E30 325i Rag-Top

Worth watching to the end, dogs on surfboard been done before but the one at the end on the skateboard was amazing, pushing off and turning, excellent!

Who said that (insert dark glasses and white stick smiley thing)?

For those that haven't seen it.. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6721220/Tu...ks-crash-driver

Original post updated with new stuff, plus a bit of bumpage!

Really ? sh*t. That's a Holden / HSV Colour, puts me off a bit.I was wondering how the hell you would clean it, and more importantly how you would buff out and scratches or marks. Chris - apologies to your brother if there were any "un-necessary" marks on the leather seats !

It was probably one of those ideas that started about 11.30pm the previous night after a few steins of German falling-down water, "I've got a good idea, let's take the shitty rental car to the 'ring to see if we can destroy it!"But yeah, hope any occupants were ok, certainly no cage or harnesses in that car... getting it OVER the barrier is quite an achievement as well...

More test drives trying to decide on new company car.. Ghost black limited edition M3...

Yup, the great thing about open days there, anyone with the money, ten Euro or whatever it is now, can just turn up and go out. It really reminds me of the public test days at Puke on the Fridays, a real range of vehicles and driver abilities! From the first hand reviews I have heard, these days are pretty "lively", which accounts for why there is a crowd there watching in this video! Luckily the guy in the CSL (I think) that comes around next, manages to see the debris and miss most of it, it would be a crime if such a decent car got damaged thanks to a CRV!! A "club day" which is booked and semi-organised is a little bit more controlled, but again you never quite know who is going to turn up, with what...

Couldn't really see what it was before it got destroyed - looked like a Honda CRV to me? The joys of open Friday on the 'ring!

Glad someone gets my odd-ball sense of humour.Sorry, no manual conversion parts left.

^^ x 2 Plus you have PM

Wow, very nice car you have there! Not many of those around in NZ, and you MAY even be the only owner of an E63 on Bimmersport?? Did you see the car in the UK before you bought it, or have it checked out by a company?

I have 2/3rds of a manual pedal box , but sorry no clutch pedal side which I guess is the important bit. Not moving for a little while Andrew, probably out of the house in June. I think I have an electric aerial somewhere - just need to find it!

Thread updated and extra parts added. BUMPO

Well, after the test drive on Friday I am pleasantly surprised with the new 320d. To start with it looked much better in the flesh than I was expecting, possibly because it was a Sport model in my favourite colour (Charcoal Grey) and I liked it much more than in press photos. I'm not sure how much of the interior bells and whistles were additional options for the demonstator but it certainly had a lot of kit in it, although it did take some working out - first time I've use the iDrive system (took me about 10minutes to turn the radio on!!). I think the Sat Nav and the Comfort Entry were options but the leather and the multi-function steering wheel are standard options I think. The drive was exceptional - it didn't feel as quick as my 330d but from the speedo it probably was, if not quicker. The 2.0d is only 10Nm down on the old 3.0d in my E46 and is helped by the EIGHT speed box which shifts very smoothly (except 1st to 2nd which is noticable) and the flappy paddles work in real time as well, useful for down shifts for overtaking. The oil burner is much quieter as well, even at full noise which is good. With the stop/start technology it seemed to kick in once the engine was warm, not from the start, and is is mentioned above, it start the motor as soon as you release the brake pedal and by the time you have got onto the loud pedal it is up and running. It felt a bit odd the first time it turned off but you soon get used to it. I didn't really have time to test the handling, and I didn't want to push it too hard, just in case. The switchable mode - all 4 of them, I couldn't notice too much, but certainly in comfort it rode very well on some poor surfaces but didn't wallow when pushed a bit into corners. Seems to be much more room in the back seats for the kids and the boot seems huge compared to an E46. Overall - really liked it, now to check out the options list!

Yes, I have got both sizes of struts. Oli has first dibs, so I will find out what he wants first, then let you know. PM what you are after and I'll come back to you with a price.

Taking a trailer load to the scrappy tomorrow, so the steelies with or without tyres are free if picked up. Also have a M20B23 short block going gash if anyone wants to collect. Will be doing the Palmy to Auckland line haul next week-end so can delivery if you are not too far off the Mainline. Starting to clear out the garage and yard of E30 parts due to the upcoming move of house. NEW STUFF: E46 M-Tech 2 / M3 / M5 Front LHS Fog-light with rippled glass, good used condition including bulb $100 Pair of plastic surrounds for the above fog-lights $5 for the pair. E30 325i Calipers with good pads with lots of meat left - wider to allow you to run vented front discs, bolt on conversion for solid disk cars $20 ea. Set of 4 standard springs $10 set. So far I have found the following to sell: 14" steel rim, no tyre $5 14" steel rim, rough Hankook 185/65 R 14 tyre $10 14" steel rim, good Sava Intensa directional 195/65 R 14 tyre $15 14" bottle cap alloy with rooted tyre $10 E30 Pre-facelift tow bar, bolts up through boot floor. All bolts and mounting plates included, comes with wiring plug as well, $20 E30 Pre-facelift Front Cut $20 -some surface rust as has been stored outside, but solid. Cut through suspension struts to make it better to stitch on once panels have been cut back. Lots of other stuff still to list, coupe doors (both sides), panels, glass, electrics, trim, 45mm struts only 51mm sold, etc. Let me know if there is anything you are after and I will have a look for it! Open to reasonable offers on all items above!

Choice! Another reason to move to the Botany area!! I wonder if I can convince Slater Fabrications to move in as well??

From looking at the sales literature the 6-speed manual is a no cost option, and I think an LSD is available for a few dollars more. You might have more trouble getting hold of a 2-series though, I think its still under development, a 328i would be a good alternative I may have been making an assumption from 3pedals post that it was the turbo aspect that was the issue, I may have it completely wrong and it was another aspect of the drive that was the issue, not lag.An eight speed flappy paddle gearbox sounds like it could be fun... I'm going to the Jeff Gray launch on Friday to test the 320d (and eat all the free nibbles. !). Be prepared for a Clarkson style test report.

Interesting, was that in the new 328? I understood it was a twin turbo, with a smaller turbo to remove the lag? Was that the problem on the open road, or something else.Like all cars, it will take a while to get used to where the torque is in the rev-range. Certainly older turbo cars needed a certain style of driving to keep them "on-boost", shouldn't be so bad in a newer car.

Oh, I remember the good old, simple, days when a 316 was 1600cc, a 320 was 2ltr, 525 was 2.5ltr - easy to understand, far too complicated these days

Valuation on our current place is $500k, I could stretch the mortgage out another $100k so $600k in total.Family of four, wife, two kids. Really looking for 4 bed, one for visitors / rellys / me when I'm in the dog house, large 3 bed at a push. Need secure and covered parking for two cars, plus two more preferrably off-road parking. Hmm, not sure these I can get all these things to overlap...

Ok, right, thinking of moving to Aucks, looking for a good area, with good schools for the kids, less than 30minute commute to Mount Wellington and not ridiculously expensive for a reasonable house. Ellerslie seems to be an option, what about Mt. Wellington itself..? Opinions.. go!

sorry mate I don't have a spare, can you straighten it?

Where abouts in the country are you? I think I have a set in the garage somewhere.