Secniv

There’s a curved recess which the plate sits in so not much room to move.. Prob could remove tabs on surround and reposition but never occurred to me as a problem. All lined up now.

You’ll need to explain that comment?

Idk.. maybe never read my profile haha

Replaced the number plate.. should’ve washed car first and straighten it before taking photo lol

When you say bottom end you mean con-rod bearings right? Sourcing a S54 oil pump and sump may be short supply in NZ I guess but will start looking. Was going to do it myself but outsource wielding. But with bearings I'd probably get an expert involved as I really wouldn't want to screw that up.

Replaced the rear springs with the H&R OE Sports. The 25 year old spring pads were definitely at the end of their usefulness. Released the anti-roll bar hangers in order to allow the lower control arm maximum drop and using a lever easily removed old springs/pads and installed the new. Had planned to replace arb links but was struggling to slide the new one onto the bar (same part numbers). Will get some rubber grease and have another go.. Plan next is to drop the front subframe to install the engine mount reinforcement plates and replace front springs and pads. Thinking while subframe is out I should 1. Have subframe stripped and powder coated. and should I 2. Drop sump and wire the oil pump nut 3. Clean up the sump and install a baffle. I may do only the occasional track day so this maybe overkill. Thoughts and anything else I should consider?

Interestingly Kelvin your old M3 has a lumpy idle around 600-650 when warmed up and no stumble. A bit hard to start when warm if you don't give a pre-start pump of the accelerator. Must check icv when I strike up the nerve to remove intake manifold or do you recall checking icv when you had it?

What reinforcement plates you doing?

Haha yes they do but they are not included with the sale as it took my kids about a year to buy them for me lol

It was a enjoyable and productive weekend with the M3. Wife and I had a nice drive out to Raglan for some beach time and a drink at George’s (Good George APA nice). Love the extra power of the M3 and it’s sweet sounds when the vanos kicks in but still nice and torquey when you’re feeling lazy. Today I did a few detail jobs around the car starting with the gutter trim as it was faded and had polish residue and marks on it. So masked it up.. Rubbed it down with acetone then a couple of light coats of Trim&Bumper followed by a couple of heavier coats. Looks much better The headlights lenses had a lot of stone chips and pitting. So good condition pick-a-part replacements along with a cut and polish was the go. I thought I would have to take the bumper off to get access but no.. remove front intake cover.. Theres 6 metal screws and 2 blind rivets holding it down. Then once removed there are 4 screws holding headlights in, 2 along the top and 1 either side of light and using a socket extension you can get to them. These are also used to align the lights so be sure to hold the larger plastic aligning placeholder when undoing so you don’t lose the alignment. The indicator is just clipped on to the side of the light and using a flathead I levered it back and it just slides off then just turn and pull the bulb holder. The lenses are just held on by 3 clips top and 2 bottom and using the flathead easily detached. Replacement is the reverse. A lot cleaner and according to Realoem interchangeable between models.

Because you asked so nicely just for you

Love your attention to detail and thanks for the ashtray delete/phone holder idea. GLWS and sometimes when chasing dreams figuring out the how can come later

$17,500 Reason for selling I now have a M3 project and time, space and the CFO don’t allow more than one project at a time. Sad but true. I’m hoping someone will carry on this project or at the very least enjoy and look after it. Was originally an auto 320i from Japan imported 1998. Now its a certified M20B28 manual. I started this project 18 months ago to build a Alpina B3. The base coupe was in excellent condition and owned by a local mechanic with an extensive array of vehicles who carried out the M20B25 and manual swap using an 1988 E34 donor. The paint (Diamond Swartz Metallic) is in excellent condition (believe it has been re-sprayed at some stage) and only rust I have found was in the trailing rail in the sunroof and surface rust on battery tray which both have been treated and painted. Some blemishes on roof requiring attention. Note speedo had stopped working and I installed a replacement with similar mileage working cluster. An extensive list of restoration and modifications have been carried out with receipts & photos available (I know should have done a plog). Certified by LVVTA with WOF and rego. RESTORED & MODS DRIVE TRAIN, EXHAUST & ECU M20B25 out of an E34 at 140xxx New timing belt, tensioner, water pump and drive belts (March 2019) Lightened m20 Flywheel Ishihara-Johnson crank scraper Squidsss Stage 1.5 chip M30 AFM Professionally restored 30lb 4 pintle injectors OE Alpina headers with HPC coating 2 1/2 straight pipe exhaust with front resonator and rear muffler with BMW chrome tip Getrag gearbox with new OE Z3 short shift Replacement m20 clutch kit Med case open diff 3.64 with AKG bushing All fluids have been changed (coolant, engine oil, gearbox and diff) STEERING, BRAKNG & SUSPENSION E36 steering rack with Astra steering linkage Willwood 4 pot front callipers and rotors with fast road pads New rotors and pads in the rear incl. handbrake shoes New brake lines front and rear Bilstein Sport shocks and springs front and rear(lowered 20-25mm) with new OE spring pads OE front strut mounts XYZ Camber adjusters front New front CABs New OE front sway bay bushes with Mondeo SW links AKG Rear subframe poly bushes RUFF Eccentric trailing arm bushes RUFF rear shock mounts Whiteline 16mm rear sway bar New OE rear sway bar links and bushes Alignment set-up carried out by Specialist New L&R rear wheel bearings EXTERIOR & INTERIOR Alpina (ex-Germany) Wheels 16” staggered 8” & 7.5” with 205/50 & 225/45 Dunlop Sport Max+ OE Alpina front spoiler OE Alpina steering wheel Fully rebuilt and functioning Air Conditioning (March 2019) New OE bonnet insulation New door glass rubber weather strips New sunroof seal Sports seats in good condition no rips or tears Battery moved to boot using E36 cable Remote locking Electric windows Power mirrors Blaupunkt head unit with AUX In and new R&R speakers PARTS AVAILABLE WITH SALE (not available separately) M52B28 short block - plan was to stroke engine using crank and rods with custom pistons but the engine runs so sweet didn’t have the heart nor the time. Original M20B25 AFM, new intake boot, injectors and chip Replacement dash (3 small cracks but repairable) Secondhand replacement carpet in good condition

