Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 9]

[tobinen]

That looks excellent JF87, proper barge and a Q car to boot. Looks like you've done very well.

[derin100]

S3_Graham said:

Completely O/T but would you (or anyone else) happen to know anyone after an E24 project? Friend at works father passed away and he is left with his 635CSI that he has no idea what to do with. He's not a car guy and has no interest in restoring it but it has massive sentimental value. I don't think he is after a lot of money and is keen for it to go to someone that will restore it. Apparently it needs new wings and 4 star classics said the fuel system needs going over, He said they mentioned a price of £6k but that sounds ridiculous for a fuel system?

It's not a red Highline 635 by any chance is it?

[derin100]

JF87 said:

Braved Essex on Saturday to look at a £895 735 E38 and a £1,000 E430. The 735 went very well, bar the habitual shimmy under braking at 60-70ish, but had surface rust on the rear arches and was unforgiveably plastered in V8 and ALPINA badges that weren't there in the listing shots (my blurted protest to the owner - "Why must people do that?" - died awkwardly away as I realised that of course he was responsible).

The E430 though was superb, and I bought it. Doom blue Elegance, fantastically low spec for a V8: manual unheated leather (doom grey), cruise and climate control is pretty much your lot. I'm guessing it clocked up most of its 140k ferrying executives around as the only sign of interior wear is on one side of the rear carpet. Aftermarket stereo is a bit of a downer, the a/c takes a while to chill out (gets there, though, so may actually "just need a recharge"), the sunroof is u/s and I don't think the headlamp washers work. Beyond these trifles it's in astonishingly good nick for a W210 - other than a tiny bit of bubbling at the bottom of a rear door (I honestly would have missed it if he hadn't pointed it out) there is zero rust. Unheard of! Vendor reckoned the wings have been done at some point. Recently had a wheel refurb, new cats, gearbox oil change and spark plugs (big plus as there are 16 of them). Super-clean under the bonnet, a tribute to the vendor (he had five cars including a C32 estate and a lovely 1985 single-carb Saab 900 he picked me up in when I went to Colchester station last night).

What a smooth ride back home. I have never driven a more serene V8 - speed seems to accumulate almost surreptitiously, but accumulate it most certainly does, and swiftly enough to humble the M25's healthy population of xenon-eyed tailgaters. Did get a decent howl out of it under Extreme Kickdown though. Curious to think this unassuming mid-range dullard beats my E31 840 to 60.

Anyway - very pleased with it. I'm living the timewarp Uber cabbie's dream (intention is to wake up from this when my 840 finally returns from the dead).

Bad photos:

Nice buy! Very stealthy!

[Gruber]

derin100 said:

S3_Graham said:

Completely O/T but would you (or anyone else) happen to know anyone after an E24 project? Friend at works father passed away and he is left with his 635CSI that he has no idea what to do with. He's not a car guy and has no interest in restoring it but it has massive sentimental value. I don't think he is after a lot of money and is keen for it to go to someone that will restore it. Apparently it needs new wings and 4 star classics said the fuel system needs going over, He said they mentioned a price of £6k but that sounds ridiculous for a fuel system?

It's not a red Highline 635 by any chance is it?

...or a red pre-Highline chrome bumper reg C585 TPG, which I'd dearly love to have back in my life?

[dbdb]

BeirutTaxi said:

deadslow said:

BeirutTaxi said:

If I was to do the Jag thing I would go for an X350. They are twice the price of the X300 and X308 but a huge, huge step forward in terms of quality.

The X350 is a cracking car by all accounts but I doubt it will go down in the history books as a truly great Jag, more of a transitional footnote.

The X300/308s, on the other hand, are great old skool jaguars. I suppose it all depends what 'doing the jag thing' means to different people. If it means owning and running one, then the newer car is far superior, but if it means getting an understanding of jaguar's dna, then the older cars are more of an experience, all imho. And they only really fall to bits when neglected by unappreciative morons, mainly.

Fair point - The Jag I ultimately want is actually an XJ40. I know the chassis and bodywork is made of straw however it has an amazing interior - better than any later Jaguar. Plus there is something very special about the fact that they're the last hand made Jaguar.

So what I actually meant by 'I want the newer car to avoid problems' is 'I want the older car for the soul and character'

Darrens (HaylingJag) XJ40R is just awesome. So special. Have a look around it if you ever get the chance.

Darren is also the definition of an old school Jag owner - ie lots of cigarettes, smoking rear tyres and a good laugh

I agree with this - for me, much as I like them, the X300/x308 are a halfway house, neither fish nor foul, caught between the classic feel of earlier Jags and the fully modern all-encompassing competence of later cars.

