My new old 540i
Discussion
Okay I confess I have a fetish for E34s. A couple of you on here have spoken to me recently about yours for sale - thank you again for your time. This is the one I went for having missed the 63k miler.
It's done 111k, has had a few bits of suspension etc replaced, good service history, drives nicely and has a Torqueflow stainless system which sounds like Brian Blessed being hoofed in the knackers. Hence the car is called Brian.
Has climate and electric seats, a coffee table in the front and original toolkit and torch.
I have no plans to modify it but will fix a few things - light control mod on the way out but have sourced another cheaply (will solder this one afterwards). Service lights don't work but history fine so will put on to-do list. Bodywork has a couple of small blemishes and leather has one scuff on back seat. It's a toy and a late boyhood dream and my first V8
It may have belonged to a PHer, it was traded for an M5. Cost me £1750 from a dealer.
It's done 111k, has had a few bits of suspension etc replaced, good service history, drives nicely and has a Torqueflow stainless system which sounds like Brian Blessed being hoofed in the knackers. Hence the car is called Brian.
Has climate and electric seats, a coffee table in the front and original toolkit and torch.
I have no plans to modify it but will fix a few things - light control mod on the way out but have sourced another cheaply (will solder this one afterwards). Service lights don't work but history fine so will put on to-do list. Bodywork has a couple of small blemishes and leather has one scuff on back seat. It's a toy and a late boyhood dream and my first V8
It may have belonged to a PHer, it was traded for an M5. Cost me £1750 from a dealer.
Edited by Six Fiend on Friday 12th December 15:48
Edited by Six Fiend on Friday 12th December 16:09
I like "IMHO", gives me ideas
Really does sound like Brian Blessed, sound clip here from one the same, although I believe mine still has his centre box. It's lovely rumbling along
Blessed 540
Really does sound like Brian Blessed, sound clip here from one the same, although I believe mine still has his centre box. It's lovely rumbling along
Blessed 540
Have just wafted back along the M4 at a steady 75mph, 29mpg and such comfort. The exhaust is somewhat, er, throaty and in town people do look to see what exotica is rumbling by. IT'S ME
Mother was following in her KA and thought there was something wrong with it. Then realised it was me making lots of noise in front
Now the cleaning and list of little jobs can begin. Oh and skinning my knuckles replacing the micro-filter!
Utterly relaxed of Bristol
Mother was following in her KA and thought there was something wrong with it. Then realised it was me making lots of noise in front
Now the cleaning and list of little jobs can begin. Oh and skinning my knuckles replacing the micro-filter!
Utterly relaxed of Bristol
He's not the M5, er, he's just a lairy 540i
Tinkering has begun and thus far...
Screw trim on glovebox properly (hardly rocket science)
Vacuum interior and find it's rather good.
New sidelight bulb.
Wipe around engine bay and check all levels.
Take horrible sticker off coffee table to reveal mobile phone holder holes! Will get a replacement...
LKM well fecked so will find replacement.
Discover hole near top of winscreen washer bottle. Mark level and remember not to fill with more than 2 litres.
Clear washer jets with a pin (why don't people do this?)
Discover headrests are electric!
Replace tacky tax disc holder.
Tomorrow I need to buy a new microfilter to help the air-con along.
I need two bulbs for the dashboard (temp guage is dark in the dark, not good on an E34!)
Condition the leather, refurb a couple of minor wear marks.
I'll buy some stone chip and touch up paint for when I tackle the door corners, a spot over the NSR bumper, NSF door sill and the NSR sill corner. No major holes just a few previously touched in bits to re-paint.
Monster wash, scratch remover, polish and wax session.
When warmer I'll pop off the door trims and clean and lube the window runners and motors. Will buy bag of new clips first.
That should be it, just need to keep the servicing up to date and drive it for fun
Tinkering has begun and thus far...
Screw trim on glovebox properly (hardly rocket science)
Vacuum interior and find it's rather good.
New sidelight bulb.
Wipe around engine bay and check all levels.
Take horrible sticker off coffee table to reveal mobile phone holder holes! Will get a replacement...
LKM well fecked so will find replacement.
Discover hole near top of winscreen washer bottle. Mark level and remember not to fill with more than 2 litres.
Clear washer jets with a pin (why don't people do this?)
