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Got the big brake setup completed / back on the road !! Really happy with the result Check my other thread linked above if it's of interest, else here are some quick snaps of a dirty car wit the big poser yellow calipers

The HellBM 140i S65 is in a E82 1M replica currently, so the one you saw won't be the HellBM one.

Anyone want a manual 130i? I bought Jamez's on behalf of a friend who wanted something interesting for his NZ holiday...72 hours after I picked it up, my mate broke his clutch foot 🤦. So it has sat in my garage on a battery tender since September. I figure I should attempt to sell it before buying it myself and turning it into another project I don't need 😬

Mates at a wedding. Nice bridal car.

Might as well mention it here since it's relatively on topic. I placed an order via schmiedmann for M42/44 engine parts hoping to build it over the christmas holidays. Some of the parts on the order weren't going to arrive before christmas so Schmiedmann jumped through hoops over email to completely change my order and refund items that wouldn't arrive in time. They had it sorted and shipped within 24 hours of sending the email. And I got the last few bits from FCP since they had them in stock. Maybe I've been lucky but their customer service has been great in my experience.

You ain't fooling anyone with those Brembo brake pad covers.

Got everything assembled and bled after getting the correct retaining springs ... have ordered some retrofit pins also which take a R clip instead of having to be smashed in. Hopefully they arrive soon and ahead of (re)certification. Got out for a drive to bed everything in, feels pretty good ... would like a firmer initial pedal so will likely do the M3 master cylinder swap at some point.

It's certainly a lot of car for the money. If I win lotto tonight I'll buy it as a bit of ruff. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/x6/listing/5049826942

Another problem needing solving with this conversion is oil level measurement - the N54 never came with a physical dipstick, relying instead on checking the oil level via the oil level sensor. While it is possible to use a scan tool to measure the oil level, I'd prefer to have a quick and easy way of doing this on the go, leading me down the next rabbit hole - designing an in-cluster display to show the oil level (and any other interesting information, such as exact vehicle speed, oil/coolant temperature, etc). The design is based on an off-the-shelf SPI display, paired with a custom (own design) circuit board using a PIC32MK with a single CAN channel: 3D print a housing for the screen out of ABS (don't worry, this cluster isn't the actual cluster I'll be using in the vehicle, just a testing one): Test fitting and adjusting positioning with the cluster face loosely fitted:

I've also had rather extended stocking times with Schmiedmann (3 months in one example, currently have another order approaching 2 months). For genuine parts, I've had much more respectable stocking times (3 days, where Schmiedmann showed 20 for the same part) and better customer service with Hubauer Shop.

you buy it. you care for it. you preserve it. it's a time capsule! get some great 80's tapes, and some classy 80's clobber. wax it, shine your shoes too. timewarp!

Amazing thread. Joined the forum just for this! The level of work and varied nature of the jobs is highly respectable. Hi from the UK 👍

Do they always do a half day for the national track vs full day for club also ? Was curious about that one. Thankyou Caught me by surprise when i saw the thumbnail in my recommendations, initially i thought "woahhhh somebody else did the swap !!!" hah. Hows about those stone chips on the front that the camera seemed to really hone in on 🤣 Looks a LOT better now with the new plate, stone chip touch ups and black grill. Here is the Kiwi Car Life review: