Olaf

Yeah I think that’s extrapolating it a bit far. I’m certain BMW are not seeking to compromise on the quality of driving or ownership experience of their brand by building econoboxes. Building FWD cars does not by definition place them in econobox territory, or have I misinterpreted your post? They will certainly build cars for the market they expect to buy them. The X2, and the 2 series ‘Active Touring’ are good examples of this. Are they econoboxes? Avert your eyes if you must; (it’s true, I can barely look at them for their ugliness), Mercedes is making a good show of it with their strange hatchbacky A-wotsit these days, without compromising their brand. Hey, they’re even picking up Subaru fanbois as they climb into grown-up-hood! ? The company will always change to survive; sometimes the change causes consternation with the brand loyalists. You should read Naim Audio loyalists sweating the small stuff over the company’s evolution to remain relevant, successful, and growing. Sadly many of us (Naimees, I’m one) miss that we’re a very small niche group amongst a large market, as Dave rightly points out above.

Watching Red Dwarf (Blu Ray) with my son. He digs it. Started all the way back from S1 E1 (The End).

holy crap that's a serious drone. do you shoot video commercially?

Dude, I've got a pair as well. For that 'belt and braces' thing, you can borrow mine and have them at 90 degrees. Nice work on the shocks etc!

why not Koni Yellows, as a matter of interest?

Welcome, Greg! Show us your sharkey!

It's a niche item, and I agree Jon, it'll be really cool when it's finished. It could do with the rear screen treatment and M3 bootlid, for balance. For the nay-sayers, if you can find a good straight 2 door slick-top coupe, and build it to this standard of panel/paint and decals for $10-11k or less, you're laughing. Me, I'd be happy with the turn-key racer; IMHO in most cases a cage to modern standards would surely be safer? And besides, with my lack of experience, turning up at the track with a realy flash car that looked like a famous M3 would draw attention I just don't need ?.

There's no coincidence, Nick. You realise that you were instructed to build a shed, because next time you have an oily parts boil-up on the stove, you'll be sleeping in there?! ?

Jeez I'd love a garage. Keep the posts coming, Nick! Great journey!

you might find you make some money on your coupe when you leave, eh? I guess you're on the tail-end of your time there, starting to make plans for what's going into your sea freight etc. I still have a ladder and jumper leads I bought in similar circumstances... ? Happy shopping!

You need access to a press in order to press the bush out/in to the collar. the Meyle HD are good, I got about 70k km’s out of last set. Hint: Order MeyleHD endlinks at same time. If your FCABs are toast, your endlinks will probably be close behind (as mine now are). I do em in pairs.

"a car fit for mermaids" "Comes with a Kraken recommendation". These Mercedes owners... https://trademe.nz/motors/cars/mercedes-benz/e-350/listing/2042566285

Can you do this? I had no idea! I need to get some ARB's down from Auckland to Welly. They need to be packaged I guess?

Thanks, and yes, I no longer use that workshop. I don't know what specifically was damaged, but it wasn't for want of me asking them to investigate it over the previous 21 months.

I agree, a rack should not be defective at 170k kms. However, I've no issue with Autosure as they've looked after me very well previously. The key thing here was the rust; I guess the rust indicated a seal failure, water savaging the grease and contributing to some major wear. It was a bummer, but I can live with that. This time. And as @TermiPeteNZ has pointed out, it's an exclusion under my Extreme policy that they can reasonably play.

Wow that’s stunning cheap.

Riding in a Smurf. Would that be Smurfette, or... some other Smurf you’re thinking of?! ??

1 May 2019. 173665kms 1. Fuel Filler Cap: replaced. The fuel filler cap seal was badly cracked. And (as mentioned in my initial posts on this thread more than two years ago), was missing it’s leash. I’d experienced a ‘lockout’ recently on my e46 (same cap), where I was unable to open the cap to fuel up, and needed to resort to soaking with penetrant to ease the seal. So I sourced two OE replacements (one for each car). I couldn’t see the value in Genuine BMW for this, was happy with OE product. It’s a three minute job to replace the cap. Seal not available as a separate part (referring to RealOEM). From this... ... to this Job’s a good ‘un.

Very impressive performance, Glenn. Looks as though those doors will still open, too. Do you have long to wait for the new replacement? I trust you've had a straightforward ride with your insurers. "there I was, minding me own business, like, ...'"

wow. We'll need to keep an eye out!

@hunter try these guys: http://www.lemansautofabrics.co.nz/fabric-bmw.html Hope that helps.

use the field of dreams theory. buy them, and the right car will come.

26 April 2019. 173xxxkms 1. Active Steering Rack: replaced.Jon at Auto38 had done the diagnosis and analysis. My old rack was clunking. Jon had pulled back the rack boots and found rusty grease, and significant wear in the rack teeth. Sadly wear is not covered by my Autosure MBA. So we were onto repair options. Sounds easy, right? Just get another good rack, and swap it in. The Active Steering Rack is a big-ticket item, with a bunch of sensors all over it. And it's a bit of a sh*t to fit, by all accounts. Being so large, subframe comes down a long way. A new one from BMW is not an option for me. That would ruin my Christmas. So good used options were sought on my behalf. Jon & Keren sourced a suitable rack, Jon pulled the old rack and swapped over all of my existing electronics to the new (used) rack, and installed/initialised/calibrated in the car. An alignment to top it off. [“nice rack!” Said nobody last week in a spectacular Newtown workshop. My well-worn rack, along with the ancillaries from the new (used) rack.] It's great to have the beast back, and it's steering nicely. Smoother than before. And after a couple of weeks away from the 545i (it was Easter and ANZAC, and I wasn't in a hurry), I'm reminded of why I like this car so much. It's very talented, and does it all. As ever, I'm very pleased with Auto38's service and professionalism. I'm sure you will be too, if you take your car there.

All of it. Please don't think 'I'm not breaking new ground here, it's been done before'... Your style is informative and entertaining; leave nothing out.

I have three sets of wheels in my workshop. Don't ask me why/how. Thinking about it, it's just as well I don't claim to be a wheel whore. If I did, I'd need to just buy these. Can't beleive they've not sold. They're beautiful, they're perfect, they're rare... and they're available! Buy them now!