Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]
Discussion
SpeckledJim said:
Huntsman said:
SpeckledJim said:
In other news, I've sold the XJ40.
It was nice enough but not nice enough to be a keeper and wasn't ever going to successfully compete with the XJS for my affection (and for it's share of the meagre maintenance budget).
There's a real rightness about an XJ40 though. I'll have another, one day.
Interesting.It was nice enough but not nice enough to be a keeper and wasn't ever going to successfully compete with the XJS for my affection (and for it's share of the meagre maintenance budget).
There's a real rightness about an XJ40 though. I'll have another, one day.
Specifically as they are on 15's, how does the ride compare to a S1 XJ6?
The reason I ask, I loved my S1, it was the perfect ride for me, super soft, like flying on a magic carpet, but my X300 3.2 Executive, was o n16's and a little too firm, I wasn't totally isolated.
Does the XJ40 offer total isolation from bumps like the S1?
It was bloody good though. Honestly a better ride than ANY modern of my experience, but still a fun car to drive.
They look great in a colour, and I'd honestly recommend a late one as a nice car that looks old and interesting but doesn't come with a concomitant penalty on today's tiresome roads.
dbdb's (for example) is utterly gorgeous.
My guess (and it is only that) would be that the ride of the XJ40 on 15" wheels and 225/65 15 tyres lies somewhere between the two. I seem to think the XJ6 Executive had the 'sports' suspension didn't it? That will be a fair bit firmer than the XJ40 on comfort springs.
I doubt the XJ40 will match the complete compliance of the early Series cars though. I haven't been in a Series I since I was a child so cannot remember how they ride, but the general consensus seems to be that the XJ40 is slightly firmer than them at low speed - but with better handling.
Once problem with the 15" wheels is the availability of the tyres. No one makes the 225/65 15 99W size any more. You could go down to 225/60 15, but this means a loss in side wall and an over reading speedo - or you can go up to 225/60 16, which retains speedo accuracy, but still loses sidewall. This matters less with a car with 4 good 15" tyres with a few years of life left in them of course.
I needed to make this choice recently and decided after much agonising to fit 16" wheels with 225/60 16 tyres. The ride is actually much less affected than I had feared - and may even be improved slightly at very low speed over the 15" wheels. The march of technology, I guess. It doesn't handle really big pot holes quite so well though. Slightly more detail on page 7 of my rust-and-restoration thread
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by dbdb on Friday 24th February 13:02
W00DY said:
Have we had this?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
530i manual with purple comfort leather? Yes please.
I know this took rather a drubbing on here, but it's now down to five hundred quid on the bmw5 forum.http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
530i manual with purple comfort leather? Yes please.
Five hundred.
If I had the space on the drive I'd be on the train to Birmingham right now. Suspect it's probably gone already.
The Crack Fox said:
charltjr said:
W00DY said:
Have we had this?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
530i manual with purple comfort leather? Yes please.
I know this took rather a drubbing on here, but it's now down to five hundred quid on the bmw5 forum.http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
530i manual with purple comfort leather? Yes please.
Five hundred.
If I had the space on the drive I'd be on the train to Birmingham right now. Suspect it's probably gone already.
cat220 said:
I drove past this poor w220 on the way home from work last night. Noticed the for sale sign on the window advertising it for £1,200. So thought I'd search to see if it was a advertised anywhere on line...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/mercedes-benz/w-red-merc...
A lesson on how not to advertise a car. I don't think its even worth a gold ring!
The suspension looks low because the car has double glazing? https://www.gumtree.com/p/mercedes-benz/w-red-merc...
A lesson on how not to advertise a car. I don't think its even worth a gold ring!
- Was also parked on a busy road, not the one in the advert with no tax*
r129sl said:
Can you sense-check (puke) my thinking about a car? It's out of thread budget but definitely a barge.
Merc, obvs. 1972 w108 280 SE 3.5. Silver blue over black tex. Auto. Somewhat unknown mileage, but likely 150k ish.
Good history. Three or four owners. Interior pretty tidy. Exterior has some very slight paint mis-match, a few blebs of rust appearing at the bottom of some of the doors. Engine smokes a little on the overrun, but nothing bad, valve stem seals required. So far so ok. But it sounds like the current owner hasn't done much with it over the past seven years. Various advisories on the MOT record, such as brake imbalance problems and suspension wear do not appear to have been addressed. It failed its MOT last year on chassis rot and he had it welded, but it has just been plated, not done properly. The tyres have been on since before he bought it.
