gjm

PM sent. ?

Just the wrong time to find work. Few adverts, and recruitment is sooo sloooooow... At the same time, the countdown to 'Here's your final pay - see ya!' seems to get faster.

Thanks Brent. It's far from a done-deal at the moment, but I will be needing to find something. And (no offense intended to those living there!) getting away from Auckland would be A Good Thing. I have fingers out in the BoP, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Taranaki and Waikato. Of course, it is completely the wrong time of year to try to find anything.

Unfortunately I may have been struck by the Christmas Cull, and the hunt for employment has begun. I'd not really considered moving to Taranaki (although it has been lovely whenever we have visited), but the opportunity for an interesting and challenging role has come up. Can't commute... So will need to move. Any insight to living in the area? Anywhere in particular to stay well away from? We'd be after somewhere with some space (more than 2000sq m) and definitely with peace and quiet. We don't want to be isolated, but we don't want to live in someone else's pocket, either. Coastal, or water views, would be welcome. Travel time into Plymouth... Would consider up to an hour, but would prefer to be closer. At least there is less likelihood of sitting in traffic every day! Of course, it may not happen, but I do like to plan these things.

White 330e on SH1 at Ramarama, heading north.

Removed the window regulator from the rear nearside door of the 320d. Having listed it for sale, the regulator has decided enough is enough. Several little pieces of white plastic which have broken away from the regulator, a wire that doesn't wind properly, and a window that won't close on it's own. <sigh> Oh well. Something else to add to the very long list of tasks completed!

Very nice!

I'm much more a fan of Koni than of Bilstein, but Bilstein are very good too. OE used to be Sachs - don't know if they still are. What is the intended use? Koni produce a kit specifically aimed at road-going drivers who might do a trackday once in a while - the Koni/H&R trackday kit: p/n 1250-1004 Koni.H&R trackday kit.pdf

I can see the guibo on the E36 Ti. WoF'd a couple of days ago, and noted that while OK now it will probably need replacing for the next WoF.

The future really could be electric. For drag racing, at least. A drag race that nobody expected. Watch The Grand Tour now. PrimeVideo.com∕GT.mp4

Aye... The Powerflex kit is good, but race-use bushes aren't want I'm after. Everything seems to be red or yellow (depending on manufacturer or hardness). Still, if we had Japanese cars, the bushes would probably be lime green or purple...

Polybushes. Why are they in such bright colours? What's wrong with black?

WoF'd the E36 318Ti.

I was surprised at the $500k comment too - but have no knowledge of them in the NZ market. Before moving to NZ I was a regular visitor to the Techno Classica at Essen (classic car enthusiasts dream holiday). Z8s there, and this was 7+ years ago, were ticketed at €100k+.

I'll get details of a 318i 4-door auto, if it might be of interest? Not my car, and no affiliation (or benefit to me) but I saw it could be for sale. Edit: Just reviewed your post on Facebook. @Jibs05 has already posted on there - it's his car I was thinking of.

I'll re-read the thread, but what are you doing for EMS? Michael's suggestion of an electric pump, cutting the engine in the event of low oil flow or pressure (pressure ain't everything!) would work.

Probably means no translation was available from the original source. S925A is a 'Dispatch Protection Package' - I suspect this is something (perhaps the white film you sometimes see on new cars on a transporter?) that was applied to the car in order to protect on it's journey from the manufacturing plant to it's destination, which would normally be the first place of registration.

Thanks Nathan. Apologies - interior pics will be tomorrow. (But it is now WoF'd and rego'd.)

I have some spares which will go with the car. Oil filters (I bulk-bought!), trans filter, gasket and bolts (this could be genuine BMW), and... Well, I'll check the E46 320d shelf in the garage.

We're perhaps getting a little better than you are - typically over 600 miles (UK import) before the low fuel light comes on. Stopped checking after a while, but high 5s, low 6s. Bear in mind I do very little sitting in the city driving (although sitting on SH1 is going to have the same effect). The 500SE may go up for sale, but that's not the plan. Yet. Lol ! Once or twice.

I'll sort interior pics tomorrow. Automatic, with tiptronic (I think that's the correct terminology - I'll check). We tracked the cause of non-running to water passing a bulkhead grommet, and collecting on the fuse/relay board. Only found this after removing the dash, suspecting a failed heater element. The heater element was found to be perfect and not leaking at all (I have a new, genuine BMW element in the garage...)

Trip meter reached 875.2km before I put fuel in. And the low fuel light hadn't come on. Bump.

We've made an offer on a house, and probably won't have space for the 4 BMWs and 2 Mercedes in the drive, and the E30 in the garage. (The Cordobarot E36 318i saloon is already for sale.) The 320d has been used very little over the last 12 months - that's why there's been nothing by way of updates on my thread about it. It passed WoF this morning (1st December) so has 12 months WoF, and I have added 3 months rego - now expires 4th Feb 2018. It does have some reasonable mileage under it's wheels - just over 300000 miles. A tiny bit under 500000km. Everything works. I'll check, but I think even the aircon is cold. It is virtually completely stock, as it left the factory. Only changes are that the front downpipe has had the cat removed (by Sinco, in Hamilton - superb piece of work), and a towbar was fitted at some point prior to our ownership - it wasn't there when we bought he car. Original rims, original spare wheel, even the original load bay roller blind / cover. The only thing I'd plan to do, if keeping it, would be to tidy the paint. It does have chips across the leading edge of the bonnet, and there are some other areas which would benefit from attention. No dents or similar. Comes with possibly the biggest pile of history you'll see on a car of this type. Massive detail, going back to before it was imported to NZ from the UK. Tyres are all good condition Michelins. I can continue with more details, but it's all been covered in my project thread: Just to keep things above board, here's a pic: Price... Always tricky. $4000

Hmm. Some aren't great, and some are bad, but... https://thegarage.jalopnik.com/bmw-engines-are-gigantic-pieces-of-sh*t-1784684330 Sensational headline, much?

It's a great colour - more 'interesting than most. That little bit of green in the grey looks good. Good news about the pads. The height at the back is fine, but the Eibach springs may bring it down a little. Pads should help address that.