BozzaFC

For sure. That’s definitely a long term goal for this car 

152,300 kms. 

Both front wheel bearings replaced and new fuel filter installed last week. Thankfully this has eliminated the whining noise I had coming from the front of the car when cornering at speed. She’s much quieter. Bliss.

Replaced the banged up standard plates with some euro plates too. Love how it looks now.

Looking awesome! Love your work

Hey Ben, unfortunately not. I have something I need to be in Wellington for on the Saturday ☹️

152,186 kms.

Upon returning to Wellington she was due for a WOF. Took her to VTNZ and she passed with a clean sheet. Then, into Auto 38 for new belts and all new pulleys as they were all pretty old anyway. The thermostat housing also had a slow leak, so that too was replaced. Going back in this week for new front wheel bearings. 

Took it to the Brit and Euro Car Show last weekend. A really cool day with an awesome selection of cars. Will definitely be attending again. [On the way to the show I found myself next to a souped-up classic Mini with a roll cage and violently loud exhaust at a red light. It brought me great joy to put it in my rear view mirror ;)] 

151,500 kms.

After over 5,000 kms and a couple months, the car was due for a wash. To thank it for all its hard work, I spent a few days detailing it. Pretty happy with how it came out, considering I'm a novice detailer and used just my hands.

Before:

After:

For this I used mostly Autoglym products: shampoo, clay bar, polish, ceramic coating. And plenty of elbow grease and man hours. A Karcher carpet cleaner for the carpets, and some leather cleaner and conditioner on the seats and steering wheel.

At the same time I refreshed the cabin and air filters, and boot struts.

I had no idea changing a cabin filter could be so difficult. For anyone who hasn't done one of these on an E36, the cabin filter lives under the steering wheel, and requires breaking in two locations just to fit it in place. The instructions I followed said this was a 15 minute job - I lost count once it got to an hour. 

146,139 kms.

When I got the car it was due for an oil change. I got Auto 38 to give it a good going over:

• oil and filter change
• coolant change (genuine BMW)
• brake fluid
• power steering fluid
• fix an issue with the aftermarket alarm (turned out to be just a blown fuse)

Little did the E36 know, that after doing less than 3000kms over the past year, it would be doing nearly double that over the next couple months.

My girlfriend and I went to Hawke's Bay to work over summer. Over the summer, we did two trips to Auckland, a trip back to Wellington, a trip to Whanganui, and plenty of cruising around Hawke's Bay. During those trips, the car did not use a drop of oil, nor did it even stutter. The only issues it developed was a noisy AC pulley and a slightly noisy RF wheel bearing. It was a great opportunity to get to know the car, and I feel I know it really well now.

A few images...

One of our first stops: Te Mata Peak

Made it to Auckland

One of Hawke's Bay's many beaches

Waiting patiently outside the Art Deco Cafe in Napier (highly recommend)

Doing some off-roading out to the Shine Falls waterfall

The car handled everything we threw at it without breaking a sweat. Not bad for a 22 year old car I bought only a few weeks before.

145,500 kms.

Finally got around to getting something up on here. In September I bought this little weapon. It's a 1998 E36 328i Coupe in Montreal Blue. Originally a Japan car, but imported and sold by Shelly BMW as an Approved Used Import in 2004. This car clearly has been cherished - it is in fantastic condition. 

I have been fond of the E36 for as long as I can remember. Mum bought one in Hellrot Red to replace our big and unreliable Mitsubishi Pajero when I was about 5 years old. It was a 1996 318i saloon, automatic, with the standard cloth seats. I think the only optional extras it had were power windows, fog lights, and the digital clock.

We had the car about 10 years and did well over 200,000 kms in it. I recall everything falling apart on it: headliner falling down, cloth door cards falling apart, and the clear coat peeling off the front bonnet. But mechanically, it was stupidly reliable. I don't remember it causing her any major issues. My sister, mum, and I took that thing all over the country and it only let us down once (a failed water pump I think). Finally, at about 300,000 kms, it had some major engine issue which wasn't worth fixing. Anyway, that car was my first taste of the BMW world, namely the E36, and I absolutely loved it. I remember cleaning it just about every weekend because mum would let me drive it around to the back of the house where the hose was. 

