Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 13]

[Prinny]

Goddam. Forgot to ask what I came here to post anyway, got carried away by v12.

I have the SL back & am bedding in the suspension, but half of the dash lights are out (both on the actual dash itself, and within the instrument cluster). The seat lighting on the doors is fine, but the temperature in the cluster is not lit, as is 1/2 the a/c and the actual lightswitch itself.

My google-fu seems to suggest all sorts of potential sources of replacements (Amazon & Ebay just want to promote ‘sponsored’ led replacement kits - sod off!), but I can’t be sure I have the right ones.

I want to get some ASAP so that I can do the dash off bulb replacement & new stereo fitting in one go. Therefore, can any of the beards chime in with a part code/link please?

[SpeckledJim]

rufus357 said:

My W208 CLK320 'vert has just be written off by reversing white van man's towbar. It was a car that I disliked to start with but I had settled in to, especially when I changed the 18" wheels to 16".

So what sporty-ish mini-barge do I replace it with? I need something with a supple ride, a great engine, moderately good handling, good stereo, quality interior. If not a convertible then would need to be a good looker.

Basically I end up describing a CLK (preferably a w209's dynamics in a w208 body)

As with the rest of you I love everything from a Suzuki Swift Sport to a 760Li so please help me confuse myself further....

E92 330i?

E63 6 Series now looking good value.

[rufus357]

SpeckledJim said:

E92 330i?

E63 6 Series now looking good value.

E92 330i is a possibility - i like all the bodies which opens up the options - will the ride be suitably bargish though or all BMW jiggly?

E63s are tempting but i cant work out if they are hideous or not

Both are possibilities

[Zonergem]

Prinny said:

Goddam. Forgot to ask what I came here to post anyway, got carried away by v12.

I have the SL back & am bedding in the suspension, but half of the dash lights are out (both on the actual dash itself, and within the instrument cluster). The seat lighting on the doors is fine, but the temperature in the cluster is not lit, as is 1/2 the a/c and the actual lightswitch itself.

My google-fu seems to suggest all sorts of potential sources of replacements (Amazon & Ebay just want to promote ‘sponsored’ led replacement kits - sod off!), but I can’t be sure I have the right ones.

I want to get some ASAP so that I can do the dash off bulb replacement & new stereo fitting in one go. Therefore, can any of the beards chime in with a part code/link please?

Cluster are 1.2, 1.5 and 2W bulbs in little MB holders. I have some OEM spare 1.5s I think but they're in my parts dump which is in the boot of the Scatmobile 8 miles away, along with the cluster hooks.

You can remove the dead bulbs and fit new from Halfords.

Air conditioning lights are also very fiddly but standard, have done some on SL2.

Map lighting could be bad in the dome light unit if it's not just the bulb. Again a fairly standard size but be very gentle trying to get the lens/cover off as the tabs would love to break and then you're in bother.

[Zonergem]

[Prinny]

Zonergem said:

Prinny said:

Goddam. Forgot to ask what I came here to post anyway, got carried away by v12.

I have the SL back & am bedding in the suspension, but half of the dash lights are out (both on the actual dash itself, and within the instrument cluster). The seat lighting on the doors is fine, but the temperature in the cluster is not lit, as is 1/2 the a/c and the actual lightswitch itself.

My google-fu seems to suggest all sorts of potential sources of replacements (Amazon & Ebay just want to promote ‘sponsored’ led replacement kits - sod off!), but I can’t be sure I have the right ones.

I want to get some ASAP so that I can do the dash off bulb replacement & new stereo fitting in one go. Therefore, can any of the beards chime in with a part code/link please?

Cluster are 1.2, 1.5 and 2W bulbs in little MB holders. I have some OEM spare 1.5s I think but they're in my parts dump which is in the boot of the Scatmobile 8 miles away, along with the cluster hooks.

You can remove the dead bulbs and fit new from Halfords.

Air conditioning lights are also very fiddly but standard, have done some on SL2.

Map lighting could be bad in the dome light unit if it's not just the bulb. Again a fairly standard size but be very gentle trying to get the lens/cover off as the tabs would love to break and then you're in bother.

Much obliged Alex! Knowing I can get from Halfords makes it easy... (is that the equivalent of saying ‘watch this’!?)

[Rubins4]

The 190 has been taken in for some alignment work today, having constantly has a slight pull to the right since purchase.

The alignment was ok however the camber on the driver's side front was out.

The 20 mile dual carriageway home this evening was a revelation and I've fallen for it a little bit more now. A good wash on Saturday and up to BMW HQ on Sunday morning as a bit of a treat.

