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I’m back home in the UK at the moment and this is for sale near my dads work: Laguna Green, factory manual, sports seats, smileys, factory load cover with dog guard, service history, taxed and MOT’d so drive it home for £4500 (just over $9000).

Sorry... couldn't resist...

Answered your own question. Depending on quality of original paint, or if it is original paint, you can sand back the entire panel and re clear coat it yourself. BMW did use a lot of paint back then so that is a help. Maybe start on the least visible part and see how you get on, you don't have anything to loose, worst case you have to have it re-done professionally.

Sand all the clear coat back off and re spray. Lucky it only has a few spokes.

Finally finished my turbo project, tuned up the weekend just been. All certed and road legal, this things a street beast that scares me to say the least haha. M20B25 stock block rebuilt and balanced Mild Turbo cam regrind HD rockers Garrett GT3582R Tial MVR 44mm and 50mm BOV Megasquirt 2 running wasted spark 282kw/378hp 531nm torque Tuned by Lin @ CDM Tauranga ...before

Awesome concept but those rear side windows just look all sorts of wrong. Way too big and out of proportion, makes it look like a hearse. Almost need another pillar to break those up.

Thanks but that's not what I want to hear right now I'm at my last throw of the dice as far as making these springs work at this point. Didn't have rubbing issues on the previous setup. The main differences between old and new are the solid subframe bushes that raise the subframe closer to the body somewhat. Not sure by how much but those are staying regardless. The rims & tyres are new but the old Style 194's were exactly the same offset and with 255/40R17's on them were the same width and diameter as the new 255/35R18's to the millimetre. All that leaves is the new Eibach springs. I'm going for another wheel alignment tomorrow morning, will have them tweak the rear camber to -2.5° (-2.0° is BMW spec and you're allowed to be 0.5° beyond that when going for cert). Having now trimmed the bumpers and arches back a little more and bashed in the inner layer of the guards somewhat, will see if the extra bit of camber will remedy the rubbing. Can't say I'm overly optimistic. If that doesn't solve it then will throw in the old Msport springs in time for cert. Would love to keep matching springs front and rear but it is what it is.

I'm not sure if it counts, but a decent code reader. ISTA, INPA etc. You're peeing into the wind without one

Monaco, 1979. Clay Regazzoni leading Niki Lauda.

Oops, accident, added

I get thr feeling that japanese stuff was more common place and probably cheaper back in the day. Aigo spanners used to common and cheap, now they fetch good money 2nd hand. Used quality hand tools are one of the best things you can buy with money, they don't tend to lose value, last forever and never become obsolete.

+1. For a home mechanic they are fine if used properly and only on occasion will last a lifetime. Funny, I have a Koken socket set from an uncle that passed away in the 90's and its still mint also. Even still have the 10mm. One thing people also forget is a decent fire extinguisher. They are inexpensive but could save you thousands.

I ordered a cheap endoscope off Aliexpress for all of $7 US, the USBc type with a phone app. Only used it just once so far but worked surprisingly well for how ridiculously cheap it was. A great little gadget to have on hand. I'm a sucker for a good deal off Aliexpress in general. Not the highest quality stuff obviously but great for small items you'll only use occasionally. Some other notable ones are a fuel pump lock ring tool, hose pliers, little brushes, pry & pick tools, specialty pliers etc, all for around $10/each or less. Oftentimes see the same stuff rebranded and sold for 3x the price locally. Think I paid $200 for mine around 4-5 years ago. Lifetime replacement though. I've only broken a 3/8 one so far, and that was probably my own stupidity, trying to break loose a bolt that was too big and done up too tight for it. Yeah a bit of a clunky one that. Still has its uses though. Was doing the valve cover yesterday, came in very handy and got into places an impact driver wouldn't have. I got a mate an AEG one as a thanks for helping out with some welding just recently, feels more robust and is more compact with a different battery orientation. Pricy though, both skins and batteries are roughly twice the price of Ryobi. Have had 3 x 4Ah & 1 x 9Ah batteries for around 3 years without issues. Your mileage obviously varies though. I've also got a little collection of custom speciality tools going. Thin 18mm spanner for doing up front sway bar links Short handle 32mm spanner for doing up the front VANOS solenoid without bashing in the radiator Deep wall 32mm socket for the rear subframe mounting studs Starter mounting bracket to test run the engine without the gearbox attached

Is it getting spark? Pull plug\coil, make sure its no flooded then ground it and crank. Bad CPS shouldnt trigger the fuel pump and or coils. Slight bump in rpm on the gauge when cranking too is another basic test but easy enough to do the proper resistance check on the M60 with a multimeter.

