Mark

Yes, I know I'm taking an unhealthy interest in this car and some may call me a "car stalker". But here's a quick P-shop of the front lowered to match the rear. It's 28x more betterer than before.

Hmmmm, did the guy include the standard springs? Rear height actually looks good, just need to match it in the front. If you have the standard springs you may be able to measure the lowering amount and get some matching springs for the front. Looks like a Citroen 2CV at the moment, needs some attention!

Sooo jealous mate... wish this was my thread! Needs a drop in the front eh? Noticed that when I looked at it, apparently the last owner put stiff lowering springs in the back when he had 16's on the car to stop rubbing. Weird logic I thought. Good job on the clean up too, looks shiny.

You could do a Route 66 type thing. Lots of rusty old oil drums, US Highway road signs, an old petrol bowser etc. Combine it with the mirrors and lights to show off the underside and illustrate the classic vs modern thing you've got going on with the car.

How'd the road trip go Mark? Had a chance to clean it up and take some pics?

Here's my E28 Excuse my limited photoshop skills, but this is what I want it to look like:

I'm no expert by any means, (well I got a scholarship pass in Bursary graphic design -*wank wank*) but you can get some pretty nice shots from a point n shoot. Below are a couple I took of my old car with my gf's 6mp Fuji. Lighting is all important, followed by composition, and equipment is least important. I learnt that from my friend Ken Rockwell kenrockwell.com He rules, heaps of great advice on his site. These shots were taken on a cloudy'ish day in late afternoon. Late afternoon and early morning are the best times for photoshoots cos the light is mint. Post-processing on these photos is limited to adjustment of levels, slight fiddling with brightness/contrast, adjustment of shadow/highlight ratio and slight desaturation. By no means are these photos perfect - in fact I'd like my car back to have another go at a photoshoot - but they're OK and a good start for people who want to show their pride and joy off on Bimmersport without needing to have a fancy SLR. Oh, and never just park your car somewhere nice and then walk around it taking photos... always move the car so the light hits it correctly and drive around heaps of different places, taking lots and lots of shots. You can always delete them later.

Hey man, some good shots there. Are you doing some post-processing in photoshop or similar? You're blowing out the levels a wee bit too much which is making the whites overexposed. Check the levels histogram in Pshop and adjust accordingly. Other than that, not bad photos for a point n shoot! Also I agree with bravo's advice.... get closer to the car, it's the focal point, not the background.

Looking good... now tidy up that banged up front apron! (Or just stop driving into concrete bollards )

Show her your big 12 cylinder, she'll go weak at the knees.

Huh? You can't transfer standard rego numbers and plates between cars. If you want a Euro Plate you'll either have to stump up the cash at plates.co.nz, or go the illegal route and buy from somewhere like germanplates.com

Always wax over the top to protect the finish. If your elbow can stand it, do more than one layer. Also, to previous comments on the usefulness of clay in such a situation. I probably wasn't quite clear enough... What I meant was that you should always clay before polishing to avoid grinding dirt into the clear coat. Sure, it won't work on really faded paint where the clearcoat is gone, but it will certainly help the other good paint around the faded areas. Clay will still remove dirt from a slightly mottled or grazed clearcoat. Remember, the dirt stuck in the clearcoat scatters the light hitting the paint surface making it look dull. The other day I clayed the E28, it had spent the best part of 20 years without being cleaned and the result after ONLY claying was amazing. Polishing further brought out the shine and waxing just finished it off.

I disagree, if you polish without claying first you're just grinding dirt further into your clearcoat and damaging the finish more. Clay first to remove the stubborn dirt and dust stuck in the clear coat then try a polish or T-Cut... Good luck!

Time attack stripe FTW! Do it, black wheels on a white car look sweet.Â

I tried to pick up a cheap fare on Grabaseat, but they were all sold out. Sorry for letting you down guys.

Been discussed before: http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=21209 Wouldn't pay more than what a normal 95 325i in this condition is worth.... perhaps more if you deem it worth it.

So did the V ad with the monster truck copy this? Or the other way around?

Who can say what a genuine S3 really is? The S3 was simply the designation given to an E36 enhanced with ACS options such as the bodykit, suspension, wheels, exhaust, interior trim, short shift kit etc. Power upgrades were offered right across the range from the 316 to the 328, including intakes, chip tuning etc etc Then you had the S3 CS which was based on the M3 and offered a widebody kit as well as engine enhancements for the M-Power engine. So when you see an owner of one of these cars say "it is a genuine S3", it's like saying that your M-tech kitted 323i is a "genuine Motorsport". Not that special, but ACS bits are rarer I suppose. My guess is that original owner of this car in Japan just ticked a few boxes in the ACS column when the car was first ordered. Needs a bit of a tidy up now though.

Trademe Which would win out of this car and the Lexus V8 535is? I vote this.

Just a Jap import that's had a few Alpina bits added by an enthusiastic Japanese owner. Doesn't look too bad really, pity it's a 318 auto.

Hahaha, the price you pay for originality! I know how you feel, I paid $5 for one of the tiny plastic bolt covers on my E36 engine shroud!

Wow. Wow.

Haha, I'm terribly indecisive when it comes to buying cars... perhaps I need to go a bit more on gut instinct. It's a nice car with some good options... definitely needs a tidy up in terms of body and paintwork but the engine is strong and that's the important thing. I look forward to seeing what comes of it (And perhaps I can buy it off you once you get sick of it! hah! )

Nice purchase mate, I took it for a test drive yesterday.... was going to make him an offer tomorrow but looks like you snapped it up! Manual conversion on the cards? The auto was rather shuddery under hard acceleration when I drove it... could just need a service.

Unless you put turbines on it.... Mmmmm turbines.