gjm

A guy over on the KiwiBiker forums wrote this spreadsheet. (I hope the link works - you should be able to download it.) I did one too a while ago, but can't quickly find it now. I fudged some numbers in favour of a petrol engine, but retained the diesel's better fuel economy, and break-even came out around 12000km. After that, the diesel was more economical to run (even after factoring in more regular oil changes). New petrol cars are very much more economical, but carry a much, much higher price tag, freefall depreciation, and typically higher servicing costs. Comparing a couple of E34s, one with a M50B25 and one with the M51B25 (25mpg vs 37mpg) and the diesel is a clear (economy) winner. Unfortunately the BMW diesels aren't quite as strong as the Mercedes ones. 400bhp from a 5-cylinder Mercedes running stock internals, but a modified lift pump, big turbo and intercooler? The M51 is good for 250 or so, but 400 would see it going pop fairly quickly unless significant internal work is done..

It's that 30-60,000km a year I do. The 320d is lovely, but has on several occasions proven to be just a teensy bit small to carry some things. And while it is completely the wrong reason to buy a specific car, the 525 does have a towbar which our 320 doesn't. (I know - cheaper to buy a towbar!) For anyone who is wondering (not many, I realise) the 320d makes more power than a stock 525td.

The other thing with anodising is not to get too hung up on the thickness of the result. Up to 100 microns is possible, but this may not be the best solution - 50 or even 25 microns can sometimes be more effective. Standard 'soft' anodising is thinner, down as far as 5 microns. This doesn't make it bad, just not perhaps suitable for hard wearing conditions.

Info so far is very helpful - it's reminded me of the different types of anodising available. If you have a set of braided hoses in your engine bay, chances are you have either stainless or anodised fittings. Y'know, the red or blue ones (They seem to be the two most common colours.) I think these are (relatively speaking) 'soft' anodised. You can mark them. Hard anodising is another story. It really is HARD wearing. It's used on marine parts that live in salt water, for example. I've read that it can even be hard to mark by taking a metal file to it, but can't say how true that is. So, done right, it could be good. No idea of price, but I have a couple of places to ask. One regularly does work on motorcycle rims so may be able to suggest how suitable it might be for car rims. Being Friday, I'll probably have forgotten about this by Monday!

Me too! No WoF, or rego. In Otago. $2k... Hmm.

Wheel rims... Looking to get some refurbished. I'm not in the least interested in some bling chrome, and would much rather have something understated. I've read the powder coat vs paint thread.. Good start. But not quite the finish I'm after. Has anyone had alloy rims anodised? Pros, cons? I appreciate you can touch up a painted or coated rim, but an anodised one will be different. And anodising won't hide imperfections in the way that powder coating could.

My first car was very similar to this: I was 12.

And it's an E30! Apologies - it's not on TradeMe and is for sale in Germany, but this will stir something for some of us. Here I suspect the price is just a number - call if you're interested. That sort of thing. The seller also has a B10 bi-turbo, and a B10 4.6 Touring for sale.

Meanwhile and back on topic, what is the going rate for an E34 M5? (If you want to feel sick, an E28 M5 recently sold on US eBay for US$5000.)

Hmm. I wonder what this will eventually sell for?

Seconded. Nothing wrong with folk up this way either, of course, but Paul does deal with other European manufacturers too.

It's an extremely unpleasant thing to do. OK, circumstances change. But if that's the case, just offer them back on here at the price paid. Share the love. As it is, I have no idea who is involved. Not sure I want to know them, either.

The E34 is a Jap import, so quite possible.

Still cheap for what it is.

JML Motorsport is (was?) a Swedish company run by Mikael Lund that did a number of conversions, all (reportedly) to a very high standard. They put the ex-850 V12 into a number of BMWs, including E34 saloons and wagons. (But we've seen that here, too. :-) ) They also did 5.6 and 6.0 conversions for the S70 in the 850i. Not a huge company or huge production, but there are several 356CS conversions (the V12 M3) around, and I saw an E34 V12 wagon for sale in Germany, 2 or 3 years before we moved here - it was in the for sale 'yard' at the Techno Classica in Essen.

I drove a 2-door Integra(? May have been an Accord?) with the 3.0 VTEC engine and a manual 'box (conversion - the autos apparently get a bit suspect quite quickly). It was a lot of fun, but always felt a bit 'made of paper'. I was stepping into it from a 1988 Mercedes 560SEC, which may have had something to do with it.

Don't drop anything!

That was my thought too. Yep - lovely. $260k lovely? Don't think so... Not even with the low mileage.

Sadly, this one is not an ACS, despite what Carjam says. ACS said so. I asked. Still potentially a nice car, though.

Yup. 2.6. And four zeroes. Why? Because: It's a JM Lippert 356CS. 368kW of 5.6 V12 in a M3 body. More info here.

Of the two, I'd probably have the Alpina. But that choice is based as much on the 'different' quality of an Alpina - there'll be an owners club for the F80 M3, but Alpinas will always be more exclusive.

Washed it. Sorry about that. Probably explains why it's raining, now.

Penrite Enviro+, errmm... Off-hand, not sure the spec. Only that it exceeds whatever BMW says it should meet. I did a lot of research before settling on this. Greg Hantz reckons 7000 miles or ~11000km between oil and filter changes. The BMW computer says 13000+ miles, or well over 20000km. In future, I may well opt for an oil change between filter changes: oil every 5000km or so, filter every other oil change. Keeps things sweet.

Replaced the fuel filter. It's running a little bit better. Again. Hardly surprising - pouring fuel from the 'input' side of the filter showed it to be quite dirty, and while the filter appeared to still be doing it's job, it could well be original. (It's not a lot of fun to change, despite appearing to be a straightforward task.) The idle thing is getting more tricky. I tried following the instructions on the link above, but there are one or two issues. Like... Just where is the base idle control screw on this car? I had the throttle body off again, and there is nothing obvious. Absolutely no adjustment, other than on the throttle cable. There is a plastic cover on one side which while it has torx-head bolts through it, also has peened over plastic plugs locating it. Obviously not designed to be a service item. (The throttle body is by VDO.) OK. ISV next, then. I really want to get back to working on the Mercedes! And there is just the teensiest possibility that the BMW count in the driveway could double. To two. I'm a-plannin' an' a-schemin' ways to make that work.