Lugy's BMW 740I and friends
Discussion
Update time, first of all I've sold the Astra, didn't really want to but something more suitable for commuting came up, more on that in a little bit. It ended up going to a lad in Fife, who seems like he'll look after it which makes me happy.
The last picture of Poop Coupe....
I'd also been using the 740 throughout January, the fuel economy was a bit on the crippling side, averaging 21mpg and doing about 400+ miles a week but then driving in über-Komfort and having a V8 does offset this slightly. Nothing interesting to report though still due a service, no green lights now!
Even though I was washing it weekly it still ended up like this....
Which brings me on to the new vehicle, not sure if it even qualifies as a shed, maybe more one of they garden storage boxes/chests....
It was destined for the crusher but as I can't really see anything go to waste I stepped in, paid £100, bought a new(ish) alternator, cleaned/freed off the brakes, replaced the rear pads and was on my way. It's a 306 estate (if you hadn't already guessed!) 2.0 HDI and it's covered a small 227k miles.
Until I bought it, it had been lying outside for a few months and had began to accumulate various organisms inside and out so needed a bit of a tidy up.
Before pictures....
After a few hours work I was left with this....
It now looks quite respectable I think, even one of the guys from one of the companies next to our garage/unit stopped to have a look and comment on how well it looked now.
For anyone interested in what I did; the interior was hoovered, carpets sprayed and agitated with Autosmart G101/brush, plastics wiped down with G101/hot water mix, the seats were shampooed with Autosmart Brisk and a George and finally the plastics were dressed with Autosmart Highstyle. The exterior was soaked in G101, the snowfoamed, attacked with Autosmart Tardis, washed then using an old pad on my rotary polisher and some Menzerna FG400 it was polished and sealed with Sonax Protect and Shine (highly recommended product from me!). It's not a perfect job, I couldn't be bothered claying it which killed the pad but still, it doesn't look too bad.
My only real regret was the terrible job I did of removing the rust from and painting the leading edge of the bonnet, I'll maybe do it a bit better in the spring.
Oh, I also bought another wheel to match the 3 already on the car.
There's still a few things needing done, the rear wishbone 'P' bushes aren't the best and it knocks quite badly over bumps and the thermostat seems to be stuck open so it takes a while to warm up, though I've ordered replacement parts so it'll hopefully be done at the weekend. The engine seems really good however, it genuinely feels like a far less 'experienced' lump, I might even treat it to a service in the spring. Oh and it's amazing on fuel, I don't have any actual numbers but assuming the gauge isn't fecked (entirely plausible) I reckon it's doing around 50mpg.
It's not really something I do but I'm going to keep tabs on how much this car costs to keep on the road (minus tax/ins/fuel), even if it just makes me feel better!
So far;
Car £100
Alternator £30
Alternator belt £10
Rear brake pads £7.50
Wheel £25
2x part worn tyres £20
MOT £40
Wiper blades £10
Halfords spray paint £5.50
Peugeot cost so far - £248
The last picture of Poop Coupe....
I'd also been using the 740 throughout January, the fuel economy was a bit on the crippling side, averaging 21mpg and doing about 400+ miles a week but then driving in über-Komfort and having a V8 does offset this slightly. Nothing interesting to report though still due a service, no green lights now!
Even though I was washing it weekly it still ended up like this....
Which brings me on to the new vehicle, not sure if it even qualifies as a shed, maybe more one of they garden storage boxes/chests....
It was destined for the crusher but as I can't really see anything go to waste I stepped in, paid £100, bought a new(ish) alternator, cleaned/freed off the brakes, replaced the rear pads and was on my way. It's a 306 estate (if you hadn't already guessed!) 2.0 HDI and it's covered a small 227k miles.
Until I bought it, it had been lying outside for a few months and had began to accumulate various organisms inside and out so needed a bit of a tidy up.
Before pictures....
After a few hours work I was left with this....
It now looks quite respectable I think, even one of the guys from one of the companies next to our garage/unit stopped to have a look and comment on how well it looked now.
For anyone interested in what I did; the interior was hoovered, carpets sprayed and agitated with Autosmart G101/brush, plastics wiped down with G101/hot water mix, the seats were shampooed with Autosmart Brisk and a George and finally the plastics were dressed with Autosmart Highstyle. The exterior was soaked in G101, the snowfoamed, attacked with Autosmart Tardis, washed then using an old pad on my rotary polisher and some Menzerna FG400 it was polished and sealed with Sonax Protect and Shine (highly recommended product from me!). It's not a perfect job, I couldn't be bothered claying it which killed the pad but still, it doesn't look too bad.
My only real regret was the terrible job I did of removing the rust from and painting the leading edge of the bonnet, I'll maybe do it a bit better in the spring.
Oh, I also bought another wheel to match the 3 already on the car.