I had a long chat with the vendor last night and I didn't get that warm and fuzzy feeling. Despite owning it seven years, he did not seem to know much about it. When I gave him cues to tells me what a great car it was and how, yes, he knew all about that and it was in order, he didn't (like asking, "These have a funny hydro compensator spring in the rear axle, don't they, is that all OK?"). It was all, "Uh, yes, I think so, that's fine". Very dull and non-specific, no details, no sign of an enthusiast's approach. He was very unspecific about the welding.
The price is pretty good. He would take £9k. But that would pretty much clean me out right now. Straight off the bat it's going to need tyres (£500), the welding redone (£500 at least), rear seat belts (£200), probably a good fettle of the brakes with new discs and pads and who knows what else (£750) and probably bits and bobs of suspension (£500). That's before so-called discretionary spend that makes a new car just so on stuff like proper mats and a period wireless. Next year at the latest I'd have to get it painted and that is going to cost £2,000. At some stage it would need new carpets which will cost £400. It will also need a timing chain, tensioner and guide rails as well as the aforementioned valve stem seals (£1,500).
Now, I really fancy a w108. Silver blue over black is the colour scheme I'd most like. But I want a car I can use. And I only have a limited budget. Given that the purchase cost would wipe me out, given I didn't get the right feeling from the vendor, given the uncertainty about chassis condition, it has to be a "no", right? Right?
PS. Anyone in the Merc Club may know the car and vendor.
sorry but if your going this old you have to go full fintail Merc, obvs. 1972 w108 280 SE 3.5. Silver blue over black tex. Auto. Somewhat unknown mileage, but likely 150k ish.
Good history. Three or four owners. Interior pretty tidy. Exterior has some very slight paint mis-match, a few blebs of rust appearing at the bottom of some of the doors. Engine smokes a little on the overrun, but nothing bad, valve stem seals required. So far so ok. But it sounds like the current owner hasn't done much with it over the past seven years. Various advisories on the MOT record, such as brake imbalance problems and suspension wear do not appear to have been addressed. It failed its MOT last year on chassis rot and he had it welded, but it has just been plated, not done properly. The tyres have been on since before he bought it.
I had a long chat with the vendor last night and I didn't get that warm and fuzzy feeling. Despite owning it seven years, he did not seem to know much about it. When I gave him cues to tells me what a great car it was and how, yes, he knew all about that and it was in order, he didn't (like asking, "These have a funny hydro compensator spring in the rear axle, don't they, is that all OK?"). It was all, "Uh, yes, I think so, that's fine". Very dull and non-specific, no details, no sign of an enthusiast's approach. He was very unspecific about the welding.
The price is pretty good. He would take £9k. But that would pretty much clean me out right now. Straight off the bat it's going to need tyres (£500), the welding redone (£500 at least), rear seat belts (£200), probably a good fettle of the brakes with new discs and pads and who knows what else (£750) and probably bits and bobs of suspension (£500). That's before so-called discretionary spend that makes a new car just so on stuff like proper mats and a period wireless. Next year at the latest I'd have to get it painted and that is going to cost £2,000. At some stage it would need new carpets which will cost £400. It will also need a timing chain, tensioner and guide rails as well as the aforementioned valve stem seals (£1,500).
Now, I really fancy a w108. Silver blue over black is the colour scheme I'd most like. But I want a car I can use. And I only have a limited budget. Given that the purchase cost would wipe me out, given I didn't get the right feeling from the vendor, given the uncertainty about chassis condition, it has to be a "no", right? Right?
PS. Anyone in the Merc Club may know the car and vendor.
Edited by ian316 on Friday 24th February 15:53
r129sl said:
Heater works fine, apparently. I don't think it's a shed by any stretch of the imagination. I suspect it is better than most cars I've bought. The interior looks very good indeed. I suspect it needs a bit of welding and a thorough service to be perfectly good for 3,000 miles a year and proper medium distance work. Crumbs, it was easier when you all said no.
With the budget you have what about a holiday to South Africa where you can pick up a RHD rust free example within budget whilst gorging on bargain priced wine and steak.BigBen said:
cat220 said:
I drove past this poor w220 on the way home from work last night. Noticed the for sale sign on the window advertising it for £1,200. So thought I'd search to see if it was a advertised anywhere on line...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/mercedes-benz/w-red-merc...
A lesson on how not to advertise a car. I don't think its even worth a gold ring!
The suspension looks low because the car has double glazing? https://www.gumtree.com/p/mercedes-benz/w-red-merc...
A lesson on how not to advertise a car. I don't think its even worth a gold ring!
