E30 325i Rag-Top

Doesn't it say something about reading the forum rules before posting when you sign up? There is also a sticky on "Forum Rules" as well.Might be worth reading up before referring to others as fools.

That is one factor to take into consideration on a re-build, any M3 specific parts will be expensive if not deleted. All the common with E30 parts should still be available new. I know the rear screen and the rear roof extension are NLA, and hard to get hold of second hand even, but there are a number of M3 sites and forums where you can get the rarer parts, but again can be expensive. If it is a labour of love and you would do the work -go for it and enjoy the project. Ignore the dollars, it will never stack up financially, but it is a passion not an investment.

Fark, real sorry to hear that mate. If you need any help with getting it going again let me know.

Depends on the size of the company really, SAP is often a sledgehammer that is used to crack a nut. For a company the size of BMW SAP is too small if anything.. there are about a million different systems used for different aspects of the business and they sometimes talk to each other, sometimes not.Do the Schmeidmann parts come in the "Genuine BMW" packaging? I would of thought they would buy direct from the OEM manufacturer rather than BMW for parts, especially gaskets, etc??

Depends on a few things: Spec - Euro or US? If it is Euro with the dog-leg box worth a few K more. Obviously which model - 195bhp or 215bhp and any mods, etc. A solid, (not mint) with no issues vehicle, in standard specification with a couple of minor issues would struggle to sell for 25k, more likely 22 - 23k to actually sell. For 25 - 30k you would be looking at a good all round condition with only a couple of cosmetic issues to sort. With most restorations you will never get back anywhere near what it cost to carry out unfortunately unless it is a very rare car (Evo Sport for example), especially when the market is fairly stagnant as it is at the moment. If you are seriously considering what to do with your car I am looking for a non-mint M3 to turn into a race car...

Yeah, but this is a "Genuine Alpina" (one that The Diesel Guy missed off his list) with original Alpine suspension, which would make it worth much more surely..???

I think you're worrying too much. My 325i 'vert was over 20 years old when I brought it out, they only picked up on three things:- springs were too low (so I took out superlows, and put in superlows and it passed) - high-level brake light had to be added on the boot lid as it didn't have one from new. - rear discs were worn below the minimum thickness. So a couple hundred dollars and a few hours work and it was all sorted, all done by myself. It helps if the car is very sound and good condition to start with, but if it is roadworthy in the UK it should be Ok here.

Most vehicles will only have a very general type plate, that is to say it doesn't cover everything to a sufficient level of detail to prove that each specific car complies with the requirements of NZ. For example the type plate on my 330d which I brought over from the UK only sates ECE14/1 - which is a very generic standard as this covers the whole of the car.The certificate of compliance will list all the different aspects of the car and what standards they meet - so it will say "emissions comply to ECExx/y" ,etc. It is this level of detail that is required for compliance in NZ, hence the need for the certificate. Not all cars need a CofC - only those that don't have a type plate that covers the certification to a high enough level, so no, dealers don't need to get a CofC for each car. Get the seller to send you a photo of the type plate, then take that photo to your local certification centre and talk to the compliance officer - he can tell you there and then if you need a CofC, plus it helps to build up a relationship with the guy for later on. If you want to save yourself $700 get the seller to get the Cert for you - it will be free of charge in the UK, all it took was a phone call to BMW UK to get mine sent to my buyers house, only took 2 days to arrive as well! V5, Invoice and CofC if required are basically all you need. You can get a fumigation (steam cleaning) cert from UK as well, but probably just as easy to get it when vehicle arrives here. Bill of lading, etc. are for the shippers and customs to worry about.

At least he has stopped calling it an M3 now! Too many added on 'M' badges for me. Does look tidy, not many around but could benefit from more suitable wheels.

Speak nicely to the parts guys at your local dealer - they don't bite, and see what they can do. And as above, try Gavin the forum sponsor, or also Glenn the forum sponsor for a price on the service.

From the Carjam and build info this looks to be one of the original NZ new M325is, surely that would make it worth saving? Unless the damage is worse than it appears, it does seem quite tidy under the rubbish be a shame to see it broken up. Very tempted to buy it myself to repair but have just committed all my funds into something else - damn it.

