E30 325i Rag-Top

Not me this time! Although I admit to driving like a Nana in the reverse grid race to keep the new paintwork intact. I think it was John Blewitt who went off into the gravel trap to cause the safety car and yellow flags My last race in the slow group was one of the most enjoyable I have had in the series, group of about 5 cars, close to the back of the field but, lots of passing and moves and no-one touched, great stuff . Open Class was awesome to watch some great cars, although I did miss Conrads E30 M3, looking forward to seeing the next one. Will post up some pics in the showroom section soon, roll on Manfield for more fun

They are a real hot number, looks like any M-Tec 2 from the outside but with the sweet S14 engine, not too sure on suspension set up. A couple of yeas ago they were a real unknown bargain buy, but recently they have been "discovered" by more people and the prices have shot up to the point where they are close to full blown M3 money.Look at the example shown, the guy is after 8.5k pounds, against the white M3 for just over 11k. Both have CF air box and performance mods and look to be well looked after. For an extra 2.5k I know which one I would go for.

Just seen the new schedule with the Enduro race at the end, not sure how we will get all the cars on the grid for the race though?? Perhaps they are expecting a few to have dropped out by then. New schedule has the two E30 groups back to back, which is a nuisance as I like to watch the other group racing, but then it's up to the organisers!

Oh great! Just what I don't need, more fun and games in the wet at Pukekohe I'm kind of wondering if it is worth finishing the car - as it's likely to get damaged again this week-end. Luckily I have managed to get some new "wets" to go on the car, just got a whole load of other stuff to sort out. Getting there for practice is looking most unlikely at the moment, fingers crossed.

^^ If you pick me up and drop me home I'm more than willing to lend a hand, if you provide refreshments for the duration Can't make the 11/12/13 as I have a previous engagement at Pukekohe, the next week end is Ok, if I can bring the kids A second hand engine in reasonable nick would be OK for racing with, just don't expect to be anywhere near the front of the field! On the plus side it will get you out there racing, on the downside you will forever be working on the exisiting car and engine, the spare race engine will always be waiting for time and or money (this from one who knows, I now have TWO spare engines, one for a E30 build and the other for Open class). To me, the plus outweighs the minus.

The oil guage adaptor plate, is that for an M20 engine, or would it work for an M20 engine? Guessing the water hose adaptor is pretty much universal? Cheers, JTP.

Wonder if there was a boot badge as well ?

People who take E30 M3s out in the rain should have them confiscated and given to owners who will appreciate them more and look after them ! Fair play to you for taking them out on the track in those conditions, i hope they all went home unscathed but suitably driven .

If anyone in a shop, garage, etc. says to me "it's any easy fix" my reply is usually along the lines of "it won't take you long to sort it out then will it?" with a few choice expletives if necessary. Nothing like customer service...

"There is a great need for sarcasm font" Amen to that brother!! - Admin, anything you can do?

Yeah, it would, WHEN it was running. From my experience reliability is a big issue with rotaries, even in standard tune. Otherwise I would be driving something with a wankel in it for the power / weight advantage.

Full PC functionality, the Media Server PC should have a reasonable sound and graphics card to run the surround sound and HD images, so it should also be reasonable for games, like driving simulations but not sure if you can get Singstar (??) on PC.Would probably struggle on top end games like Halo, or whatever the PC version is, but then that's a different type of machine requirement.

I recently upgaded to a media server PC and it is most worthwhile, only downside was the time taken to go through and rip all my CDs and DVDs onto the hard-drive. Prices have really come down now, a good PC set up for just over a grand, I splashed out a bit and got a bluray read/write drive in as well for the full HD. Have recently seen the Windows Media Centre software for Windows 7 and it's got some big improvements over the current version, especially with respect to Freeview, so that would be worth getting. On the surround sound side I am very biased towards the mid-range Denon receivers as I like their warm sound, for movies and music, but they can be a bit pricey. As with most things it's down to your own tastes and what you would use it for, just try and balance all the different parts of the system, no point having a top end player and a $100 receiver killing the sound. Find a good retailer, who is prepared to hook things together for you to listen to for more than 2 minutes, and try a few different combinations. That's part of the fun in my book.

sh*t Ollie, you should run for Prime Minister if you can come up with stuff like that!Hell, I'd even vote for you. Ollie for PM!!

Top job, will look mint when they are on the car. Need a good set of spoked alloys to show them off properly!If you enjoy it that much, I have a set that could do with a clean up & paint

I am really torn on this one, provided the kit has been well fitted and the rest of the car and mechanicals (had quite a list of goodies last time it was on TM) check out I could be tempted as it is a lot less than an E30 M3. Plus some cash for DTM stripes and stickers, wheels, etc. plus maybe a full cage and all out race car project. However, I have a feeling that it still won't satisfy my E30 M3 cravings, no matter how much cheaper it is and good a car it is....

From the Holiday's Act 2003 18. Taking of annual holidays (1) An employer must allow an employee to take annual holidays within 12 months after the date on which the employee's entitlement to the holidays arose. (2) If an employee elects to do so, the employer must allow the employee to take at least 2 weeks of his or her annual holidays entitlement in a continuous period. (3) When annual holidays are to be taken by the employee is to be agreed between the employer and employee. (4) An employer must not unreasonably withhold consent to an employee's request to take annual holidays. 19.When employee may be required to take annual holidays (1) An employer may require an employee to take annual holidays if— (a) the employer and employee are unable to reach agreement under section 18(3) as to when the employee will take his or her annual holidays; or ( section 32 (which relates to closedown periods) applies. (2) If subsection (1) applies, an employer must give the employee not less than 14 days' notice of the requirement to take the annual holidays. Check out the Dept Of Labour web-site it's full of good reference material like this. So, whilst point 18.(3) is on your side, if you can't agree with your boss then provided that she gives you two weeks notice, you can be told exactly where and when you are to take your leave. section 19. (1)(a). From experience I would advise against getting the DoL involved, even if the law is on your side, in the long run it is still better to be seen to be co-operating with your boss. I would suggest you go back with a list of dates that suit you, and say that is what you are happy to take.

Thankfully there doesn't seem to be the same level of keyboard warriors on Bimmersport that other forums seem to attract, which given the size of the membership is a big achievement. Plus some good moderating of the boards nipping any bad behaviour in the bud.Keep it up guys, for all members to enjoy. Vid is good as well, so true of many other forums....

The bidder wasn't you was it Paul? I know you are a big fan of 4 bangers! Interesting it never reached reserve, and the price it was passed in at. Sign of the times I suppose.

But I'm not sure if they are genuine M3 niddels or just standard 318i niddels, can anyone tell from the photos?? Reason for edit: corrected spelling of niddels.

+1 I thought it was Snot Rod from the Pixar movie Cars !!

Happy Birthday Brucie, have a few cold Heiny's for me! See you at Pukekohe for a few more!

What's a niddel??

The factory where I used to work in England has it's own weigh-bridge and was right by the motorway, so the police often used to use it when they pulled over vehicles which were clearly above their safe loading. Some of the sights we saw were amazing... Lots of it was guys going over to France to load their vans with cheap booze... load a van to the roof (and beyond) with beer and it gets a bit heavy! As the police would make them unload the stuff they often had to get rid of it there and then so we would often buy a few crates dirt cheap. One guy even slept on a huge pile of beer while his mate took the van up north to unload and then come back for him the next day - hilarious

Interestingly it now seems to have magically transformed into a rather rough car, with questionable Km's and a very dirty looking engine bay...