leithcm

Keep going!! Don't waver! Not long to go before the other issues are just a bad dream........ ! It's over 7 months now, so you are a confirmed NON-SMOKER!!

One small point to be aware of, concerning the GST. It is payable on BOTH the car AND the freight to get it here. So, if the car is GBP 10,000 @ 0.45 = NZ$22,222, and say the freight was NZ$5,000, then you will be asked to pay GST on $22,222 + 5,000 = $27,222 - which at 15% is NZ$4083. If the car is free of GST because you have owned it overseas for long enough I do not think that GST is payable on the freight either - but this latter point needs checking.

Drivers do have the right to go slower than the posted limit, if they want. BUT... they must keep to the left and let faster traffic past!! I hate it when I see slow drivers hugging the centre line with a holier-than-though attitude that says "I am going slow, and I will do everything I can to make YOU go slow as well!" Oh, those that speed up in passing lanes after going 80k's, BAD!!

FA06547 belongs to a 02/1992 manufactured E36 saloon RHD auto 320i, European. Looks like the ECU has been swapped at some stage........

The ultimate shark! "BM M6" - followed it along the motorway north towards Nelson St exit at about 2.45 pm Sunday 3rd April! Now I can see what you guys keep on rabbiting on about! Very tasty!!

Any chance of getting something like this in the South Island - at Ruapuna??

While not in the business of racing cars (well, not since the 1970's anyway) I do know that when reconditioning an engine the one part nearly always neglected is the radiator. It is so simple and easy to have the top and bottom tanks taken off and the core cleaned out THOROUGHLY. A partially blocked radiator will stuff an engine good and proper. Imagine what a highly stressed racing engine would go like if the radiator is blocked off? It would fry itself in no time. Reading about all the gunk and crap in the cooling system tells me it is a MUST to properly clean the radiator - and I do mean by removing the top and bottom tanks, not just merely turning a hose on inside it!

Thanks Glenn, appreciate your help.

Thank you, Glenn. Specifically, for my car - E36 323i M52B25 mfd 01-1996 - would that tighten the boundaries you have given?

Hi Guys, Have been told that while a scan will tell you the MAF is working, it will not tell you if it is working 100% of what it is supposed to be doing, or perhaps if it is working only at 10%. Is this right? If so, how does one tell how well the MAF is doing it's job? I asked my informant how, and his reply was "Compare it to a new one." Thanks very much.

#2 son had a genuine Type R - we purchased it in Invercargill and I drove it back to Chch - it's acceleration and general performance was nothing short of obscene - s**t it was fast!! Get it onto the 2nd cam (about 6k revs) and it was gone!

If you get to Southland, instead of the dreary drive Invercargill (or Bluff) to Dunedin via SH1, I strongly suggest you go Invercargill to Balclutha via the Catlins. The Catlins has the most awesome coastal scenery you could imagine, it is wild, rugged, and rough. Curio Bay with the petrified forest you can see on the beach, the wind blown trees that are sharply deformed by the winds - and not to mention the waterfall at Purakaunui, most spectacular! The road is tarseal all the way, fairly new so is in good order - a trip not to be missed!

I have a PPL, got it 33 years ago. let it die after 13 years flying (kids at private schools are damned expensive........), and regained it again 3 months ago. #1 son has just completed CPL - MEIR, and is now off to Australia to fly GA outback. Is planning on doing this for a year, then off to Canada flying float planes out of Vancouver. I have tried to impress on him not to become just any old "bus or truck driver in the sky", and to his credit he does a level headed view of the hard yakker in front - just to make the grade. As the others above have said, it will be very hard work, but the rewards are there. Go for it!

Quite an inspiring read, this thread. Good on you, Glenn, for sticking to your guns and quitting. I have never smoked, so cannot imagine what it is like to break a drug related habit. Someone reckoned this should be stickied as an inpsiration to other Bimmers to give up the dreaded weed, not such a silly idea! Congrats, well done!

Smart set of wheels you have, Welcome!

If you are looking at Honda etc, can only say good things about them. Wife & I have owned about 12 or 13 Honda's since 1979 - wife's current daily is a 2009 Honda Jazz Sport. They cost next to nothing to run, very economical, and are a couple of notches up the ladder from your every day Corolla etc..... I owned 5 different Accord models, all were really great driver's cars. You can't go wrong here........ if you are determined to leave BMW alone for a while......

Welcome, plenty of advice here - some good, some a bit tongue-in-cheek. First rule, on intro, photos of your car - sized to 800 x 600 pixels - are a must.

You could go out and buy a nice, new, chromed 1 7/8"" ball - the old standard size - and fit that to the removable tongue instead. I think you may find that most trailer tow hitches are so worn the 50 mm new standard will fit. After all, there is only 2 mm between the two sizes!

+1! I clearly recall driving pre 1977 when the new rule was the norm then, and it never caused any issues. At the intersection, people turning left had right-of-way, no issues!! Everyone gave way! The reluctance to change back MAY have something to do with "red faces" for making such a dumb decision in the first place! Not very often one praises the Aussies, but on this one when they realised "What a c**k-up!!" they changed - pronto!

It is OK to sit in the middle of the road to await an opportunity to turn right - but only if there is a lane specifically marked! Thre are plenty of places on the South Island roads where this is the case, but if there is no marking allowing you to sit in the middle then move to the left, wait, then cross over (albeit through two lanes!)

I think that most urban "busy intersections" have a dedicated right turning lane, plus a right turn only arrow, so this "red light running" should not be an issue. Problem previously was that most streets were too narrow to provide 3 lanes, so authorities did with 2, a RH turn only, plus a straight through or left turn. It was the latter that caused problems, that coupled with people who were turning left who failed to keep an eye on their rear view mirror to see if following traffic was causing the right turning car to give way. If so, then they were supposed to go - but often did not, causing more delays and frustrations.

About bloody time this was changed! Absolutely idiotic that straight ahead traffic has to stop for right turning traffic at an intersection! A line of traffic can go through an intersection, but if someone in that line has indicated to turn left, then a vehicle waiting to turn right had right of way, forcing the whole line to stop, wait, dither, (lights change!!!) then - too late, missed the lights!! And they wondered why there are so many intersection accidents!!

Issue is LHD cars do not have steering in the way - right where the exhaust manifold is. RHD cars need a much "tighter" set of extractors to clear the steering, and as LHD do not they are generally made without that restriction. Wayney's do work!

Thanks, Brent; thought it might be something like that. Will give it a crack tomorrow. Cheers,

Hi Guys, the three pin plug on the end of the camshaft sensor for an M44 E36 1900 engine; where is the socket for it? Away up under the inlet manifold?? How do you get to it? Do you have to take the manifold off?? Thanks!