elias

Been a bit slack but have got suspension parts on the way now. Underbody parts all painted black now, new subframe bushings and trailing arm bushings installed as well. 
 

also aquired some engine vanity covers for the m52 thanks to Luke from Skunkworks, he’s been a huge help with sourcing parts, all the suspension parts, bushings, swaybar links, struts, springs, wheel bearings etc that I’ve ordered I’ve ordered through him, very helpful guy. 
 

then got into the brakes, stripped them down, sandblasted, painted a coat of preventative rust converter, then painted a nice shade of blue, reassembled with new seals and bits all round, pistons came up great with a quick polish.

ready now to send a bunch of bolts off for zinc coating and then once all the other bits arrive the suspension parts can start being put back in the car. 

Looking to buy a rear swaybar to retrofit to my pfl 320i. Have already converted to disc brake rear end using trailing arms off a pfl 325i.

located Auckland cheers 

I’ve got an early (pfl) 320i exhaust lying around I’m not using. It’s in rough shape in parts but flanges should be good. In Auckland 

2 hours ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

Got my bonnet back from being painted and swapped it back onto the ‘vert, and put all the bits back on it including new insulation panels.

M-Tech 1 front bumper is about 90% complete, just waiting on a couple more fixings to come from Germany.

And I got some shiny new badges for the boot, rather than try to replace the double sided sticky on the old ones (both in stock in NZ as well 🤣)

That looks great! Who did the paint work for you, I’ve also got a cosmosblau bonnet and boot lid that needs painting? Also What did you use for the under bonnet sound deadening?

very jealous of the mtech1 bumpers, make the car look so much better 

12 minutes ago, topnotchrally said:

I agree, it would seem they should be worth 10-12k but I think it's a small market.  Another reason they are a good buy is they ALL have LSDs!  (All 2.8s)  
I bought mine 4 years ago on a bit of a whim. Turned out to be an excellent decision. I put B6 Bilsteins on stock springs. I am all in on the top down motoring, such a pleasure to drive  moderately quickly. The engine, gears and steering are perfect.  If you buy one, put new HD front control arms on, it makes a huge difference. (factory arms have huge wobbly rubber bushings).  Sorry for the rant....

Interesting to know about the LSDs. I’m currently putting the same driveline (m52b28 + zf 5 Speed) into an e30 sedan, which should be a good driving experience, and am looking for a suitable ratio LSD. From my understanding the z3 ones bolt straight into e30 subframes too, if you come across a spare z3 lsd let me know  

4 hours ago, Tobias01 said:

who did you get to do the sandblasting?

Sharp sandblasting up in dairy flat. Not the cheapest but good to deal with and did a thorough job. The photo of the parts hanging up is not bare metal just for reference that is after 2 coats of epoxy primer. 

Interesting re the value of those z3s. I woudlve thought anything 2.8L + zf manual would be worth good money, considering the e36 328i prices, most of which are swapped using getrag boxes, zf boxes sell for $2500 by themselves nowadays 

1 hour ago, Hutty008 said:

Since my shocks are coming off, my current brakes will be up for sale. They are e9x 335i fronts 348x30 and rears 336x24 ( Yes the rears just bolt up ) with DBA slotted rotors, EBC redstuff pads and condor speed shop brass caliper bushings. The pads where new 3000-4000 kms and the rotors were resurfaced at the same time. Only selling as I'm switching to m2 brakes as I got a good deal on a set and after test fitting they luckily fit under wheels. Photos from the 5th of March when I replaced the pads and resurfaced the rotors.

What wheels are you running that will clear m2 brakes, are you going to be running the 380f/370r discs or the smaller 340 Msport ones?

i run f80 brakes (same as m2) and found the 380/370 f/r Discs only really fit under my apex ec-7s

Does the intake actually sound any different? The airbox looks unchanged from the standard one?

1 hour ago, treone said:

This could be optimistic lol

My prediction is that all the leftover M5 specific bits will be put on a 525i. Or even worse, an e60 diesel variant haha 🤣

I’d pick a 535/530d over a 525 any day of the week, m57s are fantastic 

Got a little bit more work done recently, been busy making a plan for all the suspension stuff and figuring out which direction to go for the clutch/flywheel. Decided to keep it oem and stick with a dual mass flywheel and oem 240mm luk clutch kit. 
 

