Palazzo

This morning, the low coolant light came on (FL 325i E30), nothing too unusual there, kept an eye on the gauge, didn't move until I got into the driveway at home.

Got out to a hissing sound, checked under bonnet and there is a leak/steam coming from around the top of the engine, under the inlet manifold.

Are there any pipes under there, or is this impending disaster? Any ideas? There is coolant visible in the hollows of the top of the motor.

Bellars is on the Shore off Constellation Drive (I think). I will never cross the door of Civic again and told them so. the place next door doesn't necessarily do a bad job, but they will milk you for every cent.

Alan Giess should be back next month.

Master cylinder? I had this problem in the convertible in April and to top it off got two (!) dud masters from Autostop. Got a working one from one of our sponsors, EuroItalian. I assume it still works, haven't driven it since. Glenn from BotanyMW was most helpful.

Crystal Motors 11 -13 Ruru St eden Terrace Ph 09-300 7464. Close to the the top of Mt eden Rd/Upper Symonds street intersection- if that's CBD enough for you? Got service done there. No problems. everything seemed fine. Well priced.

There's also Alan Giess Autosport, 2 Graham St, Ak City 379 0217- can't comment too much about the place - only got some repairs done a while back, not servicing- Alan (owner) is a good guy. They specialise in BMW and Audi.

Alan is a good guy and he sold the business 2-3 years ago. The new guy is not so good. Alan still works out of Whangaparaoa (sp?), but is in the UK for 3 months. I had a ridiculous quote for work from Civic Auto in the Strand 2 years ago ($930 + GST), done for $440 incl at Bellars and I know there is another place in the Stand that charges you by how much money he thinks you have.

about 20$ each new.

Wow! I'd certainly be keen. I have the type where you push them on, and turn it slightly until it clicks in place. For 15" Basketweaves. Can you get these, with the BMW logo?

If those are $20 as described above, I'm keen for some.

How much do you think for the Basketweave centre caps, the screw in ones? Cheers.

I always drive away from a place that insists on pre pay. Middle of the day in the city, WTF? Their loss at $150 a tank.

Personal favourite, REKNAW, used to be on a Citroen in Wgtn years ago.

There is at Toyota, not sure that that will help though.

Sold for $8.5k, reserve was $7.2k. Bit rough, as you'd expect, but seemed to drive OK.

As before, it looks lovely and each to their own.

Incidentally, the E30 325i did have motorsport pedigree, it won either the WTCC or German equivalent in '85-'86 (bit vague as I can't remember the dates/series), beating the Cosworth 190E in the process. What series did the E36 M3 win?

Good luck with the sale.

Some of the early 911s did have lead in the bumpers, basic fix towards what has become today the 911 GT3 RS. Almost all of the Porsche family are great, we've had a 944 (standard) which is no quicker really than a good 325i, but is a far better (IMO) driving experience and certainly much quicker, across a winding road. Driven various different 911s, 928s and 944 Turbos and S2s. They're all great. It's like the Honda/BMW thread, sort of pointless. There are great cars available both ways. Just your opinion, which is great, beacuase you're never wrong.

Curse the lack of grip in the M325i, wonder why my convertible is sitting in the rain at the mechanics, work to pay for the convertible at the mechanics. Thank my lucky stars I talked to Glenn regarding the repair and think how lucky we are to have someone so knowledgable and helpful on the forum.

Fiat 131 like this.

fiat

They sold the design to the Ruskies.

Both made from Russian tin so both rust at aprox same rate

Lada was based on the 124 Fiat, a '60s design. Apart from appalling aerodynamics, the 131 wasn't too bad. My mate had a 131R in Wellington, at 110km/h on the motorway, the aerodynamics were so bad, a wind gust would knock it back to 90.

will the e36 rack clear the exhaust manifold without moving/moding anything?

Have a look on the link above, think it's one disc and 2 bolts to be made, no issues with clearance.

I had a lengthy drive in that model Merc 2 weeks ago. For stealth fun in a big car, it was fantastic. The Alpina would have to be something special to be better, which according to that boring narrator, it wasn't, I'll have the Merc please.

It's probably easy to slag people for washing their cars when you have a loaner from various manufacturers, with a free tank of gas and never have to wash it before returning.

$1250 for a Z3 rack was my best quote, or $5,600 for a new one. . . . .

Strangely back for sale at the same place after being sold "no reserve". Does strat1 work there or something?

I agree that you never recoupe your dollars when doing a full restro, and nor does the current owner but there appears there is a few intrested parties , and even to the stage that a figure was offered and it was much higher than Palazzo felt where it sits in the market and was turned down.

The e28 m5 maybe rear, but it's a ugly car compared to the E30M3 which looks fast sitting still and has good curves and does't date compared to other models, and we could go as far to say the same for the e30 series as a whole. It was only a few years ago a e30 was at give away prices, now your hard pressed to find a good one, and if you do they are getting good money now.

As performance, I believe this version was issued with the updated motor which was the 2.3 215ph motor, so it would still get and and go but it's certianly no track car.

As others have already mentioned, we see it at different values, but at this stage and been on the market less than a week a figured has been offered higher than others see it as.

Cool. I'm all for increasing E30 values and I happen to think the M3 convertible looks quite good, having seen this and the one in Total BMW 2-3 years ago. Very surprised by the price though, but that's the beauty of an open market.

In the U.S they have some sort of film ( a bit like tint but stronger) that holds the glass together really well and helps stop smash and grab type break ins - I have looked and cant see it being sold here in NZ.

Warlocks in Akld (if they are still going) have it.

Thanks guys. The bush on the right hand side of the rack is stuffed and flogging out the brake disc as it moves. Either a recon for the rack, or a new ( 2nd hand) rack. Wil prob try the E36 route by the look of it.

Do I remember reading somewhere that this is an easy swap and gives a faster steering rack/ratio than standard? Anyone done it? Does an M325i have a faster rack than standard (thought I read this somewhere)? Any ideas on prices for an E30 or E36 rack? You can probably see where I'm going with this.

I've seen it in the flesh, both before and after and it's a truely lovely car, but in my opinion, not worth anywhere near $100k, maybe $65k? As I said, each to their own.

Didn't he pay about $27-29k plus resto costs? Had about 192km on the clock? I can't see anywhere near $100k, but each to their own.