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Hi all. This car was posted in the for sale section earlier in the year and I ended up buying it to tidy up so thought I may as well show my progress so far. When I bought it it is misfiring badly, paint was peeling in many places, it looked like it had lived outside much of its life. The interior was all there but needed a good clean and some parts replacing. I stripped the car myself to get it resprayed ("closed door").The respray came out pretty well. It needed some rust repairs around the rear valence which turned out to be more than I first thought. I had to replace the drivers side door as hidden rust had taken out so much of the lip the door seal sits on (only saw this when removing the rubber for painting). A rust free door was pretty easy to find, I was worried as I had been told prefacelift and facelift doors are different (different trim, and one mount for the motor is different). I took a risk and purchased a door which I was told was prefacelift (maybe seller was wrong), turns out it was 100% identical to my door, so no worries there. I transferred over the facelift window motor and other components and trim with no issues. The misfire turned out to be a simple fix, i replaced the coils and leads and it now runs perfectly. I have spend nights and nights in the garage tinkering and tidying it up but a few things I did include; - replace all the seals in the boot inc. rear lights, boot vents behind pumper, and the aerial gromet. Water leaking into the boot caused almost all the rust in the rear. - Odometer had recently (according to carjam) stopped working, I ripped it apart and replaced the gears. Easy fix. - Replaced the headunit with one that doesn't look like total crap. Got some new speakers also. - Replaced the fuel neck rubber - Painted the black trim with SEM PAINTS 39143 TRIM BLACK spray paint, a product I would 100% recommend for any DIYer. I was going to just buy new bumper trims, they are not that expensive, however I thought I'd try this product first and I am totally happy with the results. - I tidied up a lot of the other black plastics with 'Solution Finish' which basically blackens faded plastic trim, another amazing product I'd recommend. - Replaced many many clips which were damaged when disassembling car, BMW clips are not cheap! - Gave the interior a thorough clean and replaced some odd bits. I ripped up the carpet to check for rust and found none thankfully. - The car had this totally bonkers hydraulic headlight adjuster system which was not working. It had a switch under the steering wheel which you can turn which would pump water to the headlights to adjust their angle. I ripped it out and replaced it with normal adjusters, no way I'm trying to fix that. The car is now by no means in show room condition, it has a rip on one of the driver seat bolsters (going to be a mission finding the proper fabric), and the dash is cracked. However these are things I can live with for now, as all I wanted was a nice weekend cruiser, not a show car. The lip, after painting and spending probably $60 on clips, has already been ripped off multiple times. The joys of iS lips, but at least it looks good. The car probably owes me around $25k now including the purchase price. I am happy with that for the condition it is now in. Even passed a wof! Here are some photos of current product, and some photos from along the way. Really should've taken more photos of the progress.

My rebuilt 5HP24 in my 2001 E53 4.4i now slips in 3rd and 4th (after 5 years/25000KMs 😕) and maybe it is a better idea to chuck another used one in rather than dropping $$$$ fixing this one again...

Yep still in the area. Welcome to check out, always cool to compare e30s!

No finer E30 than a red 318iS!

$3,060. That seems like a lot for some twisted sport seats and an unknown condition motor.

Nice job. Well worth it at that money.

Looks great, well done!

Seeing this post makes me realise how much I miss mine, best family car I have ever owned by a long shot, even the wife, who hates big SUV's loved the thing, they hide there size so well. She went from not wanting to drive it when we first got it, to having to pry the keys out of her hands anytime I wanted to drive it. I think the next family car upgrade I will go back to another X5, maybe a B58 engine as the last hurrah for petrol engines.

For richer or poorer 😂

Also, before the cruise I set out to finally ceramic coat the wheels, a mission I didn't manage to get around to right after the suspension refresh. Naturally, I underestimated the severity of the task and overestimated my abilities. Despite having only done around 3,000km and objectively not even being that dirty, took forever getting them perfectly clean before applying the coating. A bit of elbow grease on the plastic scraper rubbing off remnants of the old balancing weights, several cycles of regular washes followed by a good few hours on the clay bar getting after the niggly tar spots and... 5 hours later I had finished on one wheel. Madness. If only I had money left over to pay someone else to do it. Will need a good long weekend to get the rest of them over the line. Mission for the Christmas break maybe.

Had another fun run up to Kaikoura this past Sunday with a group of colleagues. The bimmer was by far the least exotic of the bunch and might have looked a bit out of place among a group of V8's & restored classics but great fun to drive none the less. Was great fun listening to the Mustangs roar in the twisties and keeping up with the Aston on the straights. The 240z was the highlight for me. Fully restored fellow straight-6 and looking absolutely immaculate. Awesome writeup on the project if anyone cares to know. As expected, without any passengers on board there was no sign of rubbing from the rear. Car felt nice and planted throughout and unsurprisingly felt more nimble than the previous time on the same route without the added weight of other humans on board. The no-crank gremlin reared its head just once along the way but started up after a few turns of the key. Will need to have that addressed sooner rather than later. Alignment & WoF next week, then cert the week after. Hoping for some smooth sailing.

Full day of cut and polish, came up nice

Yes. Available @HELLBM

Wanting to sell My E30 M325I MTech 1. Not being used and needs to go to a good Home . Fully documented Original Car I am the second owner featured in Autocar and winner this year in survivor class at the Ellerslie Concourse. txt or ring me . This is the best car in New Zealand if you want to own probably the Best original condition MTech 1 in the world this would be it. 0221976166 . More picture available on request. Will take the best offer but won’t reply to low balls or txt asking how much if you are serious then you will ring and look at the car . Won’t be advised on Trademe . I have been reminded on some items I need to add to the post the car is in Pukekohe (Auckland) and anybody who can pay over $80k then they will be able to add it to there collection. Serviced by the same dealer since new and fully documented history.

Date: 22 Nov 2023 Distance: 208,921 kms 1. Rack boots & Oil Service Replaced both rack boots with Febi kits (32131096910). A shitty job made easier on a rack, somewhat easier when the Repco balljoint splitter is used. Oil service (because why not, and largely short running since January) with a Mann Oil Filter (11427512300) and Penrite HPR 5 (5W-40 Synthetic). My thanks to @Autoglym for working through the job with me. Thanks also to Jon for the "More(y) Orange than Donald Trump super-sticky grease recommendation. Brilliant stuff. Fig 1: A Nice Rack, yesterday 2. WoF re-check and WoF Secured WoF for the next 12 months. Now it needs a bloody good clean.

Do a M20 swap

Date: 30 Nov 2023 Distance: 208,yyy kms 1. Wheel Alignment Got in for a wheel alignment, bonus where times are getting busy as Xmas creeps up on us. A near zero-toe alignment (around -0.6 each wheel) front and rear, it’s a dream to drive. Flows beautifully through the curves, easy to bring off-centre… suits my driving style. Ahhhhh. 2. Photo in traffic cost $150 hmmmm. On my way home from the alignment, more traffic disruption in Welly. Stopped in the traffic buildup, I thought I’d document the scene, with our Police managing a difficult situation where what looked like a gang member had abandoned their car at a traffic light. Summoned to the side of the road by the officers, I was ticketed $150 for “using a phone”. To my mind I was using a camera - I put the car into park before using it. Oh well lesson learned, avoid contributing to the consolidated fund - and Police quotas - at all costs. Wearing my seatbelt, car warranted, registered, insured, well-maintained. A discussion and a warning would have been more appropriate; we had a most cordial exchange nonetheless.