Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 10]

[BigBen]

jonnydm said:

Sitting at work, nursing a sore head. Think I might have just bought a W140. Thoughts on this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-S500-Silve...

Well done, delighted to see W140s making a bit of a thread resurgence lately.

[greenarrow]

BigBen said:

jonnydm said:

Sitting at work, nursing a sore head. Think I might have just bought a W140. Thoughts on this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-S500-Silve...

Well done, delighted to see W140s making a bit of a thread resurgence lately.

An awful lot of car for the money, well done...in the long term the price can only go one way, up! I remember the mid 2000s when you could pick up a 1980s 500 SEC for two grand. No chance of that now.

[Geekman]

Speaking of E39s, I thought the thread might like to see this, which I spotted in Monaco a few days ago. Both the exterior and interior were absolutely mint: it's probably the best example I've ever seen. Just goes to show how good old cars can look if you're willing to throw vast amounts of money at them.

[Lowtimer]

Be better without the silly tints but apart from that, yes.

I am screwing up my courage to spend a totally uneconomic amount of money making my manual 530i Touring look like that. Eek.

[gowmonster]

why is it that as soon as you buy a barge... got a e39 528i msport auto recently 76k year mot for £1400

you see lots of others...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/jaguar/bargain-jaguar-v8...

Jag v8 88k 12 month MOT, no rot on the panels at least... £1500 possibly with movement.

[k-ink]

The E39 M5 is lovely. I suspect something a little older like this will actually be cooler in Monaco. People there must get bored of seeing the same new cars all the time.

[Geekman]

k-ink said:

The E39 M5 is lovely. I suspect something a little older like this will actually be cooler in Monaco. People there must get bored of seeing the same new cars all the time.

Definitely: my personal favourites are the 1950s/1960s Mercedes. You see some incredibly rare classics driving around.

[greenarrow]

Geekman said:

k-ink said:

The E39 M5 is lovely. I suspect something a little older like this will actually be cooler in Monaco. People there must get bored of seeing the same new cars all the time.

Definitely: my personal favourites are the 1950s/1960s Mercedes. You see some incredibly rare classics driving around.

Yep I agree, I can imagine for example an E28 M5 would be verrry cool in Monaco. Even an E34 in Nurburgring would do, now when did you last see one of those? The 3.8 was always my favourite M5, think it still may be. Arguably the last M5 you really had to drive before electronics took over.

[K12beano]

gtidreamer said:

Croutons said:

Black Chrysler 300C estate, 5.7 Hemi, allegedly 51k, 2007 so nasty tax, wobble quickly for only £4500.

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

Pic 1 is a brilliant example of what this thread likes- gravel...

I travelled from Scotland to Goodwood FOS weekend with a mate in his 5.7 wagon. Couldn't believe it averaged 25mpg over the whole weekend!

I drove a hire one in California/Nevada/Utah/Arizona etc for 42 days back in 2007.

Still amazed the anyone would want one on UK roads - but what are they like for servicing and fixing when they eventually break??

[cat220]

Geekman said:

Speaking of E39s, I thought the thread might like to see this, which I spotted in Monaco a few days ago. Both the exterior and interior were absolutely mint: it's probably the best example I've ever seen. Just goes to show how good old cars can look if you're willing to throw vast amounts of money at them.

Very nice, the weather would certainly make maintenance a bit easier, no salt on the roads etc. Love the plate.

[0a]

I have been pootling about in the 300e today. I'm reminded how much I like it - in my mind the reasonable sized straight 6/4 door combination is one of the best. Smooth, with enough power, but not so much you can't use it properly on modern roads.

What's the ultimate straight 6 saloon barge? Some ideas:

BMW e34 535
Jaguar xjr (straight 6)
Mercedes w124 e36 AMG
BMW e39 alpina

[rm163603]

TheLordJohn said:

alec.e said:

Think of trading my Super V8 for the W221 version in the next year or so, something like this:




Wonder how the running costs would be compared to the Jag, obv. worse MPG.
Definitely a tune would be on the cards!

Pardon my laziness in not finding out for myself, but what's the going rate for a half decent example ATM?

Edited by TheLordJohn on Friday 27th May 10:02

I've been looking at the W221 S600s recently. They look amazing value especially compared to the S65s.

I know this is the 1 to 5 large thread but this really caught my eye:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...



I think the interior looks great and it's loaded with every possible toy.

MOT history has a weird year where mileage jumps 50K miles but I think it looks like a mis entry by the tester rather than anything onerous...

[0a]

Wow, what a machine. I take it they don't really "only" have 510 bhp, or that they can be remapped to release rather more? It seems strange that a 5.5 twin turbo v12 has not advanced over the last generation at all.

[E65Ross]

bob-lad said:

I thought I'd open some worms for the long weekend.

I'm starting to think that my X350 XJR isn't really a barge. The same will apply to other marques too.
Its power delivery is just too damned vicious. I don't think a barge should make female passengers screech when deploying some (ahem) power in a straight line, like when joining a motorway, for example.

Bear with me. The X351 XJR is even worse. I test drove several before deciding instead to buy several cars (and a kitchen for Mission Control) and whilst they are another step up in comfort and toys, they are properly, properly comically rapid.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against comically quick cars, but I think to be a barge, the acceleration should be unnoticeable. Should make your other half squeal, and not make elderly parents silent. (Although that last one is a sneaky bonus).

I think that something like a Bentley Eight might possibly be the bargiest of barges. Big, comfortable, wafty, potentially woefully expensive but not possessing quite enough oompf to terrify passengers.


