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Some more progress. Got my hardware back from zinc coating, all Organized again now. Got the rear subframe back in. Along with new rear inner brake lines. got the steering rack fitted up into the front subframe with some spacers I machines. Also swapped on some new e36 outer tie rod ends. just waiting on rear wheel bearings to show up and I can start putting trialing arms back in.

Hi All, Thought I’d say hi! My daily driver is a 2012 X3 35i and I have recently become the new owner of the Eisblau M3 vert, which actually brought me to the forum after looking for more information about the car! It’s currently on its way back to Auckland from Dunedin. After which I can post some more of my own photos.

M42/M44 hybrid is in and running, I also converted it to a rear battery setup as well while the engine was out. Looking forward to the first drive to break the new motor in. Phase 2 will be getting some ITBs on it, and installing the Bilstein b14 that have been waiting to go in.

And... SOLD. Thanks for the support and interest, it's going to a good home. My little FUNWON will be missed, thanks also to everyone who convinced me to get one and contributed to my 5.5 year journey with her, it really was a Fun One.

Rear subframe prepared and ready to go in. Treated the surface rust spots were the weld lines were and painted any gaps in the paint, low effort compared to refinishing the whole thing but should definitely prevent further rust. Installed all the new bits as well, aluminum subframe bushings, super pro diff bushings, ball joints in the trailing arm, M3 spring arms, hard race toe arms, SPL eccentric lockout kit and new knuckle side bolts.

More progress today, got the front struts assembled. Installed them along with some fresh brembo discs and the brake caliper brackets.

Another arvo on The Lemon (eventually it will need a new name!) New tensioner, idler and serpentine belt. Along with a fresh set of plugs (the old ones looked fine, which is lucky!). Engine starting to get nicer to work on now that its no longer caked in 1cm of oil scunge. Started stripping the front struts, the shocks are original (18 years and 200,000km+). They are completely toasted and have been for a long time, top hats are absolutely shagged as well. The bump stop install still has me in awe, 3 cable ties is the secret if you want to replicate Tony's tyres in Takanini. Subframe degreased and looking much better.

Update on last nights work. New valve cover installed, this n52 wasn't as clean as my 130i even though they are both at 123,000kms so this one hasn't had as many oil changes most likely. Also found a bit of foil from the cap of an oil bottle under where the oil cap is, don't know how people can manage that. There was also quite a bit of oil in two of the spark plug wells, surprised it wasn't miss firing. Plugs look old and coils are dated 2011 so both will need replacing. The air filter is a almost brand new Hengst one so that nice but it wasn't clipped in, it was just resting there so there is a chance some air wasn't being filtered. Also swapped the intake boot to the original one of my 130 as it has the sound generator, which reminded me to do the golf tee mod while I was at it. Over all the car runs a lot smoother however using an obd reader the car doesn't get about 70c oil temp and 60c coolant so I think the thermostat must be stuck open so not healthy for the engine.

@Eagle fair - the M43 was the last good one

your committment to the 130i cause is beyond reproach, mate. Well done @Jacko

The market is super odd at the moment. I honestly feel like the NZ enthusiast car market is heavily influenced by popular youtubers and whatever is the flavor of the month. In the generic shitbox car sector I had to fight to buy a 2011 Nissan Xtrail. There were over 100 of them for sale at the time and yet I was under pressure to get one....

Upgraded to Pro Nav screen and controller - actually quite straightforward, lifts the interior quite a bit. A shame native CarPlay isn’t possible with NBT EVO Business Nav

Not strictly a 130 but a pretty well sorted E87 135i+ https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/135i/listing/5400153803

Looks more like a Kumara TBH

Got a message from the panelbeater tonight that the cad was done. Went and fetched it after work, wasted no time as I was quite excited to have it back. Hired a trailer and jumped in the touareg to collect it. overall very happy with how it looks, yes there are some minor imperfections if you’re being very picky but for the money I paid you absolutely cannot complain. Rust hole is fixed (they chopped a piece of the cowl out to access it, then welded it back in and painted it blending up the a pillar), rust holes in firewall fixed, rust around boot seal lip fixed and painted, as well as entire engine bay/front structure painted. All of that cost half of what another shop had quoted for just the engine bay paintwork. next up I need to waterblast the underside of the car, strip out all the suspension and under seal the whole underside. If anyone has any reccomendations for a good underseal product that can be applied via brush/roller that would be much appreciated, unfortunately don’t have anywhere where I can spray.