It's a great photo angle and I know it was on your list to do ;)

Thanks Ian. You know every time I get in the E30 that steering wheel makes the experience that bit more special

So I replaced all the plugs this morning and engine is running sweet again.. phew. A friend of mine reckons he had a loose washer go through his intake and out the other side with no ill effects. Replaced glovebox as it was sagging and the internal plastic tray had cracked around the catch. Got a pick-a-part box in good working order but cover was coming off. So used the heat gun and scraper to take the old adhesive off. and applying new adhesive using a strong panel glue and glue gun. Viola! Also fitted replacement light as clip on original had broken. Oh and look what turned up

Yes. I guess in the cabin would be ideal particularly if you track.

Did one of the best mods you can make to any car imho. Not only to protect your own investment but I remember, years ago now, a young woman on an Auckland motorway trapped in a burning car and an extinguisher could have saved her life.

The penny dropped last night and the last person to touch the plugs was the mechanic who carried out the compression test. I’ll be contacting them to find out what happened and recovering the cost.

Spark plugs should be good for 30k or more depending on use. Looking at cylinder 5’s plug it is scored on the porcelain suggesting blow-past and no doubt causing the failure imho. All the others were ok although the 2 other that were loose had a soot build up around the threads. I fished around as much as possible with a small magnet and pulled out black soot that was attracted to it but nothing solid. Maybe the prongs have been pounded to pieces and with a new plug this residue should burn-off ?. I believe it is NGK’s PKR7K’s but as you say they appear to be pretty rare so I have ordered another set of Bosch at $40 each (arrive Friday) and will torque them down. I’m just happy it wasn’t the coils at US$110 each plus shipping! Although they look original and I’ll probably have to replace them at some stage. Checked the crush washers with the calipers they all appear uniform in width so idk.

On a positive note the loose light switch was bugging me so swapped it out for a good condition 2nd hand one. Undo one screw underneath and it will pop out. Switch action is now tight and positive! For $10 easy win.

Hey Mark M3 handled really well although coming back via the east cost between Wairoa and Gisborne the road is in terrible condition! Drives differently to the E30 and not as forgiving with poor driver input. Obviously your never too old to learn something lol. Started missing around Gisborne and progressively got worse. Thankfully I made home but was sounding pretty rough. Was thinking it was a coil and did the test unplugging the leads listening to the change in sound. Located it to cylinder 5 then swapped coils over and it stayed with 5 so obviously a spark plug. So went to take it out and it wasn’t in tight! Took it out to find.. yup missing it’s prongs! Not sure what to do. I could try and putting a small magnet down into the cylinder while it’s at tdc and see if there’s anything to fish out. Will be replacing all the spark plugs for sure and torquing them down.

I was thinking RC 041

I was thinking you must have done it recently caused it wasn’t too bad! I do like the BBS’s but heck some caraaazzzyy prices

Been a productive day. Fitted the Billy’s. Had to loosen off the strut mounts to feed the shock through and to get the right angle for lower bolt (making sure to use the washer provided with the bolt). I’ve read good things about the Koni’s but having Bilstein struts up front and having them on the E30 I enjoy the handling they provide although one part of a bigger equation I know. I’m driving to the Hawke’s Bay tomorrow so will be interesting to feel the difference as I noticed a wallowing in the rear with old original shocks. Given the mileage I have also ordered some springs, pads and sway bar links. Researched H&R vs Eibach vs Kings. I wanted to keep a similar OE ride height and suspension compliance because I love our back roads so went with the H&R OE Sport Springs over the Eibach as I don’t believe there’s a lot in it. Found this link really helpful http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=261562 Also the H&R were substantially cheaper than Eibach plus FCP Euro shipping costs was half the others. Tried 4 different locally suppliers but both H&R nor Eibach are OOS! Finished the day with a wash, clay bar, polish and detailing. i think the polished style 24’s are growing on me ??