Unseen £200 e38
Discussion
C70R said:
Slow said:
sort the reversing light out (is that even on the mot?)
Yes.It's probably a contact issue at one end of the circuit - check the bulb holder and the switch on the gearbox.
Cracking little project, by the way. Given the amount of rot on the body panels, have you had a good poke around underneath with a screwdriver? My major worry would be that the sills are going to need a decent amount of welding to get it through an MOT. However, if that's not the case, and you can prep/paint the new panels yourself (dubious about the end result quality in a ventilated garage in Scotland), you're onto a bit of a winner.
I'm not sure about the quality of painting it at home either, but there's laquer peel on 2 doors, a silver door, a silver bumper and a red wing. Not sure it can get worse? Also notice that paint below the fuel cap in previous picture, it's not a pretty car.
Slow said:
C70R said:
Slow said:
sort the reversing light out (is that even on the mot?)
Yes.It's probably a contact issue at one end of the circuit - check the bulb holder and the switch on the gearbox.
Cracking little project, by the way. Given the amount of rot on the body panels, have you had a good poke around underneath with a screwdriver? My major worry would be that the sills are going to need a decent amount of welding to get it through an MOT. However, if that's not the case, and you can prep/paint the new panels yourself (dubious about the end result quality in a ventilated garage in Scotland), you're onto a bit of a winner.
I'm not sure about the quality of painting it at home either, but there's laquer peel on 2 doors, a silver door, a silver bumper and a red wing. Not sure it can get worse? Also notice that paint below the fuel cap in previous picture, it's not a pretty car.
TooMany2cvs said:
Slow said:
sort the reversing light out (is that even on the mot?)
No, it isn't.Nice to see this as a project car, good luck to you!
I had a 750iL version for several months a year or two ago which wasn't in quite as bad a shape as yours but still needed a fair bit of cosmetic and mechanical work, that sadly at that time I was unable to afford. The worst of the issues was with the fuel gauge, with only one of the two fuel level sensors working, resulting in a dead gauge. The only way I could figure out how much fuel there was in the car was to unlock the OBC and display the fuel levels on the dash, although I could only see what was in one half of the tank. (As you may know the fuel tanks on these E38's are like 'saddle tanks', one under each rear passenger seat joined in the middle in the transmission tunnel, each with its own sensor)
If I'd had the space to store and work on it along with the money I'd have loved to have kept it as a project to fix up as they are lovely looking cars, but its complexity in general scared me a little and resulted in me letting it go to a breaker in the end.
I had a 750iL version for several months a year or two ago which wasn't in quite as bad a shape as yours but still needed a fair bit of cosmetic and mechanical work, that sadly at that time I was unable to afford. The worst of the issues was with the fuel gauge, with only one of the two fuel level sensors working, resulting in a dead gauge. The only way I could figure out how much fuel there was in the car was to unlock the OBC and display the fuel levels on the dash, although I could only see what was in one half of the tank. (As you may know the fuel tanks on these E38's are like 'saddle tanks', one under each rear passenger seat joined in the middle in the transmission tunnel, each with its own sensor)
If I'd had the space to store and work on it along with the money I'd have loved to have kept it as a project to fix up as they are lovely looking cars, but its complexity in general scared me a little and resulted in me letting it go to a breaker in the end.
twoblacklines said:
... but I have seen a few 735i/740i's for sale that look pretty decent with low (100k ish) mileages.
Thoughts?
They're pretty robust overall, but quite hard on bushes - infamous steering shimmy - and the fuel tanks are prone to rotting at the filler-pipe join - replacement involves removing the rear axle which is a big job.Thoughts?
I had a 4.0l 740i years back, and I loved it.
fluffnik said:
twoblacklines said:
... but I have seen a few 735i/740i's for sale that look pretty decent with low (100k ish) mileages.
Thoughts?
They're pretty robust overall, but quite hard on bushes - infamous steering shimmy - and the fuel tanks are prone to rotting at the filler-pipe join - replacement involves removing the rear axle which is a big job.Thoughts?
I had a 4.0l 740i years back, and I loved it.
The 4.4 suffers with issues with the vanos, which is very expensive to put right.
Barchettaman said:
Great thread, Slow, cracking work.
I reckon you should leave the multicoloured panels as they are. It's kind of a barge Polo Harlequin.
Is the fuel tank OK?
It's got laquer peel and rust coming through with poor resprays so it really does need something doing.I reckon you should leave the multicoloured panels as they are. It's kind of a barge Polo Harlequin.
Is the fuel tank OK?
No idea about the fuel tank, it tells me I have 17 miles of range left since I got it. Think the fuel leak only shows above half a tank, I've never put fuel in yet as its not mot time.
Not bad. I read this thread a while ago and expected much worse than that. I've seen worse MOT fail sheets on younger cars that look pristine.
I would've loved to do the same when I was 21 - looks like fun. I'm still useless at car maintenance stuff. However I do have a coolant feed pipe (for the turbo) and a new radiator to put on my car, so I could try myself instead of paying someone
I would've loved to do the same when I was 21 - looks like fun. I'm still useless at car maintenance stuff. However I do have a coolant feed pipe (for the turbo) and a new radiator to put on my car, so I could try myself instead of paying someone
Slow said:
Failed it's mot 
He's put down the abs light didn't come on, it did when I left the test centre so dunno if he's blind or what.
Then 2 ball joints dust covers are split, not a big deal as I planned on replacing the arms to sort the 50-60mph shimmy anyway.
Oh THAT'S what causes that annoying shimmy. I tried everything on my 750 and could never get rid of it and it was most annoying.He's put down the abs light didn't come on, it did when I left the test centre so dunno if he's blind or what.
Then 2 ball joints dust covers are split, not a big deal as I planned on replacing the arms to sort the 50-60mph shimmy anyway.
ing car tried kill me...
Slow said:
3 wheel nuts are stripped and 2 are bent, time to rob my dead e46 I guess.
Do they weaken with age? I know they were all done up tight so they didn't wiggle loose.
They can't have been torqued correctly- there's basically no other way this'd happen.Do they weaken with age? I know they were all done up tight so they didn't wiggle loose.
Edited by HustleRussell on Thursday 31st March 00:16
HustleRussell said:
Slow said:
3 wheel nuts are stripped and 2 are bent, time to rob my dead e46 I guess.
Do they weaken with age? I know they were all done up tight so they didn't wiggle loose.
They must've been loose- there's basically no other way this'd happen, especially since two of the bolts came out in one piece.Do they weaken with age? I know they were all done up tight so they didn't wiggle loose.
Never had this happen before so it's a odd one to me.
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