Phil-540i

I'm sooooooooo cracking up @ this - nicely put!! I agree - Marina / Triumph / Rover / MG / Austin - were shitters when new, & those that aren't yet parked in a landfill, still are...........

Ditto my thoughts - I can'nt stand jap imports!! I doubt its the full story being told there though...... Sometimes its 'human factor' though too - Ive got a trailer that failed a wof on Friday, with a light problem. Whilst laying under it this morning cursing the weather gods (its slightly raining...as in slightly wet rain...slightly annoying rain.........forecasters were slightly wrong..........I'm feeling slightly ripped off & slightly wet, that sorta rain), playing havoc with sidecutters & multi-meter - happened to glance at axle u-bolts, which are missing some nuts!! Whilst not fail wof material, 'hmmm, might fix THAT while I'm under here, mutter mutter...curse..'......... And "DUH!!!" - every-one knows plastic & brass ain't a good thing - shoulda been zinc coated wood screws being used......preferably left hand thread ones.......

I think I've fallen for Darren's 'signature picture'............like its kinda weird but kooool at all sorts of levels........cracks me up every-time I see it.......

I agree Tom - might as well stand in the shower & rip up $100 notes - pointless exercise really.........I'm all for keeping stuff clean & tidy, but lets not get silly about it.......

Remembering that assumptions are.............. Crawl under for a look I reckon, as even if it did have one, might have been previously removed........ Cats are overated - whole exhaust,including cat 'fell off' my ute - V8 turbo diesel sounds very 'unToyota' now that its breathing through a 3 inch system.......(Cracks me up as my Toyota dealer being REALLY queer & pedantic won't give it a wof, yet VTNZ does no problem......)

Lols - trailer it for a hour on the open road & it'll all be over too. Impressive end result though..........

I think mines got same problem, so I'll sit on fence, eat popcorn, see how ya go with yours first - keep us in da loop on it ae..... Ripping it all to bits to get in there, sounds VERY anti-fun already...........

Ditto!!!!

Hi Jamie - good project ya got going there. Who do you get parts through?? You had any joy with Jeff Gray in Palmy......?? Cheers.

That is just amazing!!!! Job well done - good on ya!! Chuck up a shot of 'before' maybe........??

Hey there Tidy - yea, I'm a newbie too - this is a great place to be I reckon. Good crew, common interest etc - hope you find what you're looking for - theres lots of gooood stuff out there, reasonably priced too. So long as its got a good service history, & hasn't been 'boganised' or had too much 'little boy stuff' done to it, makes a good basis to start with. I'd suggest NZ new has merits too, but I have bias with that anyway..... You're cracking me up Katy - 3.57am...................

Trust me in that if I can figure out how to post pics, anyone can........the help bit is really good on it......!!

Welcome to the site........ Shame about the circumstances though........!! So whats the next car then......??

^^^ Its one of those 'special models', not many around, or maybe its called 'covering all bases'........... and when they 'fail' at selling cars, their next employment choice is selling real estate I reckon........ I have low pain thresh-holds these-days for sales persons that don't 'know their product' or / and have a lack of integrity.... I drop straight to "you're a oxygen thief - your lips are moving, so I KNOW you're lying........' mode if they're like that............

I'm picking filters will be toast too - high odds its not theirs either I'm guessing.........I love that shot towards the end though where it just appears out of the dust cloud it's created - great camera work. Agreed - they should have left it music-free, & if they REALLY had to use music, I vote 'Thunderstruck' as being best suited song for it...... Awesome, just awesome cars!!

As per Sam's link, this deserves to be here too IMHO........ Usually every-ones got a story - here's another neat one for early M5 fans....... Enjoy........I did! Hmm, & then I found this for early M3 fans - this E30 makes a sound that goes right down the spine.......

In the quest to learn more about what the numbers & badges all mean, I found this.......and much like Tristan's new car, I like it, lots....... Impressive vehicles, big-time.....

Hiya Given its a new toy, less donuts or less times around roundabouts 'checking its handling' might = less dizzy.....??!! On a serious note though, given its a hearse / wagon version, any chance rear door isn't sealing properly on its seals......maybe ingesting into cabin that way?? Seems weird it's only doing it with air-con going though...... De-cat - absolutely!! Same's gonna happen to mine (& a few other mods to make it sound like it should, rather than as it does....... )

Must be a real hardship having to slum around in that - NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Carpet hurts lap-times, apparently......

I've been reading the same, & was gob-smacked by how tidy, original, & 'as new' it looks.......just amazing!! To me, those 850's just seem so far ahead of their time, given when they were produced.Yes Peter, you definitely need those rims - whole fleet with match then.......

Mine, stock standard, (at the moment), & as background - I never buy any vehicles based on 'economy', & I seldom drive economically. From my perspective, I find the 540 fairly good on fuel really. Sunday cruise mode, to a café 150k away with my partner - gets around 10L/100km. Hacking around town, would be what you're quoting, & probably a bit worse if you're driving it hard........No partner beside ya, & you're in 'feels good, sounds good - must be good' mode on a twisty road - I'd suggest around 20L/100km........& worth every cent!!! Comparison vehicles for me - new tin can Corolla 6 speed manual - 9L/100km, mostly open road running. Current model SR5 Hilux turbo diesel - 13L/100km. (they run around 9L/100 until you add winch, tyres, bulbar etc). New Cruiser V8 diesel ute - 15,16L/100km in everyday running, unless you're REALLY leaning on it, in which case you can almost watch the gauge move on a 90L tank...... Personally I think we're being reamed stupid on the cost of fuel in NZ, irrespective of how much or how little they use....

Oh, its that sorta 'road car', with a cage - I'd be cutting into the ABS power..............

Hi - that off the OBC or what you're actually putting in the tank for a given number of km's??

Yes, the 'new' V8 T/D, & yes, your 2 litre probably does have a better power to weight ratio (my ute has a GCWR of 7000kg..) - but then yours probably gets a bit average on gravel or at river crossings - very much a 'horses for courses' thing.... Thanks for the simple (& great!!) explanation here. From my point of view (ie; 'newbie', knowing 'nothing much' about BMW's a few months ago...), it appears the lines have become less blurred on the more recent models as to whats 'factory muscle' & what's not......On the earlier stuff it's worse to learn about I think, particularly when you're trying to pick up what the model numbers & engine numbers / types mean too.......

From an aesthetics point of view, yes - I agree. However, $$ & real world practically will probably set it wearing a set of 17"s...... (Bit like some super-models might be great to look at, but hey, 24/7 living with her might be a bit much......)