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It's been sometime since I've had a BMW, the last time was when I sold my E36 coupe with its 1UZ-FE V8 conversion, seven years ago in 2014. The desire for an old project BMW has remained, the only model that tickled my fancy were E34s so meant slim pickings. A particularly nice 540i came up this month so I had to drop everything and make a move on it. It's exactly what I was after, wasn't going to bother with any old thing. This one is exceptionally straight and has only had 2 owners since NZ new, I'm now the third. It's just about to tick over 86,000km I've placed a huge order of service items so that will allow me to get the car back up to scratch, I'm probably going over and beyond but I tend to be like that if I deem the car as being worth it. This one is no exception. Eventually I'll sort some nicer wheels and fit an Eisenmann rear muffler, but those additions can wait.

While all that was going on, I was slowly getting the car ready for getting a LVVTA certification. Eventually, it was ready, so I booked the date. The battery was fairly old and decided to give up a few days before my cert appointment, so I had to get a replacement. I went with a slightly smaller DIN44 battery to save some weight. The certification check went well, but not perfect. The only thing I had to do was get some lock nuts for the engine mounts - a rule I had no idea about. A few days later, the recheck was done, and the modifications were certified. The car ended up receiving one of the new donut style LVVTA electronic data plates, riveted to the passenger B-pillar. The only thing left to do was get a fresh WoF and some registration, then it was finally road legal for the first time in 4 years. Last weekend, I finally got the chance to take it for decent drive. I am absolutely stoked with how nicely she handles. The poly bushes, coilovers, and purple tag rack produce a very direct and responsive steering feel. The ride is not too firm, but still stays flat in the corners. The brakes are quite effective, certainly lighter to engage than a stock E30, but the larger Audi master cylinder firms up with good feel. Though, I'm yet to push them too hard as the pads are still breaking (braking?) in. The LSD amazing - This is the first RWD car equipped with an LSD that I've owned, and...I don't think I could go back. Although, not everything is working how I want. The exhaust is the lowest point by far, and I have already managed to scrap it a few times on speed bumps. The main V-band clamp has taken a few hits, and is already damaged. So... I'm already planning to make some more changes to the exhaust to gain some much needed ground clearance. I've also got a new clutch and flywheel, as well as some shifter and gearbox bits ready to be installed at some point. And the body is going to need a bit of rust repair, and a respray before too long. The project continues...

To put it simply, BMW just puts a mark up on anything with their brand on it. The "Genuine BMW" version is the same part as the Lemforder part but with their logo added.

@GorGasm There was this impressive display of 4 different colour mint, stock B5 RS4s at the Brit and Euro show a few weeks ago. Excuse the crappy wide angle photo trying to fit them in, was quite impressive in person!

The exterior got some love, with the front end getting a much needed refresh with a combination of new and used parts. The foglight blanking covers (one new, one old) got a fresh coat of Alpinweiss II paint. The vent/trim pieces by the base of the windshield were heavily oxidised. I wanted to restore them, so I experimented with a mix of boiled linseed oil and white spirits. It worked fairly well. Here you see the effect, top one is untouched, bottom one has 2 coats of this mix "painted" on. It dries to semi-glossy finish. New front grill pieces. All installed on the car along with a new lip. Much tidier, I'm stoked!

TBH you would be far better off talking to Pramod about the issues than BMW Wellington. He is far more knowledgeable than any of the techs they have at BMW.

Owell yet again I have been slacking on the updates Motors in, having a couple of wiring issues which will hopefully get sorted. So far the starter motor isn't working at all so need to see what's going on there Rolled it out for a photo. The front wheel is slightly turned hence the slightly off center position, plus needs an alignment aswell. Rear wheels aren't here to stay Picked up another set of wheels this week for it. 16x7.5 style 15s, will be good for the almost factory bottle cap look

Yummy https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m5/listing/3063132314

Absolute stunner - a true Gentleman's express.

I reckon it's close to the tipping point where the cost of fuel it's consumed is more than the value of the car.

super tidy! congrats

Nice car. Surprised at the final figure. These are generally under valued and under appreciated. Hope there was no shill bidding to reach that figure.

