E30 325i Rag-Top

The photo in the long grass is awesome!!

Pretty sure all M cars come with performance tyres, and specifically do NOT have run-flats. Double check your tyres to see what they have written on them. You still won’t have a spare wheel though, should be the motability kit in the boot. I

Don’t let the facts ruin a good thread..

The cost of using runflats is acrtually much greater to BMW, not a cost saving. The cost of a spare tyre is more than outweighed by the added development costs to have to design and manufacture a suspension system to handle both types of tyres, plus all cars with run-flats MUST have a pressure monitoring system otherwise you will not know you have a flat until the tyre disintegrates many miles later (as per previous post - how you know when you have a puncture). Another key factor is the weight reduction in not having to carry a spare and have somewhere to put it - this then helps with the fuel consumption and emissions reductions needed. I may have mentioned this before on another run-flat discussion - in my driving lifetime I have had two tyres get an instant loss of pressure due to a massive puncture on the motorwat - the first normal tyre, the second a run-flat. With the normal tyre the first I knew was when the rear end suddenly pulled massively to the left - I tired to correct / catch it, but ended up spinning into the concrete central divider at around 70mph. With the run-flat I got the warning light on the dashboard, followed by a slight pull to the left, no spin, no massive accident. When I got home and checked the tyre it had a three inch gash from hitting some sharp debris on the road - no wonder it went down so quick. I know which I prefer to drive myself and my family around on. As for not doing long drives on run-flats, I regularly do Auckland to Naper via Taupo and the Napier - Taupo road. On one Friday night trip I managed to hit a pot-hole in the road at speed, just past the cafe where it starts to get twisty. Massive bang and it felt like the strut had punched up through the tower! Slowed right down, and it still felt ok, sped back up to 80km/h for rest of journey. Checked damage in the morning and there was a massive bulge in the sidewall, and when I went to the tyre shop they found a massive buckle in the rim as well, fitted a replacement there and then no waiting. Pretty sure a non-run flat 40 profile tyre on a 19" rim would not have survived that impact and again would have been another blow-out situation.

The aftermarket M3 indicator lenses turned up, even with my staff discount just the lenses were ridiculously expensive for genuine parts, so for a race car I’m happy to use copies. With a bit of kiwi ingenuity I should be able to get the aftermarket indicators, that were supposed to fit an M3 but don’t, to work with them. End result will look heaps better then the bodge up I had on my old M3 bumper any ways. Now working on modifying the facelift bumper mounts to make them lighter and work for both holding the bumper and connecting the A-frame for towing.

I bet the owners soon realised that saving a few dollars on buying non-runflats was a short sighted saving.

Ahh ok, previous stuff not too relevant then, sorry. What is the starter problem, is it spinning but not engaging on the flywheel?

Took advantage of the time off to have a real good tidy up / clean out and sort in the garage. Managed to get enough stuff onto shelves, into cupboards and in the bin to find the convertible again. Now dusted off and started up (first time!!) she’s off for a WoF in the morning. Fingers crossed.

People normally blur the plates on public posts to stop naughty people taking their details or even finding the car to steal it. I can’t figure out how that would work for a soft toy version, can you even register it..?

^^yup, what he said. if you want to do an engine swap pick anything other than the M20B20, just not worth the effort.

THats cool, but why the blurred out number plates..?

How big are the photos? Need to be a reasonably small size. 800 x 600 I think it is. that is usually the issue.

Happy Christmas for you!! #SantalovesanM20build

Saw a very nice looking orange 1602/2002 out the window at Mount Wellington this afternoon. Driver also had a matching orange t-shirt for added Jagermeister-ness.

Good on you Al! Enjoy, looking forward to more pics and details on here please..

Classified has expired - gone already?

Very, very nice build. Wish mine was moving this fast!!

E70 X5 can have 3.5tonne towing rating if it has the factory fitted tow-bar option (3AC) plus the Increased Towing Capacity option (233), local fit tow-bars are only 2.5t. I would say that the E70 3-ltr diesel is a great tow wagon, lots of grunt, still drives nice and enough weight up-front that it doesn't get pushed about by the load. Still pretty economical when towing (and not slowly either..). Look for those options, were very popular for NZ New vehicles to be fitted with them.

What would a pair of rear discs for an X5 weigh? That would be a huge chunk of your baggage allowance surely?

With those kms things will start to be getting a bit worn and clagged up so the power will start to drop off a bit and consumption increase. Not a huge difference if servicing has been done regularly and using proper parts and fluids. Not much remedial action you can take apart from replacing parts (=$$$), I don't think the injectors can be re-built even. Should still be good for a few 0000kms yet though and will still be heaps better than a 320i.

Nice base for a race car... save replacing all those air-bags and belt tensioners, etc.

The number would probably be in GBP, not NZD. Well over 1/2 million $$$ I understand. Still a better looking SUV than that Bentley Bentayga thing.

Gave back the X2 and got a F36 430i Gran Coupe M-Sport in it's place. Much more my cup of tea.

Having had a real close look at your pics on a big screen I would be 99.9% sure it's not a protection vehicle. The window glass is standard, not three inches thick and the doors are not deep enough for the thicker steel. wheels and tyres are not the high load / bullet proof style (which could have explained the lack of Alpina rims if they were). would have been an odd choice of base car for an Alpina if it were armoured - not much performance from a M30B35 trying to move 3,500kg+ along. still a great find, a good groom and polish, fix any gremlins and would be a great cruiser. i would be tempted to find a set of Alpina style rims and keep all the badges if it were mine...

That is Farking cool. Can only be improved very slightly by painting it black and putting JPS decals on it.