Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 10]
Discussion
derin100 said:
But...if you insist on something along those lines may I recommend this as (IMHO) a much superior option for very long distance continental travel (and possibly achievable at or near thread budget given that the advert says "Offers invited" and has been for sale for nearly 2 months):
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C762721
Much newer than an E32 (and the last year of E38s) and so perhaps less likely to have suffered all the ravages of time in terms of hidden corrosion; upon brake-lines, fuel-lines etc. A far more refined model (quieter, better body control, handling etc.) and with a better iteration of the V12 engine...this is a 5.4L (and fabulous) those in the E32 will be the older 5.0L which I maintain offers little over the 4.4L M62 for its significantly greater thirst. The performance increase with the 5.4L, however, really is palpable.
Still likes a drink though!
That has been eating away at me all week. Today's thoughts are to consolidate all my current barges into one easily manageable barge.http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C762721
Much newer than an E32 (and the last year of E38s) and so perhaps less likely to have suffered all the ravages of time in terms of hidden corrosion; upon brake-lines, fuel-lines etc. A far more refined model (quieter, better body control, handling etc.) and with a better iteration of the V12 engine...this is a 5.4L (and fabulous) those in the E32 will be the older 5.0L which I maintain offers little over the 4.4L M62 for its significantly greater thirst. The performance increase with the 5.4L, however, really is palpable.
Still likes a drink though!
What are the pitfalls? I'm fairly au fait with most things E39, but confess to knowing little about E38 aside from fuel tank issues. Are later cars similarly affected, and what should I be shining my torch at if I go for a look?
Croutons said:
So you're saying it's available for a bag..?
Weeeell, not quite but somewhere between the two would be nice otherwise I'll have to think of someway to keep it somewhere. The towbar cost nearly £500 to stick on there!Likely the bodywork putting people off but still looks/drives/flies better than the similar age v70 I've ended up with.
hornetrider said:
Personally think this represents excellent value at the asking price. Yes there's niggles but if it was mint it would easily fetch 3.5, it's a nice colour, got nice wheels and xenons.
The thing with niggles and bodywork is you'll need an enthusiast to take it on, so more patience required I think.
Thanks. I'm very tempted to get it all done for an easy sale and put the price up. The trouble is then I'll want to keep it The thing with niggles and bodywork is you'll need an enthusiast to take it on, so more patience required I think.
lostkiwi said:
Cat C write off - may make it less appealing.
Not sure it would bother me too much at that money. If it was written off years ago then the (admittedly major) repair must have been properly done for it to last this long. If it was written off in the last few years it could just have been a cracked bumper/dented wing - using new parts and Mercedes prices it wouldn't take much at all to write off a car like that.Geekman said:
Not sure it would bother me too much at that money. If it was written off years ago then the (admittedly major) repair must have been properly done for it to last this long. If it was written off in the last few years it could just have been a cracked bumper/dented wing - using new parts and Mercedes prices it wouldn't take much at all to write off a car like that.
I agree. I don't know who took the post down but i just managed to get the MOT history and there is no way it could be a dog with a close to flawless sheet. I just bought a barge but if i hadn't i would've given it serious consideration.
Thankyou4calling said:
Geekman said:
Not sure it would bother me too much at that money. If it was written off years ago then the (admittedly major) repair must have been properly done for it to last this long. If it was written off in the last few years it could just have been a cracked bumper/dented wing - using new parts and Mercedes prices it wouldn't take much at all to write off a car like that.
I agree. I don't know who took the post down but i just managed to get the MOT history and there is no way it could be a dog with a close to flawless sheet. I just bought a barge but if i hadn't i would've given it serious consideration.
I'm glad I didn't accept your offer of £2501 for my car, I got £4k for it in the end, so worth holding out a little longer.
E65Ross said:
How is the Lexus going?
I'm glad I didn't accept your offer of £2501 for my car, I got £4k for it in the end, so worth holding out a little longer.
Nice. That was a LOT of car for £4k and I genuinely think both you and the new owner have done well there.I'm glad I didn't accept your offer of £2501 for my car, I got £4k for it in the end, so worth holding out a little longer.
As for the Lexus, i've not driven it yet (other than home) I'm still in my E220 Diesel cab, the lease runs out next week and i wanted something to bridge the gap until an attractive deal comes up.
When i look at the Lexus it says "Old man" to me but on the drive back from purchase it was quite spirited albeit handled like a Sunseeker in a force 8.
The equipment levels are something else and the silence was golden.
Really appreciate you asking.
dare i ask about the Corolla?
