Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol8]

[KrisP]

Cross posted from Oa's "dangerous" thread, anyone in Cumbria? This does take my fancy, even though I have absolutely no need for it,…

W00DY said:

Looket said:

Not sure if classic, but definitely retro based on the fact that young me used to make a mess of the brochure looking at all that alcantara (mainly the steering wheel... man was that thing sexy!).




http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ICONIC-VOLVO-V70R-AWD-MA...

Both the car I need and want. Damn.

I'd really like to try one if these, shame it's at the other end of the country. Anyone in Cumbria who could take a look at all?

[harry kular]

£14.50 for Barkers, Derin? Fantastic!

I sell them: old-school quality, from a bygone era- just like our barges!

[derin100]

harry kular said:

£14.50 for Barkers, Derin? Fantastic!

I sell them: old-school quality, from a bygone era- just like our barges!

Yeah! Can you believe it? There were only two other bids. I bid £51 but it turned out the highest other bid must have been £14.50 so I got them for that! The seller had only ever sold one item before so still a bit of an Ebay Noob.

I did feel a slight twinge of guilt. What's the phrase? "Like taking candy from a baby."

[Caruso]

andy43 said:

Anyone fancy an Allard?
Not the prettiest, but it would certainly be a talking point. Once you've re-primered the bumper. It's an investment as well - the advert says so. Win-win.

I must be the only one on here who likes that. Not for the aesthetics, granted. I've always liked the idea of an LS400 but the boredom factor puts me off, this has just that bit of extra interest to take my fancy.

[BeirutTaxi]

W123 Mercedes Benz 230e Saloon For Sale (1985)

£2950
1985 Mercedes W123 230e in lovely original condition. A solid, honest example of Mercedes finest hour. Curently SORN but will tax for new owner.

This car has clearly been very well looked after throughout it's 29 years. It's unrestored, so has a few marks here and there as expected. At least you know it's not been loaded with filler and tarted up (with the dreaded chrome arches!) There are some scratches and scuffs, but nothing major.

If you do any research on these cars you'll know there are some common faults which can be very costly to put right. All the bits that matter on this car are in good order.

Structurally, it is very sound. Rear spring mounts, round the windscreens, the sunroof, battery tray/bulkhead, wheel arches and boot are all excellent. The odd little blister is showing on the OSR arch, showm in one of the pictures.
The steering box is also good, having just passed it's test a few weeks ago. There is the usual small amount of play in the wheel, this is normal.

It has four almost new Michelin tyres. The engine starts first click and the autobox works perfectly, shifting smoothly and kicking down if needed. The sunroof glides smoothly open and shut.

The drivers seat is saggy and the seat cover is getting a little tatty. There are various fixes for this detailed on forums, mostly involving beefing the springs up with foam.

Unfortunately there is no service history, it has disappeared somewhere aong the line. This didn't unduly worry me when I bought it as it has clearly been very well looked after to get to this age and be in the condition it is in. It's a pity but not the end of the world.

You are welcome to contact me to take a look at the car and see it in action. Please view before bidding, not after. If there's anything else you'd like pics of, please ask and I can upload them to my flickr account.

The car is located near Inverness in the North of Scotland.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C557125#

[Baryonyx]

KrisP said:

Cross posted from Oa's "dangerous" thread, anyone in Cumbria? This does take my fancy, even though I have absolutely no need for it,…

W00DY said:

Looket said:

Not sure if classic, but definitely retro based on the fact that young me used to make a mess of the brochure looking at all that alcantara (mainly the steering wheel... man was that thing sexy!).




http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ICONIC-VOLVO-V70R-AWD-MA...

Both the car I need and want. Damn.

I'd really like to try one if these, shame it's at the other end of the country. Anyone in Cumbria who could take a look at all?

It's funny that you should post that, I thought I recognised the car! It was for sale in the same place a couple of years ago - I recall looking at the advert and thinking there couldn't have been many of those around at the time. It's not that far from me, so I was going to go and have a look at it but IIRC I ended up chancing across my A8 which was for sale on the A8 owners forum and ended up with that instead.

[BeirutTaxi]

Mercedes W124 260E - 64k Miles - Immaculate For Sale (1990)
1990 Mercedes Benz W124 260E

Willow Green with extremely rare dark green interior

Right-hand drive
2.6-litre straight six
Automatic gearbox

64K Miles from new

Options include:
- 15-hole alloy wheels
- Air conditioning
- Cruise control
- Puddle lights
- Outside air temperature
- Metallic paint
- Rear headrests
- Illuminated vanity mirrors
- Zebrano wood with matching gearlever


I have owned several W124s and this 260E is by far the best and the most original I have seen. Its condition, when you consider that it’s a 25 year-old car, is quite incredible.

