kws

I love this project. Such a weird car, and so ambitious considering its state. Most would've run a mile! I was tempted to buy the pair that were on the tards for ages but never had the balls.

Thanks. Awesome on the loops, makes life easier. Im not 100% on whether i want to go with recaros or not yet, but will need to get the car certed anyway, which is kinda why i was thinking of relocating the belts but using standard seats as it would give me the option down the track to change if i wanted to.

Two questions. Ill need to cert my car soon, Do I need driveshaft hoops for my car? E36 328i auto with M3 engine and manual conversion. Using all factory gear. The driveshaft would have to drop through a heat shield and exhaust before it could get to the ground. Not my car, but same setup Do i need a cert for fitting recaro seats to the car (recaro seats on NZKW rails)? I know you do for changing the mounting point of the lower seatbelt buckle, could I mount the buckle to the trans tunnel now, with the correct plates etc, have the car certed, and then fit recaros later after its been certed?

Just dont buy $2 washer jets from Aliexpress..... argh. Even at their lowest setting they wash the windscreen of the car behind me.

Well, the time has come. I'm keeping the BMW for the foreseeable future, so the only logical next step was to drop some dead weight, and pull out the subs. The decision to keep the BMW wasn't one I took lightly, but I'm not sad or disappointed to be stuck with it. I actually quite like the car. There are a few things that didn't suit me about the car though, and having a bunch of useless weight sitting over the rear axle is one of those things. The boot install looked nice, but it really killed my enjoyment of the car. It sounded bad, and had been hastily thrown into the car. The main issue was that the capacitor on the driver's side wasn't actually secured by anything and was just sitting on top of the battery. This meant that every time I cornered hard (like an M3 should), the damn thing would fall over and go for a scoot along the boot floor, until the power wires restrained it. It was sitting on a block of wood So out it all comes. I'll tell you what, getting the sub box out was a mission. First out comes the floor panel and amp from the spare wheel well. Then the side amp, and capacitor come out. This gives enough room to shoehorn the rest of the trim and the box out of the boot opening. Turns out the box wasn't secured at all and was held in with hopes and dreams. It's a big box, that's for sure. I forgot how big a coupe boot actually is! In goes the carpet from Pick A Part, after a quick vacuum Even though this spare wheel doesn't hold air (buckled and leaks at the bead), I still put it in the boot as it helps to hold the carpet up, and also helps with weight balance. I need to find another wheel at some point. The wheel and tire weigh about the same as the amp that was in there, it was a beast. The previous owner butchered all the standard wiring for the speakers, so unless I want to run a whole lot of new wiring, I'm stuck with running the speaker amp. Thankfully I actually like this one as it looks cool, and doesn't take up too much space. Even the wiring going to this is a mess though. Yes, that is the pair of RCA connectors (usually used as one pair for front, and one pair for rear), split out to fill all four channels, front and rear. I'll rejig the RCA cables that went to the sub amp, and use them for the rear speakers so fronts and rears are split properly. The final result isn't perfect. The carpet needs some fettling to tidy it up, and the battery is the wrong size so the plastic cover on it doesn't quite fit properly, but otherwise, it's now a fully functional boot. Driving the car to work yesterday and the lack of weight is noticeable. It's not major, but it doesn't feel like you're dragging the backside around anymore. I would've pulled a good 20-30kg out. The next steps for the car are in motion. I have a set of BC Gold adjustable coilovers to go in, and a nice Purple Tag E46 steering rack to replace the horrible 3.0 M3 rack, which is the dumpster fire of steering racks. I'll also be rebuilding the vanos, since I already have the parts to do it, just need the time.

Coastal Fasteners down here have had the specific and uncommon bolts i've needed.

The snail mail details are here, https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/number-plates/