The X350 is a superb performer; its all round ability is genuinely impressive. My brother had a Super V8 from about 2003/4-ish 'till 2006 when it was stolen and suffering a big loss he replaced it with an e66 BMW 740iL. The Jag was considerably superior to the BMW in every way bar rear legroom - where the BMW excels.

What the X350 lacks though is character. It is a superb car and excels in every measurable way, but it is totally uninvolving emotionally. It has no chutzpah, no finesse - which the earlier Jags have in buckets. It is no more charismatic than the 7 series, and that isn't enough for me. The X350 is rather Germanic in its bland, unremitting accomplishments. It never feels special, the X350 only ever appeals to the intellect and is never remotely visceral. Of course this doesn't matter to everybody - indeed many people dislike 'character' in cars, only perceiving the down sides to it. All said, earlier Jaguars are flawed cars.

The X300 is very popular on PH - I suspect mostly because it is styled to look like the Series III. They are excellent cars - certainly assembled far better than the XJ40 on which they are based. But to me they are a halfway house, since they lack the all-round ability of the X350, but do not have the classic feel of the XJ40. There is a lot of hand building in the XJ40 and many of the materials in the cabin are from another era. It makes them far more charming, even if it also means inaccurate shut lines and the odd inconsistency, here and there.


The oily bits are pretty much trouble free as Speckled Jim says - and the electrics are not a problem on all but the early cars. They do suffer galloping rot though - as you can see from my rust and restoration thread which is rather frightening for those unaccustomed to the noble rot!!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...


Getting emotionally attached to the 190 is a great complement to the car. It shows that it is out of the ordinary - and worth emotional investment! Few cars warrant that.


Edited to add missing rust link.

Edited by dbdb on Wednesday 10th February 21:55

[deadslow]

dbdb said:

The X300 is very popular on PH - I suspect mostly because it is styled to look like the Series III. They are excellent cars - certainly assembled far better than the XJ40 on which they are based. But to me they are a halfway house, since they lack the all-round ability of the X350, but do not have the classic feel of the XJ40. There is a lot of hand building in the XJ40 and many of the materials in the cabin are from another era. It makes them far more charming, even if it also means inaccurate shut lines and the odd inconsistency, here and there.

har har, just shows how times change. When the XJ40 was new I was driving an S111, and we were all horrified at the modernity of the XJ40

[dbdb]

deadslow said:

dbdb said:

The X300 is very popular on PH - I suspect mostly because it is styled to look like the Series III. They are excellent cars - certainly assembled far better than the XJ40 on which they are based. But to me they are a halfway house, since they lack the all-round ability of the X350, but do not have the classic feel of the XJ40. There is a lot of hand building in the XJ40 and many of the materials in the cabin are from another era. It makes them far more charming, even if it also means inaccurate shut lines and the odd inconsistency, here and there.

har har, just shows how times change. When the XJ40 was new I was driving an S111, and we were all horrified at the modernity of the XJ40

Thirty years ago of course.

[Londontaximan]

S3_Graham said:

BeirutTaxi said:

S3_Graham said:

On the American theme. I want this badly. It's been for sale for months and is getting cheaper and cheaper. I'd leave every junction in a cloud of smoke. Its so st it's cool.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C666319

I normally hate looking at cars with stats however it's hard to ignore the fact that it has a less bhp/ton than a 190e 2.0. (170bhp and 1850kg vs 122bhp and 1150kg).

My guess is that there won't be muscle car rear smoking tyres, just normal acceleration with a large fuel bill.

I'd guess there is a slug of torque and while I don't doubt it will be glacially slow... With an open diff I bet you could wheel spin (probably just be one wheel spinning) away from every set of light. It'd sound great regardless and for £2k... there it would be a great talking point car.

It happened in every mid 90's film where there was a car chase!! I must be true!

always liked these, when equipped with the LT1 Corvette engine it was a beast, would love to take one for a spin. According to many U.S traffic cops the best pursuit car there was. Their equivalent to our 24V Vauxhall Senators.

Taken from Wiki

The Caprice 9C1 with the LT1 engine became one of the fastest and most popular modern day police vehicles. This vehicle established such strong devotion by many police departments that a cottage industry thrived in refurbishing Caprices for continued police service after GM discontinued production of the car.

