P38, bought unseen from Ebay...what could / will go wrong?

[agent006]

eliot said:

Perfect p38 would have top hat linered engine, new air bags and height sensors, overhauled eas unit.

RPI seem to be buying nice P38s and putting their engines in, which looks like a rather nice prospect.

[TheAngryDog]

I admire your bravery OP! still a grand isn't much to lose if (when?) It all goes wrong

[eliot]

agent006 said:

eliot said:

Perfect p38 would have top hat linered engine, new air bags and height sensors, overhauled eas unit.

RPI seem to be buying nice P38s and putting their engines in, which looks like a rather nice prospect.

They dont ‘make’ engines, meerly assemble them. The likes of turner engineering actually top hat these things.

[agent006]

Oh, OK. I was under the impression that rpi engines were decent. They were certainly the thing to have when my 4.6 cracked a liner, but I suppose that was a decade or so ago so things change.

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Don't park in Sainsbury's carpark, certainly not in Bath.

If you do events will unfold as follows;
drive into carpark, manouevour into parking space
truck drives & ticks over
switch off & lock vehicle with fob
...........
I can't remember whether the blasted thing will lock or not, but it defintely WILL NOT restart

wait anything upto an hour until there is a break in the R.F interference and the fob communicates with the ECU again. I have been warned, while I had it, that the mean spirited b!tch will also lock you out if you get out, faf about and leave the keys in the ignition. Fortunately that hasn't happened to me.

Somebody suggested it was the self opening doors into the supermarket, so next time I went there I parked well away from em'......it's not the doors.

[RicksAlfas]

CAPP0 said:

I had a MY2000 4.6 Vogue SE for a while. It was indeed a lovely old wafter and was what persuaded me to spend a lot more on an L322. Mine developed the "I won't shut down properly so I'll drain the battery" problem but otherwise was a really nice thing to drive around in. Definitely more barge-tastic than the 322. If I could find "the one" which was in perfect condition with all faults permanently fixed I'd seriously consider it as a permanent keeper. Until then however, I shall keep buying the white unicorns which seem to be easier to locate.

Have you seen these Japanese imports? They look improbably clean and shiny!
http://www.specialistcars.net/newspecialistcars/4w...

(Scroll down).

[was8v]

RicksAlfas said:

Have you seen these Japanese imports? They look improbably clean and shiny!
http://www.specialistcars.net/newspecialistcars/4w...

(Scroll down).

the stuff dreams are made of.

How much for a ww2 jeep?!

[RC1807]

RicksAlfas said:

Have you seen these Japanese imports? They look improbably clean and shiny!
http://www.specialistcars.net/newspecialistcars/4w...

(Scroll down).

HOW MUCH ARE SOME OF THOSE??!!!

Sorry, didn't mean to shout...

[Paw]

The prices have increased dramatically in the last few months, a mix of increased interest in P38's and the rise in price of the classic RR's. If you look at Kingsley site, the blue 2dr has increased from 99k -140k.

Paw

[task]

After many years of driving and fettling various Discoverys and Range Rover Classics for both myself and my father I decided to purchase a P38, ended up buying a cheap 2001 Vouge and then spent some decent money getting it up to scratch;

New air springs (gen3), new dampers, new janspeed exhaust, colour coded bumpers and grill, new tyres, blend motors, front door locks, re-sealed roof above windscreen, fitted towing electrics and tow bar, new HT leads, new brakes (calipers/discs/pads), new lambda sensors, rebuilt HEVAC controller, rebuilt subwoofer along with a few other tweaks and a good clean I've ended up with something that's pretty nice to drive. It's going to need the balljoints doing before the next MOT which I'm not looking forward too but that's the only maintenance on the horizon.

I'm not sure how long I will keep it, the biggest killer being the low MPG but struggle to think of a suitable alternative.

[RicksAlfas]

That's a lot of work, but the P38s don't seem to suffer the corrosion of the Classic.
Have you found that the case?

[task]

RicksAlfas said:

That's a lot of work, but the P38s don't seem to suffer the corrosion of the Classic.
Have you found that the case?

About 3 weekends of work plus the odd evening, costs come in at around 5k I would imagine. Could have been a lot less if I had used pattern parts and standard springs and exhaust etc.

There seems to be very little if any corrosion on the P38 which was one of the attractions having chased rust out of 8 or more classics over the years, whilst sharing the same basic engine/gearbox as a classic it is a very different vehicle to drive and work on. People may curse the blend motors on a P38 but I would imagine they've never had the pleasure of replacing a heater motor or core on a late classic! I still have a late classic (has a tuned 4.6 and air suspension) and drive them both in equal amounts, the P38 is more comfortable and feels far more modern whereas the classic is noticeably smaller and lighter which makes it more fun to drive. I've always said if it came down to it I'd keep the classic and sell the P38 though.

[CAPP0]

RicksAlfas said:

CAPP0 said:

I had a MY2000 4.6 Vogue SE for a while. It was indeed a lovely old wafter and was what persuaded me to spend a lot more on an L322. Mine developed the "I won't shut down properly so I'll drain the battery" problem but otherwise was a really nice thing to drive around in. Definitely more barge-tastic than the 322. If I could find "the one" which was in perfect condition with all faults permanently fixed I'd seriously consider it as a permanent keeper. Until then however, I shall keep buying the white unicorns which seem to be easier to locate.

Have you seen these Japanese imports? They look improbably clean and shiny!
http://www.specialistcars.net/newspecialistcars/4w...

(Scroll down).

Wow. That's genuinely interesting. I'd want to find someone who is the absolute P38 expert to pay to look at one but something like that 4.6 50th Anniversary Ltd Edition in J.R White Gold could well be a good long-term purchase. I'm all about running classic cars and bikes these days, modern kit may be very capable but little of it really appeals, but conversely (perversely even!) I need something which will be just as reliable.

[SlimRick]

I have the perfect solution for any reliability issues that may arise...carry a spare car.



And then it's been doing what it was designed to do:



Those eagle eyed amongst you may notice I've ignored any of the things that needed fixing, and spent my time tinting the rear windows...priorities!!!

[Jem0911]

How is the ownership going?

I am collecting a 2000MY Vogue on Saturday, 2 owners last one for 14 years.
Purchased from ebay unseen.

4.6V8 loveliness returns to my driveway again.
Using it as weekend and for Shooting.