E30 325i Rag-Top

Is it the speed reading that has stopped working (the needle), or the mileage (odometer)?

I''m far too old to know how to photoshop - but fwiw just colour code the black plastic bits and leave the chrome parts showing, same on the rear bumper. Easier and cheaper to spray up - no masking,etc and you can do the taking apart and putting back together.You might want to ask yourself if this is a priority right now though... even if it is the same kind of thing that I would do !

Tools Explained DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it. WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh, sh*t!" SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short. PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters. BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs. HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.. TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper. BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge. TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect. PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but, can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads. STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms. PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part. HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while you are wearing them. Son of a b*tch TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "Son of a bitch" at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

Hope you have had a good day young fella! Catch up with you soon at Hampton.

Need to edit the sig picture as well now Jack...

True, the "Special Interest" category. However, in the TradeMe listing he is just saying it will be 20 years old so no problem to register it. When I looked at the SI category it did look a bit more work to get a vehicle accepted and it was down to someone's call at NZTA rather than a clear cut decision. IMHO with the whole dodgy way this vehicle has been registered as an ATV (and used on the road!) and kept here all this time NZTA are pretty unlikely to say yes without a lot of hard work and $$$$s from the new owner.All I am trying to say is "buyer beware" it's a great car and should be owned by someone who will appreciate it rather than this knob who is not kosher.

I'm not sure if anyone has dealt with him in person, but he has been well and truly torn to pieces on some of his TradeMe listings due to their totally inaccurate information and generally suspect nature. There are a couple of threads on here as well, referring to him by his TradeMe name which used to be Strat1 until he was banned, and has come back under another couple of names.I have just been through the CarJam report for this "Alpina M5" which turns out to be registered as an ATV class of motorcycle, hasn't had a warrant since 2008 and failed on it's last trip to the testing station. Anyone interested in this car needs to very carefully check through the compliance process - just because it is 20 years old and LHD doesn't mean it can be complied as an import. I am pretty sure the age thing is 20 years from first registration (not build date) up to when it ARRIVES in NZ, not when you take it for compliance.

A very good place to start for a 16 year old. Add an iS front lower lip, then just look after the car properly.

Now back on TradeMe as a no reserve listing, let's see if it sells this time... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=332657409 I think you were a bit optimistic with your bid there Foxy !

As ever, the engineering on the strut bar looks top-notch. You guys wouldn't be interested in quoting for making up another set of those amazing throttle bodies, trumpets, inlets, etc would you? Looks the dogs.

Can you please check the material on this bumper? If it's Polyurethane it should be marked with PUR and possibly a % of fibre-filler, if it's a normal car bumper then it should be Poly-propylene and marked with a PP stamp.

Unfortunately there is a lot of history with this car and in particular the guy selling it, numerous low reserve auctions (for this and other nice beemers) which get won but don't go through, usually with lots of suspect bidding, then the car pops up again for a low reserve sale. Look at the feedback history already, how many incomplete auctions, and excuses. You are right without the correct paperwork it's only worth about 2.5k, even with the paperwork the compliance would be a real mission.

You are correct, the rear seats in a 'vert are different, they are quite a bit narrower to allow for the side space where the hood mechanism folds away and the rear quarter lights drop down. It wouldn't be a straight bolt-in job, but anything can be made to fit if you try!Fronts would be a straight swap tho.

From the seller's web-site: The vehicles have been held in the collection since new and are secured in a private garage(s) outside New Zealand. All prices are in New Zealand dollars ($NZ) and FOB the secure garage(s) outside New Zealand where the cars are located. My guess would be that the sales broker is in NZ, but the cars aren't (with the exception of the silver 456). Fairly lax business and tax laws in NZ, plus a very strong dollar making it better for selling internationally. Shame, as I would love to go and wander around amongst that lot pretending I was going to buy one... "any chance of a test drive mate - I've got my license on me?"

You're quite right Johno, they are not the M3 wheels as he has listed, I thought they were genuine MV2s (?). I'm pretty sure he said they were ET40 on a previous auction, but I may be wrong. Might be worth asking him for a picture of the back of the centre with the casting marks, part numbers, etc?

There are a set of genuine BMW ones on TradeMe at the moment, with ET40 off-set, not staggered http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=330363878 I know of a set on the way from the UK which are ET47 off-set with good tyres which might be available for the right price.

It has temporary reg until 03/11 by when it can be registered in the normal way in NZ because model will be 20 years old. I have all the dereg cert papers from Japan needed to do this and it would cost not much more than registering any other new car. This is utter bullshit - the vehicle must be 20 years old, from date of first registration not build date, when it ARRIVES in NZ. Doesn't matter how long it sits here from then on. Would be a whole world of pain and paperwork to get this compied and registered. My guess is that he has found this out and realises what is involved, so trying to flick it to some unsuspecting mug. The guy is an utter cock and does not deserve such great cars - should be laws against such things!

I think you might be referring to the "swirl flap" issue that affects both the 2.0ltr and 3.0ltr diesel engines, bits fall off in the inlet manifold and lunch everything on their way through the engine, turbos and cats. There is no definate cut off date for the faulty flaps, but certainly affects all cars pre-2004 and no cars after 2007, if it's in-between then you have to take the manifold off and check visually what flaps are fitted. It's a pretty cheap (couple of hunded bucks for the parts) and easy (less than an hour to fit) fix, even if it is for piece of mind. There are a couple of threads about it somewhere.

Must have been ex-French military, two shots then gave up! I admire his approach though - think I might try it the next time I don't get decent customer service.

Let your hair down and go wild young fella!

I'm surprised you are running with these headers, even with the ceramic coating, rather than an extractor set-up. Do these e21(?) headers flow well as standard?

^^aaah, yes, I forgot about the good old emissions tune! Having spent many, many months working on tuning an engine and ECU for exactly that it was a bit of a silly thing to forget.

Definately just a different ECU map between the vehicles? Seems a big difference, just for a re-map. Yes, I know you can get lots more from mapping on most cars, but there is usually a trade off in either fuel consumption, or even (with some aftermarket re-maps anyways) engine life.If BMW are happy that the engine can put out the higher ratings in the X5, why have it so de-tuned in the 3-series and 5-series? I thought I read somewhere that there is a different turbo set up, as Oli says variable vane turbo as against fixed, on some of the engines and not others. Should still be a relatively simple bolt-on change though I would have thought? Keeping it all BMW would be much more preferable to me than going for an aftermarket "chip".

^^ Poison Ivy From the current list I prefer "Hazard" for the colour or "Voodoo" for the name!

There seem to be a lot of different power and torque levels for the same engines with the diesels, from the M57TU?? onwards. I'm not sure what is changed to get the different outputs, whether it is a chip and tune, or mechnical chagnes like bigger turbo(s), etc. The X5 always seems to get the higher outputs from which-ever engine.Would be interesting to know what has to be done to say, a 330d to get it up to the same outputs as a X5 3.0d. Especially as Dad's (330d 6speed manual) is due to arrive 6th December...