gjm

I think that one was discussed earlier? Mojo - the things you are talking about are not faults with the car and couldn't be used to knock the price down. Of course, there is the consideration that it's not the car you want, in which case there is no option but to keep looking. The green car Jared has linked to doesn't have a LSD either, but it does tick all your other boxes. Aside, perhaps, from colour? You want to do an engine rebuild? This one will work well now, and you can play later. And I think I saw some LSDs for sale on here a short while ago? Talk to one of the dealers. That's a relatively easy thing to sort. (Easier than an engine rebuild!)

Work got in the way of seeing a car for you - again. I wasn't able to leave until nearly 6, and had hoped to meet Jared there. I also had a dinner reservation with Mrs M at Med Kitchen in Maraetai for 8 o'clock. It doesn't hurt to make an offer, but don't be surprised if he says no. Do an expired listings search on TradeMe for BMW 328. Choose coupe from the filter list. I searched and found just one for less than $6k - http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/328ci/auction-685759542.htm Most are significantly more. Jared feels this is a good one, and if the headlining is fixed, then there is quite possibly nothing left to do. Sounds like a good bet to me. Maybe a little high on price, but not much. Edit: I should add, I'm referring to cars with similar mileage and provenance.

I think we'd need a new thread for 928s...

I'm not sure missing the red one is necessarily a loss... Perhaps more of a lucky escape? It'd been 'messed with', had some known problems, and as such may not have been the 'right' car.

Blue is the new red. I hope it works out. I have been procrastinating about buying another 928 ever since we got here...

You forgot Danes. I could tell stories about a couple of them... No LSD from the factory: Code Optional Equipment S240A Leather steering wheel S243A Airbag for front passenger S314A Door mirror / driver's lock, heated S423A Floor mats, velours S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit S481A Sports seat S534A Automatic air conditioning S556A Outdoor temperature indicator S676A HiFi speaker system S686A Antenna-Diversity S687A Radio preparation S694A Provisions for BMW 6 CD changer S704A M Sports suspension L807A NATIONAL VERSION JAPAN S818A Battery master switch S925A Transport protection package S928A Tire control (This was a table when I pasted it in, and turned into a long list when posted!)

I've exchanged PMs with Jared - if all goes well (and let's face, it hasn't so far) I may offer a second pair of eyes tomorrow.

You are the missing Persian Prince, and I claim my prize!

No worries. I used W&N several times while in the UK, but for 'normal' parts rather than tuning anything - they were often cheaper than local suppliers for 2002 and E31 parts. I tried this once, but it didn't work out quite so well! Still bodywork is more akin to art, and certainly not an artisit!

I've been off work with some sort of stomach bug yesterday and today... I drive up and down SH1 when I am at work so it is no problem to get to Te Awamutu (provided I get out of the office before 9.30pm ), but if Jared is able to get there before me...

SECs are much more cruisers (boulevard bruisers?) than true sports cars. Bear in mind they are based on the SE, the closest equivalent to which would be the 7-series Beemer. Not the first choice for sporty driving, perhaps. Interestingly, the SEC is longer than an 8-series, fractionally narrower, and a lot lighter.

BMW have a history of this sort of thing. Old M10 1500cc engines used to develop 1500hp (in the M12/13), and the M88 (as used in the E24) made 900hp in GpV cars. I'll have a look at the video later. I've seen Chris Barry doing similar presentations - he has been pretty good.

Looks like a Remus or similar back box. Could be anything really, with the car being ex-Japan. The ///M badge could be factory (although unlikely), but it does have sports seats and Motorsport suspension. Or did, ex-factory.

I think it looks a better prospect than the red one. More money, though.

The ZF 'boxes are reckoned to be better than the GM-sourced ones, but so long as mine keeps working I'm not about to worry about that. A bit more research is needed, but I suspect the older cars may have ZF 'boxes. I had a Mercedes that would do that until the fluid warmed up. No idea if it was supposed to, but it never caused any problems and changing the fluid and transmission filter made no difference.

Apologies - I realise this is a bit late now, but perhaps it'll be useful for someone else in the future. e28 1988-1994 518/520/525/528/535 Front suspension / wheel alignment Toe-in (+) / Toe-out (-).... +2,0mm +/- 0.6 mm Camber............................ -0°20' +/- 30' Castor.............................. +8° +/- 30' (10° lock) King pin inclination........... +11°57' +/- 30' (10° lock) Rear suspension / wheel alignment Toe-in (+) / Toe-out (-).... +2.0mm +/- 0.8mm Camber............................ <unknown to me> This is all well and good, but a total of 4mm toe at the front will wear the tyres quite quickly, especially is you ever press on. 0mm toe will likely cause wandering, but trial and error shows ~1mm toe in, front and rear, seems to work very well.

The side mounting plates on the towbars fitted to an E34 are bolted vertically - the E46 and E36 bolt from the sides. I'd not be surprised to find each model has it's own unique towbar mounting method. Disappointed, but not surprised.

Sealed for life automatic? I had the fluid in mine changed, but I'll bet there are thousands out there, at 150000km and (much?) more, running the ATF the factory put in.

I've just checked RealOEM for my car against an E36 328i coupe, and the towbar fittings are definitely different there: the E36 appears to have a much longer pair of rails running forward from the outside ends of the main beam that fits across the back of the car.

Thanks Jason. That's looks promising. And thanks for going to the trouble of the pics and the red lines. I'll take another look under the back of my car but I anticipate that when the towbar and mounting was removed, so was the wiring.

Aye... My idea was to make something that handles like a 4-seater go-kart, but still be comfortable to drive. No out-and-out track day weapon plans so retaining the sunroof isn't a problem, and may even be nice. Just so long as the cartridge doesn't rot everything out!

I'll do some poking around too and see if I can find any more info, but please let me (us) know what you find. Might your towbar currently be 'resting', or looking for a new home....?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C393287 I love the W126 SEC. Fabulous cars. I've had two - a 560 and a 500; the 560 was the definitive cruiser, while the 500 was more sporty. If I had the money, I'd be popping this in the garage for sunny days.

Thanks guys. I wasn't considering the sunroof removal as a prerequisite for fitting a rollcage, but typically a sunroof proves a weak point in a vehicles structure. I was wondering whether there was still merit in sunroof removal following installation of a cage, given the cage would add rigidity - would removing the sunroof then be unnecessary? However, Richard's description of the problems that can occur when a sunroof is fitted does make a compelling case for getting rid of it. Richard - a new roof skin, without sunroof, can be had from Walloth & Nesch for about 325 euros, ex tax. See here. Sadly the same isn't true for the E28.

A tow car is a great start, but it'll need a bar to hook things to. My Touring has had a towbar fitted at some point, a fact confirmed by my having a receipt for the purchase and fitment of a custom item. Sadly it's not there now, just a small piece of plastic cutaway showing where it was. No brace, crossbar or mounting or anything. So, I'm on the lookout for a towbar. The question here is: what will fit? In a perfect world I'll find an E46 Touring being broken for spares, and get the parts from that. However, the world is far from perfect. Would a towbar from another model fit? Perhaps from an E36? I'm not looking to haul anything serious on a regular basis.