Olaf

Excellent idea! I'll see what I can do. I had a near miss last visit to pick-a-part involving wind, a bootlid (sans struts), and my fingers; the bruising subsided after 3 weeks. Nearly prevented me from earning my livelihood, and I re-assessed some of the stuff I do. I'll have a look after I've sorted the wheels.

Yeah I like it and all, but that cabbage tree mural on the side is a bit much for me, eh? ?

I found the cup brush on a small grinder fast. Much faster than a brush on a wire drill. Yes, it's a bit more brutal... but it gets you on to cleaning and masking sooner.

Thanks @Neal, very helpful. I'm thinking I'll start active in the rear (two way premium speakers). I'll make power distribution provision for the second amp for the fronts, add that later. Where would you put a front amp in an e30 - under the passenger seat? (13.5"L 10"W 2.4"H). Head unit - I've decided to keep it simple and start with a modern mechless. Yes it's not period correct; my TDK-SA and AD will have to wait a little longer. Modding a period unit can wait until after I've got speakers and amps sorted. The benefit of the Kenwood KMM-BT305 is it has 3 sets of 4 volt pre-outs, built-in time attenuation and equalisation, and all sorts of setup features. Handsfree, bluetooth, plays WAV, FLAC, Spotify... and all for under a ton! Thanks for the link to T-Spec, looks like well-made stuff. I'm now learning that all 4ga cables are not born equal. Thanks also for the offer of help with a sub box design. I'll bank that, get started with the Fusion and go from there. Big battery and 'big three' noted, looks like I'll get that underway. Now, question is how easy is it to relocate battery to the rear? Oh, here it is... https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/Battery_In_Boot I guess I might as well do that as run custom cables from front to back for amps. Has anyone got an e36 kit to sell me (see link)?

yes indeedy. Hopefully the rest of the flock down here will realise there's something smelly in Welly, and it's time to clean house. Still, they did vote in the last one twice ? so we can't expect too much.

you're lucky. In Wellington we've been f#%ked. Our Mayor is pushing political party politics ahead of the ratepayers, briefing councillors and then denying any such briefings happened. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12255888 https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/julie-anne-genter-denies-claim-greens-used-leverage-over-let-s-get-wellington-moving.html https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114795409/ombudsman-to-investigate-julie-anne-genters-refusal-to-release-letter-to-transport-minister-phil-twyford https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/08/the_truth_emerges.html/comment-page-1

Even better, your district councilors are just supporting whatever the coalition transport ministers deny they’ve ever instructed the mayor with doing. And they’re denying they had conversations with councilors, or received direction from government. Oh, and for good measure, screw the official information act you serfs, and while you’re at it here’s a double helping of my ten years of roading delays to keep your bellies full. It’s cheaper than cake. David Copperfield doesn’t have slight of hand like this.

@EUROLESS Which power plant is it?

they're super-awesome. I'd buy them if they weren't the wrong colour for my car. Lovely work.

very tempted

it's amazing to think that this could have shared a showroom floor with e30's eh?! ?

@zero Nathan, my concern is 'which are the decent ones', 'I'll need to replace 30-year old capacitors', and 'they seem bloody expensive for what they are on Trade Me'. @slideways Chris, hmmm C43 is pretty much unobtanium yeah? They're from the e36? Thanks, yeah I'm enjoying it too. @Neal what do you reckon of my rag-tag 'plan'? Is my thinking flawed? I'm now thinking my way through power distribution and cable runs...

it's pretty damned cool!

I think these are my amps (as in, this is what I'll get). My Scots heritage at play! https://www.planetaudio.com/product/car-audio-sound-system-auto-4-channel-amplifier-planet-audio-ac1600-4/ Plenty of crossover adjustability, yesterday. The subwoofer is a Fusion 10" driver Bass Tube EN-AT1100.

"confused of Wellington" ?

it's pretty damned cool, @Gaz.

yes, some 4cyl had 51mm struts from factory.

