Sammo

@Vass Yeah, 3.38 isn't really good for road trips - 1st gear is usable but you would be pulling around 2800-2900RPM at 100km/h. Wakes up the M54 big time though, grunt in every gear - perfect for windy back roads but not so much for mile munching and fuel economy.

Been there, done that - Olive oil definitely belongs in the kitchen 🤣

Did an oil and filter change this weekend - put in some Penrite 20w60 (mineral) which I got on special. Not to start an oil debate, and I'm not sure what it was run on previously but the manual says 20w50 and I will probably be changing it every 6 months anyway. Might just grab some Castrol or Valvoline 20w50 next time. 10-12c likely as cold as this car will ever endure. Started to do the fuel filter but decided it would be a shitty little job on jackstands being an inch from my nose and of negligible benefit - maybe next time its in a proper shop. Tested out my new 42kg 3000kg jack - as expected picks up the e30 like a feather, gets nice and high and drops it really slow and steady. Also have a little 16kg alloy 'racing jack' rated at 1500kg which does the job but does not get very high - deciding wether to keep it for jacking control arms / transmission for other jobs as its much smaller and easier to manoeuvre.

Pod Casts - Donut Media - Past Gas - Lighthearted look at interesting stories and characters from Automotive History. Youtube, the typical: Carfection Hoonigan Carwow Hagerty Donut Media M539 Ammo NYC Hoovies Garage sometimes Jay Lenos Garage Restore It Enthusiast Auto Group Regular Car Reviews Any 30 minute video of some dude detailing a car haha Maybe I should stump up and pay for Youtube red

Congrats on the job - sounds exciting! Where did you do the pics? Looks a great spot. And that interior looks like a fantastic place to be on a winters morning.

Looking great, very jealous of those pristine manifold heatshields - mine are all flaky. I have an intermittent ABS light as well - thought I had fixed it by removing and cleaning sensors last weekend but popped up again today.

M54B30 + ZF + 3.38 = win

Haha, fingers crossed it won't happen - we would still have plenty of sun / privacy / greenery on the important North and West sides at least.

Neighbours just sold their shitty house on a 1000m2 + section next door - bit concerned thats precisely what will happen next door!

I'm a good boy, actually applying for an exemption right now to plonk a home office 1 metre from the boundary.

It needs one for sure but will hold off until I put in my new control arms / poly bushes and tierods.

That was my immediate thought, but it scrapes elsewhere too, my driveway entrance isn't too bad TBH - E46 on coilovers was able to get in and out easier. Those metal curb ramp things need council consent as I understand.

Unbelievable how much car prices have stabilised. I had an absolutely loaded, mint 2011 facelift 25Z one of these in pearl white with same kms that I sold for $10,000 in Feb 2018. Was a great, reliable car, if a little boring - very practical too - I fit a full size chest freezer in it once too haha. GLWS

Could get a set of basket weaves, an Mtech steering wheel and some taillight tint spray for that

Damn that looks good! I miss that silhouette 😥 What springs did you go for again? Looks nice and low

Already have the best 15's

Entering *and* exiting my driveway is now an exercise in extreme caution and full lock grrrrr. It looks good and drives good but simply not practical - flashback to creeping sideways over speed bumps in the E46. Im not dying to do this all again but think I’ll be installing thicker spring shims / pads front in rear in the near future (have 3mm and 9mm options in front and all kinds of combinations for rear pads) - I’m sure it will be a much quicker job 2nd time around. Will do brake pads / handbrake adjustment at same time so it feels less of a waste of time.

Got the new shocks and springs etc in - ST 50mm/40mm springs, AP Sport shocks, Meyle mounts front and rear and new BMW (I trimmed them) bump stops and 10mm spring pads No drama's at all on the install but I am a slow wrencher! Car drives much better than with the Dobi's and tired Koni shocks that were in it - a little firmer but well damped now and overall firmer, but more comfortable. I've not had a chance to spank it on a back road but while this isn't an out and out performance combo, it feels like a good street setup with my 22mm/16mm swaybars. Ride height is now a bit low at the front but should look better when/if I go for 16's. Reversing into my driveway now is an exercise in caution. One of the front perches was missing the lower spring shim, but I can't imagine new front spring shims would make too much difference in height? maybe 3-4mm? The yuppie-mobile in its natural habitat:

Yeah, it does feel like the market has softened a bit, some of these cars might have flown off the shelf 3 months ago. About the same time mortgage rates started climbing 🤔

Dude is having a laugh

Bottom pic actually works well, best by far. BMW should head hunt you 😂

Couriers were coming thick and fast today! Some goodies to keep me busy for a while and get this thing driving more like the Gods intended. ST Suspension springs and shocks - 50mm/40mm drop - likely similar to the Dobi springs its sitting on now Strut and shock mounts / dust caps 10mm springs pads / bump stops Engine and tranny mounts / steering Guibo Meyle HD endlinks Meyle tierods Meyle control arms New lollypops and Revshift 80a CABs and Powerflex Street eccentric CABs (doubled up there - will sell what I don't use) Will do the shocks and springs first to sort the ride and stance then the front suspension / steering related stuff at a later date. DA polisher and a swag of CarPro goodies from Detail Depot arrived as well - I love this phase of the relationship 🤣

Looks tidy, especially for an E36. While there are some high asking prices for E36's recently, manual adds a major bump to value on these cars - very nice manual 328i's are likely swapping hands for mid teens. Pending interior and mechanical condition I would say worth asking $8k and see how you go.

I was looking at one of these a few years back - great value, great power and reliability and still a good looking car today. IS-F is even better The interior plastics however are made of putty and literally melt and as you've found, the Japanese is heavily integrated. You can get big vertical 10" Tesla style screens to replace the centre console, but you need to deal with suspect GUI and touch screen climate controls... People do sell english conversions with stickers to go over the Japanese buttons as well. But still paying a fair bit for a 15 year old infotainment setup. A facelift NZ new car would solve these issues but then it won't be the same value for money. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002930958867.html?_randl_currency=NZD&_randl_shipto=NZ&src=google&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=494-037-6276&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&albagn=888888&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&albcp=9444695485&albag=99457316601&trgt=1459734606882&crea=en1005002930958867&netw=u&device=c&albpg=1459734606882&albpd=en1005002930958867&gclid=CjwKCAiA9aKQBhBREiwAyGP5lcOYJMMYf_vazpsJpeiOb2SytZ_w6R-asJStByTNBJNEmYM126iT6hoCtuwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&aff_fcid=01730485b1774a19ab6d2d4351407114-1644822164507-04477-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=01730485b1774a19ab6d2d4351407114-1644822164507-04477-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=2544b2356ece45f28c7e338cb0dd325c

@lanceogrady can’t help much with history but a beautiful car - I remember taking this snap behind you in Britomart on 23rd December 2020 - potentially a few weeks after you bought it?