Young Thrash Driver

PM'd!

M badges do not belong on grilles. Please don't support raw evil

Stuff has found a few interesting, lesser known, BMW electric prototypes: http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/92828941/bmw-plugged-into-electric-cars-before-teslas-elon-musk-was-born

Wasn't that the 7er with the god-awful intakes in the side?

Sorry- was tongue in cheek, seeing as they are all identical

If I ask for Lot 1, how do I know you have sent Lot 1 and not actually Lot 2?

Good luck. That is all.

It's pretty mindblowing that this car, and E30s, were leaving the factory at the same time

Tsk tsk Olaf, some people actually prefer the 4 cylinder model. I'd say not even that Mothers can fix that paint tho...

I assume you mean Palmerston North, and not the small town Palmerston in the South Island?

^ I like this approach. My old CM5A GSR and 4 door DC2 Type R both lost their badging, much to the consternation of a few other young guys off the lights

There will be a few put off by its odd UK spec, km and/or location. Frankly not being leather isn't a deal breaker for me, as long as it isn't that god-awful blue interior that was featured on one of these in Auckland last year. The Motorsport steering wheel dresses up the interior nicely, and I like the charcoal/grey colour scheme.

Yes it would... good chance for the legions of people wanting a manual E39 to stump up. I would but I have already bought a car for the year

And a high riding 4wd coupe looking type 5er... must have as many odd permutations as possible! #beatingmercedesattheirowngame

^questions BMW guys get asked- number 247: Why do you have two of the same car?

And here is the news. Last night, in a garage east of Paengaroa, two men found that a certain vehicles PCV was also knackered, and that the bolt that holds the positive terminal onto the intake manifold is also quite easy to snap. The spade end of the lead that connects to the end of the bolt also snapped with it. Happily, taking off the oil filter housing was the same doddle it usually is. Guess I'll be going shopping when I get a spare minute- tomorrow our 2nd child arrives (ready or not!). That'll slow down my car tinkering

You will find it difficult to source a manual E39 pedal box in NZ. You should have a chat to HellBM, they have done a few of these conversions.

Oh yes I nearly forgot with all the other excitement. The reason the car was misfiring on the way home after I picked it up was due to the broken or faulty unbranded, probably AliExpress 8USD exhaust cam sensor, not just a faulty or broken real cam sensor. Should I start a project thread? Probably not, rereading it might depress me into giving up

Gosh I love how cheeky and characterful BMWs are, always finding entertaining ways to require money wasted fixing factory cockups more maintenance. What is it, the main o-ring?

@Olaf, I found a guy here in Tauranga who specialises in that but it turned out cheaper to just buy new Stabilus parts ex Germany- so why not Attempting to replace rocker cover gasket was hindered by two interesting developments, 1) being an overtightened bolt requiring a helicoil into the block and 2) a rounded-off bolt head hard up against the firewall and driverside strut tower requiring a bolt being welded to the top of it. Turns out Pickapart charges $1 for a single bolt, so that was a fun low cost and quick excursion. Thanks, random E36 with the M5x! And thanks E38 735iL for the BMW glovebox torch. I grew up in Wellington. and don't miss it. At all.

My mechanic told me my one is the best one in the world, and he knows everything about cars... No, lets not go there Sounds like we are all agreed then, get it checked for rust? You could pop over on the ferry, Toby. Make a day of it, check it over, and your mate drives it home. So much more interesting than putting it on a truck.

Ahhh, I remember the days of buying E30s. Good times. My approach nowadays would be- not really too fussed what other problems it has as most are pretty easy and relatively cheap to sort, but it MUST be free of major rust. How will you find out about the rust that you can almost guarantee will be there, if the car is not inspected?

Oh crikey, yes get rid of the fan. If it hasn't been removed in a while you may be in for another frustrating job though... make sure it goes back on with some Copper-Cote or other grease. Just pulled out the bolt you are referring to, it's 150mm long so removing the fan will be a big help

Luck! Don't despair, once you have done this a couple of times it all begins to make sense and becomes less of a drama. And it's an E39, so it WILL be giving you plenty of practice...

Can you get another bolt in behind it and use it to punch it through? The weight of the alternator pulling down on that one bolt isn't making it all bind up, is it?