E30 325i Rag-Top

Yup, the switch is on the other side of the box to the one shown, towards the back - with two terminals usually, and there is a connecting wiring loom about a foot long which comes up into the car through the gearshift lever hole. The issue is with finding where to tap these two wires into the body loom, you need a +12v feed into the switch and then the wire out of the switch needs to feed into your reversing lights - this is where I got stuck as I couldn't find the equivalent connections on the Auto car body loom.

After a lot of searching and a fair bit of research and preparation I am now at the stage of starting the physical engine swap in my E30 racecar. I've had a lot of fun in the E30 series over the last 5+ years, but it has become apparent I am not going to get anywhere near the front of a race that has a level playing field in terms of the cars. So I am moving over to the Open Class 2 Litre Championship giving me more scope to develop the car to get an 'edge' in that area. Pulled the old M20B20 out with minimal huffing and puffing... Now left with a hole to be filled with something a bit lighter that produces a lot more power.. A number of racers have gone down the M5x route with various levels of modifications to the internals with quite a bit of success and there a lots of road cars out there with the same conversion, but I have decided to go for something a bit different. For different read more expensive and a lot harder to get hold of, with nowhere near the same level of spares available in NZ!! Just need to get this little baby into the hole.. Its an S14B20 with a Getrag 265/5 Dog-leg box out of a E30 320iS which I brought in from Greece, for those that don't know this is basically an E30 M3 engine which was de-stroked to get it under the 2-ltr capacity to avoid heavy taxes in both the Portuguese and Italian markets. This one has been re-built with new seals, gaskets, bearings, light skim and head-work, bores honed and new rings. Also added some additional sump baffling to prevent oil starvation which can occur in race conditions with the S14 engine.. Still lots of things to work out, plugging in all the electrics and getting it to run properly with the E30 body loom, exhaust headers which are an issue (320iS were all LHD so steering column gets in the way), propshaft length, oil cooler, radiator and cooling fans, etc.... so will post up more as I progress.

I was thinking more along the lines of a cutting paste, as in a "cut and polish", rather than even a very fine sandpaper.

You should be able to "cut" the blob out of the clearcoat using a fine cutting compound and buffer if you are careful, then a quick blow over the top and it would be all good, save taking the whole lot off and starting again.

Hahaha, sounds just like Warren - he is a bit of an old-skool rough diamond and very straight talking. Certainly knows his stuff when it comes to fixing rims, has done a few for me over the years and been spot on every time. As you are in HB I would say he would most likely be the nearest to you as well, he is based just outside Palmy.

Put up some pics of the finished article please...

There's a set of GC coilovers for an E30 on TradeMe at the moment for $1500 - if they are in good condition that would be a good buy IMHO.

And if you look at the stamping on the boss (an about the two o'clock position) there is a badly stamped fake JWL marking as well - trying to suggest it has a JWL approval. Plus the fact that the markings do look to be stamped and not cast - adding further stress weak-points into the wheel, great. If it is anything that you need to stop you in a hurry - tyres, wheels, pads, rotors, fluids, etc. then it is not worth scrimping on in my book. First thing I look at when I buy a car is the tyres on it, if people want to fit Ling Longs on a BMW then they sure ain't gonna be spending money on it!

You are quite right, the issue is the fact that the Analogue signal has now gone which is why the TV doesn't work anymore. Only really recent factory TV units (built 2013 onwards) work with both Analogue and Digital signals. There are aftermarket kits available to make your TV work again with the digital signal, basically a mobile Freeview decoder box, and they are available in NZ. I'll see if I can find details of the maker and / or installer.

The result of the Giltrap Lambo Experience day I believe, a punter booted it, went up a bank at the side of the road and over she went! Top effort.

Personally I would say the RS's or BBS 15" Weaves look better with the Tech1, but the Alpinas still look better than just about everything else...

The black one is being lovingly cared for by BMW NZ as the Central Demonstrator, there are also a couple of customer cars and dealer demos arriving very soon!

It's getting there... when's it gonna be ready?? Pretty sure I am gonna have some fun with Stevo in this...

Good pics, love the colour. I was at Cornwall Park and the Puhoi pub (but in the wagon not the Cab) pretty sure we said Hi, We should look at organising a Cabby meet when Andy is bringing his up to Aucks.. there are a few coming into the family now.

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.