Michael.

Hey guys, I need a wheel alignment done later this week, I am wondering if any Auckland based Bimmersport members actually do them personally? I thought it would be a nice idea to keep such business in the forum community where possible rather than going to any old shop. Otherwise, what decent places would be worth a visit, where the people KNOW what they are doing? I recall one place being in Grey Lynn or around there somewhere forget the specifics though. Cheers

Maybe buy a cheaper 318i or 320i, do an OEM engine swap, replace suspension? Depends what you want, but it might be more fun to build a nice car from an average one.. a bit more expensive yes but it can be more rewarding.

Cool plan. I guess the first thing, is what's your budget? First thing that comes to mind above all those motors would be a 2JZ-GTE, single turbo suited for track use. Easily the best bang for buck out of all those engines & reliable, plenty of parts around... It would be an easy conversion too, lots of space for custom mounts, exhaust manifolds etc. For the engine you mentioned, I think: While the BMW V8 would be good for the OEM appeal, there are better go fast engines out there cheaper to build up to make good power, that said an M5 V8 would be the best starting point if you went down that route - but expensive. Turbocharging a BMW six, while many have got good results, the tilted six design means you have a really complicated exhaust setup and very close to the right strut tower etc, do able but something that makes it instantly harder for what gain? XR6 Turbo engine, probably quite ideal, but they also fetch top dollar being newer motors. If you can pick one up for a good price it could work out well - that said I don't know too much about their track record when pushed hard. LS1 V8, proven potential, but like the BMW V8 conversion or any V8 conversion theres a lot more work than the inline sixes, mainly with the exhaust manifolds, compact engine mounts and of course you will be limited to NA performance unless you go for a supercharger... I suppose it comes down to how much power you want at the end of the day. No doubt you would have the build up the suspension with aftermarket gear suited for M3s etc... custom drive shaft to handle the power and run the biggest 210mm BMW diff type.

Hmmm. I like a car to sit nicely, a balanced look in height front to rear with a bit of camber, caster and toe where necessary, offering good performance for the street and a few laps of a track. Not into the super low 1mm body to rubber gap, rolled guards and -10 camber which will see the inner tyre wear out or the side wall split prematurely. Each to their own!

That's ridiculous... also aren't most car parks free on Sunday?

Word, those lights are catastrophically ugly.

Most intriguing. A good way to keep busy!

Love the turbo setup, looking really good!

It wont be too much of a biggie, I think it does need the M-tec rear bumper as these stock ones are a bit plain. It just means a few 100 to buy one, couple of hundred to paint. More expenses! I've been doing that for a while in recent years, it's how the Europeans do it (that I've seen) Its much easier to change and clean the mess left from when the sticker needs replacing, horrible place down in the corner of the dash, never again!

Thanks Ray Haha, very different to those boats. It's just nice to have that engine in a more focused, better looking, tighter vehicle! Hmmm what are they like, any pictures, price, tyres?

The DupiColor does from Repco are quite good... fair range of colours, usually able to find a near match but you might be able to get some made up at certain paint shops to match?

Awesome work Brent. Looked like a good runner to get back on the road. Will you sell it or hang onto it for a while?

Haha..... I'm tempted to leave the 325i badge there for now, maybe just leave it blank? Maybe an generic ///M badge... or TRD for that matter. HA. Cheers Tristan, I do, actually here's a basic before and after shot Eventually I will disassemble the 1UZ manifolds and repaint them in a clean aluminium finish as they have dulled in recent years so it makes it look a bit messy, cosmetic stuff has been the last of my worries under the hood while work was going on. Theres an old old one, but that dates back to end of 2011 when I first dropped the engine in and it was miles behind where it is now. I will make a new detailed build thread when I have some time so others can see what's needed and get ideas for similar conversions. Cheers Justin! Cheers Brent, so you reckon it looks a bit better than that 1UZ 4 door e36 that turned up at your door a while back? Will keep you posted if I need anything!

Thanks for the comments lads! Haha, yeah after about a day I was like... yeah these oval tips aren't working. Tried to like them, but then out came the saw. Doing a nice even cut was a nightmare for certain reasons, but I got them off & those subtle 4x 2.5" 316 SS tips on, MUCH better. Thanks, I tried to keep it that way. The sound is to die for, moderate volume, no drone, clean deep pulses, but being a stock 1UZ it doesn't have that high pitch sound like an RS4 or M3 V8 up top as it only hits 6k RPM, still... it will be interesting to know what others think of it, but I can't get enough of it.. I could drive to the end of the country and back! Might be an idea! Not in an extreme rush, but probably something Ill be looking into towards the end of the year. That had crossed my mind actually, I'll speak to the cert guy about that as the suspension is all OEM, except for the B&G or UUC sport springs. Thanks for reminding me! Hah, too true! Thanks, I pushed to make it decent, spare no cost and avoid any tacky alterations or cheap fixes. All the key parts right down to the vacuum line and clamps are of European, American or Japanese brands. I wanted to keep it looking like a factory setup where possible too.. you would be surprised how hard it can be to find quality black/silver parts, that look factory!

Just after Michaels Ave on Marua Road in Ellerslie, Nice silver E36 M spec coupe around 7pm tonight.. Very nice!

Literally 700 days on since removing the M50B25, my E36 is finally in a presentable & complete state! I'm finalizing the cert this week so it will finally mean I can actually enjoy driving the car rather than tightening bolts all the time. No doubt now I'll make sure I come along to the next Bimmersport meet - it will be great to put names to faces! Here are a few quick pictures I took after giving it a wash, the back left corner is actually sitting a little higher in these shots due to the contour of my driveway, it actually sits really nicely thanks to Ray supplying me with some M3 suspension & B&G sports springs. I'd eventually like to change the wheels to M3 ones or some sort of BBS model but the stock E46 ones don't look to bad for what they cost me (200!). Only real missing add ons are the M-tec side moldings, skirts and the M-tec rear bumper, but I'll work towards those in due course.

Yeah, I had a K&N for a while, not being happy with the oil type design I spent a while searching for something suitable that had a fine dry substrate... seems nearly everything is an oil type filter and of course theres bugger all range available in NZ online. Eventually I found suppliers for Injen on Ebay, Got one shipped in for $120-130 nzd or whereabouts. Definitely recommended! Ebay - Injen Nano I guess in your case, see how it goes, any adverse effects to the MAF & I'd stop using it immediately.

Love that silver M Coupe.

Nice work man.

Wow ^ what a random problem. I haven't noticed such issues on my E36 but it might be worth a close look.

To me, those wheels look too much like a set that are half way through being painted!

Yeah I wondered about using the oil filter too... but it's only usually an issue with MAF or Kaman Vortex type air flow sensors that can get covered in the oil over time affecting their performances - Not sure this is relevant to the S54 however? In my case I actually went for an Injen model air filter. They are a dry type and seem very, very well made with what appears to be a high quality filter substrate. They are well reviewed on the web too.

That's an awesome E34 you have there! For the Lic Plate light warning I had that issue. Try cleaning all the contacts and ground points for the rear light bulbs and light units. I remember this helped my old E34, but then it eventually came back...

Haha, agreed.

I would agree with Dave. I wouldn't even tantalize the idea of trying to buy such a car for that value unless I could pay for the whole car twice over.