Better than what I could find thanks @elias

I see I see, thats good info..

Definitely sit tight and wait for a good one @Mark D. A car with history off the forum likely to be a better bet than a dealer. BMW manual boxes are an acquired taste and the ZF6 auto works fairly well in the 130. Don’t get a 4 cyl petrol BMW.

Before you start the car next check if the exhaust manifold is clean of oil that may have dripped onto it whilst sitting.

OK condition, 1 of them is mint. 1 has kerb rash, couple have corrosion under clear coat. Genuine units made by BBS, rare staggered E87 fitment and pretty lightweight (11kg and 11.93kg) 7.5x18 ET49 - Hankook S1 Evos - WOFable (225/40) 8.5x18 ET52 - Near new Michelin PS5s (225/45) If it was me, Id get them cleaned up for a few hundy and switch the tyres around with the some new PS5s on the rear... $1300 ONO

Cool car! 125i manual would be my dream daily - it's just too rare and often too expensive compared to a manual 130i.

Yeah thats capacity, whole thing takes 6.5 liters, so its maybe a couple of hundred mls down.. nothing to worry about (they arent hugely accurate anyway and will vary every time started) Thats the options on it - https://www.mdecoder.com/decode/wbauf92040ps90457 - Pretty generic Japanese market 130, xenons and heated seats with black boston interior etc, not that that is a bad thing. Its PreLCI, which is really neither here nor there either, silver top engine with magnesium valve cover and lower rent interior (biggest difference is the door cards, LCIs are a nicer place to sit because of it). Pre LCI rocker covers can corrode badly (look around the coil packs), LCI rocker covers (plastic) crack

Oh FFS. It's in the TITLE.. 'rear'. Really... you spell so bad you do it in the title?

Before the next few months of overhauling the car this is some previous stuff to catch up on. IMG_20250308_104937_536.webp

Bit of an update on the past few weeks. Got the sump gasket replaced, engine mounts replacement and the front subframe back in. All is nice and tidy however I think the M3 steering rack is leaking so it will have to be sent off to be rebuilt, will wait until I get the car started to confirm the leak first though.

Imagine trying to squeeze a modern phone into one of those cradles, no loss that it's been removed!

Loving the old school, period correct, mobile phone antenna! Is there a matching cradle in the car? I felt like a boss when I had my Nokia car kit installed (for free) when I joined Vodafone back in the day. It was so loud that anybody passing by on the street could hear the conversation (or one side of it). 😂

Yeah, it was an individual order in Eisblau (ice blue) I doubt there will be many other M3’s in this colour. Yeah generally is really good for an old car. Couple of bits and bobs I can do on the interior. Door cards etc. but I’m quite stoked with it.

Had no interest at all, which really surprises me. Had One person view in the few months it's been listed. He ended up purchasing the KGB777 white M5, if you know it. Never made an offer on mine. The 'big ticket' items have not been done. As this is not showing any signs or symptoms. But ack your point. The ones that are listed for cheap imo are cheap for a reason. All look rough (although thats my bias, havnt viewed them) and high kays. Agree some have had these 'big ticket' items addressed, but it is what it is. I guess all markets are tough at the moment. Last ditch effort really as only listed on a free list whim. If it comes to it will stay as my weekend pleasure.

Don't mind the air bags. But those are the ugliest rims I've ever seen.

Wouldn't think so. I think I might have outright mentioned my donor engine, as well as some of the running gear, coming from a crashed & dereg'd car when going through cert on my 325i to 330i swap, never got any further questions on that point.