Back to the 328i. When it came up for sale I instantly fell in love with it. The m contours looked epic and were a huge upgrade over the stock 16 inch wheels. The test drive only confirmed my love. The straight six sounded mean, especially with the golf tee mod. And the steering felt massively better than the steering box in my 540i. So, I bought it. And I love it. And best of all, it didn't have any clear coat peeling, or headliner sag, or door cards falling apart.

Temporary two-car garage...

It certainly wouldn't beat the 540i on a drag strip, but that isn't the point. It's a cliche, but the 328i is a far more involved driving experience. While the 540i was comfortable and muscular, the 328i is peppy and engaging. 

Try the “E36 Car Club - NZ” group on Facebook. I was talking to a guy at the British and Euro car show yesterday who mentioned he had a full kit spare 

Finally got around to updating this. The 540i sold to a guy just around the corner from me in Wellington. He was thinking about joining the local BMW club so I hope to see him and the car at an event soon . 

Having done a lot of long-distance trips over the New Year period I certainly miss the E39! The 540i is the best road trip car I have ever driven. I'll hopefully be back in an E39 in the future

This is an excellent example of an E39. Meticulously maintained and seriously loved. All major issues already addressed. GLWS

Agreed. A lot of alarm bells here.

17 hours ago, sjbglobal said:

I nearly prefer sedan over coupe and I wish it was blue or something

These come up often enough that it's worth waiting  

Sold

This is a genuine motorsport 540i in Titan Silver. It is currently at 189,300 kms. Black leather interior in good condition (no rips, but some wear on the driver’s seat) with the wood trim. Its engine runs very smoothly and pulls hard. Suspension feels very tight and smooth. It has the rear blind (working), sunroof, front + rear PDC, the 16:9 screen, auto wipers/lights + carphone. I have both keys (one of them replaced in the last 2 years – perfect condition) and service history from the last 2 owners. Doesn’t burn any oil. It is completely factory apart from a Parrot handsfree unit and tinted windows. WOF expires Dec 2020 and rego Feb 2021.

 I’ve owned for 12 months and have completed the following work:

·         Refreshed all fluids (including transmission service) + filters

·         New spark plugs

·         Rocker cover gaskets, RH timing cover gasket

·         Numerous coolant hoses changed preventatively

·         4 new Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres + alignment

·         Timing chain tensioner replaced preventatively

·         Bosch battery

·         All new ATE pads + rotors + rear brake hoses

·         Replaced guibo flex disc

·         PCV system overhaul

·         Injectors refreshed

·         Vanos solenoids replaced

·         Thermostat

·         Tinted windows

As a result of all this, the car runs and drives very smoothly. It is a real pleasure to drive.

I love this car, but another BMW-related opportunity has presented itself so I must move it on. I’m hoping it will go to someone who loves it as much as I do.

$6,500.00

PM me if interested.

My first car. 2.5 V6 with the 6 spd. 
 

Absolutely adored it. Had great handling, looked fantastic, and was super comfortable. Biggest downside was the quality of the interior plastics and FWD. 

Still miss the sound...

Thanks guys. Will look into it 

Nice work. The E39 is SUCH a good looking car.

After almost 2 years driving E39s I finally plucked up the courage to try out the factory cup holders. They worked! On a side note, the French Baker in Greytown is highly recommended!

182,400 kms.

Since the Silver Titan is fortunate enough to sleep in a garage both at home and at work, she rarely sees rain. However, when out of town earlier in the year she had to sit through a stupid amount of rain overnight. The next morning I walked outside and opened the rear doors tentatively to check for the infamous vapour barrier seal failure. Sure enough, the interior had a distinct musty smell and the rear carpets were damp. 

