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Show yourself out!! That is an E21 good sir.

Hi guys, A couple months ago I was sitting listening to a Philosophy general education course lecture (compulsory course for uni) absolutely bored out of my mind. While I was pondering everything except what the lecturer was actually saying a bright idea popped into my head: what if I made an e34 540i registry for New Zealand? E34 540s are far from a common sight in NZ so I was intrigued as to how many there actually are, and then the statistical break down of automatics and manuals, sedans and Tourings, production year, colours, import history etc. So far at last count I have 84 cars on the list! I managed to collate these from the E34 NZ Facebook page, as well as from old Bimmersport posts and then just seeing the occasional one while out and about. There are still quite a few more cars out there though! (There could be up to ~120 according to NZTA stats) I have been a bit busy with University stuff so I haven't quite finished filling in the colours of all the cars (as this requires using a vin decoder) but most of it is complete. Anyway, if you have or know of an E34 540 that isn't on the list, please add it! The registry is on a publicly shared Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/105QyKE6a_xYv8p-_R4dSbFnPsJcLvHrYUJ8W2PuhgZU/edit?usp=sharing The Google Doc can only be edited on a computer for some reason and if it doesn't work then just leave the plate of your 540 in the comments and I can add it for you. So far some statistics are: 8/84 are Tourings 76/84 are Sedans 8/84 are factory 6-Speed Manual 76/84 are Automatic 66/84 are NZ NEW 15/84 are Japan Imports 2/84 are UK Imports 1/86 German Import (Must have been tourist delivery) 1/84 are 1992 (I believe this was a dealer car maybe for Jerry Clayton BMW) 31/84 are 1993 33/84 are 1994 10/84 are 1995 8/84 are 1996 1/84 are 1997 (Was probably MY95 or MY96 and was in storage)

There are design compromises in these motors that contribute to the short lifespan of the bearings, it makes correct servicing and carefull running a bit more important than usual but that won't totally prevent the issues from occurring.

Got one in my parts stash waiting to go on, along with high pressure fuel hose. Mine's a Rein brand, I'm finding their stuff of good quality and durable.

That's the plan. Still a few leftover meh quality aftermarket parts that I will hopefully slowly phase out. The nice thing is I have all of the original parts to return the car to completely stock (aside from the subframe reinforcement) so a few dodgy parts here and there are not a worry.

Love how focused this build is - no faff and bling, just quality bits to make the car better 😎

Not much to post in here while I'm waiting on parts for the next month. So the seats definitely deserve another few photos on this thread before they go in. I'd be lying if I said they didn't come out every couple of days just to stare at them... Wish I was better with a camera for these. Photos don't do them justice at all. Light effects the way the alcantara top layer looks a lot. Something I did have a go at pre-lockdown was refinishing some trim pieces. Didn't expect it to go as well as it did so unfortunately I didn't take any before shots. My car has a mismatch of interior trim bits, all in various states of awful. The dash trim and front door handles are silver (I think known as titan 2?). These are in bad shape. The handles are peeling and scratched, brings the whole interior down. Annoyingly the finish on these is different to other types. The silver is some kind of aluminum layer on top of the plastic and really difficult to strip off. the rears are even stranger, they are a (very poorly executed) single piece black plastic mold. They are covered in dimples and imperfections in the plastic and are essentially total junk. Probably done by whoever did the leather retrim... I really just wanted a clean set in the OEM titanshadow finish. Unfortunately that proved incredibly difficult to source. Thought I had a couple times but to no avail. Eventually, a wrecked coupe came up at a wrecker yard near me so I went and grabbed the handles. They were in BAD shape. I wish I had taken photos because I really was not hopeful. The finish on the top and bottom of the handles was completely wrecked on all four. But they were $8 each so I grabbed them. Spent a few evenings stripping them down and painting them. They came up way better than I anticipated. Sanding them was a total nightmare and took hours. I found I had to go as low as 180 grit dry sanding to get the bottom sections all the way back to plastic, then slowly stepping up the grit until they were smooth. I think I finished with 600 wet. For the black sections, I just used a basic rustoleum flat black paint and primer. The nozzles on their cans seem pretty good and the colour is a good match for the other blacks in the interior. I did lose the 'soft touch' that is on the OEM pieces. No big loss imo. Just about everywhere that 'soft touch' finish is on the interior has not stood the test of time, it just gets sticky and starts to peel away. The top sections are trickier. No one quite knows what the paint code of the original titanshadow trim is. A friend was able to tell me that GM8573 is a pretty good match, so that's what I went with. It seems to be a pretty good match, but I don't have any new OEM pieces to compare it to atm so I will report back. Really stoked on how well these came out and will be a big upgrade when they replace the old stuff. I didn't get the dash trim out of the wrecked car because someone had replaced it with some fake carbon rubbish, but fortunately all the dash trim pieces and the gear selector surround are all available for super cheap from schmiedmann. They are ordered but probably a few weeks out. I'm just hoping the paint match on the handles is close enough that it won't be too obvious, not sure what plan B will be if they are way off. In the meantime the car is looking better than ever, but the to-do list is ever growing. There is definitely something sexy about an E46 M3 on square 18s...

