hqstu

Apart from a well overdue clean, got a letter from NZTA stating my 530 has been sold or disposed of and the motor vehicle register has been updated such that I am no longer the registered person.... I mean... WTF?!?!?!

Yep 10% of the price when they were new...

Yeah I'd put it at 5-6k but if there is proof of recent big works then maybe 2-3 more. It does look awesome. My 530 I paid 5.5k for over a year ago now owes me 12, doing all the work myself, but I went a bit nuts - as you do...

There's plenty that could have been done... but really no hassle to take apart... no reason to touch vanos, touch wood...

There's more than a few nuts and bolts involved in removing it all, as my back is now reminding me...

Lots of cleaning tonight on the S62, replaced the thermostat, sensors, belts, oil ventilation hoses, gaskets, O-rings, etc. etc. Now all boxed up waiting for the new radiator to arrive...

More disassembly for cleaning and new bits...

This all points to you wanting to give the Gentle Annie TT another crack...

M5 radiator out - what a mess - 13 years of accumulated bugs and dirt... it was the original radiator so it's done well... tomorrow the front of the engine starts coming apart for clean and new thermostat, oil hoses, etc... It's had 13 years of badly aimed oil top ups by the looks...

AHHH!...blue coolant under the car...discovered a hairline crack pissing coolant out of the M5 radiator side tank... at least it wasn't on a long trip... schmiedmann here I come...

That's a fantastic looking different car with good km (mind you hope cooling system and a few oil gaskets have been changed in last 20k...) and would command a premium, but a $10k premium....?

I hear ya...!

I also forgot to mention guru Fabian from Coombes J BMW for kindly lending us a couple of tools to get the job done... Thanks very much... Over the last few days did some more cleaning and painting of exhaust brackets etc and also changed out the timing chain tensioner, plus a few more clear coat scratches removed down the passengers side...

Today, with the excellent help from Kerry of Mosen Euro Parts (Hamilton) we did the RMS, flywheel, clutch, gearbox oil, driveshaft coupling, shifter parts, and O2 sensors on my M5, plus a bit of cleaning etc as we went along. Six hours in total, pretty straight forward with all the right tools including a hoist and trans jack. The exhaust took a bit of mucking around to get off and on, one gearbox mounting bolt had rounded off and we had to get "creative" but all in all a great day - fricken cold though...

Schmiedmann - quick, easy, cheapest.

Did the ritual of the e39 vapour barrier reseal on the rear doors of the M5. Good to get that job done... that makes it 10 doors across three e39's now...

No surprises there...

Mine is an occasional car. I reset the consumption before the Gentle Annie roadie and about 1000km later it is reading 11.6 l/100. Mainly backroad cruising. Some town and around .The GA drive was "reasonably spirited"...

pm'd

I assume you are not including the e39 in such a sale?

Yes.... so the previous auction indicates he'd be happy with $25k. Very much niche cars now it seems (redundant comment really as many of our cars are now that way..), supply/demand, who's looking / who's wanting, could be fickle... I've poured a bit into mine since I've had it, this one likely doesn't need much, but they all have secrets to be discovered to a certain extent. The colour certainly is nice and probably commands a premium, but overall $25k is fair and I'd be salivating if I was in the market...

Go for? Or advertised for...?

The big elephant in the room (for me) is why do they make EV's so UGLY?

As an update for my "retro" SR7 system, I've repaired the LED on the steering column, and while at it found the central module behind the coin tray type compartment on the right side of the steering column (e39) plus the mute button on the top side of the compartment (very clever and so well hidden it took me 6 months to find.... not that I was really looking...). Also the rear laser sensor is in place. So I do actually have a fully operational escort SR7. As to how useful it is these days who knows. It did "assist" me a couple of times on the recent roadie with the Welly crew...

Customs actually says it's the GST+duty (not many things have duty these days - clothing?) value of over about $60 that triggers them to charge. So GST on $400 (goods incl shipping ) is $60, so that is where the approx. figure of $400 comes from. They also now slap a $49 fee as import and biosecurity on top. This really compels you to think about the trade off between paying these fees on a larger order or paying multiple shipping charges and staying under the threshold. Prices and shipping from Europe are generally cheaper than US although there are exceptions on some items. I'm mainly comparing Pelican US with Schmiedmann Europe. The $400 figure can also be variable depending on what the packing slip may say and also how "busy" customs may be, although with improving systems they are sharpening up... If you go over $1000, I think there is an additional fee or two that steps it all up again...