E30 325i Rag-Top

I was more interested in the 325i bit.. But I'm sure you're more than legit Harv!

Plus all the SIV permits have been issued since ages ago, only so many cars per year...

We might have to check your motor a bit more closely this year then Harv...

Check the build sheet for your car and look for the option codes 6NE or 6NF. Bluetooth was definitely available in that year, but not necessarily standard, and it would depend on the spec. level for the country it was first sold in.

Darren, the first thing you need to find out is whether your car can be complied when it arrives in NZ. Being a 2003 Alpina I think it might struggle to meet the emissions requirements.

Got the steering column hooked up again, so was able to take it for a little drive. Only out of the garage and down the driveway, but it's a start! Good news is that the clutch and gear change work as they should. Managed to make my first cock-up due to the dog-leg shift, hopefully get that out of the way quickly. Slight problem with the sway bar clashing on the manifold... But should be able to work around that somehow.

I want so much to buy this off you Dan.. but I think the Mrs would kill me! Hope it goes to a good home. And is that a bottle of NOS on the passenger seat??

^^ The white one on the shore? I think Brent bought it and is breaking it - listed in the For Sale section.

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.