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Mark

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Posts posted by Mark

  2. Posted · Report reply

    This is proper manual so no selespeed problems here.

    Nope. that's a selespeed. Essentially a hydraulically controlled manual... horrendously complicated system.

    Buy a proper manual or simply don't buy an Alfa. Matt will probably chime in here at some point... he had one and it spent more time on the side of the road that it did driving.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Awesome transformation! Will look even more amazing when paint is done.

    BBS kits are pretty rare, wouldn't imagine there would be any others in New Zealand. though... drive carefully over judder bars!

    • Like 1

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Live in the West of the city and the roads are fine. I'll drive my "slammed" E30 most places but tend to avoid taking it out East where most of the roads are still pretty munted. You already live in Auckland, so journey times will be similar to what you're used to.

    Plenty to get involved in. New bars and restaurants are opening every week.

    Renting a property will cost you about $400-$500 a week in a settled part of town. Less if you're prepared to live nearer the city centre.

    Not sure what you do for a crust but if you're in construction (project management / estimating / quantity surveying etc) then there's plenty of work going and you'll be paid very well.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Engine swaps:

    Common question: "I want more power from my 318 auto, what engine can I swap in so I can destroy my mate's EK Civic VTEC at the lights?"

    Common solutions (from mild to wild):

    - M20B25 conversion

    The 2.5 6 cylinder from the 325i is the most powerful stock engine that BMW released in your every day E30 3 series. It's also an incredibly common engine to find in New Zealand. Installing this engine into your E30 is easiest if you buy a donor 325i with the engine in place so you can simply swap everything over. Otherwise you can follow this guide for more advice. Engine swap - M20

    - M20B27 conversion.

    As above, except you're swapping the B25's bottom end for one from an E28 525e.There is a comprehensive write-up on how to do this conversion on UK forum E30 Zone. It can be found here. Building a 2.7 - E30 Zone

    - "M20B28" conversion

    This is the same basic conversion at the 2.7, except you're dropping in the 2.8 litre crank from the M52B28 engine.

    Building a 2.8 E30 Zone

    - M30B35 conversion

    Another popular conversion is to swap in the 3.5 litre engine from the E34 5 series or E32 7 series. You'll need the engine loom, ECU and manual gearbox from the same model to make the conversion simple. E30 Zone - M30 Engine swap

    - M50B25 conversion.

    If you want to move on from iron blocks and tell your Honda mates that you rock 24 valves instead of their paltry 16, then you can swap in the 2.5 litre engine from the later model E36 or E34 cars.

    The easiest way to get most of the parts you'll need for this swap is to buy an E34 525i with manual gearbox. If that's proving difficult there are plenty of workarounds and this is a very common swap so there's plenty of assistance just a visit to Google away.

    E30 Zone M5x engine swap

    - S50B32 (E36 M3) conversion

    We're lucky here at Bimmersport that we have a super intelligent site admin "hybrid" (Josh) who has done this exact swap into his E30. But don't start spamming him with PM's like "Yo bro, I wanna drop in a M3 engine into my 318, I've got bout 2 grand which should be heaps eh, got any tips?" , check out his build thread first.

    - M60B40 (B44) V8 conversion

    If you want to twist the ignition on your E30 round to "start" and hear 8 angry cylinders fire into life then here's what you'll need to do: E30 Zone - M6x Engine Swap

    Here is a link to a local Bimmersport V8 build thread with a lot of useful information. E30 SE V8 conversion

    - Nissan SR20DET conversion

    This is another conversion that has been successfully completed a few times on Bimmersport. Here is a link to a local writeup on how to successfully install the Nissan 4 cylinder turbocharged engine into your E30. How to: Nissan S13 SR20DET into a BMW E30

  9. Posted · Report reply

    I was thinking more along the lines of what you can expect to pay for parts in New Zealand / What's available easily here versus what's not. Also, the American and UK forums often talk about products or parts brands that aren't easily available in New Zealand. We can list our equivalents and workarounds etc.

    I will admit I thought about this hurriedly yesterday and I'll work on how I think things should look over the weekend, might give everyone else a better idea about what I'm attempting to create.

    • Like 1

  10. Posted · Report reply

    When you spend a bit of time on here you start noticing a lot of people asking the same questions related to E30's. In particular members who join up having bought a bog-standard car and they want some advice on how to modify the car's appearance and performance.

    I thought it would be a good idea to compile a post with advice / links / suppliers for all aspects of modifying an E30 so that when a newbie joins up we can point them to this thread and say "go nuts!" I know that there are already lists out there like this, but they're generally on American forums and I'd like to make this very "New Zealand-centric"

    So, for those of you who have experience modifying E30's, please copy and paste the list below into a post (add to it too if I've missed something) and let us know your recommendations / ideas (include links to your own threads if you have documented your modifications). I'll then edit it into a pinned post that can sit in this forum and assist all new E30 owners with how to make their cars even better.

    If this goes well we can move onto other popular models as well.

    Engine Swaps

    Auto to manual conversion

    Suspension options (static / adjustable)
    Bodykits / lips / spoilers

    Interior swaps

    Tinting taillights

    Tinting headlights / smiley headlight conversion

    Wheels and tyres (size / offset / replica or genuine)

    Brake upgrades

    • Like 1

  20. Posted · Report reply

    I have seen wealthy people give some desirable cars to their teenage children who have neglected them. Could be what happened here?

    Craziest example was a high school friend of mine whose father gave him his RS500 Sierra Cosworth. It got trashed - house speakers hooked up in the boot, bumpers falling off, regularly thrashed. At 15 none of us knew just how rare and desirable it was at the time... sad now to think about it.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Hi all, haven't posted any pics of the E30 since I got it back, so here's a couple. As many of you know I sold this car three years ago and recently got the opportunity to buy it back. I'd always regretted selling it so it was a no-brainer really.

    Changes since I sold it:

    - Fitted with correct size 205/50/15 RE001's

    - Koni adjustables in front paired with the H&R springs I put in

    - Braided brake lines

    Specs for those who don't know the car

    '87 325i sedan (SA built)

    Manual conversion with Z3 short shift

    Rebuilt M20B25

    AC Schnitzer body kit

    15" BBS RS 001's

    Lowered on H&R sport springs

    Lots of things to be done as funds allow but in terms of driveability it's now sorted to the point where I can just enjoy it.

    post-2031-0-86994900-1396061369.jpg

    post-2031-0-71262700-1396061390.jpg

    post-2031-0-03633400-1396061408.jpg

    post-2031-0-23103200-1396061424.jpg

    • Like 3
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