[paddycam]

Whilst explaining the benefits of a barge to a colleague this became a sudden obsession for him.
A little wear on the bolster, but I do love the colour.
|https://thumbsnap.com/dUVnXzZm[/url][url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/MM15EldZ[/url][url]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-300E-Auto...

[rufus357]

It’s amazing how that kind of thing can change the enjoyment of a car

[QuantumTokoloshi]

Rubins4 said:

The 190 has been taken in for some alignment work today, having constantly has a slight pull to the right since purchase.

The alignment was ok however the camber on the driver's side front was out.

The 20 mile dual carriageway home this evening was a revelation and I've fallen for it a little bit more now. A good wash on Saturday and up to BMW HQ on Sunday morning as a bit of a treat.

Will be there too. Hopefully spot it, and a look around.

[cat220]

Mr Micawber said:

maxwellwd said:

This seems bloody good value, and to my untrained eyes looks good bodywise

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-Mercedes-E55-AMG-S...f:0

This steering wheel looks like it has seen an awful lot more than 90,000 miles, unless the driver was in the habit of wearing sandpaper gloves? Car still looks like good value though.

Agreed, mine has done 40,000 miles more and the interior is nowhere near as worn. It also needs the correct wheels. Having said that body looks clean and it's well priced.

[phil_cardiff]

rufus357 said:

SpeckledJim said:

E92 330i?

E63 6 Series now looking good value.

E92 330i is a possibility - i like all the bodies which opens up the options - will the ride be suitably bargish though or all BMW jiggly?

E63s are tempting but i cant work out if they are hideous or not

Both are possibilities

My E91 had a jiggly ride. Swapping to non-runflats helped a lot. If I'd kept it I'd have looked at upgraded shocks, probably Koni FSDs or whatever they're called these days.

Strongly recommend the straight 6 pre-2007, very little goes wrong.

[Johnny Raydome]

Rubins4 said:

The 190 has been taken in for some alignment work today, having constantly has a slight pull to the right since purchase.

The alignment was ok however the camber on the driver's side front was out.

The 20 mile dual carriageway home this evening was a revelation and I've fallen for it a little bit more now. A good wash on Saturday and up to BMW HQ on Sunday morning as a bit of a treat.

It really is a fantastic looking car, the Azurite Blue is gorgeous.

A few months back, I umm'd and aah'd about contacting Max re: your car but my heart was set on Bornite.

Regarding the speaker wiring you mentioned recently, have you had any joy? The beauty of these old things means it's reasonably straightforward to get under the parcel shelf inside the boot to see/check the connections. Running new speaker wires or changing the speakers if necessary will be a doddle, too.

[dbdb]

phil_cardiff said:

rufus357 said:

SpeckledJim said:

E92 330i?

E63 6 Series now looking good value.

E92 330i is a possibility - i like all the bodies which opens up the options - will the ride be suitably bargish though or all BMW jiggly?

E63s are tempting but i cant work out if they are hideous or not

Both are possibilities

My E91 had a jiggly ride. Swapping to non-runflats helped a lot. If I'd kept it I'd have looked at upgraded shocks, probably Koni FSDs or whatever they're called these days.

Strongly recommend the straight 6 pre-2007, very little goes wrong.

We have an E91 325iSE with the standard 17" wheels. I found the ride on runflats was just plain crashy with very little compliance at all. Switching to non-runflats has improved it to just very jiggly.

Potholes which just produce a mild 'plop-plop' noise in my XJ40 crash through the E91 with enough ferocity to make me wince sometimes. You have to be really careful of the curb in it too. Mounting the curb in the old Jag produces nothing more dramatic than a mild squidgy feeling. The same manoeuvrer taken in the BMW sounds like it has been hit with a sledge hammer - and you just know you've skimmed a milimetre of metal off the damn rim.

The E91 has proved to be robust though, with very few faults over the years (bought new in 2007) .The interior has worn exceptionally well. It still feels almost new. The paint has kept its lustre though it seems to be rather prone to chips, certainly far more than the Jag. Overall, chosen well, I think they can make a good buy.

What the E91 lacks though is that it is almost entirely without any form of visceral appeal - it is a soulless thing and I never feel a moment of enthusiasm for it. It is totally different from the Jag in that respect. That is a flawed car for sure, but a brilliant one too. One filled with sensual pleasures : there is a satisfaction to be had simply from the feel of the car, from its design and the quality of the materials in it which is completely lacking in the BMW. It is constructed from organic things and feels it. For all its flaws I think it is wonderful and unique. The BMW is just a means of transport.

[SpeckledJim]

phil_cardiff said:

rufus357 said:

SpeckledJim said:

E92 330i?

E63 6 Series now looking good value.