Its surprising easy to fail on panel damage due to structural requirements

Got a quick look at it before the listing got nuked but yeah, it was asking $110k... Didn't look at the km's but from what I can remember it looked tidy, had all sorts of mods like Dinan front and rear strut braces, aFe intakes etc, the description claimed it's probably the best example in Australasia and that the market value of rare/aftermarket parts was $50k alone... I'm no expert but seems optimistic to think it's a $60k car to begin with, and that the $50k of mods add another $50k to its value.

And if you ever have the front bumper off, drill some drainage holes in the bottom of the plastic boxes that house the ballasts, astonishing the BMW can't waterproof (or drain adequately) sensitive parts of a car that are, well, exposed to water (whether that be directly or via routing). I'm sure it's not a problem unique to BMW but, come on.

This is a good price when you compare it to other M3 listings that have been sitting on TM for ages. Condition looks to be much better than other examples as well (and for a lower price). I also like the M3/4/5 more than Coupe. GLWS.

lol https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/x6/listing/5438740947

Kia ora, Now surplus to requirements I have two new rotors in E39 M5 rear fitment (may suit others?) for sale, brand new, never mounted. Edit: BMW reference number is 34212228801/2 (not sided). Price: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/bmw/brakes/listing/5435420114 Specs: Brand: ABS Brake Disc Thickness: 20mm Centring Diameter: 75mm Height: 61.2mm Minimum Thickness: 18.4mm Outer Diameter: 328mm Rim Hole Number: 5 Brake Disc Type: Vented Bolt Hole Circle Ø: 120mm Surface: Coated Hub Diameter: 180mm One of them, both are still boxed: Cheers.

Saw the same issue on the BabyBMW site. Apparently there are a couple of bungs under the car that can be removed to let the water out. Will be checking mine when I change the shocks over in the next couple of weeks.

For redundancy there are a couple of bungs below the Taillight gaskets you can put some holes in to let water drain out, there's probably a piece of moulded polystyrene covering them. The vents in that area can also leak from the gaskets.

Not sure, but this thing is worth the same as a non wof 2013 Hiace, so that gives you a start to do the maths on a re-shell.

Mines done 220kms, fab wee car, handles well, and like you said cheap on gas, GLWS!

RHD Prowler - how cool! LS and manual swap it!

