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Went to the Pukekohe Test Day on Saturday and had an absolute blast. This was my first time at Puke and first time on a circuit in the e36. I was expecting it to be a bit slow, especially after my 1.8t Mk2 Golf felt like a snail at Hampton, but it really surprised me. I was sharing the pit garage with a couple of guys who were driving a stripped out, caged 330i e46 with semi slicks, and I was outpacing them. Had quite a good time tangoing with them on the track. I was quite pleased with how the coilovers performed, held the car pretty solid round the corners and weren't bumpy or uncomfortable at all. I was running consistent 1.26-27s, verified by the in car go pro and someone who was timing me. Unfortunately the batteries died at midday so I don't know what I was running later but I am sure I must have cut that down a little. The car made it through the day like a champ, I faced no issues at all, no overheating, nothing. I did wear down my rear brake pads to the point where they both were no longer held in place by the carrier, so they dislodged a little and started melting against the center of the brake disc. So I didn't do the last round as I'd rather not end up in a wall. Some photos and videos from the day: Bloody tyre kickers I was getting a bit of rub on the front left wheel, must have been quite a bit because paint on the top of the fender actually got burned. Also the exhaust tips melted a bit of the difuser, must be from going so hard round turn 1. All signs that I was going hard enough I reckon. I think what would improve the car most would be a brake upgrade and semi slicks for next round. More photos to come.

Upgraded and rebuilt E32 750i brakes calipers with new rotors and pads. XYZ Adjustable suspension fitted along with the 17x8.5/17x10 BBS Reps in Silver with Machined lip fitted. Ride height still yet to be dialed in, very close on front so will look to massage some clearance in the bumper area if needed. Ordered a E32/E34 V8 remote brake booster setup over the weekend which will hopefully solve some of the clearance issues in that area when the engine goes in. Hoist has been busy with other projects so haven't had much time to spend on this one....

Tonight on Bimmersport Wheelers and 130i Dealers, Qube wins yet another 130i auction after M3AN forgets to autobid, but who will end up with the coveted carbon airbox and ARC strut brace?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/2951948466?tm=email&et=45&mt=F909EDC8-3C14-49CC-9D87-FCE0B397F44E Cheap manual 130i with some nice upgrades

Did some final shaping on the quarter panels, finally sanding flat and straight along the lines and shadows starting to look crisp and symmetrical. Just re measuring those guard flare lip and Making it the right height and ensuring a crisp curve, was looking a little bulgy compared to fronts. You go no where without following a consistent process and utilizing guide coats to reveal shadows and where to sand. Fixed a few smaller door dings, so onto commencing final car sand down shortly! Finally Provided weather holds up, probably 2 weeks away before commencing painting ....

Having some technical difficulties. pic will be up shortly

I reckon you could take all the bits off it, replace with stock wheels/intake etc and sell it without losing money.

Awesome man, love how purpose driven this beast is - I would too terrified of breaking something on mine haha

@BMTHUG post needs photo as per forum rules please.

Have cross referenced and yes they do fit

Oil pan removed, onwards we go !! Found a small piece of gasket material in the lower oil pan which looks like it could be from the infamous VQ oil gallery gasket issue ... looks like we'll be taking that detour at some stage !!

Fuel pump assembly ready to go back in with a Walbro 255lph and dedicated new wiring. Also added in a temp sensor that the Nissan uses which I've connected to the old pump power pins. Its about to get interesting ... engine is up on the stand and oil drained ready to remove the lower oil pan. The approach will be to measure and model the engine where the pan attaches and then install back in the car with trans attached (and subframe reinstalled) but no sump so I can get an idea for the room we have to work with. Then will be able to complete the design of the new wet sump before working on engine mounts and other daunting tasks.