Yes, I agree. I like the sound of cassette; a great source (like a Linn LP12), recorded well (with say a Nakamichi cassette deck) sounds great. There's a bit of nostalgia there too. Though I agree, it's all a bit of a faff when one can just drag files from one's NAS onto a memory stick and play them back on a modern head unit. I think the modern head unit is probably the go. You get handsfree phone integration and all that malarkey, too. Modern Amps eclipse the old stuff, cleaner, and they're cheaper too. According to folks whose ears I trust. I'll only go with Focal front speakers if I can't get my hands on factory tweeter sails for the front doors. Wonder if I need to put in a little Dynamat in the rear parcel shelf? The guy who wrote the thread in my earlier article reckoned factory wiring is the go. As I'm probably going aftermarket, I guess I'll need a couple of kits. I'll need to find out what sort of paint to use for the back parcel shelf, and get some vinyl dye to repaint the rear speakers. I think this could take shape pretty quickly. At least, after the wheels are done. Perhaps I should relocate the battery to the boot; get an e46 touring battery cable to sort that. Aparrently they're the go for e30's, a little more length, and more plentiful.

@eliongater could this be the power plant your e28 has been longing for?!

Wow. That’s great buying. Trying to think of who else has 4cyl e30...

@Autoglym

HiFi thinking. Head unit: Existing Blaupunkt is basic, past it's best-by date. The backlight is broken, the polarising filter on the front is adrift, and the cassette deck is stuffed (suspect stretched belts). Speakers: Standard factory front and rear speakers. What I want to achieve: - decent fidelity. Not super-boom, not 'shimmering highs', not SPLs. I like fast, tight, tuneful bass. - prefer cassettes (I still have a couple of Nakamichi decks, and am happy to record from CD and Vinyl). - relatively inexpensive. I don't want thousands tied up in in-car audio. So I've got to keep it real. - should probably get a modern mechless stereo, with bluetooth integration etc. It would have to have red/amber lighting and not look garish and out of place in my e30. New world: I read a loooooot of this thread. The guy certainly knew e30 audio! I'm not up for building my own sub yet, it's all down to time, and weight. And I already have the Fusion (thanks Barry!). Rear Speakers: I have Premium hifi speakers for the rear. These are said to be 'the bomb', essentially. Front Speakers: I need (either) BMW tweeters for the front doors to work with the existing speakers, or (if I have to) a pair of Focal ISU130 (components) or a pair of Focal tweeter to integrate with the factory speakers. Amps: I like Neal's idea of using a modern 4 channel amp for front, using the crossover functions. And I'd use a 4 or 5 channel amp for the rear. Sub: I have a sub, which is an unknown quantity. I'll see if I can modify the Fusion bass tube to be fast and tuneful, with a little bass reinforcement rather than doof-doof. I really don't want a disco in my car. Just enough to follow John Taylor's basslines when I'm reliving the 80's with Duran Duran's eponymous album, or Dave Allen when I'm listening to Shriekback. You get the idea. The amps I'm thinking of are said to be good value for money, and sound reasonable too. Planet Audio AC1800.5 and or Planet Audio AC1600.4 will come in cheap enough (I'm not so serious for JL Audio). So then I get to... oh, so if you do a quality install of this kit (as you'd expect, I'm a former telecommunications tech) and ensure it's well cabled, there's attention to detail, and it's reliable... have I made a "mullet" car audio system for an old BMW Cassette head unit? Should I use something like a Kenwood KMM-BT305, as it has three pairs of RCA-outs, and inbuilt equalisation and all that fun fruity stuff? What are your thoughts?

Well that went by quickly! I renewed the insurance yesterday. Has it really been a year since Andy and I went up to the Krazy, Kool, Kapiti Coast to check out this 'almost barn-find e30 316i'? I was reflecting on how it drove back then, when I was driving it last Sunday. I came back from the market with my fresh fish and veges to find some thirty-something women admiring the car. I just smiled. I think it's nearly time I got a valuation and upped the insurance. I politely declined the insurer's suggestion that the value had dropped $450 over the last year, and instead maintained the value originally insured at. I figured it wasn't worth trying to up it on the phone, and that a valuation would be most efficient. So, "happy anniversary Grey Thunder". Here's to the next year, and figuring out the items on the list above!

I went looking, after reading your post. Very interesting! https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator Made me feel better about our dwelling, having purchased in 1997 for what seemed like a king's ransom at the time.