TDP

My car got the worlds's dodgiest WOF a few weeks ago (tester: do the brakes work? Me:...yes? ...sometimes. Tester: here you go! Happy motoring), which is nice as it gives me 6 more months to figure out what to do about the (increasingly significant) rust problem, the brake issues and the suspension woes. The fantasy is to take it off the road and spend some time making it right. Which necessitates another vehicle. Which I have. In fact I have two. Both of them from Japanese manufacturers with stirling reputations for reliability. Needless to say, both of them are broken. The VFR has a sticking rear brake and the GT4 refuses to disengage its clutch. I have just spent my Easter weekend dissassembling the Celica to learn... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! My frustration is one of the few man-made things visible from orbit. I'm going to persevere though. Last weekend I got all angry about the state of my motoring and went and took an E46 330 coupe for a drive, with a view to getting something modern and reliable but still fun. It was one of the most underwhelming experiences of my motoring career. Nothing I could easily put my finger on, but the car just didn't 'click'. It was highly capable but... disconnected. It helped clarify why I keep ending up with older cars. They are more enjoyable, more interactive, more engaging, to drive. In my opinion, they are worth the effort.

This is great! I posted the original bits because it amused me how sh*t my photoshopping was. I've since been shown how good the car can look with those wheels AND been given the alternative version with all silver (and a tint!), which I'd been humming and haaing about (the silver, not the tint ). Thanks guys. Much love. <- Platonic, non-creepy style.

DAMN!! <- Meant in a good way. Skills for days! Thank you Mark. I believe I know what wheels I will (eventually) be fitting.

Too true. Inspired by Brook's efforts I decided to see how these wheels; would look on my car; As it turns out... Not so good... Oh well. I think I'll keep practicing.

Rude buzz. No chance of picking one up tomorrow? I'm kinda hoping parts places are going to be open.

I have both of these as well as an LSD and short gearing. The car has given me a couple of little wake-ups but none moreso than on a wet Trig road out west. Trig is a bit of an anomoly in that its a 100kmh road more of less in the suburbs. I've driven it a million times and feel I'm reasonably familiar with it. On this occasion the road was damp rather than wet. I was following an Altezza that appeared to be trying reasonably hard. Because I'm a bit of a d*ck I decided to 'keep up' with him, remind him who the RWD daddies are. There's not that many corners on Trig but they're all good and in all honesty, probably shouldn't really be driven hard (it's quite a busy road). The third corner, as you go uphill, is a gentle sweeping right, easily negotiated at 100 in 4th on a steady throttle. The road was damp so I was showing a little caution and would have been doing about 70 when I turned in. Instantly, the rear let go. I had wound bugger all steering angle in, I wasn't going that fast, I wasn't accelerating and the thing just... gave up. I shat myself. I remember thinking, 'I'm F@#ked' and that was the sum total of my contribution to getting us (the car and I) out of this situation. I took no corrective action, I don't think I even thought to get out of the throttle. Perhaps realising that I was not going to be any help, the car pointed its nose at the apex and drifted serenely, perfectly, across it and into line and continued on down the road like it wasn't even a thing. We didn't even leave my lane. It must have looked lovely because an old guy in a Toyota Echo... echo, who was coming the other way gave me a huge smile and the big thumbs up. I was too shocked to even pretend that I knew what had just happened. I just continued sedately to my destination and cleaned the upholstery at the first opportunity I got. Still a lot to learn about driving this car. So yeah... RWD in the wet... Gotta watch that.

My ipod photo is 3 years old and still ticking away. It did suffer some sort of complete failure at the 13 month mark (i.e. wouldn't turn on at all). I took it to Ubertec in Parnell Rd, they kept it for a week, did a bunch of diagnostic stuff to it, announced themselves mystified as to the problem, somehow forced it to reformat, charged me $30 as an inspection fee and returned it empty but working. It's behaved nearly flawlessly ever since. I was very impressed with the timing though. Only one month out of warranty and on the eve of a 7hr+ car drive when it was my only hope of music.

Hi Ray, Would you have the spreadable lock from the handbrake mechanism of an E21? Apparently it is the same part no. as found on E30s. It's a cable operated device that locates (and spreads) the handbrake shoes.

