Allanw

At least if Mrs GJM has the 320d, you won't get the milage up too high on it A lot of those "smaller SUV's" are like Ron says (actually, he was being PC... he meant CRAP! ) And like most SUV's, their assumed safety isn't actually a reality, because of the handling/dynamics (plus they're no "tougher" than a car, usually). They can also be less economical than you'd assume. A friend had a 1995 4.0 Falcon GLi. She drove nearly as far as you each day, and "upgraded" to a 2004 Toyota Rav4, 2.4. On average (mostly open road, bare in mind) it used 30% MORE gas than the Falcon! She's since gone to a Mondeo, which is slightly better than the Falcon was.

What are they to fit? E39 ones are MUCH harder to get, because of the centre bore size.

People worry about engines so much. It's the rest of the car you need to worry about! Any decent car will do many, many hundreds of thousands of kms if they're looked after. I've had several cars with well over 300kms on, and no issues with any of them. I actually had more issues with a 2002 Corolla between new and 150K than I had on the cars with 300K+ (although one Legacy did lunch a trans at about 300K). One of them ended up at a business on Tutukaka Coast, and it had done 420K when I last saw it - had a clutch and an exhaust manifold since they brought it. The problem is: Kiwi's are sh*t at looking after cars - as they get older, they start to be cheap with them, and they become wrecks pretty quick after that. They seem to think it's cheaper to buy another car and the old one isn't spending money on - if it was a decent car, that very rarely the case! If you find one that's been properly looked after, the kms are somewhat immaterial. It may have already had a bunch of stuff done, so may be better than a car with 100K on it.

Oh yeah, I bought 8 of the last 10 cars I've bought, sight-unseen. Never had anything unexpected happen. If you're looking at the right cars with expectations matching the price, and the sellers have an OK attitude, they seem to work out fine. Even the Model A! Now 85 years old, and better than we expected! One of them was a 1995 Subaru Impreza with 288,000 kms - the thing was stunning. When I arrived to pick it up I was surprised that there'd be two red ones the same there..... but there was only the one - looked like it could have done only 88K! serves us well until 325K, and only sold because the back seat was too small (for the kids to fit in... not for making them).

Either Captain Transporter, or Pete's towing. It's always way cheaper to get it shipped to Auckland, and get the bus down to get it from a mate's place or somehing. Captain Transporter did our Model A, and Pete's bring it up the last bit anyway, and I collected it from their depot. I seem to recal it being about $500 from Feilding to Whangarei.

True! I know this pissed a lot of Porschefies off over the years, but a surprising amount of parts on the 944's were VW, and even some suspension parts will bolt on to a late Beetle, like the 1303S . As a kid I always wanted a late 928... I'd STILL want a manual one though

So you're going to invite "enthusiasts" over to talk about stuff while you do work on the engine... I can see this taking a week. Both times. Nah - It's cool that you invite people over - A lot may never have even seen that far into an engine themselves! Well done!

I'm sure I'd hate it too, but I once experienced and earthquake in Wellington... I say "experienced"... I slept right through, but it woke the locals we were staying with! I really hope the stop, mostly for everyones sanity, more than anything!

I'm confused. I think we're on different wavelengths Me = E38, You = E32 BMW just used dodgy rubbers , you can change them easily on the 6's - 8's are a bit more complex, I think. Hmmmmm... Porsche you say - I practically own one of them:

You're not the first! It happens a LOT - Seriously - who's the tard who decided to make ONLY the E39 different to the other 5 stud BMW's??? You can change the front to E60 hubs, which use the same wheels bearing (so you buy a new bearing and the hub), though I've not gotten very far investigating the rears (more complex, with spline counts etc to match up too). It's very expensive to do, but I'd seriously look into it if I needed to do bearings anyway (which I'm sure you don't though ) You can also get the wheels machined - Some pepole say $50 a wheel - I got a single one done up here for $50, so maybe it should be a tiny bit cheaper for 4??? Maybe someone knows a place close to you and what they charge?

When you get the locking nuts sorted....... ...... If they are genuine BMW wheels, and not off an E39, they won't fit either - E39's have an oddball centrebore - it's bigger than the others, so those wheels may need the centrebore enlarged at a machine shop. Sorry They probably got the tyres second hand... if they were 16's I could have used them on my van!

You skim reading again Blue? Got your "Bourbon Glasses" on?

Oooof... another one to in front of the firing squad! Bet he gets some stick from his mates at work!

You appear to be referring to a different car: The link is to the E32. The 728i with the M52TU (as originally stated) was only available as an E38, so I quoted E38 730i V8, the 728i was the only 6 cylinder (petrol) E38. Vanos is dead easy on the 6's... you're the one who wants a V8 Get the 4.4 - it's lighter, due to the bigger holes! Talk Mojo into a 540i, and keep an eye on the classified for the parts

Vanos isn't complicated

late 728i (M52TU) is 142 kw and 280 NM, at lower RPM than the V8 (300, and 1000 rpm), but revs a bit higher. 730i V8 is 0-60 mph in 10.3 seconds - has no Vanos 728i 6 is 0-60mph in 9.6 seconds - has twin Vanos - better curves. Weights are very similar. (728i Sport is faster too - has shorter diff ratios! I want a manual one - shaves another second off the 0-60 MPH too!)

I assume the new flywheel is single mass, because they say "with a sprung centre clutch disk", theough they don't specifically mention single mass - it does have a replacable friction surface though. This is the usual result of going to single mass - the rattle is the gearbox, due to the engine power pulses.

Buy a car before page 5, or Glenn will ban you (or possibly murder you while you sleep ) PS, buy Marks.

There's reason it's been there so long. I'd not touch it either. It's a 520i with a 2.5 put in, it seems. It should have a cert for it, but hasn't. It's a UK import, so have a loook for rust - it could be really good, but it could be hiding a lot too! It's also going to STILL be slow - the M20B25 (probably what's fitted) wasn't a stunning performer in an E34 - they were OK as manuals (for a solid family car, not a performance car!), but the autos were sluggish. I'd not look at an E34 525i unless it was an M52, and even then, I'd have to have a manual one. With the E34, it's really either a 525i (a late one!), a 535i or a 540i, the 530i V8 has all the disadvantages of the 540i, without the advantages!

The 728i (with the M52TU) was a better car than the 730i V8 - I think a touch faster, and a lot cheaper to run! If you're going to maintain a V8, the 740i makes the most sense.

E39 V8's were 535i and 540i, the 530i's were M54 6's (just to confuse everyone!), however the E38 7's were V8 in 730i, 735i, 740i forms. Late E34 530i's were V8's too, the early ones were M30 6's. The late E32 730i's were V8, but early ones were M30 6's too, but all E32 740i's were V8. Moral of the story? Count the spark plugs

They're harder to get though... for some of us!

I like how you lowered the trailer to match the car

Drive down. If you're really set on an LSD and good handling etc, 'verts aren't as rigid

No, but E39 have bigger Differnt offsets though... usually.