Harper

Yeah I think it's fairly characteristic of most DMF bmws. My M3 still does it even after replacing the DMF. Interestingly my 330 compact doesn't though.

I turn off the clutch to start in all my cars anyway. Hurts my soul to load the crank thrust bearing on cold start with no oil pressure for literally no reason. Being able to start the car without actually getting in and sitting down is a perk too.

I bought a half converted one for cheap and finished the job. It's pretty easy really. You have to do the mechanical conversion, wire in the clutch and reverse switch. Code the relevant modules and it's done. That era of BMW is pretty modular and easy to swap. Weitz had a 130i manual conversion for sale at $3k for ages. Not sure if it ever sold.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/wheels-tyres/alloy-wheels/listing/4627394142?archive=1 Sold looks like

There was a set on trademe a couple weeks ago for a good price. Almost bought them even though I already have a set. Love them on my compact.

I'll grab the 3 series key ring if it's still up for grabs?

Looks ace, how do they feel?

Good donor for your wagon?

Cheap. Not much cheaper and I'd think about buying it to S54 swap my compact.

Eesh that's cheap

Not something I'm ever very concerned with when buying a car tbh, I more base the decision off condition. I have had good luck with Japanese imports though, and of the cars I've owned the NZ new ones tend to have been treated the worst to be honest, could just be coincidence.

M2s are aging well, still turn my head every time I see one.

Yeah I've got no issues with the way the M3 touring looks. Not quite as sexy as an RS6 wagon though I think.

First one I've seen in the wild. Makes my little compact look miniature.

Brake cleaner on a cloth works well, probably not amazing for the finish but I've never had issues

Have one in my M3 and compact, painted them black since I don't like the pink. Never had issues passing wof.

Original seat back in. Bolsters swapped out with the ones off the donor since they were pretty worn. E46 interior never gets old It's on daily driver duty now

Both my E46s have the power steering lines cable tied together and have been for years. Who needs bushings.

It took about that many oil changes on my S54 before there was no material in the oil. Just as I was starting to get worried that there was still glimmering stuff in the oil, the next oil change was clear.

The biggest compliment. So nice when the vision finally comes together.

Thank you bro, if you weren't on the other side of Auckland I'd be there. I'm sure I'll get to have a look around your E30 at some point. Fortunately my local shop is pretty good and I'll get them to sort the alignment at the same time.

Unfortunately long gone, or I'd let you have at it.

Super happy with the suspension. Just the right amount of firm but very compliant and comfortable. Looking forward to seeing what difference the FCABs make. I still have the rear section from the donor 330 so I'll cut into that one and see how easy or difficult it is. I really only want it to be maybe 10% louder, just enough to know that it's something special but I still want it to sound stock. Hopefully gutting the resonator gets me what I'm looking for but will report back. You're a legend mate, I'll gladly take it. Happy to pay for shipping plus some. The ones I've come across so far at the junk yard are usually damaged in some way. I actually like the look of the blank steering wheel panel but losing out on cruise control is a bummer. Maybe one day I'll fit a Z3 CC stalk. Cobywheel. Reasonably priced and they use genuine grey 9002 alcantara to match the bolsters. I've seen the wheels and some other bits done by coby and they've been average quality but the boots are really good in my experience. They just copy the pattern from the genuine bits so fit like OE. I just removed the old leather and glued them onto the frames with some contact adhesive.

Very productive weekend. New input shaft seal for the gearbox. Was super careful putting this one in, made sure it went in as square as possible and tapped it just barely below flush. Didn't take many photos since I was really trying to get the car driveable for this week. Motor back in, cooling stack in. I installed a new MAF sensor, O2 sensors, fuel pump. But I still had a rough idle. Eventually discovered it was the MAF connector itself. The female pins were quite loose which meant that with the airbox off and the intake tube moving around with the engine the contact was not good. I squeezed the pins tighter and fitted the airbox so everything was solid and the idle was perfect. A quick look at the fuel trims in INPA suggest they are perfect but I'll do a proper log later and see how things look. Front end taking shape Back on the ground, first time seeing the final ride height (will settle a bit) with the new bilstein B8s and eibach springs. Pretty much perfect for what I was looking for seeing as it will be my daily. Cabin filter and new windshield cowl fitted. Unfortunately I'm still missing the front air duct that feeds the airbox. The one of the donor car was broken so I'll have to make a trip to the scrap yard to get one. Interior assembled with a few nice new parts, I'm still repairing the driver seat so I have temporarily fitted the driver bucket seat from the M3. Sorry Olaf, this ones getting a badge. Car got a much needed wash and out for it's first quick test drive. Absolutely stoked with this thing. It's very quick, corner to corner it's not really any slower than the M3. Not quite as much zing as the S54 up top but much smoother and torquier low down. Still a few details to finish it off: - Driver seat - AC re-gas - Air intake scoop - Exhaust hangers, the 325ti has unique hangers which I didn't pony up for resulting in the tail pipes not sitting quite centred - It's too quiet. I like my cars quiet but at idle you wouldn't even know the thing is running. It has a fully stock 325ti exhaust, so I think I'm going to open up the small centre resonator and gut it and see what that sounds like. - Z4 FCABs - Alignment - Tyres, the Chinese ones on it are not up to scratch for the B30 torque - Custom plate I think, this one is a keeper I love it too much already.

Still much cheaper to get from schmiedmann. 167usd shipped from ECS, 98usd shipped from Schmiedmann. They are almost always by far the cheapest for genuine parts like this in my experience.