E30 325i Rag-Top

No, worries I have been watching the market for a long time waiting for the right car / bank-balance tie up, but still a ways to go for me. A lot of the parts are common across the other E30 models, and these are widely available and not expensive. It is the 'M3' specific parts that are the harder to find and more expensive parts. Fairly obviously the rarer the part the more expensive it tends to be! The good news is that many (but not all) of the M3 only parts are still available from BMW so the prices are not sky-rocketing on the used parts. The Nelson car had a Racing Dynamics steering wheel and gearshift, which were ok, and some nice aftermarket alloys. However, the two front seats were cloth E30 seats and the back was leather M3 (a specific seat), finding a couple of M3 front seats and getting them covered to match would not be cheap. Also, the silver one in Welly has a replacement front seat that would be expensive to replace with the "correct" item. Not many M3 spares pop up in NZ, as most are in complete cars and not many get scrapped, Mosens in Hamilton sometimes have a few parts available, panels, etc. Thanks to t'internet most parts can be sourced from overseas without too much hasse - s14.net is a great E30 M3 only site for parts and info. There was a guy who traded classic cars in CHCH who had a few E30 M3s over the years, it might be worth talking to him about what he has got / or getting - I'll try and find his details.

Most Jap cars are US Spec, with the std pattern box. Dog-leg box is more sought after by collectors and purists but it comes down to personal choice really.There is a Black Euro spec with leather and dog-leg box in Auckland for $25k and there was a red one (needed some parts sorting - seats, etc) in Nelson for $23.5k, so they are around. Overseas prices are not going up at the mo plus exchange rate helps.

The Aussie car industry has had it's head up it's own arse for a long time. If it wasn't for the protective laws keeping out imports and making it more expensive for overseas cars then this would have happened many years ago. Rather than use the protection to their advantage and get up-to-date efficient and productive practises in place the Unions took the opportunity to make things cushy for their members, and generally resist any attempts at becoming competitive - thinking the golden goose would not stop laying eggs. Well now those birds have come home to roost in a big way! At least Holden and Toyota export a large proportion of their production, not just relying on local sales of a dinosaur of a car. However, with only two manufacturers the pressure will be even more extreme on the supply chain (where even more job losses will be felt) to keep going. Hopefully the two remaining will see this as a "wake up call" and the unions and management will be able to work together to develop their methods, fingers crossed.

^^ As above plus, what %lock, ramping, etc.. Are they the standard BMW items out of a M325i, etc.. or have they been adapted / modified?

As it's the air intake, isn't it the inside that is the more important surface? Not sure if it has baffles, or trumpets or similar inside, but wouldn't it be difficult to scan all that from the outside... hence maybe the reason you need to cut it open to copy it??

If the car is a Jap import from 2010 there will be quite a few differences to any English language handbook - there is a seperate "Japanese" edition of vehicle, plus if the handbook is from 2008/9 there is a facelift in-between which will also have a number of changes, so not sure how much use that would be. There was a guy on TradeMe that had translated the Japanese manuals over into English for a number of imported vehicles, maybe try and have a look for him... Try to work out what you can in the car, most stuff is quite intuitive, anything you are not sure about go back to the guy that sold you the car and get him to show you.

I would be very wary of the one you think has been through Ireland. It might be different now but when I was in the UK passing cars through Ireland used to be a way of "hiding" a dodgy past and getting new plates on the car. Usually for things like stolen cars or insurance write offs, there seemed to be a few "loop-holes" in the Irish system. And no, this is not a joke..

There's an E46 M3 & CSL buyers guide stickied in the "Want to buy" section, written by M3 Power, read that. 300 left in UK, not the world, probably still get a special interest cert though.

Seems to be a very popular seating position with the incredibly fat driving fraternity as well.. with the seat like that they can just about squeeze in behind the wheel. I saw one driver of this type eating a pot of pudding whilst driving up the motorway last week, spoon in one hand, pot in the other, must have been steering with his gut!

Where do you live again?

Hope you had a good one... ..you old fart!!

Old school for me... 1) 507 gorgeous lines and great performance for the time. 2) 328 - the 1930s model, not the E36 3) 3.0CSL Batmobile - so over the top it's great! Honourable mention for the F06 Gran Coupe and F13 M6. Much as I love the E30 M3, I cannot say it is beautiful, aggressive and purposeful yes, but not pretty to look at.

Being an old fart (with an E30 cab), is this good or bad? Does this make me a "hipster"??

Looks good. M135i is a rocket ship you can daily, this looks more aggressive but will probably have about the same performance.. yum.

I take it that is the option list for the Cab at the start of thread? Shame the m-sport steering wheel and cross spoke alloys have been lost along the way. It has gained the 325i badge on the boot as it was supplied de-badged. Looks in pretty good nick apart from the interior, would be good if it found a good home to tidy it up. Go for it!!

Pm me the last 7 of your VIN and I'll double check it, something sounds a little screwy.

Erm, pretty sure the Audi guys were in on it, if they were upset they wouldn't have hidden behind their cars laughing while they were paint-balled.This is Georgia remember, if they were serious it would have been guns and no cameras!

^^ I'm afraid you might as well ignore the numbers on it then, as it certainly wasn't fitted to the car when new. Has been swapped over at some point.

^^If its on the internets it must be true. My first house was a do-up which I rebuilt over 10 years with my own hands. That is what paid for me to live in Auckland. Like the earlier post - not lucky, it's called bloody hard work and sacrifices to get long term pay back. Kids today etc., etc..

Is it coupe or 4-door? I can't tell from the pics ?

You used to work for me at Fruehauf Trailers, long time back. Sorry to hear you've had the big c.At the best there will be a short list of options for the sealant to use, but probably only one.

^^ I need the name, address and e-mail, 1) to buy the car and 2) to get the guy arrested.. that it a crime!!

Hey Quinton - long time no speak, glad to see you are looking to move up from those Legnum's you love so much. Any repair like that will have a "BMW Approved" process for the panel beater to follow, using "BMW Approved" materials, and tools. None of which will be especially cheap, and probably difficult to get hold of from anyone but BMW. My suggestion would be if you want it done properly, which it sounds like if you have taken it to F & R, then do it this way, but try and haggle them down a bit on the price (if they are getting the bits from Jeff Gray then go and speak direct to then see if you can get them cheaper direct).

Nice score, glad you are pleased with it, wonder how long you will keep this one ! Nice colour combo, black on black. Wheels look good, but I think will be a bitch to clean.Checking out the build data for your car , you are quite right it is a "standard" car with a couple of M-Sport options - the suspension and the sports seats. A proper M-Sport has option code 337 M-Sport Pack, which includes a whole list of things, wheels, body-kit, steering wheel, seats, suspension, "M" badge on sill finishers, etc..

I have heard it's down to two things, the quality of the diesel fuel in Japan was not very good until quite recently, second it is perceived as being for commercial vehicles only... dirty, smelly, oily, etc. Japanese manufacturers have always been well behind the Euros, I guess because they never had the same market demands.