It was sold new in Japan by Yanase, one of Japan’s biggest import car dealers. Therefore it is Japanese specification, which means it has no sunroof, air conditioning as standard, speedometer in Km/h and a different infill panel on the boot lid tailored to Japanese/US number plate size. It has all the manuals/books from new in the original leather pouch but obviously all are in Japanese.

The car came to the UK in 2000 and I acquired the car two years ago. Perhaps the big advantage of spending the first ten years of its life in Japan is that it was never exposed to road salt, which is clearly evident in its condition today. Also, in order to pass the Japanese MoT, evidence of regular servicing was required.
It has also covered a very low mileage of just 103K KMs, which is equivalent to 64K miles. Again, this low mileage is very evident in its condition.

When I bought the car is had been off the road for a couple of years. As such I recommissioned the car over a period of several months. This included the following work:
- Engine oil and filter change
- Gearbox fluid and filter change
- Differential oil change
- New radiator, radiator cap, thermostat and coolant
- New fuel pump
- New distributor cap and rotor arm (OE Bosch)
- Spark plugs, air and fuel filter
- Rear brake pads
- Regrease wiper mechanism
- New exhaust system (catalyst back)
- New steering joints
- New front springs (OE Sachs springs correctly matched to this particular car’s equipment)
- New Sony Bluetooth/USB/handsfree stereo/CD player

Since then I have driven the car several thousand miles, including a couple of longer trips, and it has not skipped a beat. The 2.6-litre engine is turbine smooth at all revs and it is an extremely relaxing comfortable car to drive with a decent turn of speed when required.
These earlier (pre ’93) W124s are legendary in terms of their build quality and longevity, and will, if maintained correctly, last almost indefinitely.
I will describe the car’s condition in sections.

Body
I would say that this car is all original panels and probably all original paint. The condition is exceptional. The pictures tell a thousand words. Under the arches you can clearly seen bright, factory paint. None of the wheel arches have a spot of rust or repair. Having gone through the body carefully it has evidently never been accident damaged.
Underneath I have checked the rear subframe mounts and the jacking points. All are good and unwelded and I have waxed them, along with all the fuel and brake lines that are original and rust-free.
Being extremely picky, the only defects to the body are a slight dink below the offside rear light (just visible in the photos), a small scratch on the bonnet (not visible) and a slight scuff to the black plastic section of the front bumper (just about visible). That’s it!

Interior
As you can see on the photos the interior is incredible. The driver’s seat is not worn on the bolster as they usually are. It really is superb. The steering wheel grain is still sharp and well defined, commensurate with the mileage. Everything works with the exception of the clock. The air conditioning has been converted to R134 gas and will be recharged prior to sale. As previously mentioned the stereo head unit has been upgraded to a modern Sony with Bluetooth, USB and handsfree functions.

Mechanicals
The M103 engine is very smooth, quiet and maintains factory oil pressure. It is very clean inside thanks to regular servicing. The gearbox is perfect; the best I have experienced with super smooth changes. With new front springs the car sits correctly and rides very smoothly.
The wheels have never been refurbished and are extremely good. It has matching Pirelli P6000 tyres all round (inc. spare).

Although it has a current MoT, I will have it retested for the new owner so you start with 12 months MoT. I have, I think, all the receipts from all the work I have done to the car, all the original books/manuals and two sets of keys.

I wish I could keep this car, however I have nowhere to store it undercover long term and I have other cars waiting to be finished so it has to go. The W124 is now being recognised as a true design classic and, with the number of very good cars depleting, values are rising significantly. At the moment this car is incredible value for money. You would have to go a long way to find a cleaner W124.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C577652

[ryanMIL]

Can I ask you collective opinions on this E65 745, particularly Ross if he's around?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Whilst the ad isn't too inspiring, I've had a look today because it's local and it checks out ok. It's got a good, detailed service history; mostly main dealer with the last couple by an indie.

iDrive seems to work ok, but it'll take a bit of learning - all the features work as they should and it started, idled and revved fine. Only concern was the rear head rests; sitting in the back, I adjusted the height of them using the arm rest button, but when I put the rest back, they seemed to reset themselves?

I'm planning to go back on Saturday for a test drive - is there anything I should be looking for specifically? I can't seem to find a buyers guide.

[W00DY]

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C579815

They don't come much classier.

[jke11y]

I absolutely love that design of wheel. They are very similar to one of the OEM wheels on the RR Ghost.

[hornetrider]

That V70R is awesome. Love it love it love it.

