Michael.

Haha, spot on comparison!

Haha, this!

I like what you did with the heat shields, looked really good!

+2

Bugger, I sold a complete engine with ecu in good order for $500 late last year. Was probably less than what it should have been worth however.

To be fair, if this also had 30 brand names all over, it would just look like a fancy track paint job not too dissimilar to those in touring car races. Doesn't really work on a bog stock 318i road car though.... ugh.

Hooked up the exhaust vacuum valves so they stay closed under 3000rpm (adjustable) reducing the low frequency noises while at cruising speeds. The valves open up automatically once 3000rpm is passed. There's also a switch on the console to keep them open at all times if so desired. Basically the same as how the mufflers would have run on a factory Audi RS4.

Nice write up Julian, would have been an interesting comparison for sure.

It's a great idea, although your minimum spend will be $10,000 to do it properly, more if you pay others to do it Then on top of that it makes sense to upgrade the suspension / brake setup to suit the larger engine. So that's quite easily another few thousand at the low end.

Heh, I worried about this with my V8 setup using a 188mm differential After doing some research on the matter & taking into account I'm running less than 300hp / 400nm it seems there's nothing to worry about, many M50/M52 turbo guys are putting out another 50% on top of those figures and still not breaking the diff.

Don't forget too its a 23 year old engine too - it's going to reflect that Play around with some different grades of oil, see if that helps. Otherwise try rebuild the cylinder head, measure all components to factory spec and replace those not with in the correct tolerance.

Uhhhhh

Yeah as the others said, looks very good. Definitely worth the buy, just clean it up, fix the issues, polish the headlights and you'll be away!

Yeah Allan, I think thats not too dissimilar to what I used previously - I think the issue I had was the wrong temperature range. Upon inspection it seems the heat of the lights gradually made the sealant move out of position allowing an opening to form. The Wurth glass sealant has a quoted range of 20-80c which should be suitable.

Not having a go, but it seemed a little silly of you to buy a cheap & modern 5 series that had been sitting around for a while & try get it all up to scratch on a tight budget... I can understand it being temping as they are nice cars. But IMO unless you have a decent collection of tools, time, space and the know how to do common maintenance on these specific cars with ease it can get a little tricky. My advice would be to save for a bit, and then get it fixed as required. Then you would be able to enjoy the car for at least 6-12 months or longer - and through that you will have gotten something out of it rather than just selling it at a loss without the enjoyment.

I had to replace a glass lens on one of my E36s headlight a couple of years ago, to my discredit I didn't use the right sealant back then, but it seemed to work, however it's finally given up and started leaking water, and subsequently fogging up etc. Could anyone recommend me a locally available product that is best to use for sealing glass lenses to the plastic housing? I know they shouldn't be silicone based as they go hard making it a nightmare to remove in future. Cheers in advance.

Yeah I thought about the electric ones a while ago, but i couldn't justify what the high end ones were worth for the use, and the cheaper ones just seemed a bit gimmicky. I've just stuck to a few different sizes of normal click type wrenches for different jobs, Like Tom, I practically do every bolt, or nut up to the correct specification.

Good job. I think general maintenance like this is the best kind of work to do if ones serious about enjoying their car. .

Hey Graham, what did the owner have to say about the actual condition vs photos?

Very nice indeed. I had a 535i just like this before I ruined it while eating an ice cream.

Yeah the 1999 model would be my pick if it drives well. Must be a mature owner I am guess. Motorway kms is a plus too. The 1996 model looks like a muppet has owned it (modified headlights, low slung seat position, really dirty engine bay etc) AVOID!

Oh really... what a pita!

Awesome Simon, those wheels are spectacular! What are such rims worth? (without tyres)

I was just looking at that. Most interesting.

This M3 would have to be one of the tidiest in the country, so much car for the money! Yeah, mileage is a terrible figure to go by when choosing a used car IMO. For example, think of a car that's done, lets say 50,000ks of hard short driving over rough roads in the city only vs 100,000k car that has only been on the motorway at 100kph, it's a no brainier which will be in better mechanical condition & have suffered less wear in all regards. I tested 5 or 6 E36s 3 years ago and the one I bought had 175ks at the time was which was the highest yet it drove the best & was less 'tired' than some with 100-120ks... and newer. Guess it came down to the fact the owner was older, did the right maintenance and drove from Torbay to the airport for work 5 days a week for nearly 9 years in it. Anyhow, good luck with the sale of this fine machine!