He did ask if he could buy it buy it back from me

It's been a while since I wrote a post on here - I actually have two cars to introduce, but I'll start with the Brabus.... By now a few of you may be familiar with the fact I am generally drawn towards the whacky, weird and sometimes wonderful European cars…. Or the ones no one else has the balls to buy. This has included; 3x W8 Passats, 2x 5.2L V10 Audis (S8 & S6), high ks 130i, a high ks 987 manual Boxster, and then of course my very high ks E34 540i. Anyway, back at the start of the year I was doing my generic trawling through Trademe and Turners when I came across a Smart ForFour Brabus. Smart as a brand has always intrigued me. I’ve been obsessed with the Smart Roadster since I was about 7, and want one very much. The robotised manual gearbox is just very off putting, and I think they are hard to justify with most sellers wanting 12-15K for them. My Mum’s daily run around is a Smart ForTwo, so I am familiar with the gearbox, and it is everything the reviews say and more. It’s actually not too bad once you get used to it, but to have in a dedicated roadster… no thanks, especially having had the manual 987 which genuinely is driving pleasure in its finest form for under $20K. However, I digress. I had seen the Brabus ForFour that now sits in my driveway at Turners sometime at the start of the year. A very neat car I thought - I should bid on that! I then promptly forgot about the auction, and saw it pop up on Trademe at a dealer for around $12,995. The car sat for a while (as did basically everything on the market at the start of the year), but eventually sold. It then got returned to the dealer as it had an intermittent issue. The dealer decided to $1 reserve the Brabus which is when a friend of mine sent it to me with the tag line "This screams Kees"... As I flogged my 987 and 130i off under the guise I wanted to have just two fun(ish) cars I was desperately trying to resist the urge to buy it. The listing stated it likely had some form of ECU issue where the car would sometimes run, but other times have huge power loss, misfire, or refuse to start. Smart cars are notorious for funky electrics due to their less than ideal placing of the ECU and SAM unit, particularly on the Roadster and ForTwo models, so it seemed a complex fix. However, I did come to a figure of what I would be prepared to pay for the Brabus, if I were to buy it. Because I now identify as an old, wise man who sticks to his own word, on the day of the auction I did not bid, even though the car went for less than what I would have hypothetically paid for it. I even had a mild rant to a mate of mine on how I should have pulled the trigger on it. That night I went to sleep a troubled man, and it sounds ridiculous but I had a dream about the car, and how I should have bought it. When I woke up the next day I was lying in bed pondering my decision when I got a notification on Trademe saying the car was being offered at a fixed price. Clearly the deal had fallen through. 30 seconds later my mate rings me telling me to buy it. 20 minutes of being indecisive followed, before I accepted the fixed price offer, and then went off to collect my Brabus! I pick the car up, and it makes it all of 10 minutes before it decided to be the most undriveable vehicle I have experienced so far. It would cut in and out, stall, flash random warnings for coolant temp, barely accelerate and then refused to run full stop. At this point I was questioning my decision. I decided to abandon it and pick it up later that day. I drove it from Penrose back to the North Shore, with 3 breaks where the car decided to be like a stubborn dog and not move, but eventually I made it home. I then started doing research on what the issue could be. One thing that kept coming up was ignition related issues - particularly coils. So the following day I lift the engine cover off - and sure enough one of the coils is clearly different from the rest. I take it out, run the part number, and it was completely incorrect. So a quick trip to Jap spares for a $40 ignition coil, and by a stroke of luck I now have one of the most fun cars I've ever driven. I should mention at this point, the Brabus ForFour uses the 4G15T from the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart, and the same 5 speed manual gearbox too. The only difference to the engine aside from the plethora of Brabus and Mercedes branding on the engine cover and boost pipes is the Brabus engine has no blow off valve, as from what I've read too much pressure was lost through the stock Colt Ralliart BOV setup. And of course the boost is turned up a bit to bump power from around 150hp/210nm to 177hp/238nm.... I am unsure how accurate this is - but a friend's OBD reader was indicating my Brabus was making 21psi on full boost which is a fair bit. To say the car is quick for a stock vehicle from 2006 is an understatement. It's undriveable in the rain - spins in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, sometimes 4th. It also understeers like NOTHING I have ever experienced. It's genuinely scary in the wet. An LSD would do it a great deal of good, and something I would like to get. The thing surprises a lot of cars by how quick it is - even my friend who has a tuned Peugeot 207 GTI with $15K in receipts (its meant to be 220hp), got walked in one of those convenient scenarios where we both accelerated at the same time So as a brief summary. It's got a Japanese drivetrain, that's been breathed on by the Germans, and then its put into a four door Smart car. It's of course factory lowered, has awesome deep dish staggered Brabus alloys, a panoramic roof, leather Brabus embossed seats (which are heated!), and it says SMART ARSE on the back. They also only made around 1200 total for the world! Can you see why I have fallen for this thing? It only weighs 1090kg as well so it feels nice and light footed. The best way I can describe it - is its how I imagine an AMG hatchback would be - great in a straight line, slightly above average going around corners in the dry, and absolutely undriveable in the rain! I can also understand why my one might be the only one in NZ - they are the size of a VW Polo, but were Golf GTI money in 2006! I would also love to know who had my car from new as its NZ New, so I'm guessing was some form of special order? So what now? Well after doing over 2000km in the car, I realised that it was most likely on its original cambelt.... and since its done a 183,000km, I thought it best I do not drive it until thats sorted. So its been sitting in my driveaway awaiting a bunch of parts as its going to be getting quite the birthday, and then following its birthday it is likely to have another birthday which addresses the paint fade on the bonnet, stone chips on the front lip, and curbed wheels. So with the cr out of action likely for a while, ignoring the fact I have the 540i and W8, I had to buy another car to drive in the interim.... of course! More on that another time. So as another brief summary - it’s an exclusive and interesting European car with some huge quirks, but has Japanese consistency/reliability? in the way it pulls (reminds me a lot of my mate’s old WRX). And then on top of all that, it feels like a factory modified car - that’s the best way to describe it. It creates a hybrid medium between a factory and an aftermarket feeling… if that makes any sense at all.

