BozzaFC

I’ve been using Peter from All European Service for my E36 since Jon left Wellington. Really good service - no complaints.

Nice work @adro! Hope life is going well for you

Stunning car Pete. GLWS!

Nice car! Welcome

Love reading your work, Stu (as always).

165,823 kms. Finished off the annual clean by cleaning and conditioning the leather and thoroughly wiping and vacuuming the interior. She is properly clean now! After spending over seven hours cleaning the E36 I spent about five minutes cleaning myself. That must mean I’ve got my priorities right! Also noticed it’d been 5,000kms since the last oil change, so did a quick oil & filter change this afternoon. Something about having a clean car with a fresh oil change feels so good. Reset the service light and ready to roll. And to top it all off, I finally replaced the most annoying thing on the car - an upside down M sticker! This was embarrassingly satisfying. Before: After:

I was planning on it but have since organised a holiday to Europe! Looks like a fun trip though - hopefully I can tag along next time.

165,820 kms. After getting sick of being hit in the head everytime I had the bonnet up, I installed new bonnet struts over the weekend. What a difference! Such a cheap upgrade. I also got time to do the annual detail of the E36. Wash, clay bar, wash again, polish and sealant using Autoglym products. Montreal Blue really is stunning when clean. It always surprises me how different it looks in different lights too:

I also replaced the broken driver’s side rear quarter window with one of @M3AN’s spares. Now all of the window seals are looking fresh and watertight 👍. But it’s never plain sailing with these cars - when I was driving home to Whanganui for Christmas, the air duct / belly pan under the engine decided it didn’t like the E36 any more and fell off. Given these aren’t visible and are ~$200 new, does anyone have advice for where to find a nice used belly pan?

165,360 kms. Transformed the front end with two new Michelin PS5 tyres. The level of grip on these things is immense! Will upgrade the rears post suspension refresh. Replaced the faulty passenger door lock actuator. A frustrating but deeply satisfying upgrade! IMG_5944.MOV

Cheers Dave - think I'll hold out for one in better condition

Nice! Where’d you go camping? On Boxing Day I passed a very similar E36 over the Saddle Road in the Manawatu. We gave each other the obligatory wave of appreciation.

Hi everyone I'm after an air duct / belly pan for an E36 coupe (PN: 51712250643). Cheers! Boston

163,217 kms. Long-time no post! I’m still loving the little E36. It has been so good to me and puts a smile on my face every time I thrash drive it. Living in Kelburn and working / studying in the CBD means that I rarely have a reason to take it out of the garage (except for the weekly grocery shop), but I often find myself driving it just for the sake of it. Updates since last time Replaced the original perished windscreen cowl / cracked windscreen / old wiper blades Before After Replaced broken fog light bracket (absolute pain to change!) and fog light bulbs Dent Magician removed a couple minor door dings (ding free now) Brake upgrade – installed E46 330i front brakes and 328i rear brakes / new brake pads / new rotors / rebuilt calipers / fresh brake fluid Basic maintenance (Oil changes, filters etc) Couple WOFs, including the obligatory “she’s pretty tidy” as the inspector hands back my keys Fixed squeaky seat and steering wheel Replaced rubber gaskets around both rear quarter windows. [Until I screwed up the driver's side when I was reinstalling the window – I over-tightened the b-pillar bolt and snapped it in half. Unfortunately, the window is designed so that the bolt is glued to the glass. I think the best step forward is to find a replacement rear quarter glass. Any ideas?] Regular cleaning, finishing with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection Multiple road trips, from Waihau Bay over the summer break to a recent trip with the BMW Club to Castlepoint, without any issues. Surprisingly, it hasn’t used a single drop of oil in my ownership and doesn’t leave any puddles in my garage (in stark contrast to my previous E39 540i) Chocolate Fish with the BMW Club (photo credit to @TermiPeteNZ) (Photo credit to @adro) Castlepoint with the BMW Club Southward Car Musem Coffee and Cars Summer road trip to Waihau Bay Featured in the BMW Club Dixi magazine Me, an amateur model (photo credit to @Olaf) Been naughty To do (short – medium term) Fix small power steering leak Replace bonnet struts (I discovered this was an issue when replacing the windscreen cowl) Suspension refresh – I have a Vogtland suspension kit (front / rear springs and shocks) for the car, but I want to do a more comprehensive refresh at the same time. I would like some advice. I've been looking at the kits on FCP Euro (such as: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-control-arm-kit-8-piece-e36-e36cakit8l; https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-control-arm-bushing-kit-lemforder-33306852895kt; https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-sway-bar-bushing-kit-lemforder-33551138104kt). What are your thoughts? I'm happy to be educated. The aim is to freshen the suspension to OE spec, with a "do it once, do it right" attitude New front tyres Fix the slight squeak when cold – suspect belt needs replacement Replace the passenger door actuator so that it locks / unlocks on its own (and I don't have to, embarrassingly, lean over and open the door for my passenger, asking them to excuse it as "an old girl" ) – I have the new actuator but have been procrastinating To do (longer term) Manual swap Rebuild and install purple tag steering rack Repaint front bumper Replace scraped front spoiler Paint correction.

Spotted a few months back in Christchurch

That's a stunning E46

🤤🤤🤤

I remember it being on the market for a long time for a ridiculous (about $20k?) price. The previous owner obviously spent way too much on the paint job / conversion, realised it needed the same amount again in mechanical work, and tried to recoup his losses. I wouldn’t touch it, personally.

I know someone with a manual Z3 @str8_6

Welcome Tom! What are you driving?

There won’t be many around in that condition. GLWS!

Got an oil reset tool off @viskop tonight. Super nice guy and great to deal with (even if he does drive a Golf 😉)

The E36 definitely hits some good ‘90s nostalgia points! I haven’t needed a mechanic since Auto38 closed, but others @Olaf @TermiPeteNZ @str8_6 @treone may be able to chip in 😁

The 540i was such a fun drive. The V8 roar was addictive. I'll own another V8 one day. I actually have a different BMW now. I did use Auto38 (they were great), but it unfortunately no longer exists. Some other Wellington members will be able to give some good mechanic recommendations. Can't wait to see your thread (and pics)!

Unfortunately, the damage was more than superficial. It didn''t take much for the repair estimate to exceed its $4.5k insurance valuation . $4.5k is a steal for a tidy manual V6 156 nowadays!