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The designated grocery getter. Need to add some OEM facelift tail lights to the 'to do' list.

Are they a taper seat or crush washer style? Going from the NGK boxes, once the plug is seated hand tight a taper seat is a further tweak of about an 16th of a turn, whilst a crush washer style is around half to three quarter a turn to tighten.

While on the subject of traffic camera I would like to take a moment to discuss the psychology of the different approaches taken in some other countries. In NZ it is basically the Old West approach... the bad guys lay in ambush, shoot the unsuspecting travelers and steal their money. This negative style of enforcement is typical of local authorities and government agencies in NZ, and in general only serves to generate resentment in the victims and disrespect for the enforcers. Contrast this with the type of traffic camera shown in the attached pic. Here the location of the camera is obvious and the posted limit is clearly displayed. The readout (in the large black square at the top) shows the speed of the approaching vehicle. If the driver chooses to drive faster than the limit the camera displays a red light above the lens and takes a picture resulting in a fine. If the driver chooses to comply with the speed limit, the camera may display a green light (depending on the version) and it does not take a picture. Local drivers pride themselves on being able to pass the camera at 1 km/hr under the limit This style of enforcement puts the decision to speed or not to speed entirely in the hands of the driver. There is no ambush and there is no bad guy to become the focus for your annoyance and resentment. This is overt and passive, not covert and active. The only person a driver can get angry with is him/herself. Maybe it is time NZ dropped its negative approach to enforcement and tried applying some positive reinforcement... after all, everyone likes a pat on the back. Cheers...

+1 for do them up tight. Not RFT. No torque wrench needed. I ended up duct taping two extensions together to get enough length to get to the spark plugs. My plug socket was too grippy and it pulled the extension off on the first one I did lol.

Not in Welly but if you run out of options (or have none), happy to ship mine for the cost of return shipping. Edit: I didn't suggest this initially because it's just a target for criticism here on BS but you don't need a torque wrench for this, 30nm is "pretty tight", not loose and not RFT, just "pretty tight".

Wanted a F31 330d / 335d. Was underwhelmed with the poverty spec on the market, limited options and premium prices (which seem to have all got worse). Ended up getting an X3 30d and I am converted. Guess it depends what you want it for. Doesn't look as cool, but everything else in the X3 is better IMO. X drive is pretty sweet. Million times better than Audi haldex. Bottom line though, BMW I6 diesels are beasts. Good luck!

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...

I have just purchased a few 420G 6 speeds and they are about to be shipped. Because of shipping being so erratic I am not sure of delivery times. I will post some more information once some definitive dates are available.

Any colour will do, Xenons and HK audio would be nice but I'm not fussy. Alcantara interior would be cool but I believe all the NZ cars were leather.

100%, bit like @Sammos interior would look mint

You'll be able to get a gauge on tightness when you take out the 6 current plugs too. Will give you a rough idea of how tight they need to be in.

Yeah, saw that one and agree. I think that brown interior (with black plastics) would go great with that colour.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3245333146? Great paint colour, not too big a fan of the interior colour though

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That trim has come up well, props. I'd suggest your "plan B", should the new trim not match, paint it with the same paint. You've done a good enough job on the stuff you have to convince me that it would work.

At the time I looked there were a lot of UK cars. Manual seats, halogen lights, no back up camera, cloth /not heated seats, auto boot etc. There are also multiple versions of iDrive screen. Of course that stuff is all 'luxury' - but once you have it it's hard to go back. The X3s just seemed to have more sh*t. And often 'all' the sh*t. More of them too.

Thanks for the offer. Much appreciated! Also, I didn't realise 30nm wasnt RFT so I'll just crack on with the tools I have. Cheers for the input too @NZ_InFerno @KwSI'll have to go check the washers 👍

Shes a bit tight on the old hoist there 😄😄

@treone yup 6 speed manual and custom exhaust headers too

Some MILV pics

@leichtbau those ES run outs are a nice spec, the blue stitching looks great.

Champion! That's great intel. the 320d ES cars must number in the hundreds, there's always three or four on TM. Edition Sport spec attached for those playing along at home.

have complete units if needed

Back in my day the speed camera areas used to be signposted

Yes... I think the early camera units didn't work properly looking thru the rear glass... and they had that cool light that flashed to make your plate light up and let you know you had been "trapped". And since those early days the police philosophy has not changed. It's still all about trapping people rather than pro-actively influencing drivers and changing their attitudes. An empty police car parked on the side of the road will make people think more about their speed and moderate their behavior than a fine arriving in the mail weeks after the event. If you want to train (or retrain) behavior patterns the feedback must be immediate at the time the mistake was made. Being chased down the road by a car with flashing lights and then lectured, makes a far more lasting impression that getting a "fast drivers tax bill" delivered by the postman. Ask me how I know that Cheers...

Actually, when they were introduced they were in Camry wagons. Always seemed to be burgundy and they had the hatch somehow set at half open.

There were originally 24 of the 335d Edition Sport brought into NZ, haven’t checked how many are still live. So, relatively rare but not a total unicorn. Imports harder to spot as the details rarely include info like the “Edition Sport”. Correct, all the NZ cars were leather, only a few had Xenons, most didn’t, and none had the HK audio.

I have a working motor if it turns out to be the issue

Especially a plain unmarked green van parked in the shadow of an overhanging tree, or just over the brow of a hill... SH1 Himitangi to Sanson (actually I think the VW Iltis that's usually around is blue)

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.

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.

Yeah probably overvalued but there was a 2016 LCI white one with decent spec that went quickly with an asking of low 40's last week. Having had an E91, it's a much more comfortable car than that. All the F3x 335d's are x-drive, the 330d did come as RWD but again UK only for RHD wagon.

@balancerider good shout re: the facelift 330d, I only want to get to 600nm as I’ve experienced first hand how much flex there is in a 750nm E91..! You’re not wrong about the rarity, I’ve seen more E92 335d’s for sale than E91’s in the last year. I wouldn’t mind an F31 but I think they’re still about 10-12k over valued - the same cars are sitting for sale months later without any price movement - is yours x-drive?

Think you won't be able to be too fussy @leichtbau, these are much rarer than the F3x gen (even though all of those are imports) - wish mine had the twin exhaust like previous gen. Space grey is the best colour for these IMO, can't remember seeing an NZ new one without Xenons. Good luck though - the LCI 330d would also be a solid choice as has the N57.

you have TWO E60 M5s? 20 spark plugs and coils leshgo~

Good to know it’s not just me! Was a bit of a stuff around but not too much more work, just very messy with all the grease. Also fired up the ‘vert yesterday for first time in ages, battery was a bit flat but she started first time after a bit of a charge.