[cat220]

ryanMIL said:

Can I ask you collective opinions on this E65 745, particularly Ross if he's around?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Whilst the ad isn't too inspiring, I've had a look today because it's local and it checks out ok. It's got a good, detailed service history; mostly main dealer with the last couple by an indie.

iDrive seems to work ok, but it'll take a bit of learning - all the features work as they should and it started, idled and revved fine. Only concern was the rear head rests; sitting in the back, I adjusted the height of them using the arm rest button, but when I put the rest back, they seemed to reset themselves?

I'm planning to go back on Saturday for a test drive - is there anything I should be looking for specifically? I can't seem to find a buyers guide.

The i-drive is pretty straightforward to use, so will be easy to pick up.
Things to look for:
Check the xenon headlights are working correctly, the "angel eyes" should be as bright as each other. At that age they should have been replaced. Not cheap as its a bumper off job.
Ensure the bonnet release works correctly, these tend to fail around the 100k mark
If it has an the powered boot, ensure it operates nice and smooth, it starts to fail gradually, one test is to have the car facing up a slope and trying raising it, again expensive to replace the motor.
Parking sensors, ensure these are ALL working.
Radio/audio, ensure all is working, radio has a tendency to switch off randomly, an expensive module fails, ensure the cd changer in the dash operates correctly and the door closes flush with the dash.
There was a recall around 2010 that will have included that car, Around the power braking system which could cause a vacuum leak. Make sure that's done.
The headrests should operate nice and smooth. When the back seats are not in use they will retract. Again at that mileage the motors will prob need replacing soon.
Usual with any car, check for any knocks, unusual noises on a test drive.

The car looks well enough for the money, not keen on the aftermarket exhaust. Comfort seats are nice however they look very tired for the mileage.

Don't let that list put you off, if properly maintained they're great cars.

Hope that helps.

[sday12]

37K miles W126.......

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/171651489810?clk_rv...

[Calmchap]

W00DY said:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C579815

They don't come much classier.

Undoubtedly so. Is it just my eyes though or does it appear to be riding abnormally high, when looking at the profile shots?

[E65Ross]

ryanMIL said:

Can I ask you collective opinions on this E65 745, particularly Ross if he's around?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Whilst the ad isn't too inspiring, I've had a look today because it's local and it checks out ok. It's got a good, detailed service history; mostly main dealer with the last couple by an indie.

iDrive seems to work ok, but it'll take a bit of learning - all the features work as they should and it started, idled and revved fine. Only concern was the rear head rests; sitting in the back, I adjusted the height of them using the arm rest button, but when I put the rest back, they seemed to reset themselves?

I'm planning to go back on Saturday for a test drive - is there anything I should be looking for specifically? I can't seem to find a buyers guide.

Cat220 has covered a lot of the points well already! Check for engine oil and coolant leaks. Mild oil leaks are quite common and often nothing to worry about. A coolant leak can be a major (over £1k) problem to sort out.

Check the gearbox is smooth, especially slow speed downshifts and also kickdown.... A thud doesn't always indicate a box that's doomed, but rather worn dampers inside the box. A good gearbox specialist changed mine, gave it a good service and changed other bits but I didn't get much change for £700. A good previous owner would have at least had the oil done but at this mileage it's not enough.

Check the ride height of every single corner using your fingers (put your fingers together, you should get 3 fingera-width under each arch unless you have real sausage fingers I reckon. Make sure you get up to motorway speed and use the brakes and check for wheel wobble. It's still something I need to sort on mine after replacing a fair bit, I've made it considerably better but I'm still not 100% happy..... Though as I'm not driving right now I'm not in too much of a hurry.

Erm.... Can't think what else. There are lots of things to check for but in reality not that much more than other cars of similar vintage.

Lots to go wrong but, as cat220 says, well maintained ones are really, really nice places to spend time and they eat big miles very, very well indeed.

Any more questions just ask

Ross

[Adrian E]

Calmchap said:

W00DY said:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C579815

They don't come much classier.

Undoubtedly so. Is it just my eyes though or does it appear to be riding abnormally high, when looking at the profile shots?

It's an SE spec, so they sit a good 10mm higher. I'm also not convinced the wheels are original. They look a bit like monoblocks but the centres aren't right - pretty sure they were never offered in the UK anyway, but a friend has them on his after importing some from Germany.

Spec is very decent - solar sunroof isn't a 'North America climate' pack - it was an option anywhere! It feeds power to the blower motor to cool the interior in hot weather, although it'll also do the same on cold but bright days too!

SE means you get the multifunction steering wheel. Heated seats all round was an option, as was the blind pack which is handy. Has headlight washers so should have single xenons (they're not bi-xenons as that was a further upgrade). It'll have memory seats too.

