Olaf

Okay, but it still makes "way more sense"? As I'd still need to clean and condition a used seat from a wrecker or pick-a-part, in addition to my time spent gathering tools and driving to and from pick-a-part (or a wrecker) to un-bolt and pay for a seat base. And then I'd need to remove the scuffed one from my car, clean years of accumulated crap from beneath it, and install the one from pick-a-part (or a wrecker). In my world it makes way more sense to do less work and wipe on some leather toner with a sponge and save myself time, effort, and "probably" money. And as you rightly point out, I'll have the gear on the shelf that allows me to take care of things like leather steering wheels in a way that I can't with a surplus scuffed leather seat base. Of course, your mileage may vary.

How much does one pay for a good condition black leather seat base for an e39 from a wrecker?

Dave, go and do the reading, draw yourself a Venn diagram. Guns have no rifling. We have firearms laws - not gun laws. It's an important distinction. All guns are Firearms. All rifles are Firearms. Not all Firearms are guns. Handguns have a special distinction in New Zealand as they are (appropriately) very heavily controlled, and the privelige of ownership is extended to very few. There's a great deal of precision required around Firearms handling and use, and this is a *good thing*. You want precision, and safety. You wouldn't want eejits handling firearms without having taken the trouble to learn, be examined (and vetted) as to their capability to handle and use firearms safely and responsibly. Sadly, there are many with opinions (usually informed by One News or Stuff (or worse), who've not bothered to investigate or learn, or understand; and yet continue to advance ill-informed and irrational (and emotive) positions on Firearms in New Zealand. If we applied this thinking to other areas, the consequences are lessened. If a wowser doesn't get the difference between a Lager, an IPA, and an RTD, who cares? With Firearms, there's personal safety at stake. Imagine a repeated rant from a Prius-hugging greenie that all modified cars are bad, LVVTA should be abolished, and all non-standard cars should be crushed immediately cos they're unsafe and driven by lunatics. You'd hope to nudge these people in the direction of learning and understanding.

Yes, you are wasting your time posting here. As I posited earlier, you’re not displaying any understanding of firearms legislation or practice in NZ. Hell, you’re still referring to firearms as guns. Are rifles beyond the scope of your discussion, or is it that you just don’t recognise any difference? Read the laws. Read the stats. Read the submissions to the select committee. Then return and contribute meaningfully to the discussion.

if buying powerflex bushings is going to stop you doing shocks, go with OE and Meyle HD rubber parts. You'll want to do endlinks and ARB bushes front and rear. #1 concern: how's the cooling system, oil leaks, CCV system? Agree with Sam's recommendation above - get it on a hoist for assessment by a pro. I've no experience with driftshop.com. Are you building a drift car?

Welcome, Matt!

No. He'd not have obtained a license, for starters.

you'd replace a seat rather than simply clean it, add some toner to re-colour the scuff, and then protect it?

My pleasure! I got a black kit to match my old Volvo - very black leather. It works fine on all the black leathers I've encountered; jackets, bags, steering wheels... I've not had to use the tinter it on my e60 (Black Dakota Leather), just the cleaner, protectant, and elephant preserver. As far as colours, I reckon your safe with Schwartz F035 (or possibly the lighter Anthrazit F046) - though depends how black your leather is. If in doubt, go Black. Like Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57: "Always bet on black". If you have cracking you can get a tube of tinted filler that matches, though it looks more like scuffs in your case. PS: @lemusa I can't tell from your images which black you have - there are colour balance issues from artificial light. Use your best judgement.

I recommend European Leathercare Colourlock system. https://europeanleathercare.co.nz I have no commercial involvement, am simply a very satisfied customer. Do add 'Elephant Leather Preservative' to your Leather Fresh Repair kit. This contains cleaner, toner (to re-'dye' the damaged leather), and protectant. The Elephant Preservative helps keep the leather supple, a bit like moisturising your skin, only this is non-oily and not greasy. I even use it on my steering wheel. https://www.colourlockleathercare.co.nz/shop-now/product/10-leather-fresh-repair-kit Hope that helps. I

Jeez, when did you become the badge police, Kyu?! ?

August 2017

Get it scanned. Could be a bunch of things, better not to guess.

interesting - I was viewing on laptop (Safari) - no $$.

awesome opportunity for e39 owner. how much are you looking for these bad boys?

I think body-colour mirrors, bumpers, and some foglamps... we just need to set up a paint booth, I'm game for the painting ?

This is Barry's @Autoglym “Mini-Me”. Why Mini-Me? It’s the little version of his fabulous Zinnoberrot e28 ///M535i! See the likeness? Mini-Me: Tuesday 11 August, 2020 e28 ///M535i - August 2017 (unmistakeable likeness) The short story is it’s done ~250k kms, originally from Wangvegas. It was found in a quiet garage, off the beaten track. A very tidy car, feels like the rear seat has barely been sat in. There are the minor dents and dings of a 30+ year old e30. It’s running a very slick M42 installation that's had new rings and bearings, and it idles beautifully and goes well. There's a carefully-built compact header setup that clears the steering and meets with the standard M40 exhaust. Mini-Me currently runs an auto, and has disc rear end from factory. Plans are to tidy it up, perhaps a manual conversion, windscreen, and get it certed. And then enjoy Mini-Me for fun and shows. e30 Mega Meet, here we come! First job: A good go over with Auto Glym and a little elbow grease… Rinse and Bodywork Shampoo to start, with a quick blow-off Auto Glym Clay bar kit, Auto Glym Bodywork Shampoo (briefly), Followed by Auto Glym Super Resin Polish, Auto Glym Clean Wheels, Auto Glym Bumper & Trim Gel, Auto Glym Bumper & Trim Detailer, ... and then finished off with Auto Glym Instant Tyre Shine. Beautiful! You might have guessed, Barry is Mr Auto Glym. Support your fellow Bimmersporter, you can find his products here: https://barrysgarage.co.nz/shop/autoglym-product-categories/ Plans are to tidy it up, perhaps a manual conversion, windscreen, and get it certed. And then enjoy Mini-Me for fun and shows. e30 Mega Meet, here we come! Some upholstery work is being scheduled, and other maintenance items are in the wind. Watch this space!

yep, VANOS seals and stuff done by Auto 38 last year, restored responsiveness and smoothness below 3500rpm, absolutely stoked. Got better over a couple of weeks as the seals bedded in. I reckon the bizarre fuel adaptations idea makes sense, though we didn't look specificially. One of the O2 sensors threw a code, so figured better to replace all four and get it right. Bosch parts.

Here we are a week later. I am stunned at how much smoother my M54B25 is running after the O2 sensor replacement. It starts straight into idle, rather than an initial rev (the ECU, not me)... super-smooth idle.... and smoother through the lower rev-range (I've not been hooning it). Clocked over 195k kms this week. It's a joy to drive.

Nissan EV owners will be understandably concerned. Demure car previously unable to pull the skin off a rice pudding now associated with skid marks.

What's your source for this figure, Dave? All my research indicated 12-13% before Covid hit. There are businesses failing now - plenty of them. Look at all the empty retail stores, engineering businesses closing and plant up for auction. I wonder what the UDC indicator (based on NZTA heavy vehicle rego data) is predicting?

Date: 1 Aug 2020 Distance: 261421kms 1. Rear Brake Refresh This plan had been underway for about a year. Nick sourced the ideal rear trailing arms for a pre-prepped rebuild, and I collected these at e30 Mega Meet last year. What a guy! I ran short on time, and Jon at Auto38 stripped them down for me. They were media blasted, etched, and powder-coated, though this got caught up with Covid-19 lockdown. Shaun at Plateau Sand & Soda Blasting in Upper Hutt is excellent to deal with - recommended. I re-shaped (damage sustained in my boot on the way back), prepped, and painted the disc backing plates with good old Rustoleum (satin this time, to match the powder coating). I stripped and painted the calipers and carrier brackets as with the fronts last year, with VHT Caliper Paint. I plugged the holes/threads with polystyrene packaging noodles as I couldn't find the foam ear plugs! Brake parts painted with VHT Caliper paint, baking above an oil column heater. (paint run evident - the price I paid for rushing the job). Some parts, a few weeks back. New FAG wheel bearings, and new genuine BMW retainers, clips, bolts etc were used. Corteco outer brake hoses (OE), ATE parking brake hardware, Febi parking brake shoes, ATE caliper slider pins. Not Pictured: new slider boots, new caliper pistons, outer brake hoses. With all the parts in stock, Jon built up the new trailing arms during downtime. The project was planned to have the car on the hoist for the least amount of time. The danger in a workshop is for cars to be stuck on a hoist, awaiting parts though preventing other work from moving through! Lemforder rear trailing arm bushes were pressed in. (Photo Credit - Jon Begley) BMW spring pads/bump stops - replacing the thirty year-old items I'd overlooked last time. Eventually the trailing arm assemblies were ready to go, the job was booked into the workshop schedule. Ready to go (photo credit: Jon Begley) I arrived yesterday morning to find Doctor Jon had prepped the surgery ready and was ready to proceed. Surgeons tools organised ready for the operation (photo credit: meeee!) Just think about it. No time wasted on the job, working out which tools are needed. The surgeon knows the procedure, knows exactly what to expect, and which tool is to be used for each step, and prepares ahead of the operation. This is efficiency and professionalism. Jon rebuilt the callipers with new seal kits and pistons. Installation went pretty smoothly, in part due to the pre-build, and that the arms had only been out just over a year ago (for the new bushes). Brake Parts ready for assembly (photo credit: meeee) And when the patient was out of anaesthesia, rear brakes refreshed! Rotors match the front - Zimmermann Z-cote sport rotors, with Hawk Performance HPS pads. We've stuck with the existing axles. Patient in recovery (photo credit: Jon Begley) Verdict? I've only had a short drive home, so far. The pedal is much firmer. It's more like a (relatively) modern hot-hatch, than a thirty year-old tired car. It's better than my old VW A2 GTi 16v. The feel is improved tenfold over how it drove in. I'm looking forward to a longer drive to give the full rotor burn-in, and to get to know it better. I noted the rear suspension seemed a little quieter; I guess this is driving on supple spring pads rather than 30 year old hardened frisbees! Overall, this is another large step forward on my plan to iS replica/tribute. At home, subtlety personified (photo credit: meeee!) As ever, the best independent in the Wellington region for your BMW is Auto38 in Newtown. Big thanks to Nick, Barry, Shaun at Plateau, and Jon at Auto38 for helping realise this part of the dream! Next Steps: Get M42 onto Engine Stand Cluster - tacho Centre console - clock Driver's window - fix in regulator to address wind whistle wheel alignment (last done 259342kms) - it's over a year, and I think it's settled a little. 15" Basketweaves and tyres

If you’re going to criticize Firearms Legislation, or NZP, you should first understand the environment, existing laws and practice. Without this understanding, your opinions are little more than baseless rhetoric recycled from alarmist media.

I’m picking you lack even a rudimentary understanding of Firearms Licensing in New Zealand.