Edited by Thankyou4calling on Thursday 25th August 19:50
THE RULES OF BARGE
There has been some debate recently about what qualifies as a Barge. Barge is on one level a state of mind, as is the sometimes overlapping creed of Shed but it is strongly associated with certain types and makes of cars. So here goes.
My personal barge rules algorithm is somewhat complex and arbitrary. I'm not seeking to impose it on others but in case of interest, this is how I decide barginess --
Core Barge is a 4-door saloon, which at the time of manufacture was deemed to be a large comfortable car, and was a badge of senior rank in the days when corporate car parks were all about that. Large saloons from the following brand all qualify: Merc, Volvo, BMW, Audi, Bentley, RR, Lancia, Alfa.
Era: No car made before 1960 is a Barge, and for my personal taste neither is any car made after 2005, but I understand some of you young people today have more recent proclivities. The earliest Barges I recognise are the 1962 Mercedes W112 and the 1963 Jaguar S-Type. But the true Era of Barge began in 1969 with the seminal Jaguar XJ6, and really hit the mainstream with the Ford Granada from 1972 onwards.
Size: "Large" means large in the context of the time when it was introduced, and is adjusted for age. So any BMW 5 series is large enough to barge, as is a late-1970s Rover SD1, even though it's only the size of a 2012 Astra. A 2012 Astra would fail on size grounds because it wasn't a large car in the market it was introduced into.
For me, large saloons from more proletarian brands definitely qualify if they were seen as up-market and aspirational in corporate life at the time of manufacture. So a Mark II Granada 2.8i Ghia X is definitely barge material. As is a Vauxhall Senator 24v, or an Alfa 6 or 164. A modern Skoda Superb is truly an enormous, and by many criteria a decent transport device, but misses the Barge mark because it's never been aspirational.
FrogBarge is a special subject all its own. Anything recognised by the world at large as a Big Citroen is automatically a Barge. ID19, DS, CX, XM, By extension so is any equivalent Pug of the same era, providing it was a legitimate competitor to a Big Cit at the time. The Peugeot 604 was a truly magnificent Barge in 2.7 injection form in the 1980s.
Estate Barge is definitely an allowable variant when it is an estate based on a Core Barge saloon. The big estate factor is even capable of tipping a saloon that is marginal, Bargewise, on to the right side of Estate Bargehood. The Vauxhall Carlton is bargier as an estate than as a saloon, because as a saloon it was always overshadowed by the Senator, but the Carlton was the most aspirational estate in the manufacturer's range and any dog-owning Midlands factory MD would have been happy with a 3.0i slushmatic Carlton estate in period, esecially with air con and leather.
Coupes: a 2+2 or two seater isn't a barge except under certain very limited circs. Although I took my Porsche 944 Turbo to the last Barge meet it definitely didn't fit. Proper four-seat coupes from luxury brands can definitely Barges, so long as they are things you can genuinely get four grown-ups in. So Merc 124, 126 and 140 coupes count: so would the two-door RR Shadow variants, and the Camargue. Jaguar XJ coupes may have cramped rear seats but are allowed under special dispensation because I like them and they only really appearl to Bargistas anyway. The XJS is allowed because it's an XJS and drives the way it does. There is only one Ferrari barge I'm familiar with: the 456GT, because it really does take four adults in comfort. It also helps that it was for a period pleasingly cheap (though I missed my chance). The Bentley Continental is another hi-po barge, abeit a vulgar one (yes, friends, Bargehood does not in itself signify tastefulness).
A difficult case is the Holden / Vauxhall Monaro. I like this car very much for its honesty and transparent raised fingers to the Mustang (I'll come to YankBarge in a moment) but it's too Mad Max to be Bargey. If they'd ever done a really soft quiet one with chrome and Nappa hide and a Mark Levinson ICE setup, that might have been a Barge but as far as I know they never did. Again, this is not a criticism, Bargehood is not the only virtue in the world by any means.
Two-seaters are all ineligible except for the paradox that that all non-AMG Merc SLs from the R107 onwards are probably eligible. Padogas probably not. The R107 was designed to drive like a Barge and does. (This is not a criticism at all, as Harry Metcalf's new YouTube video demonstrates). My R129 500SL has pleasingly Bargey qualities. The R230 is Barge Central.
YankBarge: Others have more experience than I but having spent some amusing time in Lincoln Continentals, Town Cars and Cadillacs, I pronounce them worthy Barges. The present Mustang is a fine artifact but not a Barge, nore is any Camaro / Firebird, though if they reboot the Thunderbird along modern lines that might be. In some of its earlier incarnations it had an amusing loucheness.
