E30 325i Rag-Top

What is out there that can be easily bolted onto an E30 for an upgrade in braking over the standard sliding single pistion set up? Anything that can be used from other cars, STi, EVO, RX7, etc. and bought second hand, possibly with adaptor brackets? Prefer if it fitted behind a 15" rim as well....

As per title, i am after a set of headers for an M20B20 - i think they should fit from B23 and B25 as well though. I have tried Wayney and he is out of stock, and TradeMe with no real joy. Looking for cheap, so mild steel would be good. Proper equal length, extractor style would be ideal, with proper performance gains. Cheers!

Yup, I agree.....definately needs more, and bigger, just in-case people don't know it's a GENUINE M-Sport.

There are some good aftermarket systems available, and some good apps on the phones now, however, the navigation part of the system is becoming the "heart" of a lot else that is going on, with the hard drive, DVD player, etc all linked in. As the ConnectDrive and Apps continue to grow the importance of the Nav to the system will also increase. Personally I am not keen on many of the aftermarket stuff as it looks messy, with wires and sh!t hanging down and stuck onto the dashboard with a suction cup that leaves marks (and you have to take it out each time you park in case some drop kick pinches it), unless it is a Dynavin or similar which looks almost factory.I take your point about the switchable modes, etc. but even with an M3 do you really drive it in full-attack "Sports" mode all the time - it becomes a PITA in every-day commuting and traffic (I shied away from buying an E36 M3 for exactly this reason - a real pig in UK traffic). So being able to select between a more "relaxed" drive when required makes it a much more liveable daily proposition to me, and the programmable M Mode buttons make it much, much easier to swap between your various modes than changing 10 different settings individually via the iDrive. Would be great to have a good daily and an M3 for when you fancy a spririted drive, but not many people are in that position, so this to me is a good solution to having one car do both jobs well. Just my 2c..

Yup, the next gen of M3 / M4 are not far away now, can't wait for them to arrive. The M2 is an interesting idea, I wonder if he is just thinking out loud there. So far there has been a clear differentiation between the full-M cars (M3, M5, M6) and the M-Peformance models (X5 M50d, M135i, etc) so that there has been no overap on the same series. Meaning, there is no petrol M-Performance model in the X5, as there is an X5 M, and there is no M car in the 1 Series so there is the petrol M135i. As there is an M235i on the way soon, and spy shots of it on the web, if an M2 were also released then this would break that strategy. Which whilst possible, would be very un-German! Could be a great little car though, the M135i is great, the M235i should be even better so an M2 would have to be stratospheric!!

You might have to look at the firewall, to see what has been changed from the standard one, to see if it complies for the Open Class, this is from the regulations.. 3.5 It is permissible to move the engine within the engine bay. However, it is not permissible to remove, cut or modify the factory firewall/bulkhead in order to move the engine rearwards in the chassis, even for low-volume models covered under section 3.7.

Both the 2-dr - which does look very good in that combo, and the 4-dr are early, fairly low-spec cars, hence why the price is dropping. Most buyers that are looking for a used E92 M3 are going to cherry-pick the later higher-spec cars for only a few $$ more. Missing options - DCT, Variable Sport Steering, VDC and M-Mode buttons, and Navigation. Would you spend $60k+ on a car with no nav?? As it's an M3 you could probably live without the nav, but the other features really transform the car from a good one into an excellent one.

Tech 1 or Tech 2? Genuine or replica or fibreglass??

How much to ship to Howick? Snigger!

The 18" 193M wheels were standard fitment on all the later model NZ new M-Sport cars both E90 and E91, so there will be quite a few sets around. You might want to keep an eye out for someone that has changed to after-market wheels, or a car that has been written off and is being wrecked.Try your local dealer as well, they quite often put the Accessory wheels onto showroom and demo cars and end up with sets of rims kicking about - as they are no longer a current wheel you could pick them up for a reasonable price?

That power figure is hilarious - 165Kw out of 5.0ltrs of V8 pig-iron They were so proud of some of these power figures they even put stickers all over the car with the numbers on - crazy.You are right though Clinton they do make a very nice noise - maybe that is where the engineers went wrong, they went for making noise rather than making power??

I would love to know whose bright idea it was to make the global launch colour "poo brown"??

Wow, amazing find, great that is has gone to a good home. When I was a nipper these (323is) were one of the hottest cars around, and helped develop my love of BMWs. Not sure about putting a V8 or S62, etc. into it, they had a habit of going backwards through hedges even with the 2.3 M20!

And if you get more than that for the Rover then you are quids in...

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.