A little bit of history I think and the for runner of a current series also I believe. http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/carin...ir=BW-507-70077

You've already got the two I've owned on there. Wish I never sold/swapped my first one

this I am still contemplating.. I may just keep it haha

High cycle fatigue of the bearing substrate as a result of repetitive peak firing load. The upper bearings (from the rods) show a wear distribution that is exactly in line with the crank/rod angle you'd expect at Pmax. Be it S65 or S85, you'll see the same wear on each banks bearings, but mirrored as they're 90 degree engines. The underlying copper is the support material for the primary soft bearing top surface. It acts to provide a careful mix of strength and compliance / softness. Copper is chosen because it's "tough" and hence highly wear resistant, yet soft enough to be able to catch and embed any debris. However, Copper work hardens; every time you load it, it gets harder, and eventually it can crack. For bearing substrates, the peak firing load (peak cylinder pressure) occurs at 8-12 degrees after top dead centre (TDC) and that load is carried cyclically (every firing event) by the upper bearings (and passed onto the crank to make torque). This fatigue event happens all the time, and is primarily load, and not speed, dependent. Once the substrate starts to crack and degrade, the upper soft metal bearing surface experiences high localised stress and begins to pit and break up. This eventually destroys the bearing and journal's ability to "surf" on a nice even film of oil thickness, and results in catastrophic pick-up between those sliding parts, high friction, heating and ceasing (that then snaps a rod or pulls the little end out of the piston) all of which are curtains for that engine. Now, how to the bearing f**k-up occurred: In the early 2000's Lead was banned due to health concerns, which is unfortunate as it is a brilliantly useful metal for when you need to carry sliding loads - it's tough, crack resistant, wear resistant, has a nice "softness" and comformability. Early bearings without this holy grail of materials simply didn't cut the mustard. OEM bearings are getting close to being as good as Lead was, and race bearings are simply still using it, as they're not subject to type manufacturer constraints.

Dark blue

Definitely started with R

I’m pretty sure I drove a. 540i at the end of ‘92 in Wellington, rego RY?

The following cars was exported to New Zealand; 314 Hellrot; 3 cars, 1 MY 1994 and 2 MY 1996 (the later both with M Pack) 276 Avusblau metallic; 3 cars (all with M Pack and all MY 1995) 299 Techno-Violett metallic; 3 cars (MY 1995) 303 Cosmosschwarz metallic; 2 cars (MY 1995) 305 Petrol-Mica metallic; 2 cars (MY 1995) 324 Oxfordgrün metallic; 1 car (MY 1995) 237 Granitsilber metallic; 1 car, MY 1994) 309 Arktissilber metallic; 1 car (MY 1996 with M Pack) This means that all the six RHD M Sport Package went to New Zealand. Every car except the 2 last doesn't have Catalyst converter.

the 540iS list

Yeah very true I really should get into it! The garage where I store it is big enough to comfortably work on it so there really isn't an excuse for me not to. And yeah if I break something I still have a Peugeot and a Smart Car to drive so it is a no brainer.

I think we all recall your car on TM with the fantastic photos and tasteful modifications, but it just goes to show that everyone has their preferences and individual flair. No one could argue that you've taken a great starting point to a level above.

216,9xx km Gavin at Euro-Italia supplied me with a high pressure hose and some new washers. Not sure what the brand is but it says ‘Germany’ on it. This wasn’t done during the engine swap as the original engines one looked good. Wasn’t till later and I was doing the vanos that I realised this one was leaking. lockdown has postponed a tyre purchase. Hoping there will be some specials once we are back at level 2.

Here's the unique E30 - steering wheels even on the right side 1991 BMW 3-Series | eBay This BMW Grocery Getter Is a Rare Schnitzer Performance Edition | eBay Motors Blog

Followed you going up Siberia Hill a little while ago and remembered the plate, keep up the updates 😊

Sure do.

I think the lights was on, about a few hundred meters from the parking lot when car got picked up. Not something obvious especially when you think you are moving out of the cops way by entering a parking lot. Yes we do have a mobility card, my parents are really old and my mom also get a bad surgery on her hip. It's challenging for her to walk long distances. The Cayenne air suspension is really helpful for my mom, at the load height it works well... not too high or too low.

