Harper

Yeah the cost of all those gearbox detent parts jumped up significantly not long after I did them on my compact. Worth doing imo, the ZF in my compact has probably the best feeling gear change of any car I've owned. I also have a set of the detent punches if you need them. Based in Beachlands.

Getting rare to see a set like this. Tempted to grab them just to have another set of style 67s in stock

Honestly my experience is that it's more durable than people make it out to be. I basically give my alcantara wheel in my M3 a scrub with a damp microfibre cloth and some soap every so often and it still looks like new.

Compact is so underrated man. It's gotten so bad they even turn my head any time I see one driving around. Interesting point about the exhaust tips. I debated it when I had the donor 330 because it had chrome tips, maybe I should get a set from pickapart and see how they look.

I don't have any production numbers so I really have no idea. Anecdotally though I've been watching E39s on FB marketplace and trademe for years. Maybe 15-20% of them have that interior, and only half of those have a surviving driver side bolster.

Yep M5 only and hens teeth. I don't even think there are any M5s in NZ with mtex.

100% agree. That interior would be one of the primary things I'd be looking for purchasing an E39. Same when I was looking for my compact. It's actually quite rare in the E39. Almost all of them came with some variation of leather.

I've had dreams of putting a 4.6is motor into an E38 740i short wheelbase and 6 speed manual conversion. 740shortysporty.

@exextatic would be the guy to ask for a swap like this. Probably would be some wiring and coding required for full functionality.

Mint M3 Evo on the morning commute

No you can feed the factory hardline through. It sucks... But you can.

I guess so, I like to live dangerously. I have never heard of a claim being denied for something like that though. Especially since like you say, for NZ cert it's not even the manual swap that is certified, it's just the manual brake pedal. At least in my experience the car is not looked at that closely beyond is it economical to repair and was it warranted but maybe I just haven't had an expensive enough crash yet.

Hope it gets put back on the road. That looks 100% fixable.

https://www.manheim.co.nz/damaged-vehicles/000000000007109464/1988-bmw-320i-sedan?referringPage=SearchResults Anyone know the story with this? Looks kinda mint... Even the interior

My manual swapped 130i had no trouble getting a warrant without a cert fwiw

Relatively easy mechanical swap, it's just nuts and bolts at the end of the day. RealOEM is a good reference for finding all the manual specific parts that you need or grab a kit like linked above. Pricey but Roland makes sure everything is clean, complete and good working condition. My next swap I'll get the bits from him. Wiring and coding required though, it's all pretty straight forward and well documented but there is a learning curve. If you're not DIY'ing you're better off buying a factory manual.

Might as well do an update on this thing. Not much has changed with it really, I've just been using it as a daily hack and it hasn't missed a beat aside from a couple bulbs going out. Cert process all went through pretty painlessly to be honest. Also got a custom plate while you could still get the black plates with silver lettering. Finally got some real tyres on it and scored some lightly used Michelin pilot sports, $350 for the full set! The fitment looks a lot better with meatier tyres. Most of my recent tinkering has been on my E36 318is project. Building an M42/44 engine for it with the hopes of it being a lightweight street car that I can do the odd track day in.

325Ti Compacts got all the best bits. The only non B30 E46 that got the 6 speed ZF, shorter ratio diff, purple tag steering rack, It's the only E46 (Other than the CSL) that came with a hollow front sway bar, no subframe issues, better designed interior parts, I could go on. Massively underrated car.

E36 318is is underrated. Love my boston green coupe I've been tidying up Just saw this https://www.facebook.com/share/1XVRmipQrj/ looks to be a good one

So true. Had thoughts of manual swapping an E63 M6 recently... Ugly but so cheap.

This thread about it from a few days ago

Presumably this is one of the M44 ones you mentioned? https://www.facebook.com/share/1EH4AB9r5Z/

I almost bought the NZ new dakar M3 sedan for sale a few months back. This one looks to be quite a lot nicer condition though. GLWS

That's surprising, I've been through a few short shifters and by far the best has been fully stock with refreshed bushes, stock lever etc. I don't find it to be slushy at all. The 420G is a bit of a pig when it's cold and at low speed, bmw got it right with the stock lever imo. As soon as you shorten the throw the shift effort goes up too much.

M44 imo. Can't wait to finish building mine for my E36.