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Date: 11 Mar 2022 Distance: 263504 kms 1. Knobbing Gift time. I’ve scored an m-tech gear knob and shift badge, to match the wheel and provide a nicer tactile experience. FWIW, the ///M badge was nearly 20% cheaper so I bought it. Feels great, looks good too. Now for some Elephant Leather Preservative. 2. Driving, errands. Took it for another drive, remembered to run the heater hot, and exercise the heater tap while warm. Counter-intuitive on a hot autumn day, but essential to keep coolant flowing in a car that's had very light use for the last year.

The news this morning has had me looking at frugal diesels for longer trips. I have access to a Smart Fortwo for around town activities which it handles superbly. However, on the open road you do feel a bit vulnerable in a Smart car, especially with the quality bumpy roads which make it hop and shift around the road like a grass hopper. Wish I had bought the manual 320D touring that was for sale a few weeks ago! Can't seem to find many decent modern(ish) manual diesels for under $7K. Have noticed the price of hybrids and electric cars going up too. I remember when BMW i3s could be had for under $30K. Now the cheapest is a little over $30K... I'm about to buy a battery charger because I can see my 540i getting minimal use this year. Last year it wouldn't sit for more than two weeks ever, and was usually driven a couple times a week (as it is stored away in a garage away from my house so I would swap cars and keep it for the weekend). I did over 5000km in it which I thought was pretty solid considering the lockdowns and what not. I also wonder what ramifications of the petrol prices will be seen in the car market. My guess is that really desirable and rare stuff (i.e manual 911s, e39 M5s etc) will remain at their current prices or continue to appreciate, but more common stuff like W204 C63s which had been regularly seen doing daily duties in the past, will soon flood the market as people can't afford to run them, and don't see the value in having them as a weekend toy. I think people may also think twice about buying a weekend car as they struggle to pay for fuel in their daily drivers. Although on that vein of thought; desirable weekend toys like M3s etc. may become more desirable as more people switch to super mundane daily drivers like Leafs etc and subsequently crave a really special and engaging machine for the weekends. In which case your average daily driver that isn't particularly fuel efficient will potentially be worthless. Only time will tell though! Without getting too political it doesn't take a genius to understand that minimum wage rising is just going to boost inflation further. Costs of production will increase for firms that are already on their knees, and of course that extra cost will be largely passed onto the consumer. It does not take a genius to interpret that minimum wage rising is going to hurt low income earners more than benefit them! I would not be surprised if we have protests very soon pertaining to the cost of necessities because it genuinely is out of control. Let's just say I'm counting down the days until the next election.

The cost of fuel at the pump has increased dramatically over the last few months. There was the usual big money-grabbing increase before Christmas, sustained through New Year, and a slight drop in early January. Since then though, it's been an inexorable increase. 1c/litre a day looked to be an average at one point. Lots of the usual noise about how bad the NZ govt is at managing this, and the tax they're taking. Yes - it's a significant contributor, but if the fuel companies didn't increase price, the govt percentage wouldn't compound the problem. I've said elsewhere that a cap on govt taxation would be a way that the public can be helped. Take a time and price - let's say $2.50 per litre - and once the price of fuel reaches that, the government doesn't take any further tax. However, that doesn't address any transparency issues that the public may have regarding what the oil companies are making vs govt taxation. A better way would be a fixed amount. Without going through all the tax take calculations, let's say the govt takes $1.50 tax on a litre of fuel. A huge amount of money to be sure, but we could expect the govt to be able to say that 30c is spent on x, 27c on y, 2.6c goes towards wrestling mats for one-legged black lesbian mothers of three or more children, 40c goes towards... whatever. Fix that figure. Any change in fuel price is purely and simply at the behest of the oil companies, and is clearly calculable and obvious. It's also far, far simpler for the govt, the filling stations, and so on. It can 'hide' any cents/dollars per barrel taxation, but the public won't care about that. They'd have a clear view of the tax take. Refineries... Lots of fuss and blame being laid at the govt feet for the closure of Marsden Point, a privately owned entity. All the fuss about that, and the offshore barges - all private owned/used. No govt involvement. Should there be? Maybe. Australia is nearly 30x the size of NZ, and has 4 refineries for the entire country. From an Oz standpoint, an area the size of NZ doesn't warrant consideration, and certainly not it's own refinery. Finally... Profit. Oil companies are raising prices at a time when they are making ever-increasing profits. Oil companies are also taking subsidies from governmental institutions... And they're not paying a 'reasonable' amount of tax on the profits they are making - lots of offshore obfuscation around ownership and finance. Clever move by the petrol stations. Announce a price increase, empty the filling station tanks so they can fill right up while they can still get fuel relatively cheaply, and then hike the price up to what the new barrel cost is. There's a LOT going on in this area. A lot of behind-the-scenes long-term planning, all the way down to individual and corporate profiteering with taxation somewhere in the middle. It's incredibly complex.

