few powder coated bits

[ajay]

Ah. I don,t know what the mot chap was on about then, i need to do something to improve the output but i definatly don,t want facelift lights on a tech 1. Any suggestions

[bss325i]

Brighter bulbs. That is all.

[DanThe]

I just bit the bullet and went for new,( one cracked lens and the other side the reflector is going a bit crusty). I still reckon a hid conversion is reqired to get some decent light output.

Your finding the new ones poor?

[polsta]

I'm not sure ? Why do you say that ? When I got the car I was told it was a chrome one that had a quite poor paint job , I just gave the whole thing to him to blast and coat, I didn't ask if it was chrome under there when he blasted it , are you saying it is an original metal bumper then not a chrome ? He did mention the little cover bits are actually brass

[bss325i]

Im saying if the bumper is original to the car then it will have never been chrome. pre facelift cars with shadow line trim had body colour painted metal bumpers.

When you buy a new one they come in the black primer that all BMW panels come in.

[bab-91]

Stick with the pre-facelift


I thought about... (briefly mind) the idea of getting the yellow hella lights or us spec lights.

but fook to that.

[DanThe]

New lamps FTW

[e30topless]

New lamps FTW

innit

[ajay]

I just bit the bullet and went for new,( one cracked lens and the other side the reflector is going a bit crusty). I still reckon a hid conversion is reqired to get some decent light output.

Your finding the new ones poor?

My molested tech1 is not quite finnished yet so the new lights have not actually been tried n tested,but the old ones were not worth switching on and although iv,e got new they won,t be a patch on the 4.3k kit im now used to in our cab. so i doubt ill be impressed,thats the price of vanity i guess!

[polsta]

Im saying if the bumper is original to the car then it will have never been chrome. pre facelift cars with shadow line trim had body colour painted metal bumpers.

When you buy a new one they come in the black primer that all BMW panels come in.

Yeah I know, I'm not 100% if it was chrome or not, all I know was the paint on it wasn't great, and seller said it was a chrome one that had been painted, so rather than re paint that with the car,and the flakey inside back, I thought better off getting it blasted, either way it's sweet now and will be decent when paintied

[gaszman]

mine are ok never had a prob do have a set of angel eyes though

[DanThe]

I just bit the bullet and went for new,( one cracked lens and the other side the reflector is going a bit crusty). I still reckon a hid conversion is reqired to get some decent light output.

Your finding the new ones poor?

My molested tech1 is not quite finnished yet so the new lights have not actually been tried n tested,but the old ones were not worth switching on and although iv,e got new they won,t be a patch on the 4.3k kit im now used to in our cab. so i doubt ill be impressed,thats the price of vanity i guess!

You will be surprised.

[suchy]

Bit late to chip in but I say keep it original and go down the brighter bulbs route also

[Morat]

If you regularly drive at night outside town, then I'd go for the HIDs (35W will do fine) and take safety over originality - you can reverse it in minutes anyway. If you're a town dweller then new bulbs and clean lenses help, especially if you take the time to clean up the copper contacts that go onto the reflector and the back of the bulb.

Either way, dirty headlights are a total pain

[ajay]

Your finding the new ones poor?

My molested tech1 is not quite finnished yet so the new lights have not actually been tried n tested,but the old ones were not worth switching on and although iv,e got new they won,t be a patch on the 4.3k kit im now used to in our cab. so i doubt ill be impressed,thats the price of vanity i guess!

You will be surprised.

. In a good way i hope, that will be a first. Molesting my tech1 has been full of suprises ALL painfull and expensive!

[polsta]

Lol the pain and expense of the tech 1 !!! But least when the ones that are not saved and get broke , they are not many about as it is, but the ones that are saved will have their day and be a rare and sought after beast, more so with the way m3/alpina/Hartge prices are going, wont be too long before tech 1s well overtake tech 2 in prices and sought after ness hopefully

And parts prices rises lately of tech 1 parts and kits etc , may also be an indication of the tech 1 coming right back in to favour

[ajay]

Not sure if mine will ever be in the rare sought after bracket and values don,t interest me much, the idea of having a rare sought after bmw would put me off driving/enjoying it . My tech1 ticks all the boxes for me or at least it will when finnished(lol) thats the only thing that counts!

[polsta]

Yeah of course, just saying tech 1s are worth saving and spending the money on and restoring as it won't all be lost

[sunnyr83]

Tech 2 FTW

[gaszman]

less made than all those other models still not worth anything

[sunnyr83]

IMO any e30 Tech 1 or 2 will never be worth E30 M3 money or be a rare or sought after car. There are too many around. Honest mint examples can be said to be rare perhaps.

I have yet to see an Alpina or Hartge sell for anywhere close to what a solid E30 M3 has.

[polsta]

No ones saying that, saying the more m3s go up, alpina n Hartge creep up, and also becoming rare with rotters fragged for morsels same as sports, but the more the others rise the more the sports that are kept well and or restored , will also creep up , not to m3 money but they'll continue to rise over coming years surely, and even now nice ones don't come up for sale , only ones for a couple of grand needing work, I am the tech 1 expert so it must be true