Its been a while, for two main reasons, but I'm still here, and for now, so is the BMW. The first reason has been that despite putting some KM on the BMW, it's been pretty reliable and solid. I even ticked over the magical 300,000KM mark the other week. The other reason is that a while back I was offered a car that I basically only have one chance to own in my life. There is a very long story around how I still don't have that car, but basically I have been trying to sell the BMW to get funds and space to buy the other car, but without success. I have had a stupid amount of stupid people wasting my time, which infuriates me, but still no one has fronted up with the cash. This leaves me in a limbo of sorts. I'm reluctant to give up on this other car and keep the BMW, as I likely won't get another chance for one again, but I also can't keep dropping the price and losing my arse just to push a sale quickly. So since I'm still stuck with the car, I'm also limited on spending money on it, or working on it. There are a few things that I will do to the car IF I keep it, but at this point I still don't know what's happening. In the meantime I have picked up a few things from Pick A Part. They had a coupe with a complete boot carpet, which I picked up so at some point I can rip out the boot install and go back to having a functional boot. I also grabbed a few cosmetic bits that were a bit shabby on my car. All cheap bits that aren't easy to get. One of the most important cosmetic bits I got was a new headlight switch. I hated seeing mine every time I drove the car because it was badly worn/scratched/scuffed. It also didn't light up like it should. You can see how horrible the legend around the dial looks, but even the I/O on the vent above is badly worn. These are super easy to remove, with only one screw on the underside of the dash surround, going up into the switch housing. Remove that, and gently pull the switch forward (I hold it by the dial). Its clipped into place in the top of the vent, but it'll come free with some wiggling. The wiring is fairly short for the foglight switch, so take care not to pull too hard or you can break that switch. The headlight switch wiring connector has a collar that twists around and the plug will come out. The replacement I sourced has a broken switch for the headlights, so when you turn the dial it doesn't click like it should. That's OK, my current one works fine, so I will swap them over. First pull the dial off. It's a press fit There are two things to note when that is removed. First, the light pipe in the back, at about 10-12 o'clock position. This is how the bulb feeds light to the notch on the dial, so it lights up. The other is the large plastic nut. I used a set of large needle nose pliers to turn this and remove it. Once removed, the whole switch will come away from the fascia. This is a really good time to replace the bulb, which is inevitably blown. This can be done with the switch still fitted to the fascia, but it's easier to push the bulb out the front, than to pull it out the back. The bulb is in a large plastic holder. If you push on the top of it, it will push out of the back of the switch The bulb is a small "grain of wheat" 286 bulb. Now, I believe the original BMW bulb was 0.3W and about $10 a piece! Madness. In the past I have chosen to use the much brighter 1.2W bulbs readily available on eBay. They do obviously run hotter, but other than a shorter lifespan, there doesn't seem to be any issue running them, but do so at your own peril. I went this route again this time. Now it's time to strip the good switch from the old fascia. With a new bulb fitted, install the tube into the good switch. The end of the tube is keyed to only go in one way, but be careful that the bulb passes clearly through. If the bulb isn't seated correctly, you can smash the bulb inside the light switch.... I found out the hard way. Now install the good switch on the good fascia, reinstall the nut and dial. Plug it into the car (without installing it) and test that everything works as it should. It should light up with the key on. If all is well, reinstall it into the dash and fit the screw. So much better! I couldn't stop there. I had the bulbs out, and I knew one other thing wasn't lighting up in the car; the climate controls. This is another thing I had to fix in the first M3, as that also had neither the headlight switch or climate controls light up when I got it. This is also an easy fix. First pull all four dials off. They are a friction fit. Next remove the two screws (one under the fan speed dial and the other under the vent control dial). Now the fascia can be gently pried forward until it pops off The back of the fascia is pretty cool. It has a series of light pipes to distribute the light from the single little bulb, to all of the areas around the dials that need to light up. The buttons (recirc, AC, demist) are all lit with little LEDs on the back plate. The little bulb lives dead center near the top of the unit. Gently pull it forward and it will come out of its holder. There is some discolouration around mine, and it did have a bigger 1.4W bulb fitted by the previous owner, but no distortion of the plastic or anything. Pop a new bulb in and turn the lights on. Now clip the fascia back on, insert the two screws, refit the four dials and you're done. Bling bling. And with all the other light up stuff The last thing that didn't light up was the ashtray. Turns out the whole bulb holder is missing, but not to fret, I picked up a replacement at Pick A Part today also. A non-smoker package pocket to replace the ashtray. Fixes the light not working, and also gives me somewhere to put my phone. Win. Great success. Now I can see things in the dark. Hopefully soon I will know what's happening with the car. Either it'll go to a new owner, or I will be ripping the boot install out.

