E30 325i Rag-Top

Keep a look out for the new, face-lifted LCI M5, saphirre black with black alloys - it has the new Competition Pack fitted and is even quicker!!

Sorry, my bad. I thought this went through Turners a month or so back, and had been bought, repaired and crashed again before Luke picked it up. Why did your Insurance write it off, for what looks a relatively simple repair?

Look like 5 Series weaves rather than the E30 weaves, seller might want to add what fitment and offset the wheels are, as there are more than one type of 15" weaves!!

As I remember that was a pretty quick car - with a real screamer of an engine. The photo book just lists the car as an M3 Group A, no mention of the Superturismo. There is more info about the touring car racing involving the E30 M3 in France (Superturisme) and Italy (Superturismo) on this web-site here, but it's mostly in Spanish!! Som good info and pictures though. http://elhombrebipolar.blogspot.co.nz/2008/11/bmw-m3-parte-6-de-6.html As a complete OT - that's the back of my wagon in that shot!!

Nice score, will be a good project. The rust bubble in the corner of the window will probably be the most difficult part to sort out, rest is nuts and bolts stuff. Is this the car with the 2.7ltr motor that went through turners not that long ago? What happened this time... looks and sounds like a Stolen / Recovered.

Yup, there is a change to the pump system - early cars (which the OP has) had a lift pump and external pump, later cars which is showin in your pic, just have an internal high-pressure pump. I'm no sparky but I think it would be a pain to change from one to the other??

Also noticed poor Barry K-B seemed to be doing most of the work in that video... Must have been a relief that off was not more terminal!

Well done Howard, that is a good result, so glad you managed to find a nice example. Love the rear head-rests, something I wish I had, and I am also a big fan of the cloth with half-leather looks good and very practical. Enjoy, and have fun doing the little jobs to keep her looking top-notch! Ps. what's wrong with dropped verts on big wheels???

Good work on the video, now we know where Barry, Morty and Morty Jnr got to!! The speed differentials between the cars would take some getting used to.. the shot with the slower car on the inside and Porsche going past was interesting, would certainly keep you interested!!

First car I had to drive, and learnt in was a Mk3 Escort - 1.3L, much like this one below. My old man bought it for me and my sister to "share", it was a Terracotta brownish colour and was extra special as it had "Benetton" stickers on it. When it became obvious my sister was going to get to drive the Escort much more than I was, I went out and bought my very own car... a Hillman Avenger GT, the early type with the twin round headlights like this one.. Except mine was red on the bottom half, and white on the top half with a big webasto sun-roof that folded nearly the whole way back. I like to think of it as a high performance weapon - it had twin Weber 40 carbs, extractor manifold, straight through exhaust, but I think all it did was drink petrol and turn it into noise. There is a picture of me with the actual car kicking around here somewhere, but as I am about 18 years old and wearing a Marillion t-shirt and marble wash jeans I think it can stay hidden for a while.

There's no way it should have got a WoF, but unfortunately there are some slack / dodgy / useless inspectors out there that will put a WoF on anything if you know where to go.

I have all sorts of belts and tensioners from E30s, mostly PFL, but I'm not sure what the sensitive part means? Or what you need as the alternative.. If you narrow it down a bit, I can probably help you out.

+1 for Z3 shifter. Check what version of Motronic the FL is, might need the position sensor and speed sensor in the bell housing.

19. Refers to "my mate says" or "my mechanic says" repeatedly, as if these people know more about your car than you do...

It's not so much honesty, the figures are produced and verified by testing houses, but the test it's self. It is a defined run of engine speed and load over a "simulated" journey which is measured for both the emissions and consumption. As the test is a controlled set of engine conditions most manufacturers specifically tune their engine maps in those conditions to save fuel and reduce emissions, the rest of the map is a lot more open. This is why some cars seem to have "flat spots" in odd places, and why chipping your ECU can change the performance of the car dramatically. Also why silly things like swirl-flaps get introduced to engines, as a proportion of the test involves the engine being at idle. In real-world driving the conditions are very different, you don't have that same controlled drive every time, hence the results are different. Some cars are better than others in getting to the results as the posts above have said, but it almost impossible (without driving so slowly as to hold up traffic) to beat the combined figures.

M-Tech1 or E30 M3 with a bit of work. Apparently you can get Tech-II to fit with a bit of work also..

Bugger - had my eye on that 330ci for the Mrs!!I reached an important turning point, stopped taking sh*t apart to clean it and started putting bits back together again. whoop!

I'm going to see it tonight, please don't be a spoiler and tell me the ending!

Was the number plate 286 M3? Sounds like FRT in his Open B Class / daily driver Went on a road trip to Tokoroa yesterday to drop the kids off and saw quite a few nice Bimmers on the way, in no particular order.. Silver E30 M-Tech II kit and ACS alloys in Meadowlands Black E30 4-door Tech II kit, plate MY E30 on the motorway south with a rear seat full of rims! Blue E60 M5 with private plates Silver E65 6-Series Coupe with private plate And lots of rangi-as E36!!

How early is your car? The front valance changed around 86 as well - early was a two piece valance, later was single piece.

I'm not sure I am following your argument here Dan. Used diesels are more expensive, as there is more demand, and less supply so therefore higher used car prices. The price when you sell a diesel will also be higher for the same reason above. Depreciation should be less as well, as the perceived life-span of a diesel is higher than a petrol and higer km's is not seen as such an issue. Towing is where a diesel really comes into it's own, not only from the much better economy whilst towing, but also the driveability. Horses for courses though, but it is funny there are diesel and petrol fan-boys. It's almost as bad as iPhone v Galaxy!!

Hmm, those would be the EU Test figures, try getting close to those in real-world driving.

I haven't driven one, but all the reviews of this new little Merc say it is very impressive perfomance wise - not just the power, but the handling as well. The styling on the other hand is a matter of taste - personally both the exterior and interior are far too busy and fussy. Looks like a riced-up Boy Racers hot hatchback to me. I would like something a bit more "classy" for 96k.

Bumpity bump.. No one got a battery to boot cable they don't want? Or the position sensor and speed sensor from a manual gearbox?? Anybody, anybody...

Is it aligned properly on the hinges? There is a bit of play in there which can effect where it sits, also the strut on the 'vert tends to push the left side up a bit which is a pain you don't get on the sedan's with the torsion rods.