It has already been skyrocketing before the 'special military operation'. However, I think what Putin has set in motion has a lasting effect on the world we knew. Not something we can turn the pages back on. Influences on oil prices are complex. Supply, demand, geopolitics, and, I would argue, investors/speculators. In focusing on the positives - it saw me take both cars out today. But on the way home was thinking that one day it might take us $1000 to fill up our 'classic' cars...

Give this a go mate

My experience was the manual swap is straight forward if all factory parts are used. Like Nick said. No repower and a factory driveshaft/cross member should negate the need for hoops. The guy I used has done lots of race cars and E30’s. He did pick that my clutch line to slave cylinder should be clipped to the bulk head noting the vibrations over time could fatigue the fitting. I also had to do a brake test. 100-0 x3 stopping within 4 secs. So make sure your brake system maintenance is up to date. My swap was done 5 years ago so have had 10 WOFs since and never had any issues either but it does feel good to have the car ‘legal’ now and not have that WOF anxiety like I have in the past. Good luck, car looks great!

Also this getting some work

Buttonage looks very smart and tidy.

Mine had the large clock where the tacho now is. I don't think any 316i was equipped with a tach (unless it was an option list item). How it was in Aug 2020

I put in a tacho cluster [last year] EDIT: in sept 2020 (!) . Need to install the clock centre console. It's on the list of things to do.

Unless you’re going to replace all of it.. core pipe, matrix, hoses, etc. I would plumb it back in to find exactly what is leaking, and where from. I thought I was staring down the barrel of pulling it all out when at the last minute I found the leak was from one of the pipes coming through the firewall (those ends sticking out corrode and don’t seal against the rubber hose). Cleaned it up with sand paper a bit of sealant for good measure and was all good. It helps that coolant is bright green so you can see it easier!

It's heading that way... and it's loved every km...

Ha ha yes - mate of mine just brought a 6.3 litre v12. He sent me a pic I just replied with 3.62 a litre…. But yep full tank of gas guaranteed! The best news is my new M3 doesn’t need gas but unfortunately it’s not a BMW!

Mandatory visit to Nada Bakery after that for an award-winning pie to settle your stomach!

My listing, I bought 6 of these and stupid shipping delays meant I had sold the car before getting them! https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/bmw/electrics/listing/3507852655?ed=true&bof=3ePjcxTY Part Number BMW: 12138616153 Part Number Delphi: GN10571 Fits tons of BMW and Mini models! Located in Wellington, asking $50 each but would do $45 each for BimmerSport members, which is a total steal!

Thanks for all the tips guys have sorted the correct radiator, new too. Gonna plumb everything back up and find out where my leak is actually coming from, then get to either replacing or fixing the necessary parts.

These are strange economic times we live in. Seems like pricing on so many different things is getting so far distant from what the cost of said thing is. The oligopolies and taxation seem hard at play for fuel pricing. But in contrast to many things, incentivizing less driving is of benefit to wider society, reduce congestion on the road, free up our time from commuting, help the polar bears. I don't see much likelihood of what has driven the pricing up being reversed either, sure there might be some reductions in the overall upwards trend, but as Julian said, $1000 per tank is probably on the horizon, sh*t I'm a quarter of the way there already with the X5.

Price of everything has gone up considerably in these last couple of years. Fuel just taking the spot light currently. Reduced vehicle usage is a good thing but i do feel for poorer people who can't wear the added cost.

Even better is to borrow/buy a pressure tester and pressure test the heater core with just plain water in it.

Yeah, I'd go with Jon's advise on testing where the leak is coming from. I'd add to his notes, that it's worth removing the center console, and glovebox, and putting down some towels to try catch whatever comes out Hopefully it's just a dribble, and you don't end up with something like so

The 1.5l toyota that sips 91 will be seeing far more km on the odo...

So the best advise is that it all comes down to the individual certifier. Most places will be fine with your manual swap, though some might want driveshaft hoops if the driveshaft has been modified. The steering rack swap, you'll likely be looking at a bump steer test, and depending on the linkage, they may not like that if the universal joints are out of phase. Never had any issues with the steering lines, but brake lines they can be picky on. You could try getting around the bump steer test by contacting LVVTA and seeing if they have records of other e30's with the rack swap that have passed cert with that setup, to then pass onto your certifier, but chance are your exact setup has never been done, so they'll want it done anyway. (Disclaimer, I have not tried this)

It is a great looking example with those upgrades.

Makes sense. E30 zone states OEM camber for E30 is -1.10 - 0.10. Certifier didn’t care for rear camber.

The number plate held on with cable ties (illegally) does not inspire with confidence either!

