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Engine went in without issues and have been busy assembling everything around it. First thing I did, of course, was attach the shifter linkage and have a jolly good time shifting gears whilst making racing noises. Really happy with the E60 shift lever and ZHP knob combo as per @Eagle's recommendation. Well worth the investment. Engine bay is beginning to look pretty much complete now. Just waiting on the exhaust manifold gaskets to arrive and can finish the last bits off. Fuse / ECU box is also looking nice and tidy now. Tied in the reverse light wires quite well so that they're barely noticeable and the one remaining auto transmission plug is also tucked out of the way. The new tensioners arrived and got bolted on, as well as the rebuilt DISA, new intake boots and MAF, aluminium water pump and power steering pulleys, power steering reservoir and hoses and also a fresh new dipstick, just because. Gave the steering rack a good scrub and bolted it back onto the subframe. Kept the old tie rods for now, will chuck new ones on when doing the new suspension, brakes, rear subframe etc. Remembered the old PS pressure hose having a groove worn into it where it was rubbing against the underside of the engine block so chucked on a rubber sleeve on it to prevent the same from happening to the new one in that spot. Washed all the cooling system and intake components and threw those on. The radiator and associated hoses are barely two years old from when I first bought the car, the engine donor also came with a near new genuine expansion tank dated 2020 so happy enough to reuse that for the time being. Made sure I got the manual radiator bracket along with the manual conversion so it all looks as it should and doesn't have the blocked off auto trans cooler dangling off the front. Remembered to switch over the radiator plugs from auto (left) to manual (right). Filled the engine up with oil and turned it over a bunch of times by hand. Going with Penrite 15W-40 special running in oil for the break in period. Have heard good things about it so am sure it'll do the job. Will then switch back over to Castrol Edge 5W-30 that I've built up a decent stockpile of. Am also just using straight distilled water in the cooling system to start with. Just doing a tonne of cleaning and tidying up small annoyances like missing/broken clips and other imperfections that I have easy access to still. Not sure what sort of environment this car used to be in back in Japan but am noticing some weird items wearing away that I haven't noticed happen on other cars. The latest example being the hood latch cables, the plastic/rubber sleeve on which had completely crumbled away. Went for my ritualistic scavenge to Pick-A-Part and none of the cars there were suffering from a similar disease so was an easy search for a replacement. Luckily an easy task replacing the cables themselves as well without having to change the lock mechanisms. Gave those a clean and dash of grease whilst having the whole thing apart. Hoping to receive the parts package this week still so can finish things off in the engine bay. Will put the front end back together in the meantime.

I use HPR5 in all my own cars and most customers. I prefer the 40 viscosity and its usually cheaper especially 20L trade\special price. I also remember reading a technical thread on bobsoilguy about the base stock etc, the consensus was that is was decent.

Loosing my garage space so id thought id try to sell it by doubling the price. Seems legit.

Did you do something cool over the break period, or snap a pic of anything wicked over the year? Share 'em here for us to oogle while we're back at work or winding down. I took the hard top off and went camping. Convertibles are pretty much just fancy utes anyway right?

