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Full details on doc attached - too much to write here (now added - includes full specs, maintenance list done during ownership and a couple of options available to buyer). Basics are: 2006 BMW 130i 101,800km N54 powered 6 speed manual, lots of good stuff in the build. ** Note ** - has low boost code (see pic) BM World in ChCh recently diagnosed Intercooler leak and/or Wastegate/s as cause. I have replaced intercooler with a 335i one, code still appears so assume wastegate/s Would suit someone prepared to take on resolving the issue. Looking to put on TradeMe and Facepage next weekend for $10K no reserve if no Bimmersport interest Ex-HellBM conversion, you can see their build thread on the Bimmersport website under Projects. Bimmersport advt BMW 130i NDK740.pdf

When and where is this coffee meet? @Sammo

Got a proper Italian tune up today alongside some superior machinery - after so many km, still enjoys a bit of rough housing! All cleaned up again and ready for an E30 Coffee meet tomorrow morning @BMTHUG @Tobias01

Managed to stumble my way into another problem project. With an addition to the family imminent, I started looking at options to upgrade the wife's mode of transportation. Her trusty Subaru Outback is getting rather tired and is not a car I particularly enjoy working on so was keen to lure her over into the wonderful world of German engineering. With her enthusiasm for eventually getting back into riding and owning horses, the criteria was a 4wd with enough ground clearance to at least not get stuck in a paddock, and something capable of towing a horse float. Easy enough. I wanted to keep it in the familiar era of the early 2000's so quickly narrowed the search down to E83 X3's & E53 X5's. The V8 was never an option and despite my love for the M54, I felt that in a big lump of an SUV (SAV?) it might be a bit underpowered and too thirsty, so the legendary M57 became the preference. Not an awful lot of them around as it turns out, and all close to or above 300k on the clock. One 306k example had popped up, went to check it out and although I was impressed with the drive and feel, I decided against it due to the shoddy aesthetics - passenger door handle was missing, a bunch of interior trims were quite worn, the steering wheel was sticky and disgusting and some underbody plastics being held in place with self tappers and wood screws. The condition was reflected in the price but since the car is meant to be for the better half, I'd have wanted it to be a bit nicer. I then went back to a FB Marketplace listing I had saved a while earlier. The ad had been up for a good number of months, the asking price was essentially double that of the car I test drove but was well presented and looked heaps tidier. Before I got around to texting the owner though, the exact same car popped up on a TM $1 reserve auction with a "FUEL INJECT. SYSTEM" error on the dash and a crank no start condition. Despite numerous messages and requests for a viewing, the seller never replied so I was left bidding blind. Not ideal but it is what it is. I figured I'd go low enough that I could recoup the investment through parting it out if need be, and after brief bidding war I emerged victorious at a price I was happy enough to gamble. The next day, I recruited a mate to help out with towing duties, hooked up our rally car trailer that was barely big enough for the job, huffed and puffed pushing the 2 tonne beast onto it and carted the new family member home. And there she is - 2004 E53 X5 3.0d with 288,600 km's on the clock. Overall looks really tidy, the body is straight with a few paint imperfections here and there but still presents really well. I do love the facelift design, doesn't look at all dated even at 20 years old, in my eyes anyway. Interior is in great condition too with the only blemish that stands out is the passenger door arm rest leather coming apart. Even comes with an Android headunit, which is pretty handy. The biggest drawback, for the wife in any case, is the lack of heated seats, although that's something I can try and rectify at a later date. All of that counts for nothing though unless I can get her up and running again. The car had sat since July, the battery had gone completely flat to the point even the gear indicator light wouldn't come on. Took 2 days of charging to get the battery back to full charge but I suspect it might be too far gone anyway and a replacement will be the first item on the shopping list. Ran out of weekend before I could start properly digging into it but did get the battery charged up enough to pull some codes. Definitely something to do with fuel delivery. Whether the code for fuel pressure regulating points to the regulator being faulty I'm not entirely sure. I've learned that these cars have a total of 3 fuel pumps - a low pressure in-tank pump; an inline pump and a high pressure pump - and it could be either one of the 3. Will need to do more research on whether any of the codes might help pinpoint the culprit more accurately. The glow plugs should be easy enough to replace and definitely on the list of preventative maintenance I'm aiming to take care of. Whether the glow control unit is also a common failure point I'll need to also look into. Another suggestion I found was that the fuel sender unit may have gone bad, the gauge would still show there being fuel in the tank but it wouldn't be making its way over to the pump side from the opposite side of the "saddle", causing a fuelling issue. The fuel needle did indicate barely a fifth of a tank so could be plausible. I'll try pour some 20L of diesel in it and see what happens. Would be pretty funny if that's the cause of the issue but I don't dare hope to be so lucky. On the running gear side, a few codes could be a cause for concern, namely the transfer case code for oil abrasion and gearbox shutdown code due to overtemperature. Will see how she feels once she's running and driving but servicing those two will definitely be on the list. Will take some time on the weekend to dig into it proper, see how far I get with the diagnosis and start putting together a shopping list of parts. Pretty excited for my first diesel experience. Time will tell how much of a bargain it turns out to be. Long live the Family Tractor.

Yep exactly why i painted my silver and used factory locknuts, i didnt reuse the headshield but that would pretty much fail proof. Id probably just re-do it then go somewhere else and it would likely pass 1. Looks ok but as you say you don't know if an inspector is going to ping you again. @modz does a solid\slim one for 1\2 the price. 2. Dont see the point in aftermarket for the price difference given unknown quality. I paid $422 for a genuine coupler one about 1 year ago via dealership. 3. Personally i wouldn't want used given the rubber part is likely tired

I need to get an E30 to do things like this! Now wheres that one with the Alpina 2.7...

@BMTHUG E30 meet in Parnell tomorrow morning - looking like a decent turnout...

Had to rebuild my 3.73 lsd diff today. It suddenly became very noisy and turns out the last person who rebuilt it didn't set the preload on the pinion shaft bearings properly leading them to seize up over the usage it has seen with me. Took the time to give it a lick of paint and properly set the preload after changing all the bearings for good measure.

235,xxx km New Phillips D2S xenon bulbs. I replaced both so they hopefully colour match better. Also replaced the rear badge with an OEM I got with the last parts order. Out with the old. The fishing line trick really works wonders New one: Still checking the oil level since doing the 02 pilot mod and it might have burned a smidge it’s not low enough to warrant a top up so very happy. Scored some brand new Meyle HD sway bar links off FB marketplace. The front left boot on the links I pulled out had been damaged i found (maybe from when the garage replaced the leaking shock).