conrod

Go Needles! I enjoyed that! A bit like Top Gear, but with more driving talent involved, Fifth Gear doesn't need a "Stig!"

I have never seen a factory hardtop for one of these, I didn't even know they existed. Do they look okay?

That would sound really good out of the short exhaust! 350 hp is no biggie out of a 5 litre, think two M20 2.5's, which is essentially what the V12 was.

I just watched "Wedding Crashers" in the weekend- that is the "Motorboat!"

What a dumbass, I forgot the link! http://www.racecarsdirect.com/cars/details...?id=37362&cat=0

This is one of the best (or worst depending how you look at it!) crashed BMW race cars I have seen in a while! Could be good for spares for DC Cain?

sorry no, I left all of those bits in the shell when I got rid of it.

It is running 300mm front rotors with E23 four pot calipers, and vented rear rotors (not sure of origin) with 2 pot rear calipers, I think E23 as well. Koni shocks, with coilover rears, adjustable platforms on all corners. Car was going really well at the 4 hour race in Taupo on Saturday,was running second in class at the two hour mark, and looking at a top 10 finish, until it hit a big puddle and aquaplaned on the straight. Hit the wall on R/H side, broke the tie rod and bent rack. The boys got it repaired, but lost about 40 minutes and dropped to back of the field.Bugger!

Here is a piccy of the car the engine is attached to......

I am having a bit of a clearance of M3 parts that I don't require, and have listed them on trademe, there is brakes, rear suspension/diff, more brakes, airbags etc. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=57588653

Usually buy Altura coffee beans, they roast their own on site in their shop/retaurant in Albany, and they are quite good. I have a Saeco full automatic machine which does the grinding/tamping/ pouring in one push of the button.And I always buy the darkest fuller flavoured blends- might as well get the maximum kick out your cup!

I saw that today heading towards Orewa on the Motorway- v.cool! :thumb:

And what happens when someone does something ricey to the new (V8) M3? Will that get a mention? :jap:

Did the editors of Hot Fours and Fast Fours and Rotaries fail School C maths or something?!!! Whenever I flick through one of these mags in the Supermarket, there is invariably one or two Skylines, Supras, or 300ZX's gracing the pages, and now an M3. They are always fast to bag anything with a V8, and yet somehow straight sixes and V6's are okay? What gives? :confused:

A friend of mine is running an E30 medium cased LSD in his 500hp 2002 Turbo, he does circuit racing and Tarmac rallies with this car. In the 10 years or so since the car has been built he has never had a diff problem. So there is a good yardstick!

I actually think it is stunning! So there!

you could of given me your S52 and used the CSL S54 in your project That was an option, to use the S54 and sell the S50, but apart from the horsepower difference ( which won't be that much by the time I finish tweaking mine) I am not convinced that the S54 is an altogether better engine, although the carbon inlet manifold is damn sexy!

I think that declaration was probably drafted by BMW.As it was nearly new and still under warranty, and so severely damaged, they wouldn't want it bodged back together and have to cover the warranty/servicing/problems that would likely show up on a car like this after being repaired. Just my opinion though, I don't know for sure. Engine looked okay Andrew, outer part of carbon inlet manifold damaged, but that was about all I could see wrong with it. Wheels all stuffed, not sure where the LF wheel/suspension/brakes were- it was completely ripped off! All other suspension bits bent, interior looked good but airbags had gone off. So really only engine/box, interior and diff salvagable, and a few minor bits. The rest was scrap.

Nice conversion there, and it looks so "factory"- as it should! Diff is dead easy as you probably know, any medium case E30 diff will bolt in, so easy enough to get the required ratio and LSD if desired, although I bet it moves off the line like the proverbial s%@t off the shovel with the 318 auto ratio! :thumb:

I thought that was a good price for someone, and would have paid a fair amount more than that for it if I didn't have a current project, and had a use for it. But I do have a project, and didn't have a use so let it go. Also, the buyer had to sign a declaration saying it would not be repaired, and was to be for parts only, which was of no consequence to me anyway. And apologies to BMW NZ for causing any embarrasment by posting these pics, but I am sure it was not a career enhancing move for the young instructor involved, who shall remain nameless!

thought I'd post the pics before it disappears off their website!

another

another

This car went under the hammer at Turners DVA this morning. It was the one that belonged to BMW NZ that was being used by the driving school, that one of the young instructors took for an ill fated spin on the road! I would have posted it in the "For Sale" section earlier, but as I was bidding on it I didn't want the extra competition! It sold for $13400, and no, I am not the new owner. http://www.turners.co.nz/TabId/188/vguid/2...17/default.aspx

I'm a big fan of Top Gear, but it is mainly for the humour, and secondly for the odd good car they test. Clarkson is quite funny, but his large stature is also matched by his large ego, and he is no race car driver. (Tiff Needell on the other hand IS!) Anyway, the world famous "Stig" is quite possibly more than one person, do a Google search and you will learn about the indentity of the first "Stig" who was Perry McCarthy, and the second "white" one is rumoured to be several different people, depending on who is available. Quite a clever marketing tool, and if one "Stig" packs a sad you have plenty of others ready to step up to the plate! And the "Black" Stig as depicted on the track day website is "dead"( that is Perry)- he is the one who launched off the aircraft carrier in an XJS to be replaced by the "white" Stig. Which brings me neatly to my point, over in England people pay about 150 pounds for a track day, and these are very popular and sometimes booked out. Over here in little old NZ though, as others have pointed out, it costs you $90 for a public day at Pukekohe with more track time,so $375 for a track day, using my own car, and with "tips from the pros" (which sounds like a group session of "don't crash into each other") just smacks too much of being a money making venture with NO REAL ADDED VALUE, with only the promise of seeing "Stig" in action (who could be Ray Williams in a black race suit and helmet!) and none of the other Top Gear crew. Thank you Top Gear for the invitation, but I'll pass on that one. :thumbsdown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig