E30 325i Rag-Top

From the latest info I can see, upto and including May, I think that there have been 48 F10 M5s imported into NZ so far, so still more NZ than new. Which backs up what PermiPeteNZ has seen on TradeMe. Most of the M5s being imported used are still the E60 M5 out of Japan, with only a small percentage being the F10. This will change though as the F10 moves into the "too old to be practical" in Japan which happens fairly soon from what I have seen on other models.

Funny, but pointless, as it is very easy to disconnect the remote keys from the car so it won't work. Hope it makes her feel better about the break up.

Thanks for the tip, I will give that a try!

Fluffed around in the garage for a bit, as not feeling 100% couldn't do much on cars, so mostly just moving piles of parts from one shelf to another. Got bored after a while so started draining the fluids out of the race car ready for changing with fresh stuff. Then spent a good couple of hours putting the decals on the first of the M3 model kits.. there's a sh*t load of them on those Warsteiner DTM cars! They are good at covering up my poor attempts at hand painting bits though.

Prices and photos are needed for all items mentioned as per forum rules please.

Post needs price and photos as per forum rules please.

You are not looking at comparable vehicles, as Kyu says above you should be looking at the performance end of the BMW range, not any Bimmer. In particular other M3s from around the same age. Having been fortunate enough to drive a wide selection of the range I would have to say that the F80 M3 is my favourite all round vehicle. Practical and comfortable enough for a weeks touring holiday with the family, and yet still a beast of a car for a spirited drive and even capable on track. Comparing this with X1s and similar is like trying to decide whether to buy caviar or Spam. In terms of rv, I would also suggest that a well maintained (even if higher kms) M3 would hold it's value more than most of the rest of the range at a similar current price point provided it is kept in good condition and servicing kept up.

The option price is for the rotors and pads upgrade, most cars come with calipers as standard these days. I believe the retail for one front carbon-ceramic rotor for an M5 is just under $9k. Yes, there probably are cheaper options out there now - for standard brakes anyways as I said before.

Jeebus, do you have to take all the rear bumper and wheels off to swap out the muffler? That's a big job. Or were you just too scared to risk scratching your shiny exhaust..??

Price for brakes depends on what needs doing and who is doing it for you.. Have the pads been replaced yet? Usually about 2 sets of pads to one set of rotors. Fronts wear quite a lot faster than rears, so unlikely they will all need doing at same time. There are aftermarket pads and rotors available, not sure how they compare price or performance wise against genuine. Are you skilled enough to change the brakes yourself or would you need to pay the dealer or a mechanic to do it for you? Can save a good few $$$s there if you can swing a spanner, and it's a simple enough job without the need for any special tools.

$3k per corner for carbon ceramics...? You're a little way out there. $15k option from the factory which is nearly $4k so times that by a heap for parts and servicing pricing. Good thing is they are supposed to last for a very, very long time. Especially with only road use. Pads go a bit faster though. If it's got the 5 year warranty then it must be an NZ new (factory warranty is only 2 years) and there haven't been any carbon ceramics optioned from factory except on the M3 CS. That is a LOT of car for that price, even with a few kms on it. If servicing has been done, which it should have been as its service included, then the kms are not a big issue.

How many sets of wheels do you have..? You change your car's shoes like my wife changes hers! Could be interested in the 436M if you have some photos, front left was a bit kerbed IIRC?

I think the translation of that is "the best car of all time, ever, end of, so ner!"

You have text message!! Damn I'm crap at this, too much going on at the moment...

The windscreen could be from where the bonnet has come up from the clamps possibly? But yes a big hit for sure, and will need some extensive time on the chassis jig to get that all lined up again. shame, as it looks like it was in very good condition after it's restoration. Fingers crossed whoever wins the auction puts it back on the road and doesn't part it out for spares.

Thread has been tidied up by myself. Lets keep the comments reasonable please.

No so sure about that. When you are listing the car as "totally original and immaculate" and "collectors car" then surely that is what it should be. Putting black grilles and cheap trademe carbon splitters onto a CSL and then calling it "totally original" is a bit of a whopper if you ask me. And to be honest, detract totally from the car. Easily corrected though you would hope!

A couple of quick photos, the car in it's current state of dismantlement, amazing how quick it is to pull an E30 to bits, especially one that has most of the interior missing already! And the first parts have started to arrive. M3 Bumper and front guard mounts, and the guides that slide into them. Running with a fibreglass M3 front and guards last season it became obvious to me that there needed to be a bit of support in this area, as it is very flexbile without it! Rather than try and design and build my own solution, I went down the OE route and will work out how to mount the guide on the new glass bumper - should be much easier. Apart from that, so far it has been starting to get the car ready for paint, tidying bits up and scraping the underseal sh*t off the front to try and get a bit more weight out the front and the balance back towards the rear. won't make a huge difference, but every little helps!

That's interesting Andy, did you put it into the E30 as you felt it has better performance, or because you prefer the E30 style / shape, etc?

Car is running an S14B20 with the Getrag 265/5 dog-leg box. So those parts are pretty authentic. I would like to tune the engine, but probably not enough money in the budget at this point. will post up some pictures soon as things are starting to move along.

Ah, forgot about this!! Will pm you again.

Been debating it for a while, and a couple of things swayed me in the end. First the better fit and finish I will get from the original panel over a fibreglass copy. And second because they are steel they will be a bit more "resilient" to damage than glass ones, and you can panel beat steel if/when needed!!

At this current point the plans for this winter are mostly panel and paint, plus a few other odd jobs. List includes.. - replace rear guards with genuine E30 M3 guards (on order) - full M3 fibreglass kit for other panels, including the C Pillar extension over the rear window. -5-stud hub conversion. Got a compact rear, just trying to sort out the fronts. -overall paint an panel work to tidy her up and paint the black base colour ready for the gold "JTS" decals. -any other small jobs that I come across on the way. - carbon air intake for the engine & piggy-back ECU with tune if there is enough money left in the kitty.

So the E30 race car is in the garage after a long, hard season for some TLC and a bit of a refresh. I have now given in to the reality that I am never going to be in a position to afford to buy an E30 M3 chassis, let alone a complete car, to build into my race car and so I am going to modify my existing car into an M3 tribute to be as close as possible to an actual car. More specifically it will be a tribute (not a replica so I can put my own twist on things - Team JTS) to this gorgeous piece of machinery..

Yup, new generation 3-Series is just around the corner which will see a drop in the price of used F30s.