FarEastBarge: The Lexus LS is far from the first of these, though it has always been an excellent example. The Toyota Crown was a magnificent Barge. So have been various iterations of the splendidly named Nissan Cedric, and the Honda Legend. I know little of these from personal experience but value their existence, which is scarce in the West.
CommiBarge: Any rear-engined Tatra is in, and so is any Zil. If anyone ever gets one please invite me to play with it.
Any other actual or potential Barge categories I should consider?
There has been some debate recently about what qualifies as a Barge. Barge is on one level a state of mind, as is the sometimes overlapping creed of Shed but it is strongly associated with certain types and makes of cars. So here goes.
My personal barge rules algorithm is somewhat complex and arbitrary. I'm not seeking to impose it on others but in case of interest, this is how I decide barginess --
Core Barge is a 4-door saloon, which at the time of manufacture was deemed to be a large comfortable car, and was a badge of senior rank in the days when corporate car parks were all about that. Large saloons from the following brand all qualify: Merc, Volvo, BMW, Audi, Bentley, RR, Lancia, Alfa.
Era: No car made before 1960 is a Barge, and for my personal taste neither is any car made after 2005, but I understand some of you young people today have more recent proclivities. The earliest Barges I recognise are the 1962 Mercedes W112 and the 1963 Jaguar S-Type. But the true Era of Barge began in 1969 with the seminal Jaguar XJ6, and really hit the mainstream with the Ford Granada from 1972 onwards.
Size: "Large" means large in the context of the time when it was introduced, and is adjusted for age. So any BMW 5 series is large enough to barge, as is a late-1970s Rover SD1, even though it's only the size of a 2012 Astra. A 2012 Astra would fail on size grounds because it wasn't a large car in the market it was introduced into.
For me, large saloons from more proletarian brands definitely qualify if they were seen as up-market and aspirational in corporate life at the time of manufacture. So a Mark II Granada 2.8i Ghia X is definitely barge material. As is a Vauxhall Senator 24v, or an Alfa 6 or 164. A modern Skoda Superb is truly an enormous, and by many criteria a decent transport device, but misses the Barge mark because it's never been aspirational.
FrogBarge is a special subject all its own. Anything recognised by the world at large as a Big Citroen is automatically a Barge. ID19, DS, CX, XM, By extension so is any equivalent Pug of the same era, providing it was a legitimate competitor to a Big Cit at the time. The Peugeot 604 was a truly magnificent Barge in 2.7 injection form in the 1980s.
Estate Barge is definitely an allowable variant when it is an estate based on a Core Barge saloon. The big estate factor is even capable of tipping a saloon that is marginal, Bargewise, on to the right side of Estate Bargehood. The Vauxhall Carlton is bargier as an estate than as a saloon, because as a saloon it was always overshadowed by the Senator, but the Carlton was the most aspirational estate in the manufacturer's range and any dog-owning Midlands factory MD would have been happy with a 3.0i slushmatic Carlton estate in period, esecially with air con and leather.
Coupes: a 2+2 or two seater isn't a barge except under certain very limited circs. Although I took my Porsche 944 Turbo to the last Barge meet it definitely didn't fit. Proper four-seat coupes from luxury brands can definitely Barges, so long as they are things you can genuinely get four grown-ups in. So Merc 124, 126 and 140 coupes count: so would the two-door RR Shadow variants, and the Camargue. Jaguar XJ coupes may have cramped rear seats but are allowed under special dispensation because I like them and they only really appearl to Bargistas anyway. The XJS is allowed because it's an XJS and drives the way it does. There is only one Ferrari barge I'm familiar with: the 456GT, because it really does take four adults in comfort. It also helps that it was for a period pleasingly cheap (though I missed my chance). The Bentley Continental is another hi-po barge, abeit a vulgar one (yes, friends, Bargehood does not in itself signify tastefulness).
A difficult case is the Holden / Vauxhall Monaro. I like this car very much for its honesty and transparent raised fingers to the Mustang (I'll come to YankBarge in a moment) but it's too Mad Max to be Bargey. If they'd ever done a really soft quiet one with chrome and Nappa hide and a Mark Levinson ICE setup, that might have been a Barge but as far as I know they never did. Again, this is not a criticism, Bargehood is not the only virtue in the world by any means.
Two-seaters are all ineligible except for the paradox that that all non-AMG Merc SLs from the R107 onwards are probably eligible. Padogas probably not. The R107 was designed to drive like a Barge and does. (This is not a criticism at all, as Harry Metcalf's new YouTube video demonstrates). My R129 500SL has pleasingly Bargey qualities. The R230 is Barge Central.