Having a soft spot for the e34 this one sounds like a great example. Look forward to the updates

Finally got round to fitting the M3 lower control arms. Didn't do the upper arms as it seems that they don't really change the dynamics at all, just provide an upgrade for the oil lubricated inner bush. I'll leave those until I either need them (currently not leaking) or get bored Went for a lap over my test track this afternoon, and as there was hardly any other traffic on the road I could push on in a spirited manner. In layman's terms what I noticed was that the feeling of imminent understeer has gone. Previously, going into a tightish left hand corner with a bit of speed on, I felt that the car was waiting for a chance to get into the other lane. Likewise, when turning right it seemed ready to head for the fence if I wasn't paying enough attention. Now, with the lower arms installed, even though the camber change is minimal, I no longer live in fear of understeer when going into corners at a few more kph than would be considered prudent . Driving is more enjoyable when you know that your car has the handling to keep you safe on the road when having fun . So big thanks to to you Herb for advising me to get the M3 LCA's 👍 Cheers...

Host it yourself. Do you know much about Dockers? https://github.com/discourse/discourse_docker Dockers

The service indicator lights in just about E30 I’ve ever driven have always been lit up, it’s such a problem I can hardly bring myself to drive them. Explains why they are so cheap to buy now.

Just stick a bit of tape over it, she'll be right.

Yeah, it's no so much about paying attention to CBS, it's the fact that once you hit 300,000kms you can't extinguish the service light, it bounces back on immediately which would be a real annoyance on the dash.

I really don't think I could convince the wife to let me have 2 of them, they would look good side by side in a garage though!

No I don't need another project 😎

Completed the tear down and replacement of the required items. Removal of internal oil pump looks to be incredibly easy and essentially just leaving it out !! Lucky. There was a damaged gasket under one of the notorious VQ oil galleries, so definitely a good decision to do this work now !! Also two of the original screws were loose, so again great to fix while its all opened up. Gave the front cover a nice acid clean and water blast so it looks spanky now. Final re-assembly still to come then can validate the last items before having the oil pan manufactured.

After the weather ruined my chances of painting last week, I managed to get it done on Monday. Some photos during the procedure: The end result: Overall I think it came out pretty good. Color match is not 100%, the roof has some slight streaking and it's got a bit of orange peel (nothing some sand paper won't fix) but it's miles better than what was there and miles better than the spray can job. Overall I am happy. Last weekend I also bought this: It's a mint NA manual 2+2 and I got it for an absolute bargain considering the condition. I've been wanting one for a while so I was very happy to find this one. But as a result, my enthusiasm for the e36 has plummeted. I really like this ZX and am pretty keen to get stuff done on that so I am considering putting the e36 up for sale. Will see how I feel in a couple of weeks once the high settles but I think I'd rather put the money into the ZX. If you guys are interested I can start a thread on that.

FInally, after sitting on stands for many months, I can put the wheels back on, and drop the car on the ground. Not the best weather in the middle of winter, but I got 'er done. I'm pretty happy how she sits. Although, I might be tempted to drop the front a bit more once I get a sump guard sorted. I even managed to get out for a cheeky test drive. It feels soo good to finally drive it. 11s with ease . But...there is one issue - the differential makes a bad noise on decel. Otherwise, its perfectly quite. I knew this was an issue the last time I drove it, but haven't had a chance to sort it. I believe this means the pinion nut isn't tight enough. I'll have to drop the diff out again. Hopefully this weekend. That's all for now, folks!

The sport seats had arrived, and just needed to be recovered before I could put them in the car. As soon as the leather upholstery kit was delivered, I dived straight into the first seat. Many zipties were used... Some foam was repaired on the side bolster. The next seat was for the driver side. This one had taken a bit more abuse, and needed some more serious foam repair. The rest of the second seat was the same as the first. The seat rails were cleaned up and repainted. Both seats mostly back together. I still need to do some work on the back covers. I'm stoked with the result. I think they look great, although I may still need to tweak fitment in a few places. Quite happy with the quality of the leather kit, especially for the relatively low price.