Ok, so i've been trying to sell this car for a bit now (offered the chance to buy something else rare and awesome), but have had more time wasters with this car than any car i have sold previously. A couple of people that were "super keen" have even test driven the car, only to suddenly not be keen based on the KM (i've made the KM pretty clear), or because it's not "A real M" (also obvious from the start). I've been offered as low as 7K, and even a couple of offers in my ballpark that I have accepted, only to never hear from them again. So i'm seriously considering keeping the car for a longer period. That would mean finishing the list of things I want to do to the car (mostly cosmetic stuff), sorting the suspension (upgrading, either BC Golds or maybe Koni, and poly bushes) and a cert. On a whim i popped to Pick A Part today and got a good haul. Turns out they have a coupe there, so grabbed a few things I needed, including the boot carpet and plastic trim.... which means I can finally fuck off the boot install. I still forgot the ambient temp sensor, which was the whole reason i went >_< Next time.

I feel like a plug in would have less io connections than a wire in?

Depends what the wording is on the declaration I suspect. He really should put a photo up of the declaration.

Currently irrelevant, I just need to know if the conversion can be done. Be a good use of my spare Speeduino if it can.

My photo of the injectors seem to indicate that they may also use a removable seat, albeit not screw in. Cant find much info on that, but still looking. Maybe i can turn the ID on them down to fit standard injectors, and retain them with the factory style clamp, and use hoses off the injectors to a remote rail.

Anyone got any experience with converting K-Jet to normal injectors? This is what the manifold looks like, you can see the six spaces for the injectors, and with injectors installed There seems to be some kits for other brands, like Porsche, but i can't really find any detail on how the injectors fit into the manifold. Im also pondering how to get fuel to the injectors with all their angles being on the piss, as obviously a normal rail wont work, so old school hose tail injectors running to a "remote" rail? The injectors are also fecking long, with the narrow end pointing down into the inlet manifold (and you can just see the tops protruding in the above photo) Other suggestions are to replace the manifold with a later model one that has normal L-jet injection, but there wasn't one for the 2.8 Cologne V6 and as far as i can see the 2.9 (which had L-Jet) doesnt fit?

Fair enough, can't blame you for trying different things and going against the grain.

Crank trigger setup and then use dizzy as secondary input for cam position. Easy and less fucking around than this whole discussion has been. Crank triggers still look OEM unless you use flashy billet parts or some shit. You seem to be making it harder for yourself, for the sake of making it harder?

First looks similar to JPT (Junior Power Timer) connectors by AMP. The top one has a weird central white key though, which i havent seen before.

Well this is a familiar job, the old brake light switch failure. A few drives ago I noticed the familiar "BRAKE LIGHT CIRCUIT" warning on the Check Control. Initially it was just a random warning that would pop up occasionally, but when checked, the rear lights still worked. Unfortunately this escalated quickly, to the point where when I drove the car to and from work the other weekend, the warning would come up straight away, and sure enough, no brake lights were lit when the pedal was pressed. Eek. Back to the rear fog light when braking trick. I touched on this error on my first E36, where I had the same issue. I replaced the switch a few times on that car due to faulty new parts, but eventually I got a good switch and the warning went away. Replacement is fairly easy, once you know how the retention system works. If you try to fight the retaining clips, you will just make it much harder to get out. This is the switch, in it "ready" state as it would be when installed in the car. The red collar is pressed into the body, and the plunger is short To release the switch retaining clips, you need to extend that red collar by pulling it away from the body. There is one catch though, the plunger will not allow you to pull the collar out far enough, if the switch has been fitted, as the plunger doesn't extend out far enough. The plunger is on a ratcheting system, and needs to be forcefully pulled away from the body. With the plunger extended, the red collar easily slips forward, and will allow the retaining clips to be pushed inwards, allowing the switch to be removed To access the switch, you need to remove the lower knee trim. Its held on with three screws (one under headlight switch in the square recess, one under the dial for cluster brightness, and the other above the clutch pedal) Once that is removed, the switch is mounted above the brake pedal To release the red collar, you need to push the pedal down, extend the plunger, and then slip the red collar out. Only then can you violently wiggle the switch around until it comes out of its bracket. This isn't an easy task to do. The trick is to either have the car engine running, or press the pedal down immediately after shutting the engine off, so that there is vacuum in the booster and the pedal can travel down far enough to allow the plunger to come out. A lot of people get stuck there, you cannot extend the plunger far enough if the pedal cannot be pushed down. I used a screwdriver to lever the plunger out, and then my hand slide the collar forward, whilst holding the pedal down with my other hand. DO NOT release the brake pedal until you have the switch removed, or it will just push the plunger and collar back in thanks to the ratchet. Once the switch is free, you can release the brake pedal and if you haven't already, disconnect the wiring connector. New and old side by side. There was a bit of wear on the end of the plunger, so despite not having a date stamp, I suspect its original. To fit the new switch, ensure the plunger and collar is fully extended, push the brake pedal down (doesn't need to be all the way like removal) and then push the switch into the bracket until it clicks in. Slip the red collar down towards the body so the switch can't come out. Now release the pedal, and you should hear it ratchet the plunger in. Plug the switch in, and test. You shouldn't have any warnings on Check Control now, and the brake lights should work when the key is ON, and pedal is pressed. Reinstall the trim, and away you go. Done.

