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Hey everyone, So finially I got the chance to grab the e34 out of storage, been a long time coming. Spent the day just taking bits apart, took the exhaust, auto box and diff out. Will start attacking the motor tomorrow, quite tempted to just use the 4.6is motor that ive got already for the e46 project and just chuck it into the e34 as i pretty much have all parts for this project good to go. More to come tomorrow

Camera doesn't slow you down though or improve your driving. Just taxes those that don't adhere.

I think more essential than normal! Have you seen all the morons on the road??? It's seems they're ALL still driving around, at speed, while all the normal drivers stay home! Travelling home one afternoon last week, in 3 separate incidents; I was nearly hit twice and the the car in front of me had to take evasive action... and I only saw 12 cars the whole 10 km trip! And 5AM seems to be the time for 100km in 50 zones and not stopping for red lights... and there was only 3 cars the whole trip that day!

Some valvetronics pics. Kinda cool how it actually staggers intake valves opening on same cylinder, I'm assuming to induce a swirl pattern. Teeny oil gallery's on the bottom of the supports. The other curious thing is that the followers are actually completely floating, the only thing stopping them flying off into scenery is the eccentric shaft and the springs. MILVs tomorrows, after cleaning the bits that are staying, big thanks to @Matt for lending me the spring tool, works legit.

Kind of an interesting event from an engineering perspective. A bit of google mapping shows that the van was likely parked in the shadow under the overbridge where there is a bit of extra width over and above the normal road shoulder. Judging by the location of the SUV and the fact that it was upside down, impulse and momentum being what they are, the SUV probably stopped dead on impact (no pun intended and no offence to any person involved). On the other hand the camera van would have been punted forward with a great deal of force, as can be seen by the relative positions of the two vehicles. If the unfortunate operator of the camera van was sitting in the drivers seat at the moment of impact, he/she would have experienced momentary but extreme G-force. Assuming seatbelt and airbag both worked the collision could be survivable as the operator would have been forced back into the seat. For the unfortunate occupant/s of the SUV the collision was not survivable. They would have continued to move forward at high speed for a few milliseconds after the moment of impact without the benefits of support from a seat, and then stopped abruptly. It is a sobering reminder of the damage caused in a high speed impact either between two vehicles or vehicle versus tree/pole. It also highlights the danger of stopping a vehicle on a motorway for any reason... even changing a wheel on the side of the road is a high risk activity. Safety first is always a good motto. Cheers...

Indeed. NZ is already over regulated and over governed, yet the standard approach to every behavioral problem is the draconian ... "pass more laws and increase the penalties" solution. The trite response to anyone who questions this attitude is... "if you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear", witness the covert introduction of widespread facial recognition technology by government agencies. But I digress When mobile speed camera were first introduced they were placed in unmarked white van. For one brief moment the vans wore stickers identifying their purpose, but that bright idea quickly disappeared. White vans were also considered to be too easily seen so the move was made to unmarked vans in bland colours.... all in the name of "safety, and as everyone knows, once "safety" is used as a defence to justify a negative change in enforcement, all opposing arguments are automatically voided. Contrast this with a pic of a camera van in another country that is deliberately made highly visible. Parked up on the side of the road this van will cause drivers to reduce speed (even if not speeding) and makes a worthwhile contribution to road safety... without inflicting a fine. Sure, it does not generate as much revenue as a plain, unmarked green van, but then, collecting revenue is not the purpose of the exercise according to many police spokesmen over the years. Cheers...

@treone I certainly am i have two 4.6's with one ive sort of rebuilt and ready to for my e46 and then the black X5 4.6 parts car which ive yet to pull apart and semi rebuild. The only small dilemma is if i want to use the already rebuilt one i need to take the front timing cover off and change the oil pump chain as its the wrong length for front sump oil pump type. But regardless this wagon will definitely be getting a 4.6 in it.

Dreamt of doing the E87 retrofit trifecta. All done now. 140i S65 def. the most expensive but my favourite then the 135d and then the N54. Have a S65 manual trans kit sitting here to maybe use in the 140 though hard to go past DCT Daily commute would have to be the 135d aprox. 8 l/100km and only a handful when you give it some pedal.

