E30 325i Rag-Top

Spent half an hour in the garage comparing the 'vert bootlid and the one on the coupe, and a spare one. Buggered if I can see a difference... I always thought they were the same? The rest of the time I was cleaning 20 year old oil/dirt mixture from a gearbox, they obviously never fix oil leaks in Greece... and how MAF let it in the country I'll never know, makes me wonder what they actually do in these inspections you pay so much for??

From what I hear of the owner this may well be the case, he has also imported other rare Bimmers such as security vehicles, but can't get them complied??

Looking for a battery in boot cable - the one that goes from the rear up into the engine bay, anyone got a spare? If so, how much to part with it? Also, the two sensors and leads from the gearbox for a Motronic 1.3 (I think) set up.. again WHY and how much? Ta.

What tyres are on them? Any idea what they weigh?

Bugger, that looked like a good one! I would strongly recommend the 325i over the 320i, the 'vert is a bit heavier due to all the chassis strengthening, and needs the extra horses to pull it along, but I guess it depends on how much of a hoon or cruiser you are?? I will keep an eye out and let you know if I see any.

Which version - L-Jet or motronic??

There's quite a few muppets in Aucks that need to be schooled on this...

AFAIK there has never been a BMW assembly plant in Japan, and there certainly isnt one now. SA was a special case to get around the apartheid restrictions and they made some very cool local editions. All that gets built there now (or when they are not on strike anyways) is the F30 3-Series sedan, including the majority of those that come to NZ.

True... 1200+ hp qualifying spec.. I think they were nicknamed "grenade" engines for some reason?? Won the F1 Championship though. Do it!!

Dustbin sized truck turbo on it, best bang for buck!! (Literally )

It could easily give that gain in horsepower - but only from the increased RPM limit. 325is pull hard right up to the rev limiter, so haven't reached the drop off point for torque. What would be of more interest would be the torque figures, really would be looking for more mid-range pull rather than top-end Hp for more useable performance increase. If they can give you a dyno sheet showing the results and changes to torque curve then it might be worth investing in.

Interested in the catch tank - what size is it, and does it have a sight glass so you can see how full it is from outside?

Nice one.. I have tried both a soft and hard re-boot and a "bounce" as well, no joy.Have also tried randomly changing random parts, hope, prayer, shouting and swearing. Now having to resort to gauges and diagnostics and stuff.. Glad you have got your sense of humour back now your engine is going, have you joined the series yet though??

Smacking it with a lump of 4 x 2 is very tempting right now... might not fix the problem but will make me feel better !! I think that is the way to go, but I am a little relctuant to start whacking the fuel tank right now, with my luck I'll end up splitting it and burning the house down!!

Swapped and checked loads more stuff, still to no avail, same problem.. Changed out ECU, tried new coolant temp sensor, new external fuel pump, new ignitor. I am starting to think that it could be the lift pump in the fuel tank, as it sounds like the "miss" you get when you run low on fuel and come out of the hair-pin at Hamptons, that and the fact that the new FPR made it go a few revs higher up before coughing and spluttering. With no load (ie. revving it out of gear) gets up to five and a half six before missing. When driving and accelerating gets to the same point each time, about four and half thousand. All making me thing poor fuel flow?? I have changed the filter in case that was blocked, checked all the lines, replaced the external pump. Even pulled out the lift pump and checked the mesh filter wasn't clogged with crap. No changed. I did notice it was hard to get the lift pump to lock back into the tank - had to push it down really hard (could be due to the big dent in the bottom of the tank from getting it stuck half on half off a trailer) could that be the issue -the pump is "squashed" against the bottom of the tank - restricting the flow at higher revs?

Ooooops, sorry about the thread-jack Andy - back On-topic. I have a boot-lid here, paint is pretty rough (peeling clear coat) but it is straight and pretty solid. No 325i badge on it (but would need to come off for painting anyways) but does have spoiler holes... Post would be a killer, maybe come have a look-see when you are up this way next?

Front seats shouldn't be too hard to find, same as the coupe. Rear seat will be a different matter - vert seat is different to all other models, not many around in NZ. Have seen a few come up in the Uk where cars are being broken but none here. Good luck with your search!

Won't you fail the WoF if you take off the high-stop lamp? I had a big argument with the compliance guy over adding one to mine... And pretty sure facelift and pre-fl have the same boot if that makes it any easier..

Cheers Ashkan, or Eisnberg, or Snoop Lion or whatever your handle is, I will give you a text later! Where is your workshop? I am in town tonight for a fashion show..

^^agree 100% Cops have to work "by the rules" and crims don't respect any rules...

Yup, even does it when sitting still under no load. I haven't got a spare ECU so that is one thing I haven't swapped over, so could be in that area. First engine was motronic, then swapped it over to an L-Jet to get the adjustability on the timing. Is there anything "inside" the dizzy that craps out, or just the cap and rotor usually? Starting to really piss me off now...

Having issues with the E30 race car not running properly, pulls well up to about 4,000rpm then it misses badly, almost like hitting the limiter. Started doing it last time it was raced at Taupo, usually about six or seven laps in, when it was really hot. Then at the track day on Sunday it was doing it all the time, wouldn't go over 4,000 revs at all and then got worse through the day. I have replaced the AFM, no difference, and the coil, swapped plugs over all to no avail. Checked the dizzy cap, found the centre electrode had disintegrated - put in a new cap and rotor still no difference, pulled better but still missed at the same point. Test the fuel pressure and it seemed good, about 7 bar bit it did seem the FPR was opening at only 1.5 bar so swapped in a 3bar one. This made it pull even better and revved out slightly higher, but still get the same issue just now at about 4,500rpm. Checked the igniter as its an L-jet and that looks all good. Fuel is fresh, filter is new. Any ideas as to what is doing it, or what to check??

Yee-ouch, that's quite a mess, hope the occupants were ok. You would need to know your stuff to pull that straight, would need to be a good panel shop (or mates rates from one) to make that viable to fix up. Replacing the air bags would cost heaps to replace for starters!

Great to see another E30 'vert go to a good home, still such a cool car. Glad to hear you're happy with the purchase, roll on summer to get to enjoy it lots!

Have belt and pillar covers. Not sure what trim part do you need? Is it the flat black plastic bit that goes over the sill in the door hole?