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I have successfully removed the lid form the tin can Like anything new, the second side was a lot faster based on changing up the approach: Prepped all spot welds at once Started from the front and worked backward prying gently with a nail puller Using the heavier skin thats attached to the roof itself (adds strength around sunroof), pry up and over rolling towards the middle of the car Used a hardwood wedge to split a few problematic welds and lift the skin enough to grab with the vice grips. These are super useful, doing it again I'd probably make a half dozen longer ones (maybe 200mm) to use since they don't scratch and add a lot of splitting power. Waiting on my Aliexpress belts to use with the finger sander to clean everything up nicely. Can't wait to get the drop cloth out and ensure there are no filings anywhere near the car !! Picture of the tools used included for reference.

Finally got onto cleaning up the manual diff. Disassembled the thing, gave it a good clean with a bunch of wire brushes, hit it with rust converter/primer and a few coats of paint, then resealed and put back together. Made for some pleasing before and afters. Then went on a hunt for the culprit of the clunk but still couldn't pinpoint it with any certainty. Jacked the car up and had a mate operate the clutch. Clunks like a bastard every time the clutch is engaged to go into gear. Video Found a few videos on YouTube as well with exactly the same issue, combed through all the comments but doesn't seem like anyone's found a definitive answer either. Some are blaming the dual mass flywheel, some say it's driveline slop and their mechanics are claiming it's perfectly normal. I somehow doubt it. Regardless, got onto swapping out the diff. Tried reproduce the clunking with the driveshaft disconnected but all seemed fine with no load on the gearbox. Had another try once the shaft was connected to the diff and still all good. But then with the axles hooked up to the diff the noise came straight back. The search continues. Bit disheartened, bolted everything back up to go test out the manual diff and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the clunk had became much harder to reproduce. Definitely still there if you're looking for it but nowhere near as prominent under normal driving circumstances. Going from a 3.38 diff to a 2.93 fixed the gear ratios right up, 1st gear actually became usable and overall the car was now more pleasant to operate. Properly enjoyed driving it for the first time since the swap... ... just in time to park her up for the next 3 months as I'm off to Europe to catch up with family after 4 long years. Will pick up where I left off in September ✌️

Buy a deep socket from bunnings and cut the middle out, use a ring spanner to hold the center.

Well another weekend day, another nap time, another short window to get some stuff done on the car. The plan for the day was replacing the steering wheel with the new OE item that I purchased last year, but while I waited after disconnecting the battery to be sure to be sure that the airbags were clear to work with I decided that today was finally replacing the gas struts on the boot so that the car no longer sounds like a dying goat when you open the boot lid. The old one The new one - not genuine because I couldn't justify $50 more each to get the "E46 M3" stamp on the genuine one, given these are probably going to start groaning again after a couple of years anyway. Then it was on to swapping out the wheel. Pressing in on the clock springs to release the airbag is the trickiest part of the exercise, but even that was pretty straightforward as I had the new wheel to refer to which meant I was able to see exactly what it was I was trying to press on, and how much force was needed to depress the spring. I had the old one out in fairly short order. And the new one was even easier to install. Pushing the airbag back into place at the end is extremely satisfying. Am planning on getting the dash and gear surround trim in Titan Shadow at some point so that it all matches/looks original.

'08 NZ new, 46000km, good condition, recent service... looking for around $11/12k - located in Lower Hutt. (also selling my 2022 Honda Monkey on the off chance anyone is interested, less than 500km).

I'll give you a monkey for the monkey 😉

One of your pics is coming up fine, should be enough to start the discussion with anyone interested. I get your regret, it would be an impossible decision for me to split that from an otherwise good looking M3 vert, the chances of picking up another hardtop in the future is approaching zero. Regardless, if it has to go, GLWS.