Installed my coilovers today. Decided to go with the Solo Werks S1 coilovers. They had many good reviews, basically labeled the best of the cheap "entry-level" coilovers so decided to give them a shot. I was quite happy when I received them, they included lubricant for the threads and an instruction manual was that specifically for the e36. For $500usd coilovers I though that was a nice touch. While there I also installed new top mounts and installed the reinforcement plates front and rear. Here is how it sits after a quick 10 minute drive. I've got a track day next weekend at Pukekohe so going to be driving it a bit until then to make sure everything is good. Will report back on how the coilovers feel.

Been a while but still been chipping away at trying to get it to final sand down. Started sanding down the guide coat that was on it 2 weeks ago and found these hidden Christmas presents no one in the house wants to own up to cause it was flat when I left it !! Lucky only a few hours to get that flat, bizzare no one knows how it happened, looks like a chair leg connected or something. A bit of force required to make those dents. Anyway went over the kinks and lines with fresh eyes over the holidays and realised those lines were definitely far from being sharp. Technique has come a long way, amazing to learn that with the wrong technique you'll get no where on a complex contour which this e46 has taken me on crash course for. Learning to spend more time using lighting and shadows to guide the final Sanding Ontop of Long primer runs with guide coats Got a good break of decent weather this week so provided I can sign off on those quarter panels I'll be doing full car sand down and diaaseably for paint this week.

Finally managed to secure a later version 635csi with the E28 platform, NZ new. Glovebox full of receipts, no significant visible rust and not in the common areas. Already on axle stands, front struts removed and on there way to Speedfactor to get the Adjustables welded on, new Brake rotors ordered for the E34 540i Rotor with E32 caliper upgrade sorted. I could only order mixed colours of the wheels I wanted to get the right sizes so will drop the 17x10 Rears off to get painted Silver to match fronts. Fingers crossed this will all be back to me before Xmas and I can get it dropped down and looking how I want. (Yes that is the donor M62B46 engine in the back ground :))

Believe it or not, that panel needed another few light runs of filler, some very deceptive low spots still, this curve is without a doubt taking me on a panel crash course from hell. But yeah for real, she's done. Well Im struggling to see where she's not good, so that's good enough for me. Walking a fine line to insanity getting this right. Slapped down some base coat to get some shadows showing, and she looks mint I was talking to a panel beater today and he laughed saying that what I'm dealing with is normal, happens on nearly every job Hopefully wrap up the other side on Saturday! Already put alot of work into it. But haven't applied a fine tooth comb over it like this side

Some small dings in the lower half, easy job compared to those God damn arches. One hit or primer and block sanded no dramas. And that edge wasn't edgy enough, and slight low spot under , close but no cigar so gave that another run It's damn close now, now i just think my eyes are playing tricks on me haha, need a coupe locally in tauranga i can eye up the lines to confirm if she's good now pretty much happy with this side now Going to do same checks other side, another big primer run, block sand and then practically at plaint stage.

Gave it a small run to get rid of the remnant of the low spot Guide coat saving my ass again About to give it a final sand down, big run or primer, another guide coat then block sand to recheck. Those lines and shadows are looking real close, so nearly time to paint !

DONE! Too many cans of primer Too many pots of filler (most of it sanded off!) Too many sheets of sand paper 1000ml of paint used as guide coats Learning 1000 ways how not to sand complex curves One last crack at the rear lhs kink, thin but long layer of filler, knee board as a sander block and she's mint. Rear quarter panels, kinks and arches SIGNING OFF! Guide coats and hand touch finally revealing nothing, well I'm sure there's always low spots but I'm really struggling to find it using the go to techniques. Onto easy small door dents, what a relief!!

Thanks for the comments :), it needs to be BMW engine in there... agree its not the cheapest/ power option but needs BMW under the hood. So I fluked it this week... picked up a X5 E53 4.6is (M62TUB46, 347hp) from a local wrecker, rego lapsed and didn't want to revin and sold it to a wrecker, I've just purchased the whole car minus wheels and a few other random bits missing. This will be the perfect engine after a bit of maintenance work is completed, allegedly drove fine when dropped to yard, around 250k on the clock apparently so will investigate the engine and perhaps try and find some history if possible.

Same thing happened to me yesterday with the Blue 123d 😡 missed by an hour.