E30 325i Rag-Top

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.

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?