gjm

That was kinda what I was thinking. One of the lovely things about the M10, other than it's reliability, is it's (relative) simplicity. That said, I don't know much about the M52. Is that the dual-VANOS motor?

I love the idea, and I certainly wouldn't treat the car with anything other than the greatest of respect. But it really is a worry that someone else would do something that would cause significant problems. If that happened to my car, the financial consequences would doubtless be the same. The difference here is that there is a defined timeframe to refund the money... My car, crashed, could sit for 12 months while I bitch and moan about it, but finding $15-20k in the space of a few days or weeks... I couldn't do it. I really do love the idea of racing. I know it costs at least twice what I imagine it might! And the best bet for me would be to have my own car, however uncompetitive it might be. Coincidentally, I've been looking at buying a motorbike. I was talking with some friends at HD about this a few weeks ago and they were asking what I'd spend. At the time I'd thought $3-4k (that's changed, downwards, since) but their suggestion was to buy a shitter Hyosung GT250R and go racing in the Cup. $4k might not pay for an entire years' racing, but it wouldn't be far off. (Assuming I didn't bin it at the first corner, in which case we're back to 12 month's bitchin' and moanin'... )

I couldn't commit to it. No. 5 kills it for me - I doubt I could find $20k if it became necessary.

Sorry Tom, but lighten up. You got an invite. Hundreds of other people did not. If you can't make it, too bad. Tell them. Let them give the position to someone who can.

The m10 is a good 'un. BMW bought older higher-mileage examples and then used them (as the M12) for Formula 1 - it was estimated to produce over 1400hp at one point, although as they couldn't accurately measure more than 1000hp, that's a moot point. It's solid, and if looked after will be reliable. And even if it does have problems, it's not difficult to fix.

Fuel-related problems do seem most likely. This isn't like a miss, where one cylinder drops out - it is more like everything briefly stops. It actually feels a little like a 2-stroke engine just before it 'nips up'. I'll have a look in the morning - take the coil out of the circuit, turn the engine over and pull the plugs. Seems to start OK when it's warmed up, though.

I keep being told the problems we are having aren't related to the throttle body. I've changed the vacuum pipes, the coil, the plugs (why are spark plugs so expensive here? $30 each from Repco or SCA, or £1.48 - say $3 - in the UK!), air filter, and the dizzy cap. The rotor arm is a Bosch and hasn't been replaced because the one I received had a too small bore to fit, but the Bosch one looks pretty good. The changes I've made all seemed to make a small difference, but haven't really resolved anything. So, I've checked the leads. The leads to the spark plugs are all ~5.7kΩ; the coil lead is about 2.2kΩ. Without a detailed manual I can't verify if these are correct. (These figures are a simple measurement taken with a multimeter on a 20kΩ range and the leads off the car.) Most troubling is that the car has become harder to start in the mornings. It turns over fast enough, but then fires on 1, perhaps 2 cylinders. Sometimes I can coax it into bringing the other cylinders to life, sometimes it stalls. Before starting the engine I can hear the fuel pump running, but it doesn't seem to matter whether I let the pump run 'til it cuts out (3 seconds or so) before starting, or just go for it. Once warmed through the engine will normally now idle albeit at lower revs (about 600rpm) than is correct. Occasionally, it will stall, as it did entering the roundabout at Taupiri, in traffic, yesterday morning. Fortunately a slick out of gear, ignition off, ignition on process saw the engine fire and run immediately, but it's hardly ideal especially when navigating a roundabout with a sudden loss of power steering. Good job it's not a heavy car. Also, the hesitation is becoming more prevalent. Cruising at 90-100km/h the engine seems to purr very nicely, except that every once in a while it feels as though it cuts out for a split second. I can't tell - don't know how to tell - if this is due to a fuel or electrical issue. Hence replacement of the coil and my checking the leads. The only thing I can see that I'm not happy about is the emulsion in the crankcase breather pipe that connects to the air filter box. There's no other signs of any sort of problem - no drop in coolant, no discolouration of the oil, no emulsion on inside of the rocker cover or underside of the oil filler cap. It doesn't appear to be using silly amounts of fuel: economy is around 14km per litre, or 7 litres per 100km. That's most of 40mpg in English, which is quite acceptable. I've not checked the timing but will do so. Kinda need to get a timing light first. So, despite assertions to the contrary, I'm probably back to pulling the throttle body off the car; it has been removed before at some point, as evidenced by mismatched bolts used to secure it. 3 Allen socket head bolts, and one crosshead. There should be a ring gasket on the base which should be replaced, so I'll source one of those first. If that doesn't improve things, there could be a very cheap, sort-of-running, Polo on the market. If anyone has any suggestions for what to try in order to fix it, please say!

Bear in mind there are several 4-pot 190Es, from those that really are gutless, to those that showed BMW the way home in DTM.

This is a bit boring. In the best possible way! Tomorrow we'll pass 400,000km. And other than that milestone, there's nothing to say. Apart from, maybe, possibly, we're considering selling...