Sorry just seen I never replied, am on the shore yep Keen to come along to any local events and the Meguiar's Coffee & Cars etc so folks can have a poke around 👍 Got the new wheels last week and they look pretty good, just needs to drop slightly (10 in the back 15 in the front) and it'll be looking much better overall.

Winner. Best colour and kudos. I would have gone with a grey interior and yellow calipers but I cant afford one and cant expect someone else to build it for me 5 years before I can. I only say that as near every enthusiast car as of late seems to end up on Trade-Me a month later for RRP or higher and I know the M3 Touring will be in demand. Likely to be the one and only M3 Touring so good on you for indulging when you can.

Hi Team, I've been lurking on here for a while but never committed to writing up a project summary for my Beamer, so here it goes. I picked up my 1993 E34 back in 2015 for the grand sum of $3000 with north of 250,000Km on the clock. It was not running very well, it leaked all kinds of colors and the clutch was poked as was the suspension. The positive points were that it had a manual transmission and an M52B28 fitted instead of the original M50B25. Thanks mainly to the color, the car quickly earned the nickname 'Ronin' after the Dunkelblau M5 'getaway car' that features in the movie of the same name. This Ronin however was not getaway ready, but I think I've rectified that deficiency. The first job was to fix the tired clutch, which I sorted by going to an E30 race series favorite carbon-kevlar unit. I matched the new clutch with a single mass flywheel from a 318i E30 and this combo is still going strong today. To rectify the driveline challenges in the car I have replaced the tired G240 E30 transmission with a G220 E46 unit. This also required the change from a 3.92 differential to a 3.19 ratio unit which results in 2,700Rpm @ 100Kph which feels ideal. After the gearbox swap I put some effort into the shifter connection which required some modification to work with the newer gearbox. I have gone with a Turner Motorsport shift bush kit and an Ruf adjustable short shifter. Topped off with a leather Msport knob & boot it feels incredible to row through the box. Regarding the tired suspension, this received a full refresh as did the steering linkages. I went with Bilstein HD shock absorbers and H&R sport springs which seems to be a good combo for decent stiffness whilst retaining relative comfort. Now that the driveline is sound and the suspension is sorted, it's time for some power. As it sat, the power delivery was very 'lumpy' with holes in the torque band and lost torque. I fitted the larger M50 intake manifold and matched it up with a set of M3 injectors, I then fitted one of those trick LINK ECU E36 G4X computers. Luckily the 93' E34 525i ECU is identical to the 325i E36 which made the LINK ECU a direct plug in job. After a dyno tune I've ended up with a claimed 234Hp and 300Nm, which is a healthy step up from the original output and more than enough to really enjoy hustling the car. Most importantly the power delivery is now beautifully linear and plenty of torque is available from 2,500RPM, so the larger intake manifold has not hurt the bottom end appreciably. I am also impressed with the car's performance considering it is still breathing through a decat M50 exhaust and manifold from the original engine configuration, perhaps something to look at in future. After the engine tuning I decided to finally get the whole thing engineering certified, which it passed with flying colours. The latest round of modifications have been purely aesthetic. I have made up some BMW dealer plate surrounds, fitted some EU spec yellow high beam tints and installed clear indicator lenses. I have also recently fitted some staggered Hartge 17"wheels (reproductions I believe), wrapped with 235 wide rubber in the front and 255 wide rubber in the back. This has been a very worthwhile modification, as the original 225/55 R16 rear tires, even with Bridgestone RE003 rubber made first and second gear difficult to utilize fully without breaking loose. I can now get off the line and give full power in dry conditions without loss of traction, which is very rewarding. Interior wise I have kept the car quite basic. It has full black leather seats robbed from a 540i which are in excellent condition, the dashboard is crack free and the AC blows cold after replacing a few aged components and re-gassing the system. Thanks to all the weight lost from the front end due to the combination of an all alloy engine and manual gearbox, turn in is brisk and the car changes direction with ease and feels very precise on windy roads. It does feel more like a comfortable 3 series than a 5 series when I compare it to E34s that I've driven with either six or eight cylinder power. The modifications that have been made to the 2.8L engine have resulted in enough power to really make the car scoot when needed, but not so much so that I can't enjoy revving it through the gears without losing my license. In all a pretty tidy package and I still enjoy owning 'Ronin' 8 years down the line.. I hope this wasn't too long a read...

Cheers, it looks like mine is all three sections... better pics below. No resonator. As for the diff, I'm not sure about the 120 but I suspect it's only the casing (same size) because the 120 never came with a LSD either. I should be able to work it out? Revolutions of wheel to driveshaft? Maybe somebody smarter than I on these things can inform me - might be a project for another day to work it out.

^Brings back memories. An E30 Touring is more a novelty that eventually wears off.