Cammsport

Never been the biggest fan of these over fender kits but the Live To Offend one is nice! If I had a beat up E30 and a spare $9k I would think about it. 

The day of reckoning. Went to the certifier knowing it wouldn't pass due to the correct front springs not showing up in time (I now have a deep hatred for NZ Couriers ?). Couple of left field faults but no real show stoppers. Speedo will require some research, not too sure how tough that'll be. Exhaust wrap to save the steering UJ is easy enough. MAF bracket is something that's always needed doing but haven't pulled the trigger on a subtle enough CAI design yet. Spring pre-load, droop, perches touching tyres and NDT are already sussed. Him wanting to see the groove around the circumference of the splined shaft of the steering rack is an absolute PIA, but who am I to argue. Overall, not the worst result. Passed with just the one driveshaft hoop and he wasn't concerned with the z3 rack retrofit. 

4 hours ago, qube said:

had a quick look on trademe to see if there are any tidy e30 coupes for sale.

there is none except for one that is listed for $13k which is wildly overpriced

$13k might be reasonable at the moment if it ticked alot of boxes.

18 hours ago, zero said:

Will fitting small spacers fix your tyre rub problem? 

Yip but I shouldn't have to/don't want to run spacers as that'll be permanently on the cert plate. 

21 hours ago, Olaf said:

“Show me the rule.  Show me the legislation”.

The problem is his interpretation of the rules. 

@andrewm this is exactly what I explained to him. I said a cert is not required as the line is one piece and can't be pulled apart. He countered with "rules are rules and any modification to the brakes needs to be certified." I said there hasn't been a modification. We went round in circles and in the end I left it. Certifier will know what's up. Hopefully. 

Got around to dropping the E30 off at the local mechanics for a wheel alignment and WOF, pre-certification. Was expecting it to be pulled up for something, but not this stuff. The guy was notably a lot more thorough than normal with our other cars (not complaining). Biggest problem is the new XYZ struts fouling on the front tyres. The perches and springs are touching the tyres which is very odd considering the tyres are OEM spec (205/55/15) along with the basket weaves (15”x7” et24). I followed the install booklet for spring height also as the book states that ideally the spring should compress by 1/3^rd when on the ground. Best outcome will be the supplier providing shorter springs that maintain the nice feel of the current spring rate and hopefully come to the party and pay for the front tyres to be replaced. Doubt the latter will happen to be honest. Next on the list to fix will be the headlight aim although this may be tough without the gadgetry. WOF guy wasn’t keen to adjust as he was afraid he’d break the brittle plastic adjusters. Something I’ll have to figure out. Sway bar bushes, wiper blades, loose bolt and boot clamps are all easy fixes and oversight by me. The leak on the new Z3 rack is hopefully a banjo bolt that just needs a nip up, fingers crossed its not coming from the rack body.

A soon as the strut headache is sussed, off to the certifier!!

Interesting glimpse into the past at the prices of E30s. Car in question is a pov spec, manual 316i, bronzit facelift coupe that had 80,000kms on the clock 

@BMTHUG what was the amount you had it insured for? More or less than what you got paid out? 

G240 came on early 4 cyl E36s too

All those engines will fit in quite easily. The G240  bell housing had different shapes depending on the year I think but yours should be fine. My 240 bolted up to my M52 nicely. People say they're a weaker box, but I have no complaints. It's put up with some death. 

I bought mine from euroturbo.nz along with the driveshaft hoops. From memory it was $150. Didn't realise BMW still sold them.

Sneaky trip out to grab fish n chips.

Need to get an alignment report for the cert guy done soon. Anyone know anyone that's not overpriced in Auckland to do the alignment? I get nervous when random shops jack the car up ?

Nice price! Good luck with the coupe ?

Can I be nosey and ask what for? Just to keep tabs on the actual E30 market. Anything on the radar replacing it?