I've had more old Mercs than most classic garage forecourts. W124 - stick with 17s instead of 18s... 18s really do look the part, but they ruin the ride quality. Do the suspension mods as described (and uprate the anti-roll bars) and the car won't handle any worse on 17s. W201 - fit the front ARB from a 6-cylinder W124 TE. You'll have to cut a few inches off each end, but instant improvement. Rear ARB is more difficult but you can find good copies of the W201 Evo 2 bar on t'internet. Same for the suspension - Konis, Bilstein, Eibach or Yellowspeed (coilovers) are good. Brake discs from a R129 SL, calipers from a US-market 400E, and 16" wheels from a '90-'00 CLK320. The rims are less than 13lbs each,, making an excellent improvement. (They're also good on a W124.) The W126 is from the same era. Bigger, (even) more comfortable, and with the option of several V8s can really move. They handle far better than you'd expect, too. Best Merc I've owned... Dunno. Rarest... Easier. An AMG W124 E36 estate. (Although various other Brabus, Carlsson and AMG models push it very close.) This was when it was running on AMG 18s, a set of 4 taken from the fronts of two W210 E55s. PITA to be honest - had to roll the front arches slightly to stop rubbing.

Nice kit and a nice car. I don't think they really go all that well together, though. It looks like the kit should fit a different car - it doesn't flow properly.

Thanks Cheyne.

Very fair. I work on old Mercs, and old Porsches. Not for a living, but because I am an incorrigible masochist. I do it for fun (and occasionally for reimbursement.) I love the old cars, and the engineering. My ex-landlord had a 1973 Porsche 911 that had been fitted with an early 80s 3.0 NA engine. I agreed to do some work on it, with the proviso that he understood anything extra I found, and showed him, would need to be sorted too. Paid off 6 months worth of rent, and (commercially, based on an hourly rate) I was very, very cheap. Bloody good job when I'd finished though - I was very pleased, and so was he. Old Mercs are great cars. Unfortunately many have been (previously) owned by people less than interested in doing a job properly. I think they are worth the investment of biting the bullet and sorting things, but I enjoy the process as much as the result.

The R107s are pretty straightforward to work on, but looking for a knowledgeable specialist is fair enough. Yup Glenn does MBs, too. Peter Gawn is ex-Coutts and runs Motor Service in Mt Wellington. I've no personal experience of him, but as he also works on BMWs and Mercedes, perhaps someone here knows more.

Here.

Mine too.

I'm assuming a worst case scenario with no paperwork or providence. In which case, I suspect it'll be good for spares or track, but not much more. I'd like to be proved wrong! However, I've not had much communication with the seller, yet. Obviously I will, long before any sort of deal is struck. It could turn out to be a case of 'I imported it, but was offered a better car [maybe a RHD?] while I was waiting, and never got around to registering it' story. I know that's happened before. Getting back to basics, let's assume it can be shown to be a private import (say) 4 years ago, and that paperwork is available. Is there any reason anyone can think of why it couldn't be registered here, under those circumstances?

It's been here a little while. I know some history, just not enough (yet). Yes - I too think it would be worth more if registered. I'll be treading carefully. Hence questions here, but I'll back them up by speaking to someone who does this sort of thing officially. I also recall the bit about how a car must be over 20 years old at the time of import, and not at the time of first registration in NZ. This one was built in 1983, so unless it's been here for over 10 years, that shouldn't be a problem.

It's a European-manufactured car (I think!)... Shhh... A Porsche 928. So it is at least a little out of the ordinary. As I said, I know there are LHD models around. I'm just unsure how easy (or difficult/impossible) it would be for someone who didn't personally import it, to get it registered and so on.

I'm hoping this is a straightforward question... I've been offered a car I would very much like. It is over 25 years old, is in NZ, and is identical in every way (other than steering wheel position) to the same model which was sold new here. This car has been here for a while. I don't know how long exactly, or even who imported it. I can find out - there is a paper trail. Question is... Can I register it for use on the road in NZ? I know there are other similar cars, also in LHD, registered and driven here. The issue I can see is proving ownership, but other than that...? Anyone know anything about this? NZTA are, of course, entirely happy to point me to their online resources which I've read, but which don't seem to make it particularly clear.

We had a 147. Gorgeous - black with tan leather. Bought ex-dem, serviced regularly, never gave any problems. A friend in London had a 156 he couldn't kill. He tried. My only other experience is with Alfas from the 70s and 80s. They had their own problems of course, but as usual - look after them properly and they're not so bad.

If your car was manufactured with fixed height suspension, and you fit anything which allows you to alter the ride height, then I think your car needs to have this modification certified. That probably also goes for any suspension mods which aren't adjustable, but change the ride height from standard, although I can see that being far more difficult to enforce. BMW Motorsport suspension optionally fitted during manufacture to an otherwise standard 318 saloon, Mercedes Sportline... Both mean a different 'standard' ride height is possible on otherwise identical cars.

I have two sets of Style 73 - 17x7, one set with 205/50-17 tyres, one with 215/45-17 tyres - and a set of Style 45 - 16x7 with 205/55-16 tyres. Price depends on which set, of course, but won't be expensive.

Is there anything online (on Youtube?) which does cover this? (I'll look another time, but if anyone has a link, let's be 'aving it! )