Got all the underside parts taken apart and sandblasted, in the process of getting painted at the moment. 

gearbox is back from kayne Barrie now with fresh detents. More or less just need to order the clutch kit now and then can put the engine and gearbox into the car. 

picked up a e90 325i auto front half driveshaft and a e36 medium case rear half from @Toast which so far seem to work together, will see if they end up the right length. Paid $80 for the front half instead of the $700 people charge for zf 5 Speed Front halves nowadays. 

will need to swap the carrier bearing over to an e30 one as well. Fuel pump is back in the car too now ready to start replacing subframe, trailing arm bushings etc now and reassembling the rear end.  

Surprised no one’s pulled the engine yet. Nothing like a s85 with unknown history/condition 

Will keep you in mind cheers, need to find a medium case diff first. 

The f30s are great cars, and the diesel ones are really economical as far as fuel consumptions goes. One thing to be aware of is the n series engines timing chain issues, which although potentially fatal if ignored for too long I find are blown out of proportion slightly when discussed online, however good to be aware of nonetheless. 
 

It really depends on what you’re using the car for in my opinion, if you drive mostly around the 4cyl would be perfectly fine as you don’t really need much power torque. For more open road driving the extra power really becomes worthwhile. Another thing to bear in my mind is the fact that diesels don’t enjoy short trips to the shops and back, they require some open road, hot running. 
 

I’ve got a tuned 135i, which is a fast fun small coupe, and I’ve owned a 330d wagon (e91) and found that to be a great second car to have as it made adequate power to be fun and not feel too boring and sluggish when stepping out of the 135i after a weekend drive. Personally I would lean towards the 6cyl option if you can find one in the right spec/condition within your budget.  

6 hours ago, jasera94 said:

I think the only way with this one, went and saw it twice. cage is just too nice to cut and its fully resprayed inside. Front strut tower welds are also beast and would not be DIY job. I'm pretty sure it is an M52B28 as it has a dyno for 180whp. 

Yeah looks like a m52. Same swap I’m currently doing into my e30 but without the cage. 

25 minutes ago, jasera94 said:

To get certified the cage needs to be cut out or half so not sure how far he is going to get with that cert...

Yeah only real option is an authority card 

Search up Brando Marlon on facebook, pretty sure he’s got a couple. Usually pretty reasonably priced too.  

Bump, $350 Ono 

have too many e30 parts lying around, have 3.45 open diff, m20b20 intake manifold, airbox, maf, injectors, fuel rail, loom etc etc

Open diff, 3.45 ratio. 
 

$350 pick up Auckland. 
 

1 hour ago, MD13 said:

But it is another 4 cylinder and not a coupe 😞

75hp gain is good going, guess it’s the same engine as 328i? Wonder how the timing chain/guides likes it

28 minutes ago, WYZEUP said:

I may have a 2.93 open diff....just needs to e30 rear cover as still has the e28 rear cover on it

Send me a message if you do have it, was hoping to find an lsd but could be interested 

Looking for a medium case lsd for an e30 in a ratio for suit a non overdriven gearbox, around the 3 mark (2.93/3.15).

cheers

Selling my 14inch basketweaves. 
 

have curving, have been repainted by previous owner at some stage. All 4 Center caps are there, not the ugly 3D printed ones.

no longer required. 
 

2 tires good, 2 no good.
 

$900obo.

Awesome, that really good information. Ride height looks exactly like what I’m after so that’s perfect. In terms of the shocks themselves oem plus is great, the e30 I’m building will only ever be a street car and never get pushed too hard, have the 135i for that. Will be used for the occasional spirited drive but mostly for a road trip or a cruise down to the beach so sounds like exactly what I’m after and not a bad price at sub $900 for shocks and springs. In terms of weight the m52 is about the same if not slightly lighter than the m20b25 as it’s an alloy block. 

1 hour ago, Sammo said:

There was another '318is' I saw on FB today - UK import, flat black with clapped seats and chavvy add-ons - for the low low price of $30k

Yeah saw that one, wild pricing. I’ll be listing mine up for $60k once it’s finished 🤣