[S3_Graham]

Gruber said:

derin100 said:

S3_Graham said:

Completely O/T but would you (or anyone else) happen to know anyone after an E24 project? Friend at works father passed away and he is left with his 635CSI that he has no idea what to do with. He's not a car guy and has no interest in restoring it but it has massive sentimental value. I don't think he is after a lot of money and is keen for it to go to someone that will restore it. Apparently it needs new wings and 4 star classics said the fuel system needs going over, He said they mentioned a price of £6k but that sounds ridiculous for a fuel system?

It's not a red Highline 635 by any chance is it?

...or a red pre-Highline chrome bumper reg C585 TPG, which I'd dearly love to have back in my life?

Sadly not guys. From my E24 stubble its a Lachs silver Highline. Reg comes back as an '88. All i remember is that it has extended leather and metric wheels. I have a bunch of photo's from when I went to look at it with a view to buying back in 2013. His dad bought an 840 from 4star to replace this, but never got round to selling it and its been in the garage ever since.

[bmthnick1981]

It's the last thing I need but how much do they want for it ?

[S3_Graham]

bmthnick1981 said:

It's the last thing I need but how much do they want for it ?

Swap for the 330D?

[deadslow]

dbdb said:

deadslow said:

dbdb said:

The X300 is very popular on PH - I suspect mostly because it is styled to look like the Series III. They are excellent cars - certainly assembled far better than the XJ40 on which they are based. But to me they are a halfway house, since they lack the all-round ability of the X350, but do not have the classic feel of the XJ40. There is a lot of hand building in the XJ40 and many of the materials in the cabin are from another era. It makes them far more charming, even if it also means inaccurate shut lines and the odd inconsistency, here and there.

har har, just shows how times change. When the XJ40 was new I was driving an S111, and we were all horrified at the modernity of the XJ40

Thirty years ago of course.

How time flies when you're flying along. I was glad when they eventually reskinned it and produced the X300 - retrolutionary, they called it

[Croutons]

I am normally disappointed at cars appearing over this thread budget, but this 750Li looks remarkably clean at £6k, sneaks in at £290 tax, is gassed and a fetching colour combo too.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Pennyroyal Tea]

Lungwun said:

Just can't get into E32's at all.

Was/Is there anything special about them? I imagine the I6 730's would struggle to get along and the 735's would just be marginally better.

Hope you gentlemen prove me wrong.

Would any of you pick them for DD duties over a W126 of similar vintage?

I ran an E32 735i for a few months at the turn of the decade (2009 ish). It was a lovely 1990 car with approx 80k miles that I paid the enormous sum of... 900 earth pounds for.



In many respects it was the best car I ever owned, given that for all intents an purposes, it was free, ran like clockwork and hustled me up and down the country in serene comfort. The M30 lump was/is a gem and given that cars were significantly lighter back then, its 200ish bhp was more than enough.

Now, almost thirty years after these cars rolled out of the showrooms, I wouldn't use either for DD duties (at least not in the UK). Rot is the biggest issue, alas. I think it's just stretching the boundiries of realism to expect such a car to work as we are used to nowadays, although I wish more than anything this wasn't the case.

Nevertheless, and notwithstanding the above, if you put a gun to my head I'd take the E32, simply for that nose.

[anonymous-user]

Got a bloody Nirvana song rattling around in my head now, PT.

[anonymous-user]

Croutons said:

I am normally disappointed at cars appearing over this thread budget, but this 750Li looks remarkably clean at £6k, sneaks in at £290 tax, is gassed and a fetching colour combo too.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

That looks like a great mile muncher, and the colour is classy. A nice biscuit interior would be perfekt. As chintzy as it is, and as easy to get on a mobile as anything else, I will have a TV in a car at some point.

[FredClogs]

OpulentBob said:

Got a bloody Nirvana song rattling around in my head now, PT.

Nevermind.

[anonymous-user]

FredClogs said:

OpulentBob said:

Got a bloody Nirvana song rattling around in my head now, PT.

Nevermind.

[harrykul]

Great song, one of the highlights of the unplugged album for me.

[JF87]

Thanks all for the E430 appreciation. (It's not metallic, so I'm guessing my particular shade of doom blue is Midnight - too bloody cold outside to go and check the code right now.) Difficult to imagine it finding much love elsewhere! Certainly not in my street, where I'm getting the same kind of what's-gone-wrong looks I last had when I rolled up in a Maestro some years ago.

Seems to be doing better mpg than I expected, though there isn't even an onboard computer to confirm this. Still plenty in the tank at any rate - the vendor left it three-quarters full (when I saw the petrol gauge needle in the listing photos I sensed I was onto a winner).