Kepes

Well then, time for an update! There's good news and there's bad news, let's start with the good She's got a brand new radiator in her! as well as new rad hoses and expansion tank cap. It's amazing how much nicer the engine bay looks with the new radiator and crack-less hoses. And the bad news - same problem!!! Not sure what's going on. The temp gauge never fluctuated before the head gasket was done. The head was resurfaced. Seeing as this wasn't happening before the hg was done, I don't see a cracked head/block being an issue. The head was pressure tested, the block was closely inspected. I thought for sure the new radiator would fix the problem as a week after I ordered it, the old radiator sprung a leak (thankfully doing most of the leaking while parked). I returned to my car one night and the check coolant light came on. Coolant all over the road. Filled the reservoir and drove home with my eyes fixed on the gauge. Got home sweet and didn't drive her until today when I installed the rad. I think the (very) little coolant loss I had in the past was from the radiator leaking. So, not sure where to next Draining all of the coolant every time I want to inspect/change something is annoying I'll test the thermostat (only 2 years old) as per the instructions in the bentley manual If that passes the test then I'll be installing a new water pump (1 year old) So, that's my course of action but I welcome all opinions of what I should do!

hah, it's funny you say that! I just went through all of my receipts and err... I've spent enough to last a long while I hope!

installed the new radiator, along with some new hoses and expansion tank cap. Lets hope this fixes the fluctuating coolant temp problem I was chasing!

Mine sounds exactly like the type you're referring to, it's not for sale but I'd be looking at getting 4-5k. Maybe that's too much considering it's condition (some rust - still fixable) and kms (330,000, head gasket and associated gaskets replaced) but being a manual 325i I think it's suitable. Maybe I'm dreaming, who knows. I don't ever plan on selling it though so I won't trouble myself with the thought My point is that you're pretty much on the money saying 5k

I don't have a credit card myself, but I know my mum uses BNZ and like you said, she earns heaps of flybuys points with it which she uses to pay for flights. Also the Air New Zealand Airpoints card acts as a flybuys card and earns you status points which get you access to the Koru club, priority boarding, etc.

Nice car! Welcome. I think we'll see a lot of you on here, tends to be something about those 2litre engines...

Anyone know who stocks Elf motor oil? I want to give it a try :~)

20w50? Mineral? I don't want to start a discussion on oil... but i'm just curious :~)

In terms of getting fines, i reckon it comes down to how you treat the officer. Respect gets respect

You're right, Cooling system and engine mounts can be swapped straight over as far as I know. Consider replacing the mounts with new ones while you're there, much easier while you're already in the process and they don't cost much. As far as the gearbox, if it's the same box I can't see why the mount would be any different so should be fine. Not sure about the other items, and having never done the swap myself I may be wrong with what I've said above but having researched M20s a lot they're almost identical externally. Maybe someone who knows for sure will see it and correct me or add to what I've said. Good luck, consider this a 'bump' Edit: Here's an idea, find the VIN of a 89' 320i and an 89' 325i. Go on realoem.com and compare the part numbers for the parts you've mentioned. If they are the same for each vehicle then you can be certain they're the same

Chris's (slideways) beautiful M325i, Looking good as per usual. Also a nice gunmetal (forgive me for not knowing the proper colour name) E31, labelled as an 850CSi. Who knows if it's legit. I think it was on trade me not long ago.

Revving it to redline while cold probably isn't doing it any favours

Not sure if this will apply to your E46, but on my E30 I always make sure to remove the fill plug before removing the drain plug just in case the fill plug is stuck. The last thing you want is to drain the box and then not be able to fill it. Just my .02 :~)

Always loved black E36s, they look so tough and your example is no different. Beautiful car, I can see why you wanted it so much.

+1 there's no way that's fresh oil. How long ago did they supposedly service it

Whoops. I'm sure it had automatic written on the auction or am I just seeing things??

By upgrades I hope you mean manual conversion ;~) very nice car, welcome

I've been trawling these forums because when I saw your car on Sunday just north of Ohakune on Sunday I knew I had seen it before! Angel eyes looked very nice, stood out well. Funny to see a member in such a place. Good stuff

You're probably right, such politeness sounds very japanese to me! I visited Japan in May so can talk from experience. When we were flying out of Japan I looked out of the plane window to see about 10 members of the ground crew waving us goodbye

What are the specs on the wheels?

hahah I thought someone would say this! I knew the street name, but had to use google maps so rest assured I've never been there :~)

drunk guy in town gave me $100 to drive him to the street where the prostitutes hang out, 3 minutes drive from where we were. perfect

i have some from a prefacelift 325i They are not compatible with the facelifts, what is your car?

Very closely, I waited about a week to get the head back so I had plenty of time to look over the block. Yeah no doubt, I lived with it last summer so can so again this summer. Not so easy (or cheap!) for me as my radiator is either not very common or not on US E30s at all because none of the US sites stock it. Only place I could find it online was schmiedmann. $300NZD shipped. Not sure how you managed to get one for $80 shipped. The cheapest one they have listed atm is $143 usd

I 100% agree with you. However as a student funding flight school I can't really get this car 'perfect' at the moment. It will happen eventually :~) For now, the car doesn't get hot enough to cause any major engine damage so it'll do. As for the coolant loss, I can pretty much guarantee it will be external. All the hoses etc are original (bar one). The head has been pressure checked and resurfaced, and the block is not warped.