Discover headrests are electric!
Replace tacky tax disc holder.
Tomorrow I need to buy a new microfilter to help the air-con along.
I need two bulbs for the dashboard (temp guage is dark in the dark, not good on an E34!)
Condition the leather, refurb a couple of minor wear marks.
I'll buy some stone chip and touch up paint for when I tackle the door corners, a spot over the NSR bumper, NSF door sill and the NSR sill corner. No major holes just a few previously touched in bits to re-paint.
Monster wash, scratch remover, polish and wax session.
When warmer I'll pop off the door trims and clean and lube the window runners and motors. Will buy bag of new clips first.
That should be it, just need to keep the servicing up to date and drive it for fun
Edited by Six Fiend on Sunday 14th December 15:12
Edited by Six Fiend on Sunday 14th December 15:14
Thanks for all the supportive comments chaps, much appreciated as a number of my friends just don't see the attraction!
Today's jobs have been to spend 45 minutes taking off the door trims, lubing the window mechanisms and replacing various trim clips. Windows now all work although one motor is getting lazy - NSR so not too bothered for now.
Then it was time to attack the microfilter. I've done one before, but was less arthritic then. Bugger of a job with climate as there's a sword to mess about with. Managed to get it all out, along with two handfuls of leaves! Will add pics when at the office. Vents now work
Today's jobs have been to spend 45 minutes taking off the door trims, lubing the window mechanisms and replacing various trim clips. Windows now all work although one motor is getting lazy - NSR so not too bothered for now.
Then it was time to attack the microfilter. I've done one before, but was less arthritic then. Bugger of a job with climate as there's a sword to mess about with. Managed to get it all out, along with two handfuls of leaves! Will add pics when at the office. Vents now work
Edited by Six Fiend on Thursday 18th December 18:16
Luckily for me this is a project to complete over the next 12 months before the lease expires on my other car.
Good job too having put my hand through the NSR sill the other morning. You know how you have those moments when you think "I know there's a hole right through there, I'll just poke it with this key and ooooooh that's a touch bigger than I expected..."
Since the last update:
I've cleaned up the leather (Kiwi black shoe polish worked a treat).
Replaced all dash bulbs (including the missing ones which led me to believe engine light may come on, but it didn't!)
Next:
A few common E34 electrical niggles to sort out (bro is an electrics man so that's easy), wiper bushes have gone so wipers rubbing on bonnet, and of course the door bottoms and a few places need a touch of paint.
I'll get a man to see to the welding for me too!
Still loving it
Good job too having put my hand through the NSR sill the other morning. You know how you have those moments when you think "I know there's a hole right through there, I'll just poke it with this key and ooooooh that's a touch bigger than I expected..."
Since the last update:
I've cleaned up the leather (Kiwi black shoe polish worked a treat).
Replaced all dash bulbs (including the missing ones which led me to believe engine light may come on, but it didn't!)
Next:
A few common E34 electrical niggles to sort out (bro is an electrics man so that's easy), wiper bushes have gone so wipers rubbing on bonnet, and of course the door bottoms and a few places need a touch of paint.
I'll get a man to see to the welding for me too!
Still loving it
Edited by Six Fiend on Wednesday 24th December 14:52
Time for an update....
Brian now has a set of proper wheels. The E60s were sold on eBay and allowed me to buy them, and pop some tyres on. I am now saving to get them refurbed (have a local contact who may do me a super deal)
The washer bottle was fixed with silicone seal.
The rust was worse than I thought and ended up with a chunk of welding for the MoT along with rear discs and pads. The new alarm also needed work as it decided to kill the hazards and permanently immobilise the car. Whoops!
New aux belt solved a charging issue. The squeaking from it was a sign of wear.
The boot lid was proving a nightmare to keep open on anything other than a level surface (plus far to heavy when I'm not so well) so off came the spoiler. Problem solved. Although that is easier said than done as the nuts are up inside the boot panel.
The bodywork - ah, yes, every door bottom has had work, along with the rear bumper being taken off a sprayed. O/S/F wing and both rears had signs of worm too. A couple of holes in the rear panel have been seen too while the bumper was off. I may have cheated with a bit of stone chip here and there but at least the old bus looks tidy. It still needs finishing as it's a rattle can job done to patch it up. Paints came from these jolly people:
http://www.paints4u.com/
A couple of clips and one door trim later it looks okay. I have found lots of small scratches over the car but as it stands I'm not bothering about that as they don't show too much on the silver. I may have a respray in a couple of years as I plan to keep this long term.
