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To be honest, with 3 540's sitting around, I don't know which way to look or what to do next... but Biarritz has been getting most of the attention. Adrian kindly posted up his old but still useable front struts, and Topaz has new tie rods for Biarritz to take the old ones... So Biarritz now has a WOF, license, wheel alignment, fresh new plates and is finally road legal after a bit of a break. Various component swaps (with Topaz) like exhausts, lights, trim, wheels have been going on. The rear lip spoiler was coming a bit unstuck so before I lost it, it was pulled off, awaiting some tape to arrive. The box of timing chain guides and associated parts has arrived, so next up I guess is opening up the front of the motor and getting into it... Been trying a bit of paint "correction" with ahh mixed results but will get there, the PDR man has also been and worked his magic over several panels - amazing work... I've also decided the Titan 540 is up for sale, so if anyone is interested in a pretty well sorted car (with timing guides, vanos, suspension, trans rebuild being highlights) then please PM me.

Yeah mate OEM M Sport 2 shocks, struts and springs. plus all new arms for the front end ( Back already done)

X

Did the airbag recall thing today..at Continental Cars in Wellywood, only took 20mins

Picked up my new M Sport 2 sspension last week or the week before, i forget all these lockdown days merging into one long ass week. Also have all the other bits and peices, car booked into Mosens next week (1-11-21) to have it all fitted up, then off for aligment the next day. Super excited to have it all fitted up. The new shocks / struts are so light despite the size, benefits of ali construction i guess. paranoid ive missed something nad have been through the parts list and boxes atleast 3 times haha.

ahh yes then I can tell you how absolutely beautiful it was. I was very impressed with the car. performance wise it's really good too. I love it. ahh hope Charlie is doing well. what a nice fella he is

Tbh the 330i has enough power for me and the running I’m doing, it’s not that much better on gas either (12.5L/100km compared to 15L/100km round town) Will always miss the torque of the V8 and less road noise in the sedan without fold down seats but I think the biggest difference is the steering. The E46 is just so much more responsive and it makes the car feel nimbler. Also I don’t have to buff my headlights every week and touch wood I don’t have any weird vibrations yet.

@ingrid_e30

very rare, rarer than m3 if I recall correctly

Today TradeMe wrote... This is the kind of positive reinforcement we all need Cheers...

You're absolutely right there. I've had to replace very nice brackets made of 6061-t6, done by CNC for hand made mild steel ones, with tacked on spacers to pass a cert. The beautiful irony was these brackets were on the car when it was built in 2001, and subsequently functioned as a track car up until 2 years ago when we started getting it road legal. Needless to say, the 10mm mild steel brackets I made have been replaced with the original set now. It's an absolute piss take sometimes

Oh Gosh, this old chestnut. Do you have this in writing that the cert isn't required from NZTA and LVVTA? LVVTA website: https://www.lvvta.org.nz/knowledge_base.html "Does an auto to manual gearbox conversion require certification? Yes, all gearbox conversions require certification as the braking system has usually been affected with alteration or modification to the brake pedal-box." Here's where it can come down to interpretation: Good old NZTA guidelines, as you say, proving it's all OE. https://vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz/virms/in-service-wof-and-cof/general/miscellaneous-items/engine-and-transmission?fbclid=IwAR2-FTQGwnolB46UxVLJzpvmfvM4GcOm8R2muIhXQ_lnAQ-eapQKIpetT44#tab2 However, good old LVVTA interpret OE as OE to the vehicle in question. https://www.facebook.com/LVVTA/posts/does-my-auto-to-manual-conversion-require-cert-even-if-im-using-oem-componentsth/2381117905319025/ It has been discussed a few times, and to take a clear example from the comments: In summary, yes LVVTA say you need a cert for your manual conversion. Will you fail a wof on it? Probably not if you've actually done it well. What will insurance say in event of an incident? Well that will be fun for someone to figure out, because LVVTA say it needs a cert.

Thanks for the feed back- yeah original pics are terrible. as for the conversation cert. It is NOT required as ALL parts are OE. This is confirmed with NZTA and LVVTA. If you have been given a different interpretation- unfortunately it was incorrect. Please check with NZTA.

Look out for Mitsi GSR (evo 4 shape) recaro's. You can see what they look like in my build thread. Pickup reasonably cheap, nicer pattern on them than most, newer than fishnets and because they're in sedan's the flip forward mechanisms almost always work flawlessly because they're not needed. I have a spare rear seat if you need additional material also. HIGHLY recommend using the recaro to e30 adaptors rather than sliders and floor mounts from Scarles or similar as you don't have to cert or trans tunnel mount the seatbelt.

@Ghost Chip - just had a reply "Sorry, currently have nothing"