Seen it posted in a few places online now. It is causing some outrage. And so it should.

Another 6 months, and thought is might be time to check in with another update! As ever, car just continues to go and go, and nothing to report in that department! another few trips around the country including a trip to Hawkes Bay to the Wheels on Windsor event (parking alongside the GH Automotive fleet), and to auckland and back last week. I much prefer to take this car than my F15 X5 M50d, which im sure will be a surprise to those that havent owned one of these E46s! In my last comment, I mentioned that it had a very minor incident with a guy giving it a wee nudge: At the time, i just left it, because the minor scratch just added to the patina of the car, the body was very very straight for the age and milage, but paint clear coat gave up long ago, and really couldnt be bothered with going any further. I told the guy that at the time too, he was already going to have enough costs! However, I got an email from my insurance company, saying that a claim had been made, did I know anything about it, and what was my version of events. So i told them all about it, and said I was surprised to be getting a call since the other guy had no insurance. What actually happened was I was waiting to turn right, and he came from behind and tried to squeeze between me and the curb, and hit his front right bumper very lightly onto my back left door. I cannot believe how much his car completely fell to pieces in the process, with just a few scratches and not even a dent on my car ha. Apparently, he made up quite the story about how it was all my fault, and that I turned into him! The part he tripped up on tho was that he mentioned something about seeing my brake lights, which of course if I came from behind would be impossible for him to see. Now those that know me know that I am a very reasonable person, but if you try something on with me, I will show you no mercy. So as they agreed I was not at fault, I told them I want my car fixed, and he can pay for that bill too. Remember, he has now been found at fault and with no insurance lol. So, like that, the left quarter panel and rear door were approved for paint, as well as a curb on the M parallel I really couldnt tell you if it was there already or not but hey. Got quotes, but two different body shops both said because the clear coat was stuffed and to ensure a quality repair, they needed repaint the entire left side of the car, which is many thousands of dollars. I figured insurance would back out at this point, but the repar was already under way. Of course, at that point, they may as well just repaint the whole thing, so I paid for on the other side, so I got a full professional respray for half price! The funniest part is now both the young fella and his father gave me the death stare every time I drive past them, so I usually give them a nice friendly smile or wave to thank them for committing insurance fraud and paying half of my respray. Thier brand new merc is still sitting in their driveway pride of place with the front corner stoved in ha.

I demand a 130i duel between @Driftit and @Jacko

Got a little bit more work done recently, been busy making a plan for all the suspension stuff and figuring out which direction to go for the clutch/flywheel. Decided to keep it oem and stick with a dual mass flywheel and oem 240mm luk clutch kit. Got all the underside parts taken apart and sandblasted, in the process of getting painted at the moment. gearbox is back from kayne Barrie now with fresh detents. More or less just need to order the clutch kit now and then can put the engine and gearbox into the car. picked up a e90 325i auto front half driveshaft and a e36 medium case rear half from @Toast which so far seem to work together, will see if they end up the right length. Paid $80 for the front half instead of the $700 people charge for zf 5 Speed Front halves nowadays. will need to swap the carrier bearing over to an e30 one as well. Fuel pump is back in the car too now ready to start replacing subframe, trailing arm bushings etc now and reassembling the rear end.

OP Here lies within one reason why workshops reject owner supplied parts 1) insurance, If the workshop should make a claim for total loss on your car for failure due to a service provided .. it will be inevitably rejected on the premise of owner supplied parts

SOLD $22500 Excellent condition. 70000km Lowered on Eibach Springs Near new Rotors & Pads LED light upgrade (OEM) NBT 3D Design genuine front lip M Performance Carbon fibre interior trim kit,pedal covers, & rear difuser. FTP Charge pipe kit included.