The PAS started leaking too. Luckily it was just a connection.
The adjustable steering column wouldn't adjust so I spent a happy time in the footwell undoing the overtightened nut on the steering column. I now have adjustment
It's proving wonderfully comfy, fun and very relaxing to drive. I'm getting better at being economical - the weight provides enough momentum to throttle off well in advance of junctions etc without holding people up.
The Torqueflow exhaust is great. A gentle rumble or full on howl (will film it soon). It does, however set off car/van alarms at low revs due to the rumble (sorry to the owner of the van who I woke at 5.50am on my way out the other day, I was only doing 1k revs.)
So the painful bit? Yeah, it's cost nearly what I paid for it in servicing, MoT and all the bits and bobs I've bought. The tranny oil weep will add to that this week, but you know what, I love it. I had planned to budget £4k-£5k for a new car. Buying this one and using the spare cash to get it all up together mechanically doesn't really hurt, especially when I look out of my window and see a shape I still get excited about.
Oh and I bought some PH stickers - one for the boot and one in each rear quarterlight.
A few recent pics...I think he looks far more subtle now
Brian now has a set of proper wheels. The E60s were sold on eBay and allowed me to buy them, and pop some tyres on. I am now saving to get them refurbed (have a local contact who may do me a super deal)
The washer bottle was fixed with silicone seal.
The rust was worse than I thought and ended up with a chunk of welding for the MoT along with rear discs and pads. The new alarm also needed work as it decided to kill the hazards and permanently immobilise the car. Whoops!
New aux belt solved a charging issue. The squeaking from it was a sign of wear.
The boot lid was proving a nightmare to keep open on anything other than a level surface (plus far to heavy when I'm not so well) so off came the spoiler. Problem solved. Although that is easier said than done as the nuts are up inside the boot panel.
The bodywork - ah, yes, every door bottom has had work, along with the rear bumper being taken off a sprayed. O/S/F wing and both rears had signs of worm too. A couple of holes in the rear panel have been seen too while the bumper was off. I may have cheated with a bit of stone chip here and there but at least the old bus looks tidy. It still needs finishing as it's a rattle can job done to patch it up. Paints came from these jolly people:
http://www.paints4u.com/
A couple of clips and one door trim later it looks okay. I have found lots of small scratches over the car but as it stands I'm not bothering about that as they don't show too much on the silver. I may have a respray in a couple of years as I plan to keep this long term.
The PAS started leaking too. Luckily it was just a connection.
The adjustable steering column wouldn't adjust so I spent a happy time in the footwell undoing the overtightened nut on the steering column. I now have adjustment
It's proving wonderfully comfy, fun and very relaxing to drive. I'm getting better at being economical - the weight provides enough momentum to throttle off well in advance of junctions etc without holding people up.
The Torqueflow exhaust is great. A gentle rumble or full on howl (will film it soon). It does, however set off car/van alarms at low revs due to the rumble (sorry to the owner of the van who I woke at 5.50am on my way out the other day, I was only doing 1k revs.)
So the painful bit? Yeah, it's cost nearly what I paid for it in servicing, MoT and all the bits and bobs I've bought. The tranny oil weep will add to that this week, but you know what, I love it. I had planned to budget £4k-£5k for a new car. Buying this one and using the spare cash to get it all up together mechanically doesn't really hurt, especially when I look out of my window and see a shape I still get excited about.
Oh and I bought some PH stickers - one for the boot and one in each rear quarterlight.
A few recent pics...I think he looks far more subtle now
Edited by Six Fiend on Saturday 13th June 21:01
Cheers!
Original wheels are the way forward tho'
Spares or repair...that could be a monster wallet breaker or something really quite easy if you know what, how and who. Any idea what's up with it?
It's prob worth the thick end of £1k in bits
Original wheels are the way forward tho'
Spares or repair...that could be a monster wallet breaker or something really quite easy if you know what, how and who. Any idea what's up with it?
It's prob worth the thick end of £1k in bits
Edited by Six Fiend on Saturday 13th June 23:18
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