E30 325i Rag-Top

Jeez, what a mission! Much harder to get into place than the other ones. Normal set just needed the sway bar loosening off to get into place, the new set are much wider (due to the gap for the steering column) and took a lot more to get in: sway bar completely off, engine mount and arm taken off and engine jacked up!! Put a couple of new mounts in while I was there, don't want the motor moving around as there is not much clearance in there. Hope to get the steering hooked up today, shall see how that goes...

I know Driftit was selling one not so long ago, drop him a pm he might still have it available.

Ya big wuss. I hope you still had ya shorts on?

Much easier for the timing to be out with the dizzy version rather than the later Motronic style is what John is getting at. Could be only a degree or two difference in the timing which is causing the two problems that you mention.

Hmmm, interesting. The main reason I was thinking of wrapping them was to keep the heat away from the steering column, which is going to pass through the middle of the two pipes. Maybe I could put the wrap around the column instead, to insulate that?

Had a real stroke of luck at the end of last week, thanks to Google and the fact that NZ is like a small village, found a set of RHD M3 headers for sale locally. It was a well expired TradeMe listing, but I recognised the name of the person and managed to find a number for them, and luckily they were still available. Made contact, turned out to be someone I had met in the past, got a bit more info and they sounded just right, agreed a price and they turned up here today via Mainfreight. Very pleased with them, just waiting for some heat wrap to arrive tomorrow and on they will go! Just the back end of the exhaust to do now the tricky bit is out of the way.

Haha, saw that last night and was going to post it up! My German is a little rusty so can't read much of it, but think I have worked some of it out. Looks like he had an Alpina M3, which is the B6 part (?), but also managed to get all the gear from the B10, including a replacement low mileage bi-turbo engine, and put it all in the E30. End result is a bloody amazing car, love that interior, with the suede dash, etc. and it would go like a cut cat. No idea on the pricing it's a one-off, purists might say not genuine, so not worth as much. I would definitely find room for it in my garage! Where's that 5mil again??

Please can you put prices against the items you have listed for sale. Forum rules in the for sale section. Thanks.

There is still a MAF inspection which costs a few $$s, plus port handling fees, etc but no compliance. Shipping is not cheap, even if it is combined with other stuff and sent by sea. Unless it is a hard to find engine, like my S14B20, or expensive like an S54, I would say it would be cheaper to find one in NZ.

I brought a whole engine and gearbox in from Greece, wasn't too difficult. A lot depends on the seller, and how prepared they are to organise the shipping from their end. There is a bit of paperwork to be done, and the customs duty to pay when it arrives.

True, a 3ltr petrol with a slush box would be the ultimate....

There are brand new cars that are arriving from China that have been denied certification due to rust issues as well. Yes, there are lots of rusty cars in the UK, just as there are lots of rusty, poorly maintained cars in NZ. The point is that not ALL UK cars are rusty, which most people seem to think is the case. Nuts and bolts are usually only given a zinc passivate, or chemi-black finish, which doesn't last long in most conditions. Easy enough to replace if you have to take them off for any reason.

"This SUV is a real head turner, it's smooth to drive , handles and has power like a sports car." Um, yeah the 3ltr petrol is not a powerful X5 by any stretch of the imagination. Avoid, go diesel, or if you like the local petrol station staff, go for the V8!

Time for a Bimmersport auction dump if you ask me... crap all over the trademe sale. But then I can be very childish (or so I'm told)!

No, the warranty is transferred with the vehicle, it becomes void after the time period not change of ownership. There are other conditions, such as the vehicle is serviced in line with the BMW recommendations and by an approved BMW Service outlet. Key point to note is that it is only 2 years, and from the date of first registration in the original country. The current 5 year warranty is a local NZ warranty and that is not transferrable to another country.

That's true, it's all driven by Supply v demand. not many E39 M5s in NZ and lots of people that would love to own one. Many more E39 M5s in UK but most people put off running costs (mostly petrol and insurance). Cost of diverting the supply to the demand then comes into play when the differences are big enough.

Plus GBP8k is not far off NZ$24k landed anyways.

I'm not sure where in London you were living to not see gritted roads in 10 years, must have been either lucky or in the area of a council that had run out of money and couldn't afford to grit the roads. All of England gets cold enough for snow and ice and all areas get gritted - including the south. It's not just the gritting of the roads that are the issue, it's also the marine environment and salty sea air. Just look inside a heat pump from a Bach to see what I mean! But you are right, not every car in England is a rust bucket and the issues are greatly exaggerated.

Original post doesn't mention front bumper.. maybe why so 'cheap'?

Yeah, because a Porsche really is a useable four seater, where the M is really only a two-seater, oh wait, what...

Bit of a bumpity bump on this one, still looking. And I KNOW someone out there is replacing the centre section on their M3 as I saw the new one sitting in the parts warehouse waiting to go to the dealers... the old knackered one will suit me for bits and pieces!

No worries Bruce, it does look a bit rough, but it will do for now. Sorry, no spare oil cooler, I had to source mine. The cooler is the same as the 325i E30s so not too hard to find, it's the hoses that are different and hard to find. Has Shuey put a hole in yours whilst doing skids in your car while he was "looking after it" for you??

This was the advert...

From what I have been told the idea of the "spinning propeller" came in quite early in the companies history with some of the advertising they ran at the time, and that has become part of the story of the company, but the very first logo was based on the old company and the flag of Bavaria - the region of Germany that BMW was based in at the time. There is an old logo which even has lines around the outside which makes it look even more like a propeller spinning, just can't find a picture at the moment. BMW logo BMW roundel on a 1939 BMW motorcycle Flag of Bavaria The name-change to Bayerische Motoren Werke compelled management to devise a new logo for the company, therefore the famous BMW trademark is designed and patented at this time. However, they remained true to the imagery of the previous Rapp Motorenwerke emblem (which was designed by Karl's brother, Ottmar Rapp). Thus, both the old and the new logo were built up in the same way: the company name was placed in a black circle, which was once again given a pictorial form by placing a symbol within it. By analogy with this, the blue and white panels of the Bavarian national flag were placed at the center of the BMW logo. Not until the late 1920s was the logo lent a new interpretation as representing a rotating propeller.[5] The BMW Trademark, called a "roundel", was submitted for registration on the rolls of the Imperial Patent Office, and registered there with no. 221388 on 10 Dec 1917.

Invest half, spend half. Don't tell family or friends (too many begging letters). Property Investments to include commercial units, with one kept to run secret race team out of, and apartment at Hampton Downs (with garage). House renovation. Car spending to include X5 diesel tow wagon, E30 M3 race car (preferrably Conrod's but doubt he would ever sell) and full resto/modernisation of the 'vert.