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Bluey going well - pulls very strong (until I ran out of road). Prior to that had a real dumbarse numnuts issue with rear brake pad... not the first time I've done that lol. Also trying on M5 wheels, painted engine hood to remove mankiness, and fixed a twisty seat, removing 20 years of coffee stains and sausage rolls at same time. Had some concave dents in rear passengers footwells where someone had used a jack, managed to massage those back into acceptable shape with a large hammer and block of 4by2.. WOF next before getting out the sandpaper...

That's the question I have no answer for lol.... everything is always for sale isn't it?

Well it's all up and running... I tell ya, cranking the engine for first time after major open heart surgery and pouring $xxx into it - is somewhat nerve-racking, wondering if the fresh new parts are going to lunch themselves deep in the internals... But all good apart from lots of smoke from the new paint on the exhaust "curing". Been for first drive since driving it home day one back in May (to the supermarket of course - not necessarily the nearest one ). Rest of weekend was spent fitting front bumper and interior cosmetics (cupholders, centre console cubby and armrest handle, plus door cards and vapour barrier checks - some butcher had been at work on the rear vapour barriers, slicing them open to get at the window regulators.... Put my old M5 steering wheel on as it is in better condition. Before engine start I'd done a road wheels (quickie) tidy up... Time to start thinking about paint.... Sorry for fairly average photos - I need lessons @hunter

Blue 540 getting closer, brakes tidied up and painted, plus engine valve covers and wiring loom back in...

Sounds like normal behavior for a 5HP19. I'm not sure what sort of "firmer" feeling you are looking for? A full transmission service is a fluid / filter / pan gasket change - that's it as far as I'm aware, and if it's had fluid changes before with car at just 140,000km then I'd expect there would be little noticeable difference?

Nudge...

Over on the blue 540, the underside heatshield's and freshly painted exhaust have gone back on the car. Keen to get this car going then I will continue with the clean etc... New brake hoses and a few other items needed after scrambling underneath for a few days...

The silver 540 had started making a "bearing" type noise seemingly coming from alternator (?) area. The alternator was also producing a bit of a whine on the radio and new bluebus (more so on bluebus), so a spare alternator was procured and I set about taking it all apart. However I noticed the water pump was very "grindy" sounding when the belt came off. So taking the WP out and strangely it turned OK when out of the car. Then I found the reason... the bolt internal to the WP holding the cover had come loose and was machining itself on the impeller... A bit of a cleanup, some loctite, a new gasket, changed the alternator anyway, and all is well again. The noise on the bluebus is much reduced, but still there...

Engine assembly continues along with a cleanup of underside and exhaust. Awaiting parts including my radiator which a mate has stolen temporarily for his 540...

Over on Bluey, the reassembly of the engine can begin with the Vanos rebuild complete, the timing system goes back together with new rails, chains, tensioners, etc...

I have finally got the silver 540 back from the transmission shop following the post rebuild symptom of a harsh jolt going from 5 to 4 on deceleration when oil hot. All is well with them finally tracing the problem to another part of the vale body system which they have replaced a section with a good refurbished unit. Not a section they normally have to replace in a full rebuild. The car feels much better now across all shifting actually. A good result and a huge relief... except for the wheel they curbed.. which they will sort... good bugga's though really and went the distance with me... In other news the Bluebus finally arrived and has been installed so just getting the hang of that one now. Thanks to PO Rob for helping me recode the thing to suit the Japan video, something which the developer in the US did not factor in...

Parts are incoming to do; Timing chain guides, VANOS seals, engine mounts, oil lines, CCV system, o rings, gaskets, etc. My bad in previous post, the plastic chain guides are supposed to "float" a bit on backing plate, just retained in position but not clamped on... but at 289km, all new stuff going in... In the meantime the underside is now clean, the coolant drained from the block. Getting ready to get lower timing chain cover off which involves the removal of the crankshaft "jesus" bolt... easy peasy with the right tools...

Honestly - I have no ______ idea.... 🤣 (Maybe keep blue if it turns out good - sell silver if someone is stupid kind enough to pay me a $$sh__t_n$$ for it... - or do a few swaps of key items between them to end up with a good blue...) ((Plan will change tomorrow...)) (((Silver goes back to Transmission Shop next week to hopefully resolve the 5-4 jolt)))

No, Topaz Blue Boston, same as my pervious 530 motorsport. (fun fact - regarding the e39 M5 - only 1 was made worldwide in Topaz Blue - RHD and it's in Victoria Australia I think - woodgrain trim though kinda spoils it for me...) Got to 289k km and if I hadn't opened it up not sure how much longer TBH.

The o rings were flat and solid, newer ones at WP end as that was new a few years ago. Any o ring or gasket uncovered is being replaced... The spoiler is an AC Snitzer thing which was on the car when sold new it appears. It’s going and a lip spoiler boot lid going on.... eventually. Along with M5 wheels and wing mirrors.

Also some cosmetics were played with prior to turning attention to the engine... headlights sanded, fog-light replaced, interior trim re-glued or replaced... thorough clean of interior (it was bad...)

Well this one's a doozy... there is enough crude oil on the engine / subframe etc. to cause our PM to break out in hives... The focus is on the engine - practically every gasket has turned to bakolite - the PO's attempts with RTV instead of just buying new stuff has failed miserably. The chain guides have also just been caught in time with the plastic bits loose on the backing plate... so into it... valley pan, accumulator, heater pipes before heading underneath....

The free VIN decoder(s) seem to be bringing all cars (I've looked at) up as LHD. Good score...

It's a bit of a worry when another itch pops up and you haven't quite dealt with the present one... Things going for it - it's one of my favorite colours and it's NZ new... that's it...

I'm after an e39 black leather, electric, and heated, passengers (or both) sport seats in good condition. I sold the ones below last year... fool... Thanks,

June was latest notification.

Did the same last weekend Ben to put all the Bavsound speakers into the 540. Sounding good now, just need the BlueBus to arrive...

I'm lucky enough to currently have three types of transmissions and I love them all for what they are. The SSG / SMG has moved through its product lifecycle in the following phases (IMO lol): Wow, new tech, how good is this... to Actually this is a piece of S%*t... to Actually now this is a real crappy expensive piece of S@*t... to Hmm... it was rather revolutionary in its day... to... It's quirky, and if you appreciate it for what it is, and it's all good, then it's actually quite OK... to... These are fast disappearing and we should preserve the cars that are left... 😁 (many would argue I guess the first phase didn't exist, and the last phase may not either...)

Nudge, thanks.

I have been having a look at this auction, have spoken to the owner and his mechanic, but not actually viewed car. Still not sold.... Suffice to say this car will need a lot of work... intake manifold gaskets, spark plug leads, more injectors alone would cost much more than the car is worth in current state. Also control arm bushes, probably the rest of the suspension, not to mention the potential state of the S-EDC and self levelling systems. The EML light has been disabled quite a while ago, and the minimum was spent on the car last year to get it recertified and on the road for sale... Great for a mad enthusiast like me/us to burn heaps of coin restoring, but you'll need to get it for $min to even have a slim chance.. In last talking to the owner he is adamant he will accept no less than $10k so I'll likely leave it at that... But nonetheless a very interesting car...