nearly there

[xavier]

I put in the new water pump, timing belt, tensioner, belts and some other odds and ends, all markings still perfectly lined up, bolted it all back together. Ah! the starter motor starts it all but it will not keep spining of its own accord. Any ideas?

[Grrrmachine]

Do you mean it won't idle, or it won't fire even if the throttle is held down?

[xavier]

wil not fire up

[Grrrmachine]

Have you confirmed the presence of spark and fuel? You can work through the Troubleshooter if you want:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... oubleshoot

That'll do until you tell us what engine we're dealing with

[Jos]

Being in Australia I hope you have tried:

http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Aeroso ... 46BqKuvjuQ

[xavier]

It's the 323i. The m20 motor

[Grrrmachine]

Ah. 323i will have earlier engine management than Motronic 1.3 - you should have the two CPS sensors in the gearbox/flywheel rather than at the front of the engine. If you've disturbed either of these, you won't have any fuel coming in.

Do you have spark? Have you done the bulb-on-coil test yet?