Unless you're planning on removing at times I'd probably not spend the extra on the BMW OEM / Westfalia bar (main advantage is that it's removable), but the original BMW wiring harness will play nicely with the vehicle CANBUS system, no guarantee that a generic one will. SD European appear to be dismantling several X5's with towbars and could probably do the install for you. https://www.sdeuropean.co.nz/cars-for-dismantling?make=bmw&series=csv5ba865a99525e&chassis=csv5ba865a9951be

now, if the M57 can be tuned to run on used chip oil.... 🤔

Speed cameras and their operation are essential?

Trade Tools , Olive Road , Penrose . Its worth having a look ,not cheap but all good quality stuff

Diff make a huge difference to driveability?, that thing must be hilarious with an open diff in the wet (or dry)

Exciting times ahead as this past weekend i ordered new MSport2 shocks and springs forthe E39. (with at least 1 shock leaking these are on their way out )- old springs will be for sale after refresh Not sure when they will arrive at this stage, but hoping to have install done sept / October as lockdowns allow. This will mark a substantial progress point in the refresh / return to build sheet spec project of the car and will leave only the Xenon lights to go. (these are listed on build sheet but not installed o nthe car) @hqstu is holding a set for me - lucky to have such good mates in the community. most importantly i cannot wait toget out and drive!

I have a 1/2” Hazet that I got from pelican, A Toolpro 3/8” from super cheap and a random 1/4”. They are all fine for DIYing and if I were to do it again I would still want all 3 but I’d go for the Teng’s.

Well it's all up and running... I tell ya, cranking the engine for first time after major open heart surgery and pouring $xxx into it - is somewhat nerve-racking, wondering if the fresh new parts are going to lunch themselves deep in the internals... But all good apart from lots of smoke from the new paint on the exhaust "curing". Been for first drive since driving it home day one back in May (to the supermarket of course - not necessarily the nearest one ). Rest of weekend was spent fitting front bumper and interior cosmetics (cupholders, centre console cubby and armrest handle, plus door cards and vapour barrier checks - some butcher had been at work on the rear vapour barriers, slicing them open to get at the window regulators.... Put my old M5 steering wheel on as it is in better condition. Before engine start I'd done a road wheels (quickie) tidy up... Time to start thinking about paint.... Sorry for fairly average photos - I need lessons @hunter

EPS retrofit. Installed and coded to the car. Has a great feel. Dif ratio change from factory 335d 2.81 to a 3.08 LSD.

Hey Team Long time no post. its been a while still the last post, almost a year. I can tell you all that the projects are still alive and kicking, I've just been busy toying with other cars, wheeling and dealing and just been a bit lazy with the posting but definitely still wrenching with the bimmers. So another one offically done and dusted. The X5 4.6is 6 speed is finally wof, rego and certified Had to add a couple more things to make the certifer happy. Fitted the car with some adjustables, did a rear muffle delete (myself) looks a bit horry but was free piping so I cant complain sounds bloody grunty though. I also managed to get the rev issued sorted. Thanks to DUDMD from the States. He did a remote tune to the dme by reflashing it to a e39 540i manual then reinstalling the 4.6is software. Runs a treat now with no rev hang or reving issues. I had to get the spring seats modified as i felt they had nothing hold them and the spring to the lower arm. Had to get the cross member modified to have a 4 point of contact with the chassis. We added two front bits if you can see in the picture. Had to make two driveshaft hoops too. So also purchased this new Daily/tow car a 2006 X5 3.0d which i did an egr delete, no swirl flaps (must be because its nz new) and i got a remap done by promo. Car runs and drives awesome now. Also done some preventive jobs, waterpump, thermo, pulleys and belts, oil and gearbox fluid change. So now just the e34 wagon left to go, I did pick up this writeoff 4.6is a while ago. I'll be using this motor and 6speed to swap into the wagon. I've already got DUDMD to send me a ews delete dme which has had the same stuff reflashed on like the X5 manual car. This will make my job a little easier gettting the car started. Fun times ahead. will keep you all posted. Thanks Team

Looks like a third rate knock off thing. What a joke haha