Not a huge update, but it's the little things that count I reckon. Pulled out the old windshield washer system as it leaked and was also blocked up. I soaked the nozzles in white vinegar and replaced the check valve (61661374978) and hose (N203011-5) with new oem replacements. 

Success, the jets sprayed perfectly onto the windshield. Probably the only car in our fleet that I can say that about. 

Then went on to replace the front valance blank with the 325i oil cooler vent (51711953609) from FCP Euro. While I was down down there I put in some new lip clips (51711979334 for white ones) to get the IS lip on properly. Also removed the AliExpress fogs as they were shite and fitted the OEM colour coded blanks.

Good pick up Olaf, you're right. You can see the LSD tag and ratio there with the 's'. 

Believe it or not that's the original underseal. Just gave it some elbow grease and used some of the Chemical Guys multipurpose spray cleaner. Used a stiff brush, tooth brushes and rags. Took awhile but it's good piece of mind knowing that underneath the guard liners hasn't rusted out. 

The hunt for a garage was a long one, but we found what we (i) were after in the end! We bought a place with ample driveway space for oil spills and a two car garage.

Here new house stuff took over and the car was AGAIN put on the back burner. So it sat while I ordered parts online and procrastinated as much as i could with laundry and garden renos.

I finally got my act together when more and more parts were arriving and decided I needed to make a move. I ordered some XYZ adjustable height/dampening coil overs as I wanted to finally get rid of the shame of having cut springs. While the suspension was out, I seized the opportunity to clean out the wheel wells and hunt for some rust. Luckily I was clear in the rust department, 30 years of road crap was a different story.

Pictures of the XYZ suspension for anyone that interested... SpeedFactor in Tauranga can get the welding and crack testing done for a reasonable price. Bloody good to deal with too.

While It was up on axle stands I also gave the brakes a bit of a freshen up. Being a 316i, it had originally had drums on the rear with smaller 45m struts up front and the smaller disks. I swapped over the rear trailing arms from a 325i coupe to take advantage of the disc brake rear. Squeezed in some new bushings while I was there.

Fitting the new trailing arms wasn't the nicest job as the access to the forward fulcrum bolts have limited access. When It was all said and done, it was worth it. The freshly painted callipers looked mint and the braided brake lines with new oil would improve the stoggy brake feel.

I was on the hunt for a LSD/diff combo as the increase in power from the trusty M52 was constantly spinning the inside wheel as well as the current ratio making 1st gear pointless. Unfortunately everyone else with an E30 must feel the same as they're very hard to come by (I blame the race series!!). Found one on TradeMe after a long search and got round to fitting that. I went from 3.46 to 4.27 and it drives alot nicer.

Almost caught up to present day! That'll make updates much easier.

The alloy under the paint on that wheel is corroding. Which suggests poor paint prep. I assume that's why they suggested sandblasting as this is the best way to remove corrosion without removing too much metal like sanding. 

I had a skyline 300gt and would not recommend it. Classic 6 cyl problems with bleeding the coolant/overheating. Failing coils due to heat etc. 

I reckon Accord Euro is the ticket. Cheap parts, still look fairly modern, Honda reliability, safe, economical etc. My 2c.

Thanks! And yea, sure thing. Feel free to also ask here if you'd like. Others may be thinking along the same lines as you. Just try to keep all your questions in one post to keep it tidy ??

https://www.trademe.co.nz/2192497907

I think there was a post here a couple years ago on fitting e38 brakes. Those are my calipers just for full transparency. 

Anyone have a hub bearing puller set I could borrow? Need to pull the front and rear hubs from an E46. I've purchased a set but won't be here soon and I need it for Monday ?

Located Auckland 

Wee spoiler until I write the next chapter (flash forward to June '19). BBS RC090 17"x8" et20 with polished barrels. Playing with ideas at the moment. Not yet 5x120 as I'm still deciding what to do.

Very tidy man. Nice work. 

@Olaf I'm half convinced I need to 5 lug swap to get the wheels I want, so the 15" weaves will probably be for sale sometime this year.