E30 325i Rag-Top

Yup, lots of M5x engines being used in the BMW 2 Litre Championships which would probably benefit from a plenum designed for the 2 Ltr WTCCs. Plus would look tits and sound orgasmic, both big plusses. All comes down to $$$s at the end of the day, which I know will depend on how many you can sell.. chicken and egg. Ball park figure?

1) nice car, is an E30 but not an M3 2) nice car, not an E30 but is M3 3) nice car, not an E30 but is M3. Equation is E30 + M3 = THE Holy Grail (for me anyways)

Noooo Bruce, I didn't realise you sold it. You are being very modest in your description of the car, it was an absolute gem when you had finished the restoration. Lets not go through another massive debate about tyres, save that for the wheels and tyres section please.

KW 2-way will work well, even on NZ roads, lots of adjustment to get it how you want it for road and track. What's the current plan - a cage and go racing or fast road semi-sleeper?

It's getting up there in terms of price for a non-limited edition E30 M3, but looks to be a very good, and sympathetic restoration. So, to the right buyer, with a little bit of negotiation that would be a reasonable buy in today's totally sky-high E30 M3 market. However, whether Jonny 4 stars from CHCH is a serious bidder, and can affort to go through with his bid on TradeMe may be another completely seperate conversation. My instincts would say, probably not!

Economy is very much dependent upon the distance you drive and the frequency. A short to medium commute to work and back, with the ability to re-charge during the day and you get fully electric, zero petrol use. if your usual trips are 230kms each way, then you are nearly fully petrol and the economy shows accordingly. The claim of only 10 miles on fully electric is well off, with no adjustment to driving style you can get over that number, after a few weeks of adapting your style to suit then the figure is close to the 30miles at normal speeds.

Yes, you can, it is called a "range extender" and this still counts as a fully electric vehicle as the ICE is not directly connected to the drive train as it is a generator. Something the NZTA still can't get it's head around.

You would want to be somewhere close to Yosser Hughes' personality type to work for Instant Finance I would imagine from the particular segment of the market the work in.

You get a few of those on that road occaisionally, you can usually tell as the Ambulance and Fire Service follow shortly after.

Great cars, electric range is good enough for daily commute, and eboost helps performance. In terms of this particular car - import nearly out of factory warranty so would need comprehensive cover on it, lots to go wrong on a Phev. 20" rims on it look nice by 99.9% chance they are cheap Chinese copies. Check the charging cable is the correct plugs and not been bodged up to NZ plug. No leather trim, what else is missing to compare with NZ New spec levels?

Glenn, enjoy your "retirement". Whilst you won't be working at the business I'm pretty certain that you will have plenty of projects that you will be working on that keep you gainfully occupied!

That's because the 240i is in fact an M Performance model, and is designated as an M240i. Same as the M140i, X3 M40i and the X5 M50d. There is a big difference between these M Performance cars and a model with the M-Sport pack fitted.

No factory M badge on the boot (unless it's an M2/3/4 etc) they were added as local fitment until a few years ago as a NZ thing, following on from the M325i. New M-sports do have two tiny badges on the front guards though...

Is this for your 'vert Scott or another E30? The VIN checks out to an E30 Coupe. Using the factory ETK system, and for that VIN the final drive is 41:11 which is 3.73:1 when it was built. As Andy says above could well have been changed by now, so physicall check is probably only way to tell. Also, a good skid will tell you if the LSD still works.. one stipe = no, two stripes = yes. And yes, UK version so sold new in UK (or possibly Ireland).

This is where I think New Zealand will struggle, with the low population density in 95% of the geography, how feasible is it to have two alternative fuel supply networks? I think you will stuggle to fast chargers into some parts of NZ, as there will never be the population demand to justify the cost of putting in the charger and the supply gubbins. EV charging network is "charging" ahead, geddit??, already so it certainly has the advantage now. It would take a very brave person / company to put up the coin to develop a rival hydrogen supply network now that the oppposition is so far in front. Maybe when Tesla the "golden child" has fallen over, the masses might have a re-think and look at alternative alternatives to ICEs?

I think I agree with you, those 16" look very good on an E30. I think the 17"s are just a bit too big for an E30, fine for a E36, but a little too "roller skatey" for the E30. Does the lock-type detail on those reps work as a lock like on the original Alpnas, or is it to look like them? Either way it is a really nice touch.

I do like those reps, proper Alpina size at 16" and the locky thing on the cover looks like the original as well, nice touch. Good that you found some tyres that work with the wheels. Why no centre caps in the photo - prefer the look without them, or just a quick trial fitment of the wheels?

You can use the electric car - to a point. In very many places, and for very many people an electric car would require a massive change to their daily routine to be able to "live with it", not everyone lives in a big city, drives 10km to work at a snail's pace and can charge it up for free during the day. So, yes, there are some people that can buy an electric car and use it now. Also, there are people that could buy a hydrogen fuel-cell car, and use it now. They do exist, they are available, and there is a supply of Hyrogen. Again it may not be possible, or feasible for everyone, but it is for some. One of the Aussie state governments has just committed to a hydrogen fuel-cell fleet, can't remember if it is ACT or NSW, using Hyundais I think it was. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

Not the odd one out, I totally agree with you, the stripes look very good, especialoly on white M cars. However, that much tape on a non-M Sport 3 series, has gone more than a little way over the line!!

If you want to upgrade the shocks then go the full hog and get KW, v3 or v4 fully adjustable. not cheap but worth it, especially if you want to "tune" your ride to suit your driving, ie, for daily v track v week-end trips.

In my experience shipping by air is worse for damage than by sea, even when it is packed and wrapped to within an inch of it's life. Had a shipment of prototype front bumpers arrive in Melbourne, all clearly marked "top Stow Only" "this way up" "fragile" "do not break down", strapped on a pallet (when they left, not when they arrived), etc. and they were all smashed to pieces. Cargo loaders will do whatever they have to in order to squeeze everything into the hold of the plane unfortunately, plus the package goes through so many more changes of hands / transport hand overs that is gets thrown about at each stage. I believe all the BMW Parts that are air-freighted from Germany come on a Singapore Airlines dedicated cargo flight, but I am not sure who the logistics company is that organises either end.

Sounds like my Mrs., the pedals are all binary switches, on or off, no in between.

Very few people around that can do that sort of work, I would strongly suggest you only consider taking it to a top independent specialist, such as Euro Surgeon.

Deposits are usually from the CCV system in these engines, especially on higher km engines. Check the filter in the CCV has been changed.

The yellow one would be a good base for a Benson & Hedges tribute race car... Hmmm..