Thanks for the warm welcome! It's nice to find a group of hopeless fans of the M4x. I though I was the only one.
I am quite fond of the E30. No matter how old they get, they still look good. One of the most visually balanced cars ever, IMHO.
The E28 M535i is the first production "///M" car (i.e., not hand-built). It is different than the Euro 535iS in the body kit and options only. It got more of the optional goodies as standard - sort of a pre-loaded iS. They have a separate VIN series, too, which is how some purists differentiate between a seerate model and option package.
I traded my bronzit/nature 87 325is for this car to Jeff Krause in Whiteland, IN in 2002 because I thought that it would be perfect for me. A larger version of the E30, which it pretty much is, but I miss the little cars, which is where the MINI comes in. I couldn't find a 325is or 318is around here, and we wanted a MINI, so I bought it to replace the E28, which I will put up for sale as soon as it's detailed, but as it turns out, after 5 years of waiting and test driving, I find that as fantastic as it is (and it *is* fantastic), I prefer to be pushed, rather than pulled, and my wife, who formerly would lay down her life for the 318is now pines for the MCS so much that she wants to sell the E30 and get another MINI.
I can't let that the E30 go, so I may have to trade cars with her and let her have the MCS.
If I do that, then it'll be sporting some new sways, the ellipsoid lights, and quite possibly an air pump on the intake plenum .
I had a scare a few weeks ago with a knocking in the engine, which sounded a lot like the knock that my old G200Z Impulse did when it ate a rod bearing.
I flushed the oil last week and will do it again next week after I put a few miles on it, but so far no metal or platic shavings and no more noise, other than the typical M42 rattles, so I think it was the timing tensioner. Someone a few hours away has a good engine if needed, and I may buy it anyhow to have a spare. They're getting kinda scarce.
I'll post picks of all the cars here today.
Neil