The damage looks relatively minor, almost too little for the car to be written off, especially a nice M325i like that. I wonder if there is something else not obvious - like maybe carried on driving after the prang and the radiator was damaged so it over heated? The interior picture with the dip-stick sitting on the passenger seat is a bit of an odd clue perhaps? If anyone gets to view it tonight, put up some more info??

Gee thanks buddy. Please un-block me, or I will have to put "those" photos of you online!!

As it was a cold, often wet, and miserable day yesterday I thought I would lavish some attention on the family fleet to make the most of it.. Started a list of jobs to do on the race car.. ..got too long and too expensive, so got pissed off with that and gave up. Took the convertible for a quick spin just to blow the cob-webs out.. ..ended up with a list of jobs to do on that as well, so got pissed off with that and gave up. Cleaned the wheels on the work wagon and gave it a quick wipe down.. ..started raining hard, so couldn't finish that which pissed me off. So I gave the wheels a quick brush off on the wife's wagon and noticed how many of the alloys are now kerbed.. ..which pissed me off even more!! All in all a very inspiring and successful exercise.

Ouch!! We all know full well that it's the empty coke bottles you have been drinking Andy. And when will we be able to upload attachments again? I get some timezone error thing all over the attachment box when I post... annoying...

Don't you need that for a Warrant?

Jeepers, I hope you are OK after that shunt, looks a biggie. It's funny how being able to see where you are going isn't important to some drivers, I am now noticing how many people have their shitty nav-man or mobile phone stuck onto the middle of the windscreen, right in front of them - obviously so they can see it?? Not like you need to see out the windscreen is it..?? Only topped by the person who had one of those kids sun-blinds stuck to their drivers side door window and pulled straight out in front of me from a side road - again not like you need to see out the windows is it??

There should be a "Bosch Authorised" Auto-Sparky outfit in your neck of the woods somewhere - have a look in the Yellow Pages, should be in there. FWIW I know that the one in Palmy Nth is Auto-Kraft and they were pretty good to deal with.

From the PDCs I have worked with there is no standard for the actual sensors nor the connectors on the back are made to a standard to allow inter-changing. That said, the sensors are made by only a handful of suppliers rather than the car companies, Bosch, Siemens, etc and there are not a huge number of different types. If you can get the non-functioning ones out they may well have the makers name and part number on them, so you can source replacements, worst case you might need to Google it.

To be honest there wasn't a huge amount of EPL on Sky Sports so there won't be a huge amount of air time to fill. Now if they lost the rights to the NRL that would be a different matter!From my experience there is not a lot worth watching in the support classes of the V8s anyways, Utes crashing into each other gets boring after a couple of laps.

Don't forget customs will want to sting you for 15% GST on that price as well... bastards! The guy that sells those is on s14.net, user name Markus, often does special pricing on there for forum members which works out quite a bit cheaper usually. Plus you will need the Alpha-N fuel management piggy-back ECU or similar as you no longer have the AFM for the standard system. Does give a good rise in power as well as the noise though so would be well worth it. This will be the first modification I do once I finally get an S14 motor that is for certain!

Can't really tell what it's made from, but certainly a DTM style airbox and inlet trumpets which will give that horny induction roar. Definately not a standard airbox. You're 95% of the way there Bruce, an air-box and a sports exhaust and you'll be there mate!!

Its a cheap fibreglass kit, you get what you pay for. The fact that the ad shows only a pic of some random, non-NZ, E30 rather than their actual kit tells a lot. Also anything with the word "drift" in the name will be huckery as.

will cost you a lot in beers, this forum is full of them!! Lots of mad builds and mad ideas on here.S50B32 is 321hp straight out the box, a few around and can get one for about $4k check out details on Hybrids E30. S14B23 (E30 M3 motor) pretty rare and cost a lot more, lots of tuning parts available but again not cheap. Lots of options, have fun with the project!

Original E30 M3 was 2-dr and cab only, E36 started as coupe and cab, 4-dr saloon added later.Just to be consistent the 4-dr was dropped for the E46, so it was back to coupe and cab. Current generation now has E90 saloon M3, E92 Coupe and E93 Cab so it changed again. And coming soon the M3 will be ONLY in 4 Door Saloon! As the coupe and cab will be badged M4?!?$?!