Very nice Convertible M3 if have spare money i will take it lol. Also 6 speed 3.2 https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/3238066683?bof=vUiTLeT3

I think mine was about 160k when I had them done, would have been damaging the crank if I had left them any longer.

does this mean the mean E23 is up for sale too?

hahaha All In due time. that one is also just a bare shell at present. getting a back to metal restoration

It is a slow lockdown Friday, going to need photos of the E30…

All of the fancy

yeah man. one of my favourite BMW colours 😍 I love it so much and I'm sad to have to let it go. It comes on 2 piece bbs rt107s. so period correct 😉

Ah I think I recall that somewhere along the line in another feed. Malachite Green ♥️

Welcome and don't worry about the left hand thing in the VIN checkers. Very often incorrect.

Any market-warming photos on the 535i @BMTHUG?

hahaha I did too. it's a beauty. but going through a seperation and wanting to buy a property has my priorities changing. I'm selling all my toys. my triumph motorcycle is also for sale and shortly (when the lockdown madness ends) my e28 535i will be for sale too ;)

Epic work mate! You’ve inspired me to do my trims now.

Good. I kept looking at it. Like multiple times a day.

I have had one of these for my daily driver for 9 years. I also drove a near identical car for 10 years before this one (in another country), so I have been driving the M44 motor for nearly 20 years and 300,000+ kms. It's a bloody great motor and in the E36 chassis has stunning handling and balance, particular with the M-sport suspension and Bilstein dampers. Any idiot can drift a 328 or M3, it takes really skill to drift 318 as you actually have to BE on the limit, not just spinning the rear wheels.

one goes while the other one has big end bearings done and then they swap for an oil service interval

I'll have to start learning how to do some stuff to my car. I guess parts rarity has always made me leave any mechanical stuff for professionals as I am worried I would break some part exclusive to the M60 and then be faced with the headache of trying to find a replacement part with a non-functioning car.

Yes it is quite lively and it is our favorite one to drive. We downloaded it's specs through bimmercode and it came with motorsport option suspension and seats. It was a Wellington car and the last owner had it for 15 years with full service history from BMW dealers.

https://www.carvaluation.nz/ Talk to Leon from here. He did a valuation for me via photos.

Installed some M-Sport sills last week. Some came up locally and I couldn't help myself. I scanned it the other night out of curiosity to see if everything is good and the coils have definitely got rid of the DME negative current at injector code, I did have a IHKA code for the AUC module which I new nothing about. Turns out its the sensor for the auto air function, it senses chemicals in the air and turns the air circulation to cabin air only. Not a big deal but I will replace that in due course. Next things on the list are: Vanos high pressure hose Tyres all around. Despite the fronts being very new they are awful in the wet.

IMO you can't just buy these sorts of BMW models and expect them to keep going reliably at almost 15 years old, they were iffy new and waaay iffier as they got older. Evidence of what you'd be up for maintenance & repair wise is all over the internet. Not to say you wouldn't enjoy having one but to me there are more cons than pros. There is a big difference in buying a 20-40 year old E24, E28, E30, E32, E34, E36, E39 given the way they were built at the time, a lot of those models keep soldiering on with typical maintenance only. Peak of design simplicity, quality of manufacture and ease of servicing meant they will keep going too. These newer generation models are not the same.

Is an e30 really an e30 if it hasn't been thrashed?

Big price difference between a b20 head and a full b25 swap these days. The 2.5 litre engines are very sought after, being the most powerful factory option, prices are well north of $1k now if you’re lucky enough to find one. You’d probably want to do gaskets and a service before you put it in as well. From the looks your 320i is an L-Jet version so you would need the ECU etc to run the b25 as well. A b20 head “as is” could probably be found for a couple of hundred, or crack tested and skimmed for a little bit more. It could just be the head gasket, what makes you think it has cracked the head? Fingers crossed it’s just the gasket that’s gone.

When my wife got her Cayenne a few years ago. One of the first things she did was drive to the grocery with my parents. A police car picked up the Cayenne plate number near the grocery, my wife didn't really think it was them. So she continued to drive all the way and parked on the disability parking. Police car followed them all the way through and parked behind them. They where a bit shocked that the Police chased them through. My wife had a conversation with them, apparently the Cayenne has several bad records from the previous owners in Auckland. The officer double checked everything and apologized. They also updated their data to reflect the change of ownership. I guess my wife's story is a bit believable, also there are 2 old folks ridding in the car . Of course back when my parents where younger they can really weave into the traffic of Manila. Also I remember back in the 1980s my dad would drive an Opel Manta 2x the legal driving limit... not that this is enforced in our country

yes and bilstein b6s all round to boot with spax springs from the states. it rides beautifully. I wish I could keep it but my Mtech 1 e30 vert is the only car I'm keeping from all my toys

When the alternator regulator died in my e24 I replaced it with a 14.7 volt one, that really helped to keep the calcium battery charged properly. Before that I would have to put it on the charger every couple of weeks or so to keep it topped up even with a 100km daily commute.