YankBarge: Others have more experience than I but having spent some amusing time in Lincoln Continentals, Town Cars and Cadillacs, I pronounce them worthy Barges. The present Mustang is a fine artifact but not a Barge, nore is any Camaro / Firebird, though if they reboot the Thunderbird along modern lines that might be. In some of its earlier incarnations it had an amusing loucheness.
FarEastBarge: The Lexus LS is far from the first of these, though it has always been an excellent example. The Toyota Crown was a magnificent Barge. So have been various iterations of the splendidly named Nissan Cedric, and the Honda Legend. I know little of these from personal experience but value their existence, which is scarce in the West.
CommiBarge: Any rear-engined Tatra is in, and so is any Zil. If anyone ever gets one please invite me to play with it.
Any other actual or potential Barge categories I should consider?
Edited by Lowtimer on Thursday 25th August 20:05
Edited by Lowtimer on Thursday 25th August 20:06
olly755 said:
That has been eating away at me all week. Today's thoughts are to consolidate all my current barges into one easily manageable barge.
What are the pitfalls? I'm fairly au fait with most things E39, but confess to knowing little about E38 aside from fuel tank issues. Are later cars similarly affected, and what should I be shining my torch at if I go for a look?
Mechanically an E38 is all the same issues and strengths as a V8 E39 apart from the tank. From that POV, if it's got a full tank and doesn't smell or drip then it's good to go. Assume that you will need to replace it at some point, but that's Barging.What are the pitfalls? I'm fairly au fait with most things E39, but confess to knowing little about E38 aside from fuel tank issues. Are later cars similarly affected, and what should I be shining my torch at if I go for a look?
A great start on the list!
- All Mercedes are barges, including 4 cylinder 190s, even manuals. It's just how things are around here.
- Fords and Vauxhalls are frowned on, even with 6 cylinder engines
- Anyone is welcome to come to the next barge 1-5 meet, barge or no barge. Link here: https://doodle.com/poll/tt3kd5ky44zdgwgr
- All Mercedes are barges, including 4 cylinder 190s, even manuals. It's just how things are around here.
- Fords and Vauxhalls are frowned on, even with 6 cylinder engines
- Anyone is welcome to come to the next barge 1-5 meet, barge or no barge. Link here: https://doodle.com/poll/tt3kd5ky44zdgwgr
Edited by 0a on Thursday 25th August 20:15
0a said:
A great start on the list!
- All Mercedes are barges, including 4 cylinder 190s, even manuals. It's just how things are around here.
- Fords and Vauxhalls are frowned on, even with 6 cylinder engines
- Anyone is welcome to come to the next barge 1-5 meet, barge or no barge. Link here: https://doodle.com/poll/tt3kd5ky44zdgwgr
Quite a number of people enjoy the Mercedes SL 129.- All Mercedes are barges, including 4 cylinder 190s, even manuals. It's just how things are around here.
- Fords and Vauxhalls are frowned on, even with 6 cylinder engines
- Anyone is welcome to come to the next barge 1-5 meet, barge or no barge. Link here: https://doodle.com/poll/tt3kd5ky44zdgwgr
Edited by 0a on Thursday 25th August 20:15
I know this is not a barge and has only two seats so is this to be stopped?
As mentioned above the cars we thought were barges in the 80's and 90's are small compared to modern cars.
I could not believe the size of a Ford Sierra I saw parked up in a car park last week.
The Mini Countryman beside it looked huge.
ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER SPIRIT
99,000 miles
£5,490.00
Surely be able to get the car under £5,000 if you feel brave enough to buy.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/rolls-royce/rolls-royce-...
99,000 miles
£5,490.00
Surely be able to get the car under £5,000 if you feel brave enough to buy.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/rolls-royce/rolls-royce-...
ELUSIVEJIM said:
Quite a number of people enjoy the Mercedes SL 129.
I know this is not a barge and has only two seats so is this to be stopped?
The sl 129 is a lot more of a barge than the 190 imho, the former was the transport of hollywood and the captains of industry, the latter, well, who knows, actually. I love looking at merc sl. The 190, to my mind, is dross. Horses for courses. Keep it a broad church, I say. I know this is not a barge and has only two seats so is this to be stopped?
Riley Blue said:
Surely there has to be a minimum engine size otherwise we could have barges with puny engines i.e. less than two litres 
Quite. Some brands haven't stooped so low. RR, Bentley, Jaguar... (And yes, that evil marketing mistake that was the Mondeo-in-a-frock must be soundly ignored).Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff