Olaf

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.

But we’re not “all in this together”, are we? Are our politicians (note I didn’t say Government) really impacted by their decisions? They’re not going to lose their jobs or their homes, or their businesses; some are even having trouble actually making a pay cut that they promised! Odd really, there are many govt systems efficiently operating to remove income from a paycheque...

Need to get on with protecting the vulnerable and at-risk; get a decent pandemic response plan in place (eg Taiwan); get on with managing this rather than valiantly trying to eradicate it. And punish those being f@#king idiots or flouting rules/spreading disease. Most Australian states (as they’re able to do their own thing) aren’t doing eradication. So by extrapolation, we’ll never have an open border with Australia under the new edict ‘we won’t open our borders to any country that hasn’t been case-free for 28 days’. We led the world in free-falling our economy in 1987 with our stock market collapse after a tumble that the rest of the world recovered from in a couple of months. NZ took more than 5 years, and entire fortunes - public, private, corporate - were wiped out. Nobody noticed outside of NZ - the rest of the world re-started their party. That’ll happen again shortly; everyone will soon forget our ‘world leader’ status as quickly as it was gained, and we’ll be standing on the sidelines wondering how we got this so wrong while our pockets and bank accounts are empty and the economy is crushed. Don’t mention the debt. /rant

It's looking mighty fine, CJ! What should my budget be if I'm planning on tinting mine (+/- $50)? And how dark are yours? PS - wow, your ARB bushes datestamped 1989 - never changed previously!

not always. Sometimes one rocks in, asks for price on 20l: "$148, sir". OK, I'll take two.

Dave, I just buy in 20l lots when the sales are on, it should get you ~$8/l for Penrite HPR5.

Sorry, no pics... sweet e30 FL coupe Jville BP last night Gletscherblau Metallic, with plate 'ANALOG'. Turns out it's a sister vehicle to mine - 316i 1990. Anyone on here?

they all seem to have gone AWOL. mdecoder gave me the same issue. I suspect that's the API info from BMW being passed back through their web server.

thanks @turbolizard Mike! EDIT/UPDATE: Very kindly loaned a bellhousing bolt by Jon @ Auto38. For the princely sum of seven bucks, I've bought 4 M12x90 hex-head bolts, and a dozen M12x28x3.0 Flat Washers, to accommodate the 65mm engine stand bracket depth. Wish us luck!

Well, we bought an engine stand and assembled it... and with the help of the neighbours, we've manhandled the future heart of Grey Thunder down to floor. Now I need the right sized bolts to connect the engine stand to the bell-housing bolts. Anyone know what size and thread they are?

And then.... hmmmm.... I’d better buy an engine stand! A big shout to Josh & his brother, and Barry, thanks lads!

What about a dazzle ship camo scheme of stahlgrau and silbergrau? It'll be extra-stealthy! Seriously though, the stahlgrau does seem to have the edge. For the left side dent under the hofmeister kink, as you've still a ways to go - how about the old-school slide hammer? Drill hole(s), screw hammer tip in, gently pull out. It's coming along brilliantly, keep up the great work! Patience, time, and attention to detail. Nice one!

@tire thanks Max, very kind!

Date: 5 Aug 2020 Distance: 261313kms 1. WoF. Grey Thunder flew through the WoF check today. "drives really nicely eh!". Tyres wearing evenly - 6mm all around. No advisories, clean bill of health. Happy days! Missed my customary photograph. Next (immediate) steps: Cluster - tacho Centre console - clock Driver's window - fix in regulator to address wind whistle Rear brake refresh ... and keep collecting/cleaning M42 parts in preparation. Edit: oh hang on: 2. Interior changes (last week) From this to this in just five minutes. Well, ten if you count re-doing it the next day - my steering hadn't been spot-on straight in the garage.

you mean in NZ? e30 Coupes, Sedans, Tourings all go in the series. e46 is more stringent.

On Saturday, I washed our e46 Touring. Shiny Shiny. After Auto Glym suds, and a do-off with Rapid Dry Towel. I also replaced the washer pump. Only it wasn't the pump, it was the filter that was completely snotted-up. There's more snot in the tank to deal with; I didn't have the tools to clean it. I rinsed it out, put the old pump back in and got it all going. Note to self: Using BMW Screen Wash exclusively since the pump was changed about 4 years ago was not the path to happiness I was assured of. Old pump out - temporarily, as it turns out. Same VDO/Continental part replaced. Just a 10mm socket and a couple of electrical connectors and a hose, easy removal. De-snotted pump inlet filter/grommet detail shot e46's strike the pose Today the e46 received it's rear O2 sensors, at Auto38 in Wellington. The fronts had been replaced approx six weeks ago; the rears deferred until manifold to front pipe gaskets, bolts, and nuts were available. It was a shitty job, exhaust off, and Jon had the oxy-acetylene set on the bolts to remove them. End result, car runs even smoother, at almost 195k kms. Still loving this car after 8 years and 3 months.

DIN75 is generally longer and will have a greater capacity. Maybe some extra CCA. Did your mechanic code the new battery in, including type and capacity and date?

Outstanding! Looking forward to the next encounter. Good looking alignment sheet, too. Buying backdrops, eh? ?