Biggest downsides to SE spec are the more wallowy ride and the flat seats rather than the 10 way Recaros, but that mileage is nothing for one of these if it's been maintained. Biggest bargeist worries are last cambelt change (due every 5 years irrespective of mileage), front suspension joints if cheap ebay specials used (Meyle HD or OEM ideally), water ingress through blocked drains (there's several!). The overmats lift out, then the carpet mats lift out, and you can see the floor of the car so it's much easier than your average car to see if water is swimming about. The relay/fuse board lives under a wooden board on the passenger side so if that's soaked up a load of water, beware!

[Baryonyx]

Adrian E said:

It's an SE spec, so they sit a good 10mm higher. I'm also not convinced the wheels are original. They look a bit like monoblocks but the centres aren't right - pretty sure they were never offered in the UK anyway, but a friend has them on his after importing some from Germany.

Spec is very decent - solar sunroof isn't a 'North America climate' pack - it was an option anywhere! It feeds power to the blower motor to cool the interior in hot weather, although it'll also do the same on cold but bright days too!

SE means you get the multifunction steering wheel. Heated seats all round was an option, as was the blind pack which is handy. Has headlight washers so should have single xenons (they're not bi-xenons as that was a further upgrade). It'll have memory seats too.

Biggest downsides to SE spec are the more wallowy ride and the flat seats rather than the 10 way Recaros, but that mileage is nothing for one of these if it's been maintained. Biggest bargeist worries are last cambelt change (due every 5 years irrespective of mileage), front suspension joints if cheap ebay specials used (Meyle HD or OEM ideally), water ingress through blocked drains (there's several!). The overmats lift out, then the carpet mats lift out, and you can see the floor of the car so it's much easier than your average car to see if water is swimming about. The relay/fuse board lives under a wooden board on the passenger side so if that's soaked up a load of water, beware!

I wouldn't be too concerned about an SE spec ride, in the UK that is usually a good thing for a barge!

I'm not convinced the wheels are the real deal on that either, I've zoomed in and can't make up the centre marking but it doesn't look like the original and the wheels appear heavily convex in the centre and the holes don't look right. The monoblock wheel is a beautiful thing (standard on the W12 model in Europe IIRC). Should look like this:

[r129sl]

I've just been looking at that Audi. There's no way the wheels are the beautiful forged items from the 6.0L W12. Still nice, though.

How about this? A bit out of thread budget but, you know, who cares.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C538338

Edited by r129sl on Friday 30th January 09:22

[ryanMIL]

E65Ross said:

Cat220 has covered a lot of the points well already! Check for engine oil and coolant leaks. Mild oil leaks are quite common and often nothing to worry about. A coolant leak can be a major (over £1k) problem to sort out.

Check the gearbox is smooth, especially slow speed downshifts and also kickdown.... A thud doesn't always indicate a box that's doomed, but rather worn dampers inside the box. A good gearbox specialist changed mine, gave it a good service and changed other bits but I didn't get much change for £700. A good previous owner would have at least had the oil done but at this mileage it's not enough.

Check the ride height of every single corner using your fingers (put your fingers together, you should get 3 fingera-width under each arch unless you have real sausage fingers I reckon. Make sure you get up to motorway speed and use the brakes and check for wheel wobble. It's still something I need to sort on mine after replacing a fair bit, I've made it considerably better but I'm still not 100% happy..... Though as I'm not driving right now I'm not in too much of a hurry.

Erm.... Can't think what else. There are lots of things to check for but in reality not that much more than other cars of similar vintage.

Lots to go wrong but, as cat220 says, well maintained ones are really, really nice places to spend time and they eat big miles very, very well indeed.

Any more questions just ask

Ross

Thanks to both of you for this. It's the "lots to go wrong" that is a bit daunting!

My mileage is about to go down to 10k/year, from 30k, and with the price of fuel dropping, it seems like a great time to buy a V8. I was also considering an E500, but it seems like the 7er will be the less ruinous car.

I'm hoping that if I can find one with a decent gearbox, the rest is fairly low risk because I'd be quite happy working on the cooling system myself.

[E65Ross]

ryanMIL said:

Thanks to both of you for this. It's the "lots to go wrong" that is a bit daunting!

My mileage is about to go down to 10k/year, from 30k, and with the price of fuel dropping, it seems like a great time to buy a V8. I was also considering an E500, but it seems like the 7er will be the less ruinous car.

I'm hoping that if I can find one with a decent gearbox, the rest is fairly low risk because I'd be quite happy working on the cooling system myself.

Just bare in mind the cooling system leak isn't a problem, as such, with the cooling system (eg water pump, radiator etc).

Google N62B44 coolant leak and I'm sure it'll come up. There are cheaper fixes these days /which is the way I'll go when/if the time comes) but it's still around the £1k mark