gjm

A yellow E36 Z3. So what? So this is a factory-built V12 Z3, an official exercise produced using an 850 engine to show the capacity of the Z3 engine bay.

I'd not checked for that. Suggests the 4-pot could have a rearwards weight (im)balance.

Probably very nicely! Less power than the bigger 6s, or course, but possibly a better weight distribution.

N46B20O1 was used in the 2005-2008 E85 Z4 2.0i.

Dark Blue E9 3.0 CS, on Sylvia Park Rd heading for Mt Wellington Highway, around 5.30 this evening. Could have come from BMW HQ - perhaps Jon @E30 325i Rag-Top might know of it?

Changed the oil and filter in Miss M's 318i.

Most of the arguments about cars, old cars, emissions, car use and so on could be fixed... If NZ had anything vaguely approaching a public transport system. The Greens know this, but cannot see beyond their policies to a solution. Think about it. If you want to get from Auckland to Wellington, there are two options. Car, or plane. Or coaches (with an unknown service history). Try going across to Hawkes Bay or Taranaki and your options reduce. NZ had a half-decent train service until around 1985... The 'incipient' Hamilton-Auckland passenger service is being touted as almost revelatory, yet anyone can see the disused stations along the line. The 'issues' being discussed are presented as huge and all-but insurmountable, yet it did work. Quit finding problems. Start finding answers. (The leader of the National Party could learn a lot from that.) The frankly ludicrous Auckland Airport-CBD rail link is an exercise in f**kwittery that I've not seen in a long, long time. What idiot thought it'd be a good idea to build a brand new line, over significant gradients, along existing roads through already built-up and out residential areas??? Build it into Manukau, connect south to Hamilton, and you've got a cheaper, easier, faster link to the country. Of course, many Aucklanders forget there's anything south of the Bombays. Transport in NZ (North Island) is truly not a difficult problem to solve. Stop resurfacing roads with pathetic excuses for techniques. Sort the rail lines. Instigate *service* rather than penny pinching and profiteering. The South Island is a more complex matter. The Kiwi insistence on battling adversity means access to remote areas is essential, but use of any service would, in some cases, be on an almost ad hoc basis. Roading around Kaikoura is evidence of the difficulties faced, but it's not an isolated problem.

Had a couple of opportunities to acquire decent-ish cars which turned out to have lapsed rego... And then find that they'd had some sensible mods which strictly require cert. No rego and no cert makes it uneconomic.

WTF is it with people who are incompetent enough to 'forget' for months to sort rego on their cars, or at least put it on hold? To be fair NZTA don't help... You may be surprised just how many people don't know 'rego on hold' is a thing, and of those that have heard of it, most have no idea how to sort it. And then, most who do know about it, appear to think it will cost money! Let's straighten that out. Rego on hold is ***free***. Provided there is no lapsed back-rego due. It takes moments to sort online, or in a Post Shop. Hmm... Not sure if this is a rant about people who don't try to sort these things themselves, or NZTA who appear to not want people to know about it...

The M10 starter is unique to the M10 engine, but whether that is because of the flywheel (which you've used) or for another reason I couldn't say without a lot more investigating.

No idea! Wasnae me!

Another blanket meaningless legislation. The exact same model car, registered on two different days, can have a front/back mix of tyres, or not. Because someone said so. I can see some potential merit in all 4 tyres being run-flat or not (maybe), but mixing tyres on a vehicle (front/back, not on the same axle - that is dangerous) presents no hazard. The only argument in favour of 'all the same' is the possibility of tyre rotation causing mixed carcass construction being present ont he same axle. However, if you want to take the ridiculousness of some poor WoF inspection further, I was presented with a 'fail' because my car had different manufacturer tyres on the same axle. (Correct size etc radials were fitted all round.) Same carcass construction, weather use, size, speed and load rating... I took it up with the manager of the premises and had a WoF pass issued after I cited the manual entries to him while he read it.

Don't. The M10 is not, in standard form, a performance engine. Solid, reliable, and responds very, very well to forced induction, but it is an old engine and compared to most modern engines, heavy, uneconomical and slow. (In stock form.) So is the M20B20. It combines the bad bits from the M10B18 and the M20B25 - it's bigger, a tighter fit in the engine bay, heavier, still not a performance engine by any means, and uses a lot of fuel. The M20B25 is a better engine in that it provides more performance, but other comments still apply. The M20 also responds well to forced induction (in particular). If you feel you must change the engine, look for a simple swap like a M4x. 16 valves, perkier performance, better economy, and still provides a tuning route should you wish to go that way. I'm still keen on the idea of a M43 in an E30 (fantastic economy, good performance in a lightweight car like an E30, simple) but I'm just a bit odd like that. ? If not a 4-pot swap, there are much better (and very well-documented) 6-cylinder transplants. M54s are popular for good reason. However, any 6-cylinder engine (imho) spoils the natural balance of the 4-cylinder cars. There's a good reason why BMW stuck with a 4-cylinder engine for the E30 M3 rather than develop the M20 engine for racing.

Sounds like fitters rather than mechanics. You don't replace an engine just because it doesn't start! Get it out of there and take it to a BMW specialist. Which one may be dictated a little by current location (and a shame that Glenn has closed up shop) but there are good people around.

Acquired a set of 15x7 et15 rims for the E30... Could be genuine, period BMW rims but I'll have to check on that. Not really a good time to be doing such things, but I have a couple of things up my sleeve to cover the (small) expense.

I'm fan of the GLA250 4-Matic. Fabulous smaller car.

Can it be recycled in any way at all? Some of the panels might be usable for other purposes - cut and re bond them, perhaps?

All that beating about the bush! Thoughts? They'll be absolute sh*t.

The Busby car predated the JPS BMW team by nearly 5 years. And the Busby car ran with up to 650bhp...