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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.

Fixed.

Here's my 535IS, had this for almost two months now. Probably the nicest car I've owned so far and am very happy with it! It's got 340 000 km on the clock but it seems to be very well maintained, so far I've only had to fix a couple of small things. It feels very tight (as tight as a 31 year old heavy sedan can be anyway), it seems like a lot of the suspension has been recently replaced. Someone once loved this car very much and I am hoping to continue that love. Currently I am very happy with realOEM and the countless genuine parts websites online that are almost better priced than used parts anyway. I have already bought a new sunroof mechanism cover panel and a new bit of bumper trim that was missing for some really good prices. Right now I am still working on: Trying to figure out what is causing the slight miss at low rpm and under load The headlight washer system (no clue what is holding this back) Any help or tips would be appreciated. Also any tips on fuel economy or is it just always bad?

Yeah it's probably my favorite. Particularly because this wasn't abused or worn yet, just needs a good clean here and there. I was going to ditch them asap but they have Mich PS3 tyres with good tread so may as well get some use out of them. Not too sure yet, some kind of BBS / BMW style 17" will do the trick. Yeah I found that before I bought the car, few familiar faces on there haha!

Swapped all clear lights for amber, and m3 mirrors for standard in an attempt to creep towards assumed originality. I'm not totally sold on the new look of lights so far. Thing is, were the upgraded items put on by Alpina? By dealer? By owner when near new? Hard to say what constitutes originality. The zender/msport rear spoiler is going- as soon as I can get it off or find a replacement red bootlid!

Black headliner is all you need to see - everything else M325i specific could be optioned or dealer retrofitted.

Wow that's stunning!

Not sure if you mean facelift because this being the F20 is a totally new model/shape compared to the E87. The F20 was introduced in 2011 until 2019 with an LCI facelift update at 2015. If you are happy to spend a bit more around 11-12k you could find one with low kms and better spec. It is a sensible option as you say. Sure, it does have potential issue with timing chain/guides but if you get it checked out properly and if it has been maintained well it really shouldn’t be an issue. Other than being a slightly noisy motor in general, the performance is great and the 8 speed ZF gearbox and light steering makes it an excellent and easy car to drive. (Also very safe, my friends mum was involved in a crash on the motorway whilst doing 100km/h and ended up spinning the car and hitting the center guard/wall and she walked out without a scratch. Car was totalled) Those other options.. ha ha ha I think you already know!

A bit of poking around on the internet suggests that the DME cutoff occurs around 9 volts, and if your battery is on its last legs it would be getting down there during cranking. The starter digs deep to get the engine spinning and after that the cranking voltage will recover a little, but by then the DME has likely latched the "I'm not going to start" relay. When the battery is weak two things happen. The starter being a DC motor, draws a certain amount of power (volts x amps) to do its job. So when the voltage gets lower the amp draw goes up and this equates to a bale of hay being thrown on the Camel's back The second thing that when the battery plates are sulphated the battery cannot be charged properly. The battery gets a "surface charge" and when tested with a voltmeter it will read as fully charged, but as little as one attempted start will kill it dead. My "smart" charger has a "rejuvenation" setting that is claimed to overcome the sulphation problem by pulsing the battery for 24 hours with different voltages according to some secret algorithm. I have just re-installed the 10 year old Jap battery in my Mitsi after having it die on me a couple of days ago. Tomorrow I will see how effective the rejuvenation has been Cheers...

They're the N20 - same engine / state of tune as the F3x 320i and have the ZF 8 speed gearbox too. Nothing amazing but they go ok and have decent economy.

If you thought the cars are getting pricey, here's something that'll blow your mind. Ebay. Set of four mint 14x6J5 BBS euro weaves - with caps - no tyres. USD1275.00. You saw it here first, folks. https://www.ebay.ie/itm/BMW-14-BBS-5-E30-Euro-Weaves-4x100-Genuine-Factory-OEM-Wheels-325is-318is-E10-/183530899769 Now tell me 14" baskets are worth nottin' 😄 Seriously, I wonder what they'll go for?

Fitted new Lemforder Tierod's last weekend and got a fresh Alignment at RaceAlign on Monday. With Suspension now pretty sorted, decided to put in some 98, inflate the side bolsters up and give her a good, sustained spanking. Went for a blast out to the Manakau Heads Lighthouse which (after the hideous Southern Motorway traffic) was fantastic - brilliant views, no traffic and some pretty fun (if a little sketchy) roads. Car was great - really happy with it - didn't miss a beat, flat and direct, but compliant, heaps of feedback and with the 3.38 diff, plenty of power for me on these types of roads. A bit much tramlining for my liking, but a lot of that would have been the nature of the crappy roads. Only bummer was the speeding ticket and 20 demerits doing 98 in what I had assumed was a 100kph zone in Drury. Oh well, could have been worse 😜

Sorry - not so flash photos - but my overnight stay in hospital got delayed - so didnt get the opportunity to get the car out, and the sun was too low once I got home. I'll try and get some better shots later in the week

Thought I'd update with some info on this car. 1 of 10 worldwide, 1 of 4 RHD, in this spec (OG on m tex) according to production numbers. Probably a handful running around that have had the interior swapped in. But as far as factory optioned cars this would be one of the rarest combinations outside of individual spec cars. Safe to say we won't be seeing another in NZ.