Originally i wanted to some additional support\rigidity for the subframe floor. The only non intrusive option available at the time was the Vincebar, but they were too expensive and not easily available. CMP engineering in Australia released their updated front and rear version at the end of Sept '22. They much cheaper to buy(just over $400 NZD shipped) and additional tower braces can be bolted on later if required, they can also be installed without having to remove anything from the underside. I got a head start thanks to @Vass giving me the instructions for the rear while i waiting for mine to arrive. The rear was much harder to install than the front, lots more welding in harder positions given you are in the boot. I had already been in there installing the Reddish chassis plates so had to undo alot of work - clearing seam sealer, paint and i had to weld additional material to the Reddish plates to match CMP ones. Also checked the spot welds on the rear chassis rails beneath the rear seats - found one at failed each side. Those were repaired and i did the recommended stich welding between the spot welds (Reddish never mentioned this area) Front was straight forward, much less welding and more comfortable to work (as much as you can expect to be squatting\kneeling in the back). Had to add some additional sheet metal to cover up Reddish cover plate holes. Again the Reddish cover plates made a mess of rear. Once the local BMW wreckers open i will be getting a cut out for the rear boot\tyre well. Once that is tacked and sealed in place it should tidy it up nicely. CMP's methods of removal are much better in this regard too. I certainly recommend CMP over anyone else at the moment. They are only ones to publicly document all failure areas the need to be checked, prices\shipping are good and Cayn the owner is very helpful Here's the instructions which give you an idea. I really cbf'd taking pictures. Front (only fits E46 coupe and sedans with fold down rear seats) - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r0yptrrfvz3sh06g3btag/h?dl=0&rlkey=d3ak9st81tz52mwrg6jhi8gq4 Rear - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sgo61ce8idx7gd5/AAByD0GhZa-EsWnOf31JQbzda?dl=0 Also ordered\installed CMP monoballs. Expensive yes, but i justified it by saying my preload angle for the RTAB pocket was incorrect (i had lowered the car after it was set), they place less stress on the RTAB pocket and ive already converted the lower joint RTAB joint to spherical M3 one. Certainly much more force needed to install these compared to your average bushing. If you are doing them on the car you'd need grade 8.8+ threaded rod, bolt\thrust washer and preferably a long 1\2" ratchet. A ball joint press may work but would be a pita to line up properly. I also painted the outside flanges for the OE look. Ordered solid alloy subframe brushings from MK-motorsport in Germany. Additional research and talking to people has me convinced that it is the way to go. Yeah i should of done them the first time around (could say that for most suspension related work ive done on this car) but you do really get to see how each improvement changes the vehicle, as opposed to doing everything at once.

Supercheap Castrol EDGE Engine Oil - 5W-30, A3/B4 5 Litre @ $53.99 End Date 08/01/23 https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/castrol-castrol-edge-engine-oil---5w-30-a3-b4-5-litre/299206.html Penrite HPR 5 Engine Oil - 5W-40 5 Litre @ $65.79 End Date 08/01/23 https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/penrite-penrite-hpr-5-engine-oil---5w-40-5-litre/14911.html?cgid=SCN6004#start=16 Those are the big discounts. There are other deals though.

Spotted this 1987 e24 635csi in gazelle beige with brown leather and period car phone parked in Akaroa on New Year’s Day. Also saw this 1990 zinnober red e24 635csi and 1988 alpine white e30 325i sedan at the Vintage Car Club New Year’s Day picnic.

Good project for someone brave as it will probably go cheap. Calypso red is a nice colour but 242,000km, Singapore import and paint condition will scare off most. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/750i/listing/3934879506?bof=t1CUuipv Video from two years ago:

Id be very surprised if this isn't the best mechanically sound non M E46 in the country (once fully completed)

Hi im looking for a set of brown or black leather door cards for a pfl coupe, cheers

Easy enough to pickup, but yeah maybe let your mate take on the risk for your nice car. I though id better check the MK ones are standard height after i wrote that. CMP ones are raising type for lowered cars, so if i used them i may not have enough negative camber using stock eccentrics. I read a M3 forums post about a guy using CMP ones with M3 stock springs and he only could get -0.5-1.0 of negative camber. Eibach springs only lowered the rear about 5-8mm on mine, so dont want to risk needing camber arms (cert).

If he can sell it for that then all power to him. I've seen a couple of others on TradeMe that wouldn't even sell for $5500.

Appreciates the profit too, no doubt https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/540i/listing/3926835969?bof=t1CUuipv

So much work going on here !! Great progress updates Probably not applicable as you're on the mainland but I'll mention here anyhow in case its useful in the future or for others ... highly recommend https://www.beattys.co.nz/driveline in Auckland for driveshaft work. Just make sure they note 'fussy paint job' on it like they did for me 😆

Milady wife's Lexus RX, and Miss M's F20 116i use the same engine oil. Winning!

Seems Legit garage brackets arrived, so I decided to test fit one of the front brakes to ensure everything lined up properly. Everything bolted up nice and easily, and looks great. Tried to put the stock front wheel back on, no chance, far too small, nowhere near enough barrel clearance. In other news, Ive ordered a new set of wheels, 18x8.5 et45 Apex EC-7 in the anthracite finish, should be here in 2-3 weeks.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/motorsport-american-driving-legend-ken-block-killed-in-tragic-snowmobile-crash/5P7ZLKJEFND55ECOIMU37V6PME/