There's still a few things needing done, the rear wishbone 'P' bushes aren't the best and it knocks quite badly over bumps and the thermostat seems to be stuck open so it takes a while to warm up, though I've ordered replacement parts so it'll hopefully be done at the weekend. The engine seems really good however, it genuinely feels like a far less 'experienced' lump, I might even treat it to a service in the spring. Oh and it's amazing on fuel, I don't have any actual numbers but assuming the gauge isn't fecked (entirely plausible) I reckon it's doing around 50mpg.
It's not really something I do but I'm going to keep tabs on how much this car costs to keep on the road (minus tax/ins/fuel), even if it just makes me feel better!
So far;
Car £100
Alternator £30
Alternator belt £10
Rear brake pads £7.50
Wheel £25
2x part worn tyres £20
MOT £40
Wiper blades £10
Halfords spray paint £5.50
Peugeot cost so far - £248
Cheers Melv, I did think about that, it came with a set of the alloys as seen on the nearside front in the first picture too so I'm sure they could be sold, I quite like the ones that are on it though they'll be getting sold separately when it eventually gets weighed in! Would be nice to break even at that point!
406highlander said:
Too good to weigh it in! You could flog that for nearly a grand right now, especially with that fuel economy figure.
Don't worry, it'll not be be going anywhere anytime soon, I've set myself the challenge of keeping it going as long as possible, 300k seems a good target!ScottJB said:
Nice lunchtime read this, thanks for posting.
Good to see the Cav's - reminds me of my old Migweb days.
The 7 looks good in those coastal shots - ambers definitely suit the green and M paras always look the part.
Cheers, I still occasionally pop on Migweb, it's died a bit of a death now though!Good to see the Cav's - reminds me of my old Migweb days.
The 7 looks good in those coastal shots - ambers definitely suit the green and M paras always look the part.
davehilton said:
Great thread, good read. Love the 7 series, always wanted one but don't think I can handle the fuel economy!
They definitely aren't the most economical but the engine and comfort goes someway to making up for it!Well, I've finally got round to giving the E38 a service, I've also had to treat it to a pair of new cats as the current ones have started to rattle, just need to see of I can acquire the shot of a ramp to make life easier when fitting. The cats were surprisingly cheap at £300+vat for the pair from a local motor factor who usually sell only OEM products or equivalent. The plugs were a shock at £10+vat each though and that was with max discount, luckily the rest of the service kit was fairly cheap.
The pollen filters were a tad dirty...
Full green lights again...
I think the next job will be either a transmission fluid change or maybe some preventative maintenance on the cooling system.
The Peugeot has dodging along, not particularly great to drive, quite awful actually but it does 48mpg without me really needing to think about being economical. I've had issues with the lower suspension arms and the subframe mounting bolts snapping inside the chassis legs, resulting in a half bolted/half welded to car subframe and an OS suspension arm bush that's now knackered, neither really helps with the driving experience!
A promotion at work, along with unlimited overtime has spurred me on a bit to buy something a bit better for daily duties so the Peugeot only really needs to last another month or so.
The pollen filters were a tad dirty...
Full green lights again...
I think the next job will be either a transmission fluid change or maybe some preventative maintenance on the cooling system.
The Peugeot has dodging along, not particularly great to drive, quite awful actually but it does 48mpg without me really needing to think about being economical. I've had issues with the lower suspension arms and the subframe mounting bolts snapping inside the chassis legs, resulting in a half bolted/half welded to car subframe and an OS suspension arm bush that's now knackered, neither really helps with the driving experience!
A promotion at work, along with unlimited overtime has spurred me on a bit to buy something a bit better for daily duties so the Peugeot only really needs to last another month or so.
hornetrider said:
Lovely E38 but those black kidneys have gotta go 
I've got to admit that they've grown on me, I think they go with the Shadowline trim nicely. I have tried the chrome ones from my other one but the clips are broken so they rattle about. I'm tempted to buy a new set and try them though, we'll see!Another update, though not the most event filled couple of months!
Turns out I've had the 7 series for 6 months now and covered 5000 miles in that time somehow, bizarre given that it doesn't seem like I've used it much.
So, how are we getting on so far? Well I genuinely can't really fault it, it's obviously very comfortable but with a slightly firm ride and whisper quiet on the move with only a V8 rumble when you provoke it. However, show it a corner and it doesn't just give up, it really gets through the bends without fuss with only the high ratio steering rack letting it down, it just seems to need a bit much input to make it turn. I guess that wasn't the first priority for BMW and it probably stops it being twitchy at speed.
Fuel/insurance/road tax aside, the car hasn't cost me anything since it's service which is always nice. All I've really done is keep it washed and started detailing it for the summer months, oh and drive it!
The Peugeot is still s
te but keeps surviving. It's actually quite good as a van too.
Finally, the Cavalier. Currently a bit of a sore subject, I had hoped to get it back on the road this week and started to check it over for it's MOT. In true 90s car fashion it's rotten, it seems to have started from the inside out and as such doesn't look like a cost effective fix. Now it is a 20 year old car car and I accept I've had a bit more than my money's worth but I'm still quite gutted.
Not sure what to do yet, my first thought was just buy another tidy shell and retrofit all the SRi parts, probably the cheapest answer but it'll never be the same, or break the car and move on.