- Was also parked on a busy road, not the one in the advert with no tax*
Ad said:
Hence the reason the suspension looks low in the photos, for those who dont know what this means then basically the suspensions lowers when engine turns off then rises again when starts up
I think that means it's got a knackered air suspension system.Even so, it might be a good shed runaround for £1300.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ABSOLUTELY-BREATHTAKING-...
Stunner.
It won't end up in budget and I'm never going to read the ad, but I figured it'd be appreciated here.
W00DY said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ABSOLUTELY-BREATHTAKING-...
Stunner.
It won't end up in budget and I'm never going to read the ad, but I figured it'd be appreciated here.
It is lovely though.
The old faithful w124 passed its MOT with the usual "corroded brake pipes" trinket advisory today. It really is getting enthusiastic with the rust on the arches, but I am rather attached to it so have treated it to two new tyres and some tracking and will drive it up to and around the highlands at some point in the next few weeks. I like the old thing.
zigzag69 said:
Stegel said:
derin100 said:
So this is a restoration project and potentially, due to its age, of a somewhat different proportion to what you are used to? Given that we know the high standards which you always expect and do achieve with your cars I would say that inevitably your initial estimate of costs will be exceeded. You have, for example, made no estimate things like re-finishing chrome-work, seats etc. Once you have tackled all of the fundamental mechanical, chassis work and had the car re-painted you are not going to be satisfied or fully enjoy owning it if the car falls short cosmetically in other areas. You like your cars to be mechanically top-line...but you also like them to look nice? Of all of them you are really going to want this one to be beautiful?
So, like the people they show on that Grand Designs TV programme there is almost certainly going to be a budget over-spend and a time over-run on this.
However, why do something that is 'easy' if having done something that was 'hard' will give you so much more satisfaction in the end? You already know you can do 'easy'...why prove to yourself you can do that again?
A W108 280SE 3.5 is a rare car in the U.K by any description now. Silver Blue over black is your favoured colour scheme. How small a field of runners have we now got that down to?
I would say that you should go for it! It may clear you out at the present but that situation won't last for too long hopefully. You'll have the car then. Put it away until funds allow you to start the project. Don't think about driving or using it. This car will have to be a hobby but the sense of achievement at the end of the project will be immense.
Get the chassis and all of the mechanical side done first. Don't waste money at this stage worrying about carpets and mats etc...put those thoughts to the back of your mind.
I would imagine that with quite a lot of the work needed you are going to have to farm out to mechanics etc? They always take longer to get stuff done on cars than most of us would like. But, if you take a slightly laid-back approach to them and don't pursue them too hard the time delays allow you to build up and set aside funds for the restoration.
From what you have described above, I would suggest that you think in terms of: "Well, if I buy this car now it isn't going to be ready and finished for this coming summer so I may as well make the aim of it being ready for the following summer."
If I were you...I'd buy it! That's not going to come along again in the next 5 minutes.
Totally agree with this - don't try and do it this year, regard it as a longer term, as and when funds allow, project. So, like the people they show on that Grand Designs TV programme there is almost certainly going to be a budget over-spend and a time over-run on this.
However, why do something that is 'easy' if having done something that was 'hard' will give you so much more satisfaction in the end? You already know you can do 'easy'...why prove to yourself you can do that again?
A W108 280SE 3.5 is a rare car in the U.K by any description now. Silver Blue over black is your favoured colour scheme. How small a field of runners have we now got that down to?
I would say that you should go for it! It may clear you out at the present but that situation won't last for too long hopefully. You'll have the car then. Put it away until funds allow you to start the project. Don't think about driving or using it. This car will have to be a hobby but the sense of achievement at the end of the project will be immense.
Get the chassis and all of the mechanical side done first. Don't waste money at this stage worrying about carpets and mats etc...put those thoughts to the back of your mind.
I would imagine that with quite a lot of the work needed you are going to have to farm out to mechanics etc? They always take longer to get stuff done on cars than most of us would like. But, if you take a slightly laid-back approach to them and don't pursue them too hard the time delays allow you to build up and set aside funds for the restoration.
From what you have described above, I would suggest that you think in terms of: "Well, if I buy this car now it isn't going to be ready and finished for this coming summer so I may as well make the aim of it being ready for the following summer."
If I were you...I'd buy it! That's not going to come along again in the next 5 minutes.
There's a 1972 car on eBay at present, just broken thread budget with 3 days to go (I'm using eBay app so don't know how to link). It's in primer and pieces and had £12k spent so far according to the vendor - I'm sure both the defence and prosecution could make a case from this example, but I'm citing it as evidence for Derin's argument.
Of course this vehicle should be purchased and run as a rolling restoration r129.
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