1991 BMW 850i. V12 madness...
Discussion
Spent Friday afternoon in a pub in Cambridge, waiting for my son.
While there, saw this on eBay, did a deal, collected it on Saturday - drove it 200 miles home.
It survived.
V12 goodness.
Wish me luck...
Seems it was driven regularly until about 5 years ago. Then bought by a young lad who couldn't afford to insure it!
It's only done 1000 miles or so in the last five years, so I have a few jobs to do.
New plugs now in - has made a noticeable improvement in running.
Need to refresh all fluids and filters, get some new rubber on it and sort out a couple of very minor electrical things.
Surprised at how reasonable service items are - plugs, oils and filters are all sensible and brakes aren't all that big, so not too pricey. Bridgestone Potenza all round will cost around £475, so not too bad either.
Then over to leathercare in Warrington for some reconnolising of the front seats.
A little bit of TLC and it will be a fun cruiser.
First impressions - it must have been pretty awesome in 1991 as a new car. It has effortless, lazy torque and a reasonable push in the back with you press the "8 mpg pedal" as I call it.
It will tick over at around 2000 rpm at 80mph - and hit 22 mpg on my 200 mile journey home, which isn't too bad for an 80-90 mph cruise.
While there, saw this on eBay, did a deal, collected it on Saturday - drove it 200 miles home.
It survived.
V12 goodness.
Wish me luck...
Seems it was driven regularly until about 5 years ago. Then bought by a young lad who couldn't afford to insure it!
It's only done 1000 miles or so in the last five years, so I have a few jobs to do.
New plugs now in - has made a noticeable improvement in running.
Need to refresh all fluids and filters, get some new rubber on it and sort out a couple of very minor electrical things.
Surprised at how reasonable service items are - plugs, oils and filters are all sensible and brakes aren't all that big, so not too pricey. Bridgestone Potenza all round will cost around £475, so not too bad either.
Then over to leathercare in Warrington for some reconnolising of the front seats.
A little bit of TLC and it will be a fun cruiser.
First impressions - it must have been pretty awesome in 1991 as a new car. It has effortless, lazy torque and a reasonable push in the back with you press the "8 mpg pedal" as I call it.
It will tick over at around 2000 rpm at 80mph - and hit 22 mpg on my 200 mile journey home, which isn't too bad for an 80-90 mph cruise.
helix402 said:
Enjoy the spark plug change!
It was a doddle. Plug #12 literally took 3 minutes. You need a short (4" or so) extender and a universal joint. All plugs start to finish only an hour or so.
A noticeable difference.
The car is, like many cars of that era, quite a bit smaller than it looks. It isn't a huge, massive car at all.
Hope to bring it up to scratch over the next month or two.
Bork moment averted!
Last night hazards flashing, car wouldn't start etc.
Thought the worst- massive electrical gremlins etc.
Turns out it has an alarm/immobiliser which I had inadvertently activated by a double twist of the key in the driver's door lock.
A quick panic, ten minutes on Google and I unlocked the car via the passenger door, a quick battery disconnect and its all sorted.
Thank the God of Bork for that!!
Last night hazards flashing, car wouldn't start etc.
Thought the worst- massive electrical gremlins etc.
Turns out it has an alarm/immobiliser which I had inadvertently activated by a double twist of the key in the driver's door lock.
A quick panic, ten minutes on Google and I unlocked the car via the passenger door, a quick battery disconnect and its all sorted.
Thank the God of Bork for that!!
So, now had some time to assess full list of things that need sorting:
Looks like I have an issue with the electronics that run the high beam lights and the light pods - could be a £200 fix.
ABS not working - probably wheel speed sensors, but who knows! I'm guessing ££££.
No horns - probably a cheapish fix.
Bit of an issue with the rear washer tank - the 850 has a water tank in the boot that then pumps water up to the washer tank under the bonnet - not working.
Passenger mirror not adjusting at all. Might be switch - but driver side works fine, so I will guess motor in mirror has seized.
Bit of a noisy front caliper - sure I can sort that cheaply.
Boot needs new telescopic dampers for the boot to stay open - £18 each or so.
Other than that - nothing too much to panic about.
Looks like I have an issue with the electronics that run the high beam lights and the light pods - could be a £200 fix.
ABS not working - probably wheel speed sensors, but who knows! I'm guessing ££££.
No horns - probably a cheapish fix.
Bit of an issue with the rear washer tank - the 850 has a water tank in the boot that then pumps water up to the washer tank under the bonnet - not working.
Passenger mirror not adjusting at all. Might be switch - but driver side works fine, so I will guess motor in mirror has seized.
Bit of a noisy front caliper - sure I can sort that cheaply.
Boot needs new telescopic dampers for the boot to stay open - £18 each or so.
Other than that - nothing too much to panic about.
New tyres on today. Lovely to have fresh rubber.
New brake fluid too. A bit of a clean up of calipers etc and a check of the bushes and so on. All good.
So, off to the 850 guru next week to sort the few electrical niggles with high beam and ABS.
So far, very happy. I expect a manual would be more fun - and it needs more bark from the exhaust, but overall very very happy.
Looking forward to treating it to a proper bit of TLC on the paintwork. This will be an ace summer car.
New brake fluid too. A bit of a clean up of calipers etc and a check of the bushes and so on. All good.
So, off to the 850 guru next week to sort the few electrical niggles with high beam and ABS.
So far, very happy. I expect a manual would be more fun - and it needs more bark from the exhaust, but overall very very happy.
Looking forward to treating it to a proper bit of TLC on the paintwork. This will be an ace summer car.
Well, currently with talkwrench for MOT.
New lighting control module needed, new ABS module, new brake lines.
Probably some other things too - but they're the things it's failed on.
So, wallet bruising but not wallet killing.
Plus it will be awesome to have it all working properly, a year's MOT etc.
Really is a pleasant thing to drive.
New lighting control module needed, new ABS module, new brake lines.
Probably some other things too - but they're the things it's failed on.
So, wallet bruising but not wallet killing.
Plus it will be awesome to have it all working properly, a year's MOT etc.
Really is a pleasant thing to drive.
Edited by johnfm on Friday 3rd April 18:41
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