E30 325i Rag-Top

Some of the six speed boxes are a problem due to the ratios used in them, resulting in far more changes per lap at most NZ circuits. Whilst you get a bit more acceleration from the close ratios, I would argue you lose time due to the shifting. Plus the extra weight of the six-speed box.

After such a great performance to beat the Windies, fingers crossed the Black Caps have enough gas left in the tank to do the same (or better) against the SAFAs on Tuesday.

Yeah, certainly seen it happen that way round - gold digger Barbie impressed by expensive cars. Was wondering more if it happened the other way around - especially with car guys, would they date a chick with a crap car? When I were a lad, there were zero girls into the car scene and only a few ho-bags that wanted the back seat ride.

Emma Gilmour ??

LoL - this is more a 'theoretical' question, rather than an actual example Westy. I know I have (many, many moons ago) finished with someone because they sold their car - after I spent ages fixing the bloody thing up, and so they could then use me as a taxi service. Also pretty sure that me having some pretty cool cars helped swing the decision with some chicks who were above my league.. Was wondering if it was just me..

Something I have always wondered is whether the car someone drives would have an affect on who they date? For example, would you date a hot lady if she had a PoS Toyota Corolla? Or the other way around maybe, a not so hot chick if she had the latest M3?

Are 325i trailing arms the same as any other E30 arm? Suppose they might be a bit different to accommodate the thicker drive shafts.

Have you tried Kayne Barrie at KBM, he might have one, or know of one for sale?

Needs a price as per For Sale rules, please.

Yeah, a mate of mine had a history of convictions longer than his arm, forgot to mention one of them out of the hundreds, and when it was claim time - rejected! And it was an honest mistake on one of the more minor issues.

Round and silver at a guess...

Shall keep it open for now, because every now and again something is posted that is relevant to the original post..

^^ That was just you coming home p!ssed from the Rusty Nail again Ash!

Insurance policies are a contract aren't they? The application form makes the basis for that agreement, and question on it usually says something like "is the car modified?". Answering the question wrongly could be said to be making the contract null and void couldn't it? The argument comes down to whether the mods in question actually contributed to the claim (make it more likely to be stolen or crashed) I suppose.

Whilst I can see the point that driving an auto can lead to an over-all lower level of attentiveness and involvement from the driver, I can't say that is the be all and end all. If you want involvement from a drive get an old, 1950s car and hustle that along, poor tyres, poor brakes and lack of power grabs your attention straight away! Using a sequential on the track means you can concentrate on the things that really matter, such as braking point, turn in (both hands balanced on the wheel for better feel) and throttle control. There is a reason why F1, FIA GTs, V8 Supercars, WRC, etc all run sequential boxes. The increased speed is not just from the milliseconds saved per shift. M3 V8 DCT would be a great road and track car, only thing better would be an M4 I6 Turbo DCT if I could afford to choose.

I always thought that Jules was more of a Centre?Play nicely children or the mod stick will have to come out.

Cheap long term parking??

Structural rust, yes, surface rust no. Many people don't distinguish between the two. Can we stop talking about rust now please??

The level of tech fitted changed a lot over the lifetime of the E90, and across markets varied a lot as well. Try looking for the later models as they should have more kit fitted into them. There are quite a lot of sensors involved with the comfort access, plus reprogramming, extra module, etc. So whilst it may be possible (and everything is possible if you spend enough) it may not be cheap. I would suggest waiting for the right car with the right options, it will come along.

The last E92 that BMW Driver Training used for the hot-laps was a DCT, that seemed to go pretty well and I don't think it had any problems. You do get the lovely blippy down-shifts and paddles to pull and feel like an F1 driver.

Really? That is surprising, I didn't know OAPs liked putting it about that much... you live and learn. Sorry Graham, the "I had a mate" bit wasn't aimed at you, it was a reference to the old-fashioned type of statements that used to be made in the pub over a beer rather than on the internet. There's also Chinese sh!t that is coming in brand new with corrosion issues, but that's a whole nother thread / stereo-type to be done.

Forget the stereo-types and generalisations, every car is different, treat it on it's own merits. Old-wives tales were bad enough and all the "I had a mate who..." stories have now grown wings and flown around the internets so anyone can spout them as gospel.

Do we really have to go through this same sh*t EVERY time a car is listed that has come from the UK? It is getting so, so tedious and repetitive. Let's just discuss the car in the original post and stop with the ooh it'll be rusty arguments.

When I got the head off I could see that the damage was worse than I had hoped, but luckily not as bad as I had feared. As expected four of the exhaust valves were bent (sprocket on exhaust cam came off) but also all eight of the inlet valves were also bent, losing the sprocket meant the timing chain wasn't under tension and was able to jump a number of cogs on the cam, but still turned it, damn. The good news was that the pistons had only kissed the leading edge of the valves, and no heads had come off completely. The engine was only at low revs when it let go, thankfully not going full chat down the front straight! so there was only very minimal marks on the tops of the pistons and no damage to the rods, phew! The head checked out ok, and there were no issues with the guides or the valve seats which was another big relief. Another member of the Race Series then came to the rescue with a full set of very good condition valve gear which had come out of his 635CSi engine and are the same parts in the S14 - so a huge thank you to Ian Brown for those, and to Kayne Barrie for knowing about them.

"He's got two short legs, one of them square" "Botham just failed to get his leg-over" Johners and Aggers couldn't speak for about 5 minutes after that one... Just want to get into the quarter finals now, see things start to shake out.. real pressure time. Still lots of good cricket to watch, and not too upset that England are out.