oldskool

Hey Martyn, Seems everyone is giving advice without having had the benefit of experience, first matter to address & sorry for this Em, don't touch the ML55 with a ten foot barge pole, if you want to drive a glorified Pajero with more grunt than talent this is the ideal machine, drove one back to back from Akl to Taupo via the back way through Te Awamutu, Kehi kehi etc, and except for have heaps of grunt on the staights the ML55 was no match for the X5 3.0td I had the joy of using as my Co. car for 2 years, on top of that my passengers in the ML complained of feeling sick within 20 - 30 mins of travel, might add that X5 was standard spec, not sport. Having had the use of a 3.0 petrol in Aus for a couple of weeks, I would recommend picking the td over the petrol, in real world driving there is not much in it, the deisel actually being quicker in most cases, except when being rung out, some thing you do have to do frequently in the 3.0 petrol as it lacks a little in torque, still a magic sound though. If you really want grunt go for a 4.6 or 4.8 is, 4.8 is the later version think it was late 05 early 06, not too sure, closest thing to an auto m5 you will find in the bmw range, ride is pretty harsh but the power and speed is fantastic. If you wanted the best to go for I would recommend the facelift 3.0 td or 4.4 with the sportspac, bigger wheels, firmer suspension, better seats and often higher spec'd from new, GPS etc. I have spent a fair bit of time behind the wheel of all of the variants, my own personal choice would be a manual td with sportpac and rechipped for approx 230 - 250 hp + a tonne of torque. I used to regularly tow our 24 ft boat behind the X5, and old and heavy boat at that, my mate with his smaller lighter boat behind his VY V8 would complain that he couldnt keep up & he had a very heavy foot, on top of that I would regularly beat another mad mate down to Taupo in the X5 when he was driving my VY SS and I'd still get around 900 kms out of a tank in the bmw. I currently have as my daily driver a e38 740 and have to say that there are very few areas the 740 would excel the X5, interior space and outright accelleration are the only two that really come to mind. Go the X5 and I'd be very very surprised if you ever for one moment regreted it. Happy hunting, you are currently spoilt for choice in the market place. Cheers Grant

I'll check my gmail now, cheers

Hey Dude, Not sure if you still want an M6, but there is one on Autotrader, very nice looking red one, was moonbeams but has been dropped to $20 k, beyond my funds at present but would be nice to see it go to a good home, on 17' BBS, looks really sharp. Go to Autopoint web and look up 635 under BMW. Think car is in Parmy or New Plym. Good luck !! oh yeah and if you buy it, give me first right of refusal if you ever get bored with it ok. Cheers Grant

Hey Brent, How muchie you wantie for the 3.5 ? Cheers Grant

Hey Brent, Looks good, it'll give the guys you leave in your dust guessing as to just what it was that shut them down. How's the install going ??

Sweet Em, Planning on putting a set of personalized euro plates on it, but damn for the look and the $$ those german plates are a steal, they will look mint !!

Hey, Martyyn is right, they wont pass the FI regs, had a mate bring one in and he has since sold it on as a parts car. They seem to come up for sale in clusters, nothing for ages and then 4 or 5 at one time. There have been about 4 up for sale in Akl recently, there is currently one in Taupo or Tauranga, think it may still be on TM. have a look. I've got a really good buyers guide on them as there is a lot to be aware of, pm with a fax number if you would like a copy. Happy hunting, fabulous cars. Cheers Grant

Hey, Check out TM, there is one on there at the moment, the guy is wrecking a complete 703, so you may be able to pick other bits and peices that you may need also. Cheers Grant

You have a serious HP addiction, take two bottle of nos and call me in the morning.

Cheers, Thats Farkin Exxy, by the time you convert and ship it, still as they say Speeds just a question of how much you want to spend. Think there is still an X5 V8 supercharger floating around at present, had it offered to me for 5k NZ, that would be a nice ride, e28 with 4.4 supercharged donk. Going to suss prices for a LS1 as well for the e23, might as well have acouple of options in front of me eh.

Ditto & $$ Cheers

Hey Kimmie, Awesome looking ride and great plans too. Think it will look pretty damn hard on the rims you have in mind, I'm looking for a turbo'd m30 to drop into the e23 745 body I brought of Brent, want me to let you know if I come across any at a reasonable $$ ?? BTW Brent, that engine is sick, any details on where who and what ?? That would look good on your Hartage motor too !! Kimmie congrate on getting married, just make sure you have the car rebuild down in the vow's !! Look forward to seeing its progress. Cheers Grant

Haha, thanks Em, cheers Cam. Going to put euro plates on it so should look good then, did have T.M. ones on, but front one died along with the possum, bummer !! Have to give the old girl a chance to stretch her legs, so will def let you know when we are heading down your way Em, that'll give me the chance to check out the mintest e30 that ever there has been too !! Yeah Cam, can't wait to get the old nail done up, will look smick with the spoiler on it, definately the ideal finishing touch, will post updates as the blue beast progresses. Let me know what you think about the front spoiler on the m5, leave the battle scar or give it plastic surgery ?? Think it looks kinda menacing as it is, gives it that kinda loved but driven look. Cheers Grant

Hey Brent, Yeap, put that final payment through a few days ago, was reluctant to do so while I was away as didnt have secure site to do internet banking from. What sort of deal would you do on putting the 3.5 out of your e28 when you convert it into the 745 to make it mobile ?? Cheers Grant

Hey, cheers for the positive feedback guys, yeap, has to be one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever owned, used to take great delight in shutting down guys in their rice rockets who thought it was just a badged up 520i, not so many chances to do that down in chch, or maybe its just that I'm getting old !! It's a 3.6, 3.8 was the later model, was well speced for a uk car, full electrics, self leveling rear, individual rear buckets etc. Just would have liked full leather and maybe in black, but was rapt that it wasn't full grey leather, not a big fan, my 740 is grey and feels like I'm getting into a pair of zip up hush puppies, but hey, right price at the time. Keen to catch up with other members in chch, Drifty can't wait to check out what your doing with your beast, it's going to rock....