Been using and enjoying the car a few times recently. Trying hard to crack the 300,000km mark, which is about 300km away now. Its been good but some minor issues are cropping up. Turns out my heater (on the drivers side at least) is stuck on, so the cruise I took the other day, in the hot sun, meant it got pretty toasty inside. Guess like my last M3, the heater valve on this one has probably had it. My standard 3.0 M3 steering rack is rubbish. They're known for being slow and feel dead (and its a 3.0 M3 specific rack, good work BMW), and thats exactly what mine is. Slow, lots of turns lock to lock, and feels almost completely dead on center. Will keep an eye out for a purple tag E46, or Z3 rack, which is almost a direct swap and much better speed and feel. The latest fairly major issue though is that I have once again been hit my the common "BRAKE LIGHT CIRCUIT - SEE OWNERS MANUAL" Check warning, indicating my brake light switch is on the way out, and when tested, I indeed had no brake lights at all. Lovely. Ill grab a new one of those shortly, so I can keep enjoying the car without being rear ended. I really need to clean the car, I havent touched it since it was driven down from Auckland by the previous owner. I feel bad.

Agreed. Fronts look OK but rears need some added width for sure.

Its actually not that bad once you have the bolts cracked the first time. I can do it with a spanner now if i need to. Thanks copper grease.

About 3 and a half minutes? I'd hope so too! Its a starter. Its not rocket science.

Haha, this car is suffering most other common E36 issues, so yeah, probably happen.

So it turns out cheap chinese compression testers are all the rage on tardme, so one of them is on its way to me along with a set of new plugs. Im hoping to find nothing wrong, but at least then we will know.

One last thing I needed to fix, so that the car would reliably start, was the ignition barrel. Sometimes it would free spin, and wouldn't start the car. I had encountered the issue a couple of times, including once on the drive home after taking ownership of the car, when I stopped to take some photos. That was a "oh god, what have I gotten into?!" moment. You turn the key and instead of turning the ignition switch, it just free spins in the barrel. It will turn over and over without doing a single thing. Generally if you turn it back to where you started, take the key out and try again, it worked. Problem is, it can get worse. It'll either get to a point it will never start, or it will fail to turn off and the car will remain running. With the starter now fixed, this was next on the list of things that would stop the car starting. I was reminded of this when during testing of the starter yesterday, the key decided to free spin. Initially I had the great idea of removing the barrel so I could install a screw into the housing To remove the barrel you first remove the EWS transponder ring with a flat blade screwdriver. Carefully lever and pop it off. Then remove the rubber o-ring behind the ring. The theory on the next part is to use a straightened bobby pin or paperclip, and to insert it into this little hole, when the key is inserted and turned to the first "radio" position, and the barrel is meant to pop out I tried and tried but couldn't get the damn thing to work, so in the end, I chose to leave the barrel installed. Instead, I grabbed a drill and whacked a hole in the bottom of the housing. I know from much research that where the hole is would go straight into a recess in the barrel. When a screw is inserted, it would lock the barrel and stop it from spinning. I started with a 3mm bit, and stepped up to 4mm for the final hole. The aluminium is quite soft, so easy to drill, and a coarse threaded screw will thread in easily without needing to be tapped. And in went the random screw I found in my collection I probably should've used one with a smaller head, but it just fits. Now test that the barrel no longer spins freely. Thankfully one of the keys that came with the car doesn't seem to work, and would cause the barrel to spin every time. With the screw installed, I cannot spin the barrel anymore. The key still doesn't work. Reinstall the o-ring and the antenna. This should completely cover the new screw With that taken care of, I could finally reinstall the lower trim that had been out of the car since December, finally making it look like a respectable car again. Now, *touch wood* I should have a car that starts every time, not when the starter or ignition feels like it.