Hello. Interesting career choice. I was an inner city courier for Deadline Express for 4 years. Most of the questions you have asked would be best answered by your employer as they frequently have preferential deals with outfits like insurers, accountants and mechanics, but I will try to respond as best as I can based on my own experience. This was 3 years ago though and things may have changed since then. 1. I believe I was insured by State. I had the car covered as a commercial vehicle. I can't remember what the premiums were but the excess was $1000. I don't remember it being too expensive, all things considered (Male, under 25, one accident, several speeding tickets, living in South Auckland). 2. Talk to alarm installers. The one I had allowed me to leave the engine running and the keys in the ignition. This is probably more pertinent if you go with a diesel of some kind. 3. Who offers the lowest interest rate and is willing to loan to you? You can claim interest as an operating expense and write it off against tax (I think I have that right, the money side of things was for me... well... difficult) so that may not necessarily be an issue as long as you earn enough money to cover payments whilst still buying useful things like food, stress-balls and personal hygiene products. 4. This is the area where I fell down. The government has an exciting array of acronyms like PAYE, GST and ACC. All of these will cost you money. If you do not stay ahead of them they will cost you even more money. If you are smart and fancy spending evenings filling out official forms then by all means do it yourself. I had a lovely semi-retired lady take care of my accounts for me. She did a very good job and charged a reasonable price (which was written off against tax). Unfortunately I ignored every single remittance advice that she sent me and ended up many, many dollars in debt. The sooner you can get your head around the fact that at least a third of the money that shows up in your bank account is not actually yours then the better off you will be. Ask your company about this they usually have an acceptably priced accountant that they can refer you to if you don't fancy doing it yourself. 5. Depends. Are you working primarily in the inner or outer city? What sort of thing does your company mainly transport? How confident are you parallel parking something like a van? Is it going to be cheap to service and run? Is it built tough enough to survive multiple kerb collisions? How much does it cost to buy initially? Once again, talk to your company. Pay attention to what other people are driving (Toyota Corolla station wagons when I was working). The diesel vs petrol question is a little more vexed. I was always told that RUCs made the difference in running costs between the two negligible, but petrol was a lot cheaper back then. Hope that helps a little.

Nice ad. Can't blame the car really. I was going to say 'I can see where it's coming from', but the context leaves that open to misinterpretation. Also, did anyone else watch the commercial for the GT3 RS that's on the same page? http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=s2aG4vSh20s&...feature=related Makes me want one.

Brilliant! Thanks for the info and advice guys, you folks are the best! Thanks also for the offers of parts etc, I think I've sourced everything I need now. I do have an ECU and loom and I'm going to leave the electrical side of things entirely to the professionals. The sparkys tell me they can fit an oxygen sensor (the car doesn't have one and there is no bung in the (aftermarket looking) exhaust) which means that once I've fitted the airflow meter and connected the fuel and brake booster lines my part is pretty much done. The point that Will raises about the fuel pump worries me though. What research I did do (finding out how to spell M20B25 and on what day my back-pay would be in my bank account - well spotted Glenn) suggested that I'd be all right with the K-jetronic pump as, because of the nature of that system, it flows good strong pressure. I guess I'll find out. I'll admit it's been a steep learning curve, particularly on the fuel injection front, and at times quite frustrating (if you want to see a grown man cry ask me why my exhaust has a partial hacksaw cut through it) but it's also been quite fun and, at times, satisfying. I'll let you know how (if) it turns out.

So some months ago I decided it would be fun and a bit of a lark to put the M20B25 out of a 1989 E30 into my 1980 E21. Oh how I laughed... and oh how short lived that laughter was. Anyway, given my vast mechanical knowledge (gleaned entirely from dimly remembered episodes of Knight Rider and from ignoring good advice) I did not envisage too many problems. Yes. Turns out there were one or two after all. First. Turns out the M20B25 is a fuel injected engine. I know! Who knew? As a result I've had to learn a whole new vocabulary. Exciting phrases like airflow meter, oxygen sensor and fuel return now pop up in my everyday conversation. Here's an example: 'Sweet jebus! It needs a what? Airflow sensor? Where the hell does that go? It sounds expensive. And it's different from an oxygen sensor?.. which I also don't have. Right. Choice.' Which is why I need the help of clever and good looking people like you lot. Here is a photo of my engine: Here are some questions: 1. Should there be an airflow meter where the green circle (and fetching pink rag) is? 2. Do I connect the pressure/feed fuel line to the thing inside the red circle? 3. Is the blurry thing with the purplish circle around it what I connect the vacuum hose for the brake booster to? Here is another photo: And some more questions: 4. The thing with the green question mark pointing to it has a pipe attached to one side of it, but not the other, despite appearing to have fittings for both sides. Should there be something connected to it and if so where does it go? (I've tried looking this up on the internets and so far every other picture I've found as been missing the 'out' pipe on this fitting). 5. Does the fuel return line connect to a nozzle on the end of the injector rail roughly where the red circle is? 6. Where does the oxygen sensor for these engines go? 7. Is there any hope for me at all? (I just want to be loved). Any help with any of this is gratefully received. I'm a total noob when it comes to fuel injection.

Well done, that is a bloody good effort. An engine rebuild is not a simple undertaking. I laughed at your description of struggling to unload the M20 from the back seat of your car. Dad and I used a van to pick mine up. It took four guys to load it and 2 guys and some science to unload it. They're heavy unweildy things.

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

Cheers guys. The engine is out of the car and the sump is dropped so I was able to remove the carrier and trap it in a bench vice before assaulting it. It (the seal) came out in the end. It required some precision hack-sawing and laser guided brutality before it yeilded though. I've mounted the battered remains on a pole on the outskirts of the garage as a warning to any other seal who would be foolish enough to risk my wrath. Glenn, I've got a new sump gasket and I'll be using some of that Holt's gasket sealant on reassembly. Is that going to do a god enough job or should I be looking for the grey urethane?

Has anyone ever successfully replaced the rear crank seal on their post f/l M20b25? If so, how? Or, more specifically, how in the name of all that is holy did you manage to extract the old seal from its housing? I have tried gentle persuasion and tactfully applied lubricants. I have tried targeted applications of calibrated force. I have tried entirely unreasonable violence with whatever blunt object fell to hand. I have tried every single tongue position acheivable by the human physique. I have erected a small altar and prayed to the merciless, blackhanded gods. I have sacrificed all manner of livestock and promised the soul of my firstborn to any deity willing to assist me with this but still the bloody thing will. not. budge. Am I missing something really simple? Is there a technique which my, almost willfully unhelpful, Haynes manual has 'forgotten' to mention? Do I need a small, low yeild nuclear weapon? Any help/suggestions pathetically gratefully received.

Hi, I'm after an engine loom for a post f/l E30 325i. Would you have anything like that?

Sweet! Thanks folks. Thats what I wanted to hear, even the bit about difficulties getting the 1.3 wiring through the firewall rings true to what I've been reading about this transplant. Now I just have to find an engine. I believe the post F/L engines can be identified by the toothed crank pulley? The engine has been a little neglected. It has done over 300,000 kms and I believe that quite a few of those were with young drivers. I'm ashamed to admit that it's never been properly tuned in the year and a half that I've owned it and that during that time it's taken to losing/using a lot of oil. I can see the pall of smoke in my rearview mirror as I pull away. It'd probably keep chugging away for a while yet but my financial situation has just improved slightly and I'm keen to sort out some of the issues.

The engine in my e21 is on the verge of death. I've been pondering possible replacements and due to my dislike of the K-jetronic system I'd like to install an M20B25 fitted with Motronic. Research thus far suggests that Motronic 1.1 has its crank angle sensor mounted on the flywheel which means it will not work with my gearbox without me drilling holes, which I am reluctant to do. Motronic 1.3 on the other hand has its sensor somewhere else (crank pulley?) and bolts straight up to the e21. So 1.3 sounds like the go then. Or not. I spoke to a wrecker this afternoon who told me that cars fitted with Motronic 1.3 were never imported into NZ and are therefore rarer than rocking-horse sh*t. Can anyone confirm this? Does anyone have any better suggestions. Should I just man up and drill the appropriate holes for 1.1? Should I just fit a Toyota 1J or a Nissan RB? Maybe toss the whole thing in and buy an automatic Corolla?

