DC3

Looking good Glenn

Great to see Glenn, the satisfaction will drive you. Beautiful car too, you have a real gem there. I too will be keeping an eye on this thread.

Talking of Estoril blue, content here... http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-discussion/455562-hope-s-ok-leave-here-estoril-e38-content-m7-perhaps.html

I love the passion this guy has...

Looks like you got a great car there Dave, cleaning it up and making it your own. There's an article in the April BMWCar mag on the very same model which is worth a look.

I've recently had a OEM replacement screen for my E90 at JCBMW. Perfect job and no dramas. I'm insured with NZI, premium $517.40.

I haven't seen this article yet but here's another comparo with the E39 M5 from Road & Track..randt-mar2015_e39m5vchevyss.pdf

Me too. Good on you man, you'll enjoy it!

Cool! Jooles, great idea and I look forward to meeting you. Can take you on some great back roads for some ultimate driving machine pleasure.

In a weak moment I bought a new one, OTT I know but seemed a good idea at the time.

Jim Murdoch Motors. Jim was one of Bruce McLaren's original mechanics. His side kick Glen does most of the work.

Thanks guys for the kind comments, really nice to hear and appreciated.

I bought this car 2 years ago through the "special interest vehicle" scheme that NZTA have. I bought from a private seller advertising it on Pistonheads after I had been granted a permit. It is a 2003 model that has had 3 owners with 1 owning it for 8 of the then 10 years. My interest in the M5 goes back to 2002 when my son's father in law had one as his work car (believe it or not). I was lucky enough to get to drive it once and was very impressed. I considered buying a second hand one at the time but it was beyond my resources. That car was oxford/caramel so I've had a hankering for one like that ever since It did however get me into BMWs, my first being an E46 330d. I really enjoyed owning this, especially the torque it produced. Since then I have sampled a few of their torquier engines but the E39 M5 was always in the back of my mind as the benchmark. To get back to the said car, I took a punt on the seller being straight with me and he answered all my questions and supplied plenty of photos. He took it to an independent BMW service garage for an inspection. Their view was that it was a good example with the only rust they could find was on some of the fastenings and it would benefit from a clean up. Also mileage was correct. After I got it home I have spent a lot of time cleaning it and also getting my local BMW tech to bring everything else up to date. Including... Engine oil and filter, gearbox oil, rear brake rotors, skim front rotors, cam cover gaskets, gear shift link refresh, both bumpers off repainted, bonnet and door repaint, replace rear scuba boxes (supplied by Ray from one of his wrecks), new tyres, battery, mats and steering wheel. Plus a few shipments of fastenings etc from the UK. Here are some photos... There is a depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the marque here on Bimmersport which I enjoy. I've met up with some of the M5 owners, Martin, Glenn and Darren who are all very helpful. I hope you enjoy my post.

Well written I'd say

You're a man after my own heart Josh, what a great way to spend the last days of the holiday. Looks immaculate.

Jooles, you're doing a marvellous job on your car I have to say. I hope to meet you some day and see for myself. Keep up the good work. Dave

Snap! Looks as up to date as you can get with an E39, nice job Martin

Many thanks for the warm welcome and comments, appreciated. I'll get a few photos up of the M5 and some background when life gets back to normal. In the meantime......

Guys, my name is Dave and have been a browser here for awhile I thought it was about time I said gidday. I imported an E39 M5 from the UK last year which I am really enjoying after giving it some love. I also have a E90 330d, again has responded well to some attention... some photos under "Giving the new car a spring clean" I enjoy reading about stuff that you guys do with your cars, and photos of progress. Epic! I've met up with some of the Bimmersport members when the M5 guys got together, good blokes too. Didn't make it to the ECC meet but hope to get to the next. Have a great Christmas everyone, Dave

Yeah, thanks man

Nice job, great photos too.

I'm stoked with the result Mac and was surprised how easy it cleaned up, this is the stuff I used... 10-1 mix did the trick. Also used a brush and sponge. Here are a few more photos... This is the paint I used... 1 wheel to go.

Too true! Yeah, same torque out put of my M5 but at half the rpm!

I bought this car on Trade-me recently as a $1 auction and scored it for under $20k. It had been neglected for a couple of years and as I'm a clean freek I thought I would share some photos of progress. I have had tints done by Follies, nice job. Also oil and filters done, glow plugs weren't working so that's now fixed. This thing (330d) goes like a rat up a drain pipe and is real fun to drive. I made a start under guards and as E90 discs seem to rust, I repainted them while the wheels were off. Probably a bit of a waste of time but I get a buzz making it look all new again.

Good point. I see the car on T/M is arriving later this month so it'll have the same issue of not being Euro4?? Edit. To answer my question I asked the seller, his reply... Quote You wont need SIV permit. Euro 4 and/or 3 digit Japanese emission code.