The old nail

Well its taken a while, but I have finally taken a couple of quick pic's. Race tape at front is from an argument with a possum at about 100 mph. Unfortunately he lost his head completely over the whole matter, so no trading insurance details on that one !! Giving car new set of clothes this year and not sure if I should repair this or leave it as is, votes please !! In the proccess of removing spoiler also, hence two patches on rear, will be sorted when painter is back from holidays next week. The old blue beast is my next project, 732 4 spd manual, have picked up front spoiler for it from Sparkle ( courier tickets and vodka on the way Cam ) as well as some five spoke chrome 17's, never been a big fan of chromies, but think they will work on this one. So with a repaint, 30 - 40 mm drop and restored leather, should be a cool old pimp mobile... will update as we go.

Hey Em, Congratulations, as everyone else is saying, it is one immaculate car !! Good on you for sticking to your guns, really pleased your M & D came round to your way of thinking. It's a wee gem, and has found a great home no doubt about that. Enjoy it, and bask in the glow of obtaining your first bmw goal !!, not long now and you'll be in an e39 too !! (Guessing that's your M & D's in the background) Good work mate, you deserve it !! Cheers Grant

Hey, As the Guy states was Ross Jensens wifes car when new, a mate from school actually owned it, that was about 10 years ago though, he loved it, and it was very tidy back then, was truely envious of him !! Not sure what it is like now, but has to be worth the $$ when compared to some of the crazy $$ being expected for some of the standard e30 325i m's out there at present. I'd be happy to have it it my garage, even 10 years on I still think its a great car. Worth following up, good luck with it !!

"Are the man from Invercargill that drives a dark blue M5 and quite often has a trailer towed behind it?I've seen you around a bit in the past year or so, but I guess you'd never click when a girl in a school uniform waves u down!" Hey Em, No I'm not, just moved down to ChCh recently, have m5 so the guy you speak of has great taste no doubt. But may get into hubble and bubble with my girlfriend if I stopped for girls in school uniforms !! Pleased to hear you have won the hardest part of the battle, good for you !! Will be posting pics of my old rides soon, have a few pics of my M5 but need to load them from my camera, bit of a sucker for old e23's so can appreciate your wanting a bemmer of that era. Look forward to seeing pics of your new ride up soon.

Hey Em, Sorry to hear your parents are being the teenagers in your relationship. Best thing to do is find some before and after pic's of jappas and beemers that have had heavy impacts, think that it might help your parents realise just which vehicle will be the better one for the health and safety of their daughter !! Ask them to do some pricing of spares for these so called affordable jappas also, might bring a tear to the eye and the wallet, they need to be careful of the false economy some jappas can bring. Also point out who would be the better to buy from, an individual known to you with a vehicle that stands on its own merits and has the ability to retain its value if well kept, or buying through a questionable outfit that offers "Bargain Buys" and has no ability to offer you history or knowledge of the vehicle you are purchasing. Time for Mum & Dad to put that wisdom of age to work, the answer seems pretty simple... On top of that there is the not so small matter of supporting and encouraging your kids to follow their passions and acheive their dreams, fair to say you must be one of the most proactive and positive members down this way. Hope you can win them over, you deserve to be able to be bemmin in your bemmer. Good Luck with it matey.

Hey Guys, Conrod is on the money in relation to costs, once vehicle is 20 yrs or older ther is no issue in registering it, LHD or not. Best bet is to talk to guys in the industry to keep an eye out for you in Japan, they will charge around $1k to do the honours, or go and talk to Tony at TWR, see if he will bring one in for you, there are still a fair few in Japan and most have pretty good specs. Maybe try Mike John, (Mr Targa), he could point you in the right direction also, think he still has an incredibly immaculate black RHD, but would be looking for around $50k for it. Probably going over old ground, but the only RHD ones were converted from new by Birds in UK, used 325i steering rack, don't know about the standard 325i brakes someone else has mentioned, not part of the conversion as far as I know as it would have meant converting the discs from standard 325 4 stud to m3 5 stud, if you really want a RHD, the only place to source one is here or UK, vey rare in Japan and big $$ where ever you source it from. Go for the best LHD you can find and enjoy, still one that I want in my ultimate shed, along with an M6 and e28 M5 !! Hey Santa !! Good Luck with it.

Ha ha, yup saw Andrew suffering from the same sickness as me, could be possible, my sister allways told me I was adopted, so you just never know. Yeah, its pretty scary how much grunt these things can handle, couple of brothers in Sweeden have dropped a heavily modded one into an e30, 800+ hp at the wheels and its still running the standard m5 box, tempting, but think I would need a lotto win to justify the spend, and an egg timer to know when to fill up again !!

Hey Guys, Sorry, away so no pic's just yet, think I'm gonna keep it, told by my GF "NOT TO SELL IT !!" and no you can't clone her. Will post pics in my rides when I get back to town, will post a few of my other rides at the same time, bit of an e23 fan so brace yourselves for something other than three series pics, and no I'm not looking for a fight over E30 & E36's have a 86 325i m, and its a magic little motor, cant help thinking it would be prime for a 3.5 conversion though. Sorry for the change of heart, but can't bring myself to say goodbye !! Cheers

Hey Guys, Looks like you had a great time, sorry I missed it, was late getting in from Blenheim, keen to catch up with you guys though, are you ken to do a pre-xmas run ?? Or was this it ?? Cheers Grant