E92 330i is a possibility - i like all the bodies which opens up the options - will the ride be suitably bargish though or all BMW jiggly?

E63s are tempting but i cant work out if they are hideous or not

Both are possibilities

My E91 had a jiggly ride. Swapping to non-runflats helped a lot. If I'd kept it I'd have looked at upgraded shocks, probably Koni FSDs or whatever they're called these days.

Strongly recommend the straight 6 pre-2007, very little goes wrong.

I had a new E90 on the M Sport chassis in 2006, on runflats, and it was pretty stiff, but drove extremely well.

TBH I think an E92 in SE spec in a soft colour is an elegant car, it doesn’t need the extra sporty accoutrements.

[nobrakes]

Prinny said:

olly755 said:

T0M said:

This looks rather nice for £3,950. Brave pills needed though!

BMW 760i V12

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2018...

I’ve re-clicked on this a couple of times today too. I don’t think I’ll ever overcome the looks, but I’m sensing a much higher degree of desirability towards this over the thread bike E65, in a hung for as sheep as a lamb kind of way.

Did I read on here that the V12’s are supposed to be a fair bit more reliable?

Mmm they can be, but that doesn’t mean they will be. The internet would have you believe the v8 issues will happen to all v8’s sooner or later, which is probably true. All of them seem to be possible on the v12 as well, but with only a couple of hundred (at best, I think more like 120) in the UK, there’s not a lot of hard facts to back this up, nor specialist experience should you take the plunge.
The one special v12 issue is the hpfp, (x2) & at this age, they’re greater than the cost of the car - this is what’s going to ‘kill’ the n73 engined E65/6, you’d have to be mad to replace them at main dealer prices.

Obviously I’m not trying to put you off, and you’re quite close to me, so you’re welcome to come & have a go if you want to try it - just let me know. (I’ll either be in it or the SL for the barge meet as well).

445bhp & 440 lbs/ft

What’s not to like!

[Rubins4]

Johnny Raydome said:

It really is a fantastic looking car, the Azurite Blue is gorgeous.

A few months back, I umm'd and aah'd about contacting Max re: your car but my heart was set on Bornite.

Regarding the speaker wiring you mentioned recently, have you had any joy? The beauty of these old things means it's reasonably straightforward to get under the parcel shelf inside the boot to see/check the connections. Running new speaker wires or changing the speakers if necessary will be a doddle, too.

I can quite underside the passion for Bornite. If you are particular about paintwork, perhaps this one wouldn't have been for you. From 10 feet it looks fine but look closer and it has had some less than perfect paintwork and there are a few dings in the bodywork, more down the nearside fortunately. Once its off the road for winter I'll see if any of it can be improved with a detail. This isn't a criticism of Max the previous owner, he was quite honest about it. I think the paint is called Azzuro but could be wrong.

The speakers too will be investigated 'off the road' . It might be that the output from the ancient head unit have died; I'll start here as its going to have a new head unit anyway.

QuantumTokoloshi - Come and say hello and by all means have a nose.

SpeckledJim - earlier this week I was out walking with my 2 year old daughter and we saw a rather large pigeon in a tree. I pointed out the 'plump pigeon' to her, and it suddenly struck me why you might have taken that handle.

[Johnny Raydome]

Rubins4 said:

I think the paint is called Azzuro...

You're quite right, Azzuro is one of the LE colours.

Got myself mixed up; probably got Bornite on the brain

[SpeckledJim]

Rubins4 said:

I can quite underside the passion for Bornite. If you are particular about paintwork, perhaps this one wouldn't have been for you. From 10 feet it looks fine but look closer and it has had some less than perfect paintwork and there are a few dings in the bodywork, more down the nearside fortunately. Once its off the road for winter I'll see if any of it can be improved with a detail. This isn't a criticism of Max the previous owner, he was quite honest about it. I think the paint is called Azzuro but could be wrong.

The speakers too will be investigated 'off the road' . It might be that the output from the ancient head unit have died; I'll start here as its going to have a new head unit anyway.

QuantumTokoloshi - Come and say hello and by all means have a nose.

SpeckledJim - earlier this week I was out walking with my 2 year old daughter and we saw a rather large pigeon in a tree. I pointed out the 'plump pigeon' to her, and it suddenly struck me why you might have taken that handle.

The image is broken for me, so I'll assume it's something very flattering and thank you.

[SpeckledJim]

I'm having a wobble.

I seem to remember one of our merry band owning a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

I'm considering chopping in the E-Class and S-Class for just such a thing. Two questions if I can: what's the reliable range on battery alone, and will it accelerate to and cruise at 70mph without needing the IC engine?

Thanks in advance!