Not my fault (I think). I'd just flown up to Auckland to pick up the BMW which I was intending to drive back down to Marlborough. I went and collected it and carefully drove it home. I then not so carefully took it for a 'familiarisation' drive. That's when I discovered that as soon as I got the revs to 5 and a half grand the car would stall and die. And not restart. Until it felt like it. I didn't consider this a huge problem as I could easily make the trip without needing the upper end of the rev range and the car would usually eventually restart. My parents disagreed and suggested I fly back down leaving the car with them to be seen to by an auto electrician. They would pay for my various flights as I was still broke. Indeed my financial situation had caused a paradigm shift in the definition of broke. I reluctantly agreed. A week later and I had flown back to collect my now flawlessly running car. I loaded it up, and my far too generous Mum took me round to the local petrol station to pay for a full tank of gas. Most of which the car deposited on the petrol station forecourt. Turns out the tank leaks if you brim it. To this day it still does. I spent most of the morning running around car parts places trying to find the correct o-ring to seal the tank. To no avail. Against the requests of my parents I announced my intention to push on anyway. It was early afternoon when, having promised to not get too badly burnt, I set out for Wellington. The car performed faultlessly and indeed I revelled in its pure responses and easy power. I was just outside of Cambridge and indulging in a little easy power revelling (in a passing lane) when there was a loud bang and the engine began running like it really didn't mean it. I made it to the side of the road just as the engine gave up altogether. No amount of expletive assisted cranking on the starter made any difference. Swallowing my masculine pride I called the AA who found me in no time at all. In even less time the AA guy had the distributor cap off and was showing me the rotor which is located onto the distributor drive shaft by a thick plastic key ...which had sheared clean off. The AA guy, who is a personal hero of mine, gave me a tow back to Cambridge. Suffice to say there was nobody in Cambridge that had parts for a nearly 30 year old German car at 4 o-clock on a Saturday afternoon. Several hours later those other personal heroes of mine, my parents, rolled into town with a hastily borrowed car trailer. By 10 o'clock that night I was back in Auckland in possibly the foulest mood of my life. Two more flights and a week later the car never missed a beat as it carried me the length of the North Island in surprising comfort and with consummate ease. Incidentally, whilst waiting in Cambridge for my parents I took the sardonic advice of the AA guy and bought a Lotto ticket. I won $30.

Totally my fault. My Alfasud had an oil pressure guage and an oil pressure warning light. Driving home from watching a race at Pukekohe I notice that the warning light has come on. Being a conscientious and more significantly, broke motorist, I pull over and investigate. Guage is showing plenty of pressure, engine is running fine and (for once) has ample oil. After much shoulder shrugging from all involved I drive it home. Expert consultation reveals that the sender units for the warning light are a known weak point and I am advised to discounnect the light and go off the guage which I duly do for several months. It's worth mentioning at this point that the thing had a voracious thirst for oil. It was like running a two-stroke. You'd pull into the petrol station forecourt and ask the attendant to fill up the oil and check the fuel and water please. I knew of this insatiable thirst. So I have no excuse. Some months later I'm setting out on a trip to look at a car I probably can't afford. I notice that the oil pressure guage is reading zero, nada, nothing, zilch. Being a lazy (and still broke) motorist, I give the guage a tap, shrug my shoulders and decide that the sender must be broken. 40 or so motorway kms later I'm on my way back from looking at a 205 GTi that I definitely couldn't afford. Suddenly the engine starts making an odd noise. And losing power. And then clattering like a small army of bulldozers is trying to ram its way out of the sump. I pulled over to the side of the road and, for want of anything better to do, opened the bonnet to be met by a wall of heat. Starting to understand what had happened, I pulled the dipstick. It was the cleanest, driest, most devoid of lubrication dipstick in the history of motoring. Electric motors would have more oil in them than my Sud did. It had got so hot it melted a big-end bearing and extruded it out past the big-end cap, badly scouring the crank journal in the process. I filled it up with oil and drive it home (noisily). The car got a much deserved new motor shortly afterwards

If it's of any interest to anybody. It turns out it was the water-pump that was the problem here. My friend just had it and the thermostat replaced. The pump was apparently on the verge of total failure. Just looking through this section it seems that overheating is a pretty common problem with all sorts of BMWs. Interesting.

Dammit! I went and read the 3.0 CS page adn then lloked at the pictures along the top. It's such a sexy car. Now I want the one on Trademe even more.

I was just wondering... In that first link, the one about the Turbo, the writer claims that the car has better weight distribution than a regular e30. He also claims that the engine in his car has been lightened. I looked up the engine specs and an M30 is nearly 30kgs heavier than an M20. That's a lot of weight to take out of an engine. Are E30s tail heavy somehow? (lead diff casing? Concrete boot lid maybe?) Or is that line about weight distribution just a bit of propaganda by the article's writer? If not, it seems like a pretty decent sort of conversion.

I'm thinking about replacing the tired old engine in my E21 323i and in the process would like to ditch the K-jetronic fuel injection. Easiest way would seem to be to fit an M20B25. If I've done my research right though it appears that I need a post-facelift engine. Does anyone know if these come up for sale very often, and if so how much should I be looking to pay? I'd want something in the low to mid 100s as far as Kilometres go.