Just a thought

Just because it's fast, doesn't mean it can't be a barge. Far from it. You don't have to use the pedal as an on/off switch. If it allows for smooth progress then it can still do the job.

[0a]

E65Ross said:

bob-lad said:

I thought I'd open some worms for the long weekend.

I'm starting to think that my X350 XJR isn't really a barge. The same will apply to other marques too.
Its power delivery is just too damned vicious. I don't think a barge should make female passengers screech when deploying some (ahem) power in a straight line, like when joining a motorway, for example.

Bear with me. The X351 XJR is even worse. I test drove several before deciding instead to buy several cars (and a kitchen for Mission Control) and whilst they are another step up in comfort and toys, they are properly, properly comically rapid.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against comically quick cars, but I think to be a barge, the acceleration should be unnoticeable. Should make your other half squeal, and not make elderly parents silent. (Although that last one is a sneaky bonus).

I think that something like a Bentley Eight might possibly be the bargiest of barges. Big, comfortable, wafty, potentially woefully expensive but not possessing quite enough oompf to terrify passengers.


Just a thought

Just because it's fast, doesn't mean it can't be a barge. Far from it. You don't have to use the pedal as an on/off switch. If it allows for smooth progress then it can still do the job.

As per my post above I am having similar thoughts to Bob-Lad. The really powerful versions of modern cars are too thuggish. Yes you can chose not to use the power, but all too often the suspension isn't as compliant and the rest of the car is set up to be a 500bhp performance car. A colleague has a new e63 and it's all about the 550bhp party piece. It's not a barge. Highly amusing though.

I like the idea of a Bentley Eight.

[Lowtimer]

0a said:

What's the ultimate straight 6 saloon barge? Some ideas:

I'm assuming you mean something that can be kept outside and used every day in all kinds of traffic and left at the station without worrying about it, and buy at a reasonable price. i.e. barge in usage as well as tech spec.

On that basis the best all-rounder straight-six barge in my view is the Alpina B10 3.3 (E39 base), though with a bit of attention to the suspension a plain E39 530i is nearly as good, and in many ways the car works better on 16" and 17" wheels than the oversized Alpina ones. The six-pot supercharged X300 XJR is another nice one. For me both better in manual form but the autos are both fine for those who want them.

If I didn't have to worry about thread budget or it getting damaged than I would love a fully restored manual 4.2 Series 1 Daimler Sovereign, circa 1969 or 1970. Also an immaculate late 3.8 E34 M5. But both are now quite expensive propositions and it would be cruel to subject them to the hazards of all-year all-weather usage.

I agree about the suspension setups of a lot of the modern big-power stuff. The wheels and tyres are vastly too big and heavy for my taste, and that is responsible for a lot of ills: poor ride, use of runflats, cabin noise, tramlining, vulnerability to pothole damage. Also I don't like cars that are barely driveable on poorly maintained and/or wet/muddy roads without the use of intrusive electronics between the driver and the car.

Edited by Lowtimer on Saturday 28th May 14:58

[Krikkit]

0a said:

Wow, what a machine. I take it they don't really "only" have 510 bhp, or that they can be remapped to release rather more? It seems strange that a 5.5 twin turbo v12 has not advanced over the last generation at all.

The peak power doesn't give the picture of how the power is delivered - the S55 has a similar peak, but the delivery is totally different.

Lovely car, but the slightly baggy driver's seat and the incorrectly hinged button cover (as stupid as it sounds) put me off on a car that cost such a huge sum originally. Silly details that should be sorted for >£100k.

[0a]

Lowtimer said:

0a said:

What's the ultimate straight 6 saloon barge? Some ideas:

I'm assuming you mean something that can be kept outside and used every day in all kinds of traffic and left at the station without worrying about it, and buy at a reasonable price. i.e. barge in usage as well as tech spec.

On that basis the best all-rounder straight-six barge in my view is the Alpina B10 3.3 (E39 base), though with a bit of attention to the suspension a plain E39 530i is nearly as good, adn in many ways the car worsk better on 16" and 17" wheels than the oversized Alpina ones. The six-pot supercharged X300 XJR is another nice one. For me both better in manual form but the autos are both fine for those who want them.

If I didn't have to worry about thread budget or it getting damaged than I would love a fully restored manual 4.2 Series 1 Daimler Sovereign, circa 1969 or 1970. Also an immaculate late 3.8 E34 M5. But both are now quite expensive propositions and it would be cruel to subject them to the hazards of all-year all-weather usage.

I wouldn't buy a car that couldn't be used every day!

I like the idea of the old jaguar straight 6.

I'll add an e23 735 and e28 m535 to the list, daily usage may be tough on them though.

[Lowtimer]

They are not really daily drivers any more in my view, unless you are an unusually attentive and careful owner who is able to keep the car in dry storage when not actually in use, and always wash any mud or salt off it, and dry it properly, before it is put away. Both of them rust if you so much as open a packet of crisps near them. We're getting near that point with the E34 now too.

[deadslow]

I ran a 4.2 Jag for 6 years. Sat outside in all weathers. Never let me down once. Fantastic car. Eventually succumbed to rust.
I ran an old high miles E28 535 for years. Great fun. Very reliable. Was still going strong when I gave it away to a pal.
I ran an E34 3.8 M5 for 50k miles. Probably the most solid car I've ever sat in. Great fun. 21.9 mpg. Super expensive garage bills.

I would happily run any/all of them again.

Edited by deadslow on Saturday 28th May 16:42