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Ever since I got my E34 540i back in November 2020, I had a strange feeling it would have an interesting history. Something about having factory parking sensors….in 1994 screamed that the original owner had some money. I always thought it would be interesting to try and retrace at least part of the car’s history, seeing as it has done over 370,000km. The only clue I had of prior owners was I could see on a report that the car had been registered under a company in 1997. I found the director of the company and googled his name. Up popped some old news articles from 2006 detailing he owned some prestigious racehorses and was even a New Zealand actor back in the 70s. Seeing as he appeared to be the third owner, things started to get interesting. I managed to get in contact with him, and actually went and saw him to ask him some questions about the car. He was more than happy to have a chat but didn’t seem overly enthused about the car which was a bit disheartening. He did manage to remember the name of the second owner, “he was a merchant banker from Remuera”, which was very impressive seeing as he had bought the 540 24 years prior. I googled the second owner’s name and immediately I had a plethora of information and a publicly listed contact number. I decided to give him a call on a Sunday and to my surprise he answered. He was happy to hear the car was still around and owned by an enthusiast. He was also keen to see the car again, seeing as it had been around 20 years since he had last seen it. We then scheduled a time to meet and about 3 weeks later I took the car out to Remuera to show it to him. What he had to say about the car was very interesting. He knew the first owner, who happened to be New Zealand’s highest paid salary earner back in 1994! He said the car was bought brand new from the BMW dealer in New Market and was the highest specified 540i available in New Zealand at the time. He bought the car from the first owner in 1997, but sold it soon after to the third owner, only to buy it back in the late 90s and then sold it to the people I bought it off in the early 2000s (who also happened to be a famous architect). This meant my car had always transacted privately and has stayed in Auckland its whole life. I am only the fifth owner which is somewhat impressive for a 27 year old car. The second owner also had a nice collection of vehicles such as an old Daimler and an F10 M5, and exclaimed that the paint on the 540 still looked pretty good considering its very high mileage, which he attributed to his passion for detailing. He then began to recount some interesting things that had happened to the car under his ownership: The car was always looked over by a friend of his, who also happened to be one of Bruce McLaren’s mechanics. While on Holiday in Rotorua, the gearbox locked up and it had to be pushed by a bunch of people up an incline out of the motel driveway. It then got driven home in third gear as that was the only gear that worked. The car ended up having to get a new gearbox at 70,000km, which he was understandably unimpressed about. Another time he recalls being stuck behind a truck with the car fully loaded for the weekend, so when a nice opportunity arose for an overtake, he gave it the boot to wind up the V8. About half way through the overtake the car decided to blow a coolant hose, spraying steam and coolant all over the windscreen, completely obscuring his view, leaving him no choice but to conclude the overtake with no vision and then immediately pull over to sort the mishap. After hearing all the stories about my car, it’s made me fall in love with it even more.

Its about 30 hours of fabrication time, so kind of do it once do it right deal Guy making them is a pro, so should end up with at least the same gains as brintechs (using pics as a reference...), just nicer work.

X

Sheesh!

43,400 says it hasn't 😆

Finally saw a new M3/4 on the road the other day, good lord the grilles look no better in person, so ugly. Thankfully thats all I could focus on and didnt see the rest of the disaster behind the grilles.

Finally figured it out, bmw new grill is skeleton nose.

I've bought 2 vehicles (Triumph motorcycle, plus a '73 RX2 Coupe) via Bring a Trailer - both pretty well priced and no untidy surprises upon arrival to NZ. I keep an eye out on CollectingCars, and they seem to deal in very high end vehicles (think Lamborghini, modern Porsches, Aston Martin etc), and not so much my cup of tea either aesthetically or financially. I've had the daily emails from BaT for several years now, and these guys have built an exceptional business from the ground up (selling almost 90% of the 60ish cars a day they accept on to their site) Good for them!! Pics for self gratification.............

Yes, thanks Martin, and I've thanked him for that in PM and for acting so promptly. Edit: post restoration in my M3 PLOG thread was even better than I could have hoped for, I'm very grateful for that, thank you!

Update. PDR was done some time ago. I put air in the tyres last weekend, checked the oil (nil used), 98 in the tank (as usual), gave it a wash and removed the leaves that accumulate beneath the cabin filter shrouds [essential e60 maintenance]. Then enjoyed a club run to Raumati and back. It's a joy to drive; smooth, tight, great handling with light weight and 50/50 weight distribution, and awesome power train. Parts have arrived for the Valve Cover Gaskets (Elring), Serpentine Belt Tensioner & Pulley (INA)(and a new Conti belt for good measure), and the PCV bellows (Vaico). Now to get them sorted when we're out of the latest lockdown. I'll get the headlights polished up, give the car a thorough valet, and it may then be time to find it a new home next month. It's not getting as much use as we're not doing so many long distance trips. This car is a mile-muncher!

Titanium and no excuses Chris!!

@leonf amazing Mazda!

Wow.

Pretty sure a few months back there was a red 316i coupe that sold for 18k on trademe so 15k seems like a bargain 🤭. @Sammo please buy Graham’s one. I want to see it in Auckland!

@zero VIN decoder says Steel Gray. Never seen a touring in that colour

Other end looks tickety boo as well. New oil filter housing gaskets and pressure switch done, new plugs in. Injectors off to be cleaned and benched. Now we play the wait on the courier game... milvs/gaskets/belts/pulleys/coils(with new plugs to convert my old spec car)... and every single coolant pipe. Gives me time to find a new rocker cover.

Yeah I also noticed those listings in Aus. Been watching the prices there since I plan to move there. I reckon those are dreamer prices that have no chance. F80 and F82 prices are $70k-120k. That red E46 is priced as higher than F82 M4s with half the mileage. Sure you could say the E46 is becoming a classic but there isn't a shortage of them like with the E30s.

Spent a bit of time in the workshop over the weekend. Exhaust manifold came off with a bit of pursuasion. Picked up the tools I didn't have and disassembled the head. All the internals looked in good order and have been set aside for when it's time to rebuild. Having trouble getting the studs out that the thermostat housing mounts to, but started cleaning the head up, no signs of excessive wear, will get it to an engine specialist when I have time and see what they say about the scratch. Hopefully it can be fixed and reused. What should I be asking for? Clean, crack test and resurface? In the meantime, I'm interested in learning how I can get the most out of this M20B20 before I rebuild it so I'd appreciate any suggestions people may have. Been good fun so far and quite rewarding.

Good thing it’s a metal impeller!

Good find with that loose bolt. I'm using threat lock on a few of those types of bolts that back out in some instance, including on the oil pump ones.

X

Yeah that's a bit sh*t. Best thing you could do is leave Auckland. Currently building a house and big shed on a 3500m2 section for less than the cost of a 400m2 section in Auckland. And I'm only an hour on the Bullet train to Wellington.