminine but once I put my foot down we were both convinced! Such a good little car with quite a lot of character.

I heard the Munich facility is doubling the floor area to deal with production of new kidney grills.

After being out of the car scene for some time, I've decided to throw my hat back in the ring and create something fun to build and ultimately fun to drive. A user friendly budget would be a bonus but we'll see how that one pans out !! This will just be a fun street car so the aim is to have a mix of comfort, performance and looks. The car: A NZ new 2000 BMW 318Ci with 4 speed auto. Quite tidy generally with only a handful of the expected BMW "things that don't work no more" to resolve at a later date. Being under powered will hopefully mean no cracking around the subframe and minimal hard driving time etc on the body. The engine: A Nissan VQ37VHR from a 2009 Skyline 370GT automatic. 125k on it give or take so hopefully plenty of life left in it. Factory spec at 243kW which should be a solid upgrade over the cars stock 77 !! No plans for anything engine wise at the moment, must get mobile and legal first. Progress so far: The car is sitting with front end off, engine and driveline are out, rear interior and fuel tank etc removed. Have cleaned the underside to a reasonable standard and have welded in the CMP RACP reinforcement kit. Have cleaned and painted the 330 rear end components ready for reinstallation along with installing Powerflex bushes in most locations. Have created a rig to fire up and run the VQ37 on the ground which was a success and a lot of fun ... had the Nissan anti-theft (NATS) removed via UpRev and an ARC license installed at the same time. This was to validate that I can run the motor prior to install and working out the wiring later on when its more difficult. You can check the video here: Next Steps: REALLY keen to get the rear end back together so something is finished !! Will need to complete the welding in of the RACP to frame rails in the boot before the LVV certifier comes to check out my work. Once that's done I can get ready to stitch weld some other trouble areas then underseal and paint it all real pretty before installing the backend. Once the back end is together and looking slick I can finally turn attention to the pointy end and see if the engine is going to play nice. There will be a lot of work involved and a few options to investigate ... current thinking is it will be a custom oil pan and cross member at least. Steering rack may also be an issue. Some Pics To This Point:

Nothing new and only 300 or so kms driving to report in a few month. With the hosepipe ban still on in Auckland I decided to book the wash bay at United Car Care in Penrose to do a decent wash. The Klasse, Collinite + Fireball Wax combo is holding up well (don't really expect different after 300 km and a few months lol), I didn't take any pictures of the beading but the fireball wax beads up like crazy. Very impressed with it.

Woops i got it

Finally taking a quiet moments lunch to post on my recently acquired 2008 135i. Sparking Graphite Metallic with Coral Red Leather. Bought from Auckland City BMW, provided with a complete and detailed service history from new, serviced only at BMW, and found every WOF sheet in the glove box :D. My wife says this is a midlife crisis type of purchase. Paint is swirl free as dealer did a cut and polish, but it seems to be more of a cut and a bit less on the polish as there are still fine inperfections here and there that a true machine polish stage would have removed. One day I'll rectify this but haven't got the energy right now :D. Won't be doing anything too ambitious for a while on this as got a good deal on Autosure with it, so will drive it liberally (as much as one can with a weekend occasional driver) and hopefully the big ticket items will require replacing over the next couple of years (Injectors! please injectors! and turbo wastegates). She's had a new water pump 2 years ago as well as some injectors replaced under warranty. I need to do an assay on what injectors are currently installed so I know where I am for the future. I'd really love to at least get a dual cone intake (if only for the sound!) and possibly a better intercooler on there but suspect that is squarely in Autosure voiding territory so won't be going there for now :(. Have driven only an embarassing 19km (yes NINETEEN) in the last month due to lockdowns and prepping Post purchase activities were: Wheel deep clean, they do a good job at the fronts but never get in behind the wheels. Poorboys wheel sealant used afterwards. Proper interior clean (it was okay, but needed some detail). Paint sealant (Klasse High Gloss Sealant) Collinite 476S Super Double Coat (lasts > 6 months I've found) Paste wax (Fireball) Front and rear dashcam install. AVIN 10 inch Android 10 iDrive screen replacement. Plans: Walnut blast booked in soon too as it seems not to have been done at all prior to now. Smokers pack retrofit!

Hello, Im new here, just bought my first bmw. A 2007 325i m sport touring. Its done 81,000km. Loving it so far, so much fun to drive. Heres a few photos i took the other day. Needs a few little things sorted out but i am getting that done next thursday. Cant wait to take this thing on some longer trips and backroads.

Ahhhhh....that is more understandable. Not the actual swirl, swirls that machine car washes rapidly put in... Yeah, those fine scratches are unavoidable.

Yeah it's terrible for us car loving types Fortunately (or not) I don't do enough driving in the 135 for it to really be a big pain, more of an inconvenience. Dams are back to 73% now...but much lower rainfall predicted over the coming weeks...so no end in sight really. I don't seem them lifting the ban over summer as that's a shedload of pools to be filled. I think it will only be resolved once they bring all the additional supplies online.

give me a buzz, easy to recover. generally happens when the battery is old or draining corrupts frm. I have tools to reflash and recover.

It's a goddam nightmare this 'drought'! I've been using 'ONR" rinse-less wash. It's actually really good. But the wash experience is lame. (I bought a new Kartcher like a week before the restrictions!) I do think the ONR process has given me more swirls, but I need to do a polish anyway... Even though it feels 'wrong' I would recommend it.

The panel gaps around the front bumper look on the piss, so be worth checking for damage in the front.

@M3AN I guess you don't feel so stupid now ?

Final bid $7,250 Reserve met

@promo is your friendly local FRM magician

And she’s home

+1 the low equity rate penalty doesn't matter, having a sweet car does matter.

i must be sick in the head, i love seeing photos of vanos rebuilds. Vanos units are such cool pieces of engineering. Excellent work.