After a good airing out, vacuum and cleaning I went about fixing it. The rear driver's side was the only one leaking, but I decided to do all four doors to save myself having to do this tedious task again. Took the door panels off, applied some silicon sealant, left to dry and reinstalled everything. Unfortunately (fortunately), there hasn't been any rain since doing them to test my handiwork. Will update after some sufficient precipitation. 

In a very minor cosmetic update, I finally got around to installing the BMW rego holder I got from Winger last year. This was very needed!

2 hours ago, M3AN said:

I'd generalise that any owner that would hang one of those on/in an M5 doesn't know how to drive or look after an M5.

 

Just because you disagree with it does not mean the owner is a complete imbecile.
 

My Year 9 English teacher used to warn me against generalisations. Some people are slower to catch on I guess 

3 hours ago, Olaf said:

There's a 'late for work' ticket if ever I saw one!   Fixed camera too, that's the one after Horokiwi just before Petone offramp.  Bummer.

Great result mate, this car's really coming together for you.  I saw your 'ex-girlfriend Jane' the other day, still looking sharp though in need of a good wax. ?

Cheers! Yes I’ve seen it around a couple times too - always feels weird seeing someone else driving around in my old girl. But at least whenever I’ve seen it the new owner seems to be enjoying it!

13 hours ago, treone said:

Awesome @BozzaFC! Will you be taking it to the British & Euro show this coming Sunday?

Thanks @treone. Unfortunately not! I’m out of town for the week 

13 hours ago, hunter said:

noice, what cosmetics do you have on the cards?

Just a few tidy up things. Like putting on a new steering wheel cover and refurbishing the wheels. Interior is overdue for a detail too

181,400 kms.

When I ordered the PCV off FCP I noticed spark plugs were on sale. Taking advantage of this, I bought a set of NGK spark plug and swapped them in a couple weekends ago. After a pretty simple install I took it for a test drive (no tickets this time!). As soon as I pulled out of the driveway it felt much better. Power delivery much smoother and overall a very happy feeling M62. The real test was how it ran on cold start, and I am pleased to report that the next cold start was flawless; she ran silky smooth from stone cold.

I've been trying to solve this rough idle since I got the car in September. It's so satisfying to have it running right now. Now time to enjoy it and work on some cosmetics before the National BMW Festival in March. 

181,000 kms. 

Since I've had the car I've been battling a rough idle when cold, and more recently I've noticed an occasional small puff of blue smoke on startup. It did this at seemingly random intervals with no noticeable pattern. After a fair amount of reading online I decided my issue most likely stemmed from the PCV, which is located at the back of the engine. Rather than replacing the entire PCV unit (which never rarely fails), most people opt to replace the rubber diaphragm only which is far easier to remove. These rubber diaphragms are notorious for developing cracks or small holes which enables oil to seep through and thus create a puff of blue smoke on startup. 

I decided to try and tackle this job on my own with the aid of several online videos and armed with a flat head screwdriver (only required tool). At first access proved to be an issue, as most of the videos online were done using an E38 which has much more space at the back of the engine. I decided to remove all the plastic panels and other bits which freed up a lot more space. This made the job much easier and I was able to get access to the PCV, pop off the plastic cover and remove the old diaphragm (pictured below - I'll let you decide which one is the old). 

The old diaphragm was buggered, and fell to bits as I took it out. I installed the new diaphragm, put the car back together and took it for a test drive (pictured below - clearly much more powerful!). Upon start up it was still pretty rough and there was a small puff of smoke which was slightly disheartening, but most people say the system takes a few days to clear its throat. Once on the road the power deliver felt noticeably smoother and the engine overall happier. Over the next week or so there were probably 3-4 very small puffs of smoke on startup, which was completely eradicated after a week of driving. What's more, the cold idle was 100x smoother. Still slightly lumpy but a huge improvement. 

This is the most involved job I've ever done on a car by myself, which was satisfying and rewarding when it actually worked. I fixed something! This car is a great base to learn to wrench on cars in my opinion. It's great getting below the surface and discovering all of the other design elements of the car that 90% of owners will never see. Removing all of the plastic panels blocking access to the PCV was so methodical and beautifully simple (I'm sure not everything is this way!).