Turns out I've had the 7 series for 6 months now and covered 5000 miles in that time somehow, bizarre given that it doesn't seem like I've used it much.
So, how are we getting on so far? Well I genuinely can't really fault it, it's obviously very comfortable but with a slightly firm ride and whisper quiet on the move with only a V8 rumble when you provoke it. However, show it a corner and it doesn't just give up, it really gets through the bends without fuss with only the high ratio steering rack letting it down, it just seems to need a bit much input to make it turn. I guess that wasn't the first priority for BMW and it probably stops it being twitchy at speed.
Fuel/insurance/road tax aside, the car hasn't cost me anything since it's service which is always nice. All I've really done is keep it washed and started detailing it for the summer months, oh and drive it!
The Peugeot is still s
te but keeps surviving. It's actually quite good as a van too.Finally, the Cavalier. Currently a bit of a sore subject, I had hoped to get it back on the road this week and started to check it over for it's MOT. In true 90s car fashion it's rotten, it seems to have started from the inside out and as such doesn't look like a cost effective fix. Now it is a 20 year old car car and I accept I've had a bit more than my money's worth but I'm still quite gutted.
Not sure what to do yet, my first thought was just buy another tidy shell and retrofit all the SRi parts, probably the cheapest answer but it'll never be the same, or break the car and move on.
Again, not a massive update but last Monday, seeing as I had a day off and found some motivation I thought I'd get the big fella looking a wee bit nicer for the better weather coming.
No before pics, I always forget to take them and get stuck in!
It's by no means a perfect job but I reckon it looks okay.
Started off with a rinse with the pressure wash, washed, rinsed, foamed and clay cloth (first time using it and I'm very impressed!), dried, polished with Menz P203/yellow pad on a rotary, rinsed and dried again, Prima Amigo by hand then topped off with Dodo-Juice Blue Velvet. Engine was cleaned with G101 and finished with Aerospace 303.
I also bought a Karcher steam cleaner which has turned out to be far better than the one I bought from Aldi last year, used it on the interior and was very impressed, the steering wheel is no longer shiny (with dirt) and feels much nicer. The downside being that the wear patches show up now. I guess a retrim would sort this though.
Before
And after
Note however that the steam cleaner has stripped a coating from the air bag cover so this will need replaced now. Safe to say it's quite powerful, well recommended bit of kit and great round the house!
The car has been booked in on the 9th of June to get both front wings and rear arch rustproofed and repainted. Hopefully it'll be done in less than a week as we plan on taking it on our holidays to Germany the week after!
No before pics, I always forget to take them and get stuck in!
It's by no means a perfect job but I reckon it looks okay.
Started off with a rinse with the pressure wash, washed, rinsed, foamed and clay cloth (first time using it and I'm very impressed!), dried, polished with Menz P203/yellow pad on a rotary, rinsed and dried again, Prima Amigo by hand then topped off with Dodo-Juice Blue Velvet. Engine was cleaned with G101 and finished with Aerospace 303.
I also bought a Karcher steam cleaner which has turned out to be far better than the one I bought from Aldi last year, used it on the interior and was very impressed, the steering wheel is no longer shiny (with dirt) and feels much nicer. The downside being that the wear patches show up now. I guess a retrim would sort this though.
Before
And after
Note however that the steam cleaner has stripped a coating from the air bag cover so this will need replaced now. Safe to say it's quite powerful, well recommended bit of kit and great round the house!
The car has been booked in on the 9th of June to get both front wings and rear arch rustproofed and repainted. Hopefully it'll be done in less than a week as we plan on taking it on our holidays to Germany the week after!
Time for an addition to the fleet in the form of a new daily driver. The Peugeot went to a neighbour after his van was stolen a couple of weeks back (I'd decided that I'd had enough of it so no great loss!), so there was a need for something suitable for commuting. After two weeks of scouring the classifieds for something, only to find overpriced ste or nice cars at the opposite end of the country I popped on Scumtree and found this....
It's a 2001 9-3 2.0 Aero HOT, 127k, a vast wad of receipts/paperwork and generally in decent condition.
There's a few bits that need seeing to, needs a front left ABS sensor and the rear arches are beginning to go so probably best to sort that out, this is the worst bit, the other side is surface rust....
I don't plan on making it concours, just tidy enough. Other plans are the important sump drop, try and get a non dodgy SID screen (missing pixels irritate the hell out of me!), maybe a remap and just keep adding miles.
te or nice cars at the opposite end of the country I popped on Scumtree and found this....
It's a 2001 9-3 2.0 Aero HOT, 127k, a vast wad of receipts/paperwork and generally in decent condition.
There's a few bits that need seeing to, needs a front left ABS sensor and the rear arches are beginning to go so probably best to sort that out, this is the worst bit, the other side is surface rust....
I don't plan on making it concours, just tidy enough. Other plans are the important sump drop, try and get a non dodgy SID screen (missing pixels irritate the hell out of me!), maybe a remap and just keep adding miles.
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