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The number plate says it all...

The AliExpress spec M3. You see a few of these in East Auckland. What is it they say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”?

Not even a teensy, tiny, little bit. I've lived in a lot of places. Trust me - NZ is an oasis of calm. Yup, got it's problems, but really nothing like those faced by so many other places. Oz looks good - more money, cheaper cost of living (depending on where you go) but bear in mind that if it moves, it'll probably kill you. And if it doesn't move, it'll probably still kill you. Unless you're planing a move to the Azores, Iceland, or one of a couple of other Scandinavian countries, this really is as good as it gets. A great shame that such a loud part of our political media seems hellbent on trying to persuade people otherwise.

Nope! Don't have to look far to find a more messed up country, I'll stick around and see how it turns out....

Given the choice, I’d rather the Canaries over the Azores! Both wonderful (if quiet) but I think you’d go slightly less stir crazy at the former. And I actually saw a few E30’s there.

Yes, but only $800 😆

^ all things considering, I thought the same of my previous country .... the grass is always greener on the otherside. must be a prismatic effect.

Anyone else thinking this country is a bit of a mess and considering moving somewhere else....

Yes - our website is a "work in progress". If you call, email us or use the chat function on the website, we can better assist you :-). As many will know, Gavin never had a website, so we decided it was a good idea!

I always found it was easier to call Gavin (or Rodney) and have a chat.

Style 68 are such a simple, classic wheel and an easy visual upgrade from lower spec wheels. Lovely looking car.

228,000 km Not quite the same angle but pretty close.

Hit a big milestone over the weekend which I'm super excited about. Picking up where I left off, hung the engine up from the stand to install the rear main seal. All the bolts nice and clean and put a dab of high-temp thread sealer on the two big bolts to prevent those pesky leaks. The two small plugs on the front and rear also went in with the thread sealer. Also bashed in the new pilot bearing in anticipation. The shiny new sprocket arrived so I could box on with installing the chains and front cover. Bought a brand new set of iwis Racing chains. Not exactly sure what the difference is with the regular ones but at only a couple of dollars' difference, figured I might as well. The oil pump chain does seem to have a bit less slack to it but might be wishful thinking. Got a slotted oil pump nut from ECS Tuning that went on with a bit of blue thread sealer for good measure. For whatever reason, the safety wire included with the kit was stupidly short, so short that I really struggled tying it down properly and ended up making a total mess of it. You pay something like US$18 for a bloody nut and they cheap out on you with a couple of cents worth of wire... Had to go out to get a whole new roll of SS wire and had another go. Came out much better the second time around, and now have a spare 12.8m of wire left to no doubt satisfy a lifetime's worth of safety wire needs... 1st attempt Take two Front timing cover went on, as well as the crank pulley that I ended up just rattling on with an impact wrench. Quite a crude and probably not the ideal approach but really don't have access to or any leads on a torque wrench that would handle the required 410Nm. The impact wrench approach seems to have worked for quite a few people before so good enough for me. The crank pulley looked in good nick with no visual imperfections on the rubber ring on the back so was happy enough to reuse it after a good clean, with a brand new crank bolt of course. Gave the oil pan a final clean too and that went on next, with a brand new oil level sensor and a magnetic oil plug I'd inherited. Then onto the big one - the cylinder head install. This was the part I was the most nervous about so had to ask a mate around for some emotional support. First off, checked the sealing of the valves. Threaded in some old spark plugs and poured in some petrol, then blew compressed air into the intake and exhaust sides. No drop in the level and no bubbling from the compressed air so looked all good. Installed a pair of brand new dowel pins to the top of the block as I'd managed to mangle up the old two when removing them. Then the new standard size head gasket and cylinder head after a final clean. Having read through one too many an account of the threads stripping out and recommendations to preventatively timesert the block and whatnot, I was dreading this part of the whole project the most. Turns out I needn't have worried. Applied a light coating of oil to the new bolts so that they were covered but not dripping, then torqued down to 20Nm, 40Nm and two doses of 90 degrees, all in the correct sequence. All went much smoother than I would have imagined. The resistance on the bolts felt very consistent throughout and no funny creaking or squeaking at all. Don't mean to jinx it but looks a straight line to the finish from here on. Was a massive relief getting over this hurdle successfully, now just a matter of cleaning up the last bits and bolting everything together. Was so excited that was tempted to chuck an all-nighter and not show up to work on Monday but after a few celebratory drinks, exhaustion got the best of me. Will box on in the coming days. Still harboring hopes of getting the car up and running before the end of 2022 but will see how we go.

Drivers window reg and front seat belt stalks shipped to dunedin?

find this man a msport front bumper!

First time seeing one in the flesh - full M3 spec 320i