Sammo

Luckily have a work fuel card for majority of consumption so don't really look at prices but saw the other day that 98 was like $2.80 or something - crazy. I do 'pay cash' for fuelling my (very thirsty) E30 but fortunately those kms are low and probably 35% work and 65% pleasure so not too bothered. At same point will try going electric for the 'main' / 'modern' car though as next car purchase will likely be a super thirsty Prado or something to tow a Horse Float.

It definitely is still noticeable but does not catch the eye so much (reducing contrast right down). Basically I taped off the sides of the crack to minimise getting goo everywhere and used those little orange trim remover things to ‘surgically’ fill the crack with very small amounts of the RTV. I practiced to get the feel on a very small other crack that is out of view in case I cocked it up. Removed excess using the trim remover over the top of the crack as rags tended to ‘pull’ the RTV right back out of the crack. Let dry a little before removing edge excess with a rag and bit of Isopropyl. Did it a couple of times to fill in the depth better, could probably use another go so will take some picks when I do that. Again, it’s still obviously a crack but just tones it down enough - hopefully stops it spreading too as I’m not ready for dash mat life (although your one from Auto 38 looks like one of the nicer ones I’ve seen to be fair)

Looks like a very low kms individual spec car but you would be lucky to get $10k if someone happened to like that colour.

I’m not sure if it’s been run / consistently run on the 10w40 synth to be honest. Looking at my manual, for our climate (-10c to 40c), BMW suggests 20w50 (car may be driven in 10c a few times a year if that). Mine isn’t smoking (not sure on consumption yet) but it has done almost 400km.

@adro Deciding what oil to go for with mine - not sure what its had in the past but came with a half full bottle of Penrite Synth 10w40. Do you rate the 20W60? I know these were designed for Mineral oils and presumably 20w50 - I would be changing oil and filter at least every 5000km.

4.10 must be pretty aggressive!

Took her out for my first sustained seat time - a good 3-4 hours exploring the Whitford / Pohutakawa Coast / Clevedon / Kawakawa Bay / Kaiua. Was an absolute blast, aside from choosing the hottest day of summer so far and my AC not working - nothing the windows couldn't handle to be fair. Looking forward to doing this fantastic drive again after I've fully serviced her plus a full suspension refresh.

Turns out JB Weld ‘Black RTV’ is a solid match for E30 dashboard

Been doing a few little jobs last day or two - refurbished my Mtech 1 wheel, removed and repainted some trim parts (wiper as / door handles etc) and tried a little dash crack band aid. lucky to only have one visible dash crack - about 2 inches or so long - I’m not into the carpet on the dash look so tried a little ‘fix’. Had some black RTV sitting around so filled it in using some toothpicks and trim removal tools. Came out pretty good TBH - not sure if this will stop it growing but it’s certainly less obvious now, not a panacea but not a disaster either. Will clean up edges properly once it’s fully set.

Yeah it’s pretty sweet - the guy also threw in a block of beautiful Estonian chocolate 😎

Yeah, I have tweeters 👍 was plug and play - came with a quad lock that plugged right in

Yet to route the microphone - not sure what front speakers I have, but has some old dusty 6x9's in rear tray (rectangular cutouts so assuming did have the hifi speaker when new).

@E28E30 @Cammsport Modified reverse RDS with custom text (can have anything up to 8 characters) arrived today from Estonia in a week 😎 Very very happy - unit itself is mint including display and actually sounds pretty good - I also have option of adding amplifier too with optional RCA pre-outs. Genuine plug and play (installed after a long liquid lunch). Was about $700 landed so not cheap but hard to go past for the stock look and modern functionality - looks much better than the Blaupunkt SQR46 IMO which gets mixed reviews. FullSizeRender.mov

Waiting on Fed Ex to deliver my car parts so kept myself busy for an hour or so taking to 33 years of filth with a wire brush, some degreaser and Aerospace 303 to get the M20 looking presentable until I get round to restoring the manifold / valve cover / AFM / brake-booster properly next year. Was supposed to be a much more thorough job but decided in the heat that an 80% effort was good enough!

It will depend on your specific Autosure policy - bushings are usually considered wear items under 'Mechanical Breakdown' policies, but I recently was pleasantly surprised that my Provident warranty covered control arm bushings and oil leaks. Suggest taking it to a mechanic who will be able to properly diagnose and do all the dealing (negotiating) with the warranty provider on your behalf.

Great shot - they look very sharp together! Is that Sterling and Lachs?

FCP Euro and Fed Ex who I've never had take more than a week to arrive, have had my package stuck in AKL containing all my most awaited Holiday project goodies for a week and a half and no update. Meanwhile DHL got my new Radio from Estonia to Auckland in 2 days...

Very jealous of that roadtrip! Love driving in the South Island but only ever done it in rental Toyotas

Glass don't rust!

That would be amazing thanks Dave! When are you back in AKL? I'll likely not get around to this job (cambelt / waterpump) till First week of Jan anyway 👍

Thank you - I saw that - are 4 door / 2 door roof cuts / sunroofs interchangeable? Will take out headliner for a proper look later in summer and go from there...

Does anyone have a 32mm Fan Clutch tool in AKL? E30 but think they are the same Or does a wrench and mallet do the same job? Not removed one before as my E46 had an electric fan.

Was all remote pictures / chat - I think its a B20 though (albeit certed for B25). Still not bad value with all the extras.

@Ghost Chip this is the one I was looking at in October 🤔