Yes. Not sure why that figure but that was the figure he gave me after doing his calculations.

Gotcha, thanks.

Who stole your clock!!!

…which was derived from the F1 engine development programme of the same era 🤣🤣

Obviously getting confused with the Audi S6/S8 which is incorrectly believed to be a lambo engine. Bloody time wasters.

No. It's a somewhat shitty job. Remove glovebox, remove centre console, unbolt brake booster etc. Install a new heater core, you don't want to do that again if a used part fails! I got new OEM M40 radiator from Abel Smith Radiators in Wellington. It's been in 3 years and 4 months, trouble-free. Be sure to get Genuine BMW Coolant and some deionised water. PS - you'll want to check out (and perhaps replace) your thermostat, clear the bleed bolt etc, perhaps new bolts. Disconnected rotted heater may indicate some cooling system neglect.

Shame my old M328i has an S54 in it now, the S50 was trucking along nicely.

Here's a pretty good diy video for heater core

Unfortunately, I agree that the market for out E60 M5s hasn't really firmed up heaps, but... there are less for sale these days - majority of M5 activity is F10/F90 now most are listed for $30-$40K nowadays - with some under and some over. @Jun yours is a super tidy example with good spec, low KMs and bearings done - so you're right to look for a decent price.

Ohh goody, oh goody, Christmas is here! Was sipping my morning coffee at work when I got a text from DHL that my manual conversion was finally out for delivery, so I rushed straight home to greet it. The package came in looking all sorts of beat up but luckily everything in it seems to have remained in one piece. Looked a close call though after taking off the wrapping as the box was barely hanging onto the wee pallet it was perched on. A couple of scuffs here and there but overall nothing significant and all the bits seem to be there. Bit of rust here and there, which isn't surprising coming from the UK. Will be treating and refurbing everything regardless. The diff seems particularly bad so I'm thinking I might look into just swapping the 2.93 internals into my tidy 3.38 instead of using the current casing? Not sure if it's possible but will do some research on it. If anyone knows their way around diffs, some guidance on that would be very much welcome. The slave looks a bit tired and has the shaft missing, but at ~$40-60 for new ones, I was going to get a new one anyway. Same with clutch, flywheel, pressure plate etc. The one thing I forgot to make sure would be included is the reverse light harness, but I'm hoping it won't be hard to just wire together. Otherwise the kit looks to have everything I need. Will be doing all the bushes, rubbers, detents before it goes onto the car so will be a wee while before it's all together. The 3.0L engine is now at the machine shop and will take a while as well. At this point, I'm hoping to have everything up and running sometime this winter. So, all in all, the conversion cost £850. I also added the manual 2.93 diff on top of that and with shipping everything came out to £1,550. That would have included the front part of the driveshaft. I looked into how much balancing the driveshaft would have cost locally and after getting a quote of $300+GST, I transferred the guy an extra £80 to ship the rear part of the same driveshaft separately as well. It was too long to fit onto the same pallet because of the size restrictions. The purchase went through PayPal and I made sure to check prior whether Buyer Protection would cover this type of purchase, which gave me the assurance to go through with the deal. I used Wise to convert currency instead of just going with the bank rate, which saved me a good $150 on the conversion rate alone. If you're sending money overseas for whatever reason, it's definitely worth trying out. Not sure if I just lucked out but everything came through without any duties owing, so didn't have to pay anything on top of the purchase price. All in all, with the exchange rate at the time, the whole kit cost me $3,300 (or $3,303.15 to be precise). Looking at the $4k+ asking prices on TM and such, I'm well happy with that. Timing wise, I transferred the money on the 25th of January, the whole thing was on a pallet a week later, took another week for the shipment to go into transit and it was on my doorstep this morning, so exactly a month later. Well happy with that. If anyone's keen, I can pass on the details of the fella I dealt with. Great guy to deal with, communication was always prompt and on point and was happy to help out with and advice I was after. He's not a massive operation, just an enthusiast pulling cars apart and usually has 1-2 manual kits at the ready. There's a few folks importing boxes en masse now but I figured I'd cut out the middle man and go straight to the source. Would definitely go back to him again if I ever need to. In the meantime, I also pulled apart the whole rear end and borrowed a press and bearing plate kit to start pushing out old rubbers and dig into refurbing the subframe. Plenty going on. Just need to carve out more free time...

Hi All, I have just joined as a new member. I have enclosed a pic of my M sport 330i hard top convertible. I purchased this in England a couple of years back & did a great road trip through the lakes district & up to Devon, before delivering it to the shipper in Essex, to ship back home to Christchurch. Just love this car !!! Its my third BMW. I have been giving some thought in finding interest to restarting the BMW club in Christchurch, and have had some discussions with the Peter at the Wellington branch. I would like to say hi to all, & any interest club etc ?