Ahmedsinc

A grumpy old (?) fart you might well be, but you know what you're talking about - it's that depth of knowledge that helped get the forum to where it is now. Along with Glenn, Ray, Hotwire and every other bugger that either comes from xy years of workshop experience or have had to figure out the latest problem with their cars themselves. And then had the decency to share their experience with guys & girls like me. sh*t, look through some of the project threads on here. Then think about how many hours of sweat & swearing it took them to get to that point. Massive kudos to the lot of ya! Hey, not every idiot can swap a B30 for a B44 and drive away. Good work dude, you'll be in a very small group of people that own a manual V8 E34. Probably the only one with a 5-speed too I think there are still a bunch of folks doing cool stuff in their sheds. Just not many of them bother with posting their progress anymore. First four off the top of my head are Polley, Westy, Andy & Jon the Pom. Perhaps this is more a sign of the economic times than folks losing interest in working on their cars? Given the modern cars are designed to not be DIY friendly it's hardly surprising that the bulk of the advice given is "get it scanned & order the replacement part". There's not really much else you can do! One does wonder if the forum is turning towards actually meeting people and talking to them - the monthly Sunday meets at Qubes cafe seem to be becoming a regular event. Hardly a bad thing Maybe the start of a BMW NZ club that is less exclusive than the BMWCCANZ?

That'll do!

And the 'Cock of the Week' award goes to............................

Hey does anyone know if there will be shelter for the spectators? I see the forecast for Saturday afternoon includes a lot of rain Last time I was there was a Corvette Club day a couple years back, & I don't recall anywhere dry to watch the track aside from the pit garages. Hoping there's something there, will be the one highlight of whats otherwise been a really shitty week!

I guess the question is - do we try and rebuild the forum to it's original function of a local knowledge base / meeting ground for like minded individuals or just let the rot on social media take its place? The Fartbook page seems to be populated with cryptic for sale posts and occasional pleas for help with a usually simple problem. Definitely not my thing but useful for he odd bit of kit that comes up for sale. The original members like Apex, Hybrd, Bellicose, Jamez et al in the main have moved on. Glenn and Hotwire still surface from time to time but not as often as before. The only thing holding the forum back is the knowledge base that were around when it started aren't really here anymore. I personally don't expect folks to remain tied to the site forever, we all move on to different stuff eventually. It'd be great to see it return to the days of 60-70 posts a day instead of the current 15-20 but I've got no clue as to making that happen! Bring back the project threads!

Doesn't matter - I am just lazy and am sick of pulling panels off my car to plug in modules for testing ... : P ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

GIve the guys at Sterling Clutch in Onehunga a call too

Really?

Out of curiosity, what are the upper limits for mileage for dailies?

Have noticed the airbag light coming on intermittently (twice so far in six weeks) in the family hack. Knowing the well documented failure of the passenger occupancy sensor in these cars does anyone know what a genuine sensor is worth locally? I haven't yet had the chance to scan the car but I'm guessing it's the likely culprit. Pelican has them for US$200 but if anyones had one done recently I'd love to know what it cost you. Thanks

These ones? Depending on offset $180-300 max IMO Not overly common but would appeal to an enthusiast with a thing for period correct wheels. Maybe

If it ain't green it won't be coolant. Unless you've refilled the system with water only? Check the two washer reservoirs for leaks. Dead o-rings, perished lines, cracks in bottles etc

Agreed, though a few people seem to look down their noses at anything less than 32 valves. I owned a VYII SS a few years back, and although the steering & brakes left quite a bit to be desired (actually the 4 speed slushbox was fairly sh*t too) I still miss the lazy-ass torque curve that 350ci and a dinosaur pushrod provided. Looking forward to seeing the dyno printouts once this suckers running

As with factory backed service agents, there are some indies worth handing your money to and others that aren't. I've found the best way to find the good ones is ring them and ask for advice on small issues - the guys that bother giving me a little of their time and expertise are the ones I find to be the best. Probably not the same experience for everyone but so far gut instinct has served me well In saying that, I haven't had to take either of my cars to the shop in a while (mostly down to said advice given freely). Will have to relent soon, trans servicing and smoke tests are things I can't do at home

Slightly OT, but has there been any thought given to another run of bimmersport shirts / stickers?

I can't afford the entry for the track fee (and my old hack is way too feeble) but I'll be watching intently as you lot have fun going around Fingers crossed it get enough turnout to make it an annual event!

Kickass! Which monster ya planning on using? Will be amusing watching all the purists freak out when they see your whip

How much are you wanting?

What ratio is the diff mate?

Nah, can get to it with a hex key. Try harder

Pushrod V8 = low tech.....who cares man! This is the project I've been dreaming of doing for ages. Yes it's a dinosaur engine but 350hp & 350ft/lb returning 12l/100 is hard to argue with. More pics!!

No dramas dude, was only asking cos I'm lazy PFL might be the go, wouldn't take that much work to swap all the goodies over..... could make a bit of coin from the leftover spares / complete car too. Just sayin'

Valve stems are easy enough to do if the engine's out and the heads are off. Since you've already sunk a great big pile of monies into it then as long as the car is sound it's worth sorting the engine out.The downside with a replacement engine / car is it will always be an unknown quantity. If you're able to do chain guides, seals etc yourself without time constraints it'll only owe you the parts costs (and some shiny new tools! ) Long term I'd go for the manual swap, rebuilt / used autos and TQs will only suffer the same fate as your current trans. Big financial commitment but so long as you're not bankrupting yourself in the process it'll so be worth it! A really quick look on pelican parts suggests new stem seals, chain guides, HG & bolts etc seems to come to under $1k US excl shipping. You've already come this far with sorting it out mate, you might as well finish it P.S - did you get my PM regarding the other key?

True enough, unless you knew the seller and engine history it's always gonna be a bit of a punt eh. From what I've seen a bare M62 seems to go for under 2k, as you've got all the necessary bits it shouldn't be too pricey. Then again, if you don't have the tools or suitable space to do the swap yourself I'd guess any cost savings would be eaten up by labour charges. Fair play on sticking with your mechs, just wondered if a second opinion from a specialist might help narrow things down a bit Sounds like the best thing to do now is another leakdown test. Bummer that it's started happening at reasonably low milage too!

Hmmm, I thought that predictability was a desirable quality in a tyre.