Buying a V12 blind - am I crazy?
Discussion
Gallons Per Mile said:
mattswan said:
Diesel? In a petrol 12 cylinder rolls-royce creation? What kind of sorcery is this??
Diesel is a good lubricant 
It'll free off any sticky piston ring problems. You're not trying to run the engine at that stage, just prep it correctly so you don't damage anything.
te out
Some great advice from all - cheers!
I think I'll be somewhere in the middle here. 2 kids and a full time job plus a tendency to be impatient with stuff like this means I'll do my best to be gentle and will do an oil change and all that but I will not be reading to it the complete works of Dostoevsky.
Tend to agree these cars aren't like today's snowflakes and can handle a bit of banter and rough play. But first we shall meet and size one another up.
I've come a long way since years ago when I picked up a rotten basket case E34 535i which hadn't moved in 12 years.Did nothing but connect a new battery and floor it and you'd be amazed at how well it ran all things considered. For a minute it honestly felt like it was firing on all six. I would probably be amazed at how much better it could have run with fresh fuel and oil though. That, however, was a different proposition.
I think I'll be somewhere in the middle here. 2 kids and a full time job plus a tendency to be impatient with stuff like this means I'll do my best to be gentle and will do an oil change and all that but I will not be reading to it the complete works of Dostoevsky.
Tend to agree these cars aren't like today's snowflakes and can handle a bit of banter and rough play. But first we shall meet and size one another up.
I've come a long way since years ago when I picked up a rotten basket case E34 535i which hadn't moved in 12 years.Did nothing but connect a new battery and floor it and you'd be amazed at how well it ran all things considered. For a minute it honestly felt like it was firing on all six. I would probably be amazed at how much better it could have run with fresh fuel and oil though. That, however, was a different proposition.
Is it stupid cheap?
If the engine turns over and there's no serious rust you'd like to think the worst case scenario is breaking it for parts and recouping your 'investment'.
I've drunk bought interesting and insultingly cheap (but potentially knackered) cars on ebay, from mates etc. in the past and never once made a loss.
If the engine turns over and there's no serious rust you'd like to think the worst case scenario is breaking it for parts and recouping your 'investment'.
I've drunk bought interesting and insultingly cheap (but potentially knackered) cars on ebay, from mates etc. in the past and never once made a loss.
Dr G said:
Is it stupid cheap?
No, but I would consider it safe enough given the value of some of the nice bits it has. Not that I am in the business of breaking cars - the parts are valuable enough for it to be a worthwhile punt. The real killer is the flat bed I have booked to pick it up, um, 'properly'. I too have bought many junkers, only one really hurt and that was a R129 300SEL convertible. Bought it with a blown head gasket but it was completely oversold (the rest of the car was a piece of sh*t but had been sold as if it were some philanthropist's pride and joy) and I hadn't yet developed my thicker eBay skin - and I should have walked away which I would do now. eBay is not the law. Spent a fortune getting head reskimmed and rebuilt only to find the bottom end had cracked. Have pretty much avoided all Mercedes barges since. Warming to the idea of another W140 though... they're something else.
mattswan said:
...Not that I am in the business of breaking cars...
No, but you're not the only person that knows its value in parts outweighs its purchase price.Puts you in the nice situation where you get it home, you decide it's too far gone, you clean/photo/ebay it and sell it to someone who can break it for spares.
Picked up this morning and I am over the moon. Pickup went surprisingly smoothly. Been busy draining oil into a pan since it arrived and I’m charging up the second replacement battery. This battleship takes 2 large batteries!
Got to figure out how one gets to the spark plugs so I can trickle a bit of diesel in each cylinder and replace the plugs. More pics to follow - would have upload more but the pics are all too pics and don’t have time to resize right now.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Du6hyFIH[/url]
Got to figure out how one gets to the spark plugs so I can trickle a bit of diesel in each cylinder and replace the plugs. More pics to follow - would have upload more but the pics are all too pics and don’t have time to resize right now.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Du6hyFIH[/url]Edited by torx_whisperer on Saturday 20th July 15:16
torx_whisperer said:
Picked up this morning and I am over the moon. Pickup went surprisingly smoothly. Been busy draining oil into a pan since it arrived and I’m charging up the second replacement battery. This battleship takes 2 large batteries!
Got to figure out how one gets to the spark plugs so I can trickle a bit of diesel in each cylinder and replace the plugs. More pics to follow - would have upload more but the pics are all too pics and don’t have time to resize right now.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Du6hyFIH[/url]
Looks good so far. Got to figure out how one gets to the spark plugs so I can trickle a bit of diesel in each cylinder and replace the plugs. More pics to follow - would have upload more but the pics are all too pics and don’t have time to resize right now.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Du6hyFIH[/url]Edited by torx_whisperer on Saturday 20th July 15:16
I changed my username after having a good laugh out loud at a few of the others I have seen - so just to say I am the OP.
So the collection went well all things considered. We had to pull the car out the back of a house and down the side where it had been for about 2 years having been moved from somewhere else but not run. Managed to do it without touching the brakes or using park brake. Car didn’t exactly ‘free wheel’ to start but when it arrived at mine and off the flat bed it moved easily.
Started strait away jacking it up high and draining the dark goo out of the big 12. Underside of the car seems pretty solid from where I have been able to prod. All the suspension components are of course knackered and perished. Underside of the engine bay was the spider hotel for the whole of SE England, have served notice of a Karcher sponsored eviction party.
Replaced the air filters and pulled the oil filter out which was bone dry - that alone would be a big advert to say don’t start an engine that’s been sat so long!
Popped in a couple of suitable batteries and turned ignition on and was pleasantly surprised to see dash pixels etc work and radio works. Didn’t try the windows as the aux battery I put in hadn’t been fully charged up and didn’t want to end up with a window half down.
Last night I popped the sump plug back in and poured in a few litres of ECP’s cheap and cheerful QX. This morning I will be dropping that out, dropping in a soaking wet filter and topping up with some more QX which I will eventually mix with some oil cleaning product that arrived yesterday but cant think of the name.
Will need to drain out the coolant today too and run the garden hose through the system for a few mins.
Fingers crossed today she will turn over for the first time in 7 years. I have doubts about the starter motor from stories I have heard about these big beasts but seller claimed that was replaced not long before the car was SORN’d.
Not sure what I am actually going to do with this car or if it is something I want to invest the time it needs in - but it is without doubt the best looking E38 I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of Mora Mettalic Individual cars but this is so much more up my street being blue on champagne. The interior looks like a car a quarter of it’s age and really is something to behold. Exterior paint is a bit flat all round and there’s some laquer issues on the boot lid. This car has everything including things like tyre pressure monitoring which I didn’t know you could get on an E38. I hate the term ‘fully loaded’ - but this thing really comes about as close as you can. Plus as personal preference and as it’s usually just me in a car, it’s a SWB so no unnecessary dead weight to haul around for that magnificent lump. Enjoy the pics and apologies some are upside down - when I get back at a desk will try replace those.
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/XjqMVGW5[/url]
So the collection went well all things considered. We had to pull the car out the back of a house and down the side where it had been for about 2 years having been moved from somewhere else but not run. Managed to do it without touching the brakes or using park brake. Car didn’t exactly ‘free wheel’ to start but when it arrived at mine and off the flat bed it moved easily.
Started strait away jacking it up high and draining the dark goo out of the big 12. Underside of the car seems pretty solid from where I have been able to prod. All the suspension components are of course knackered and perished. Underside of the engine bay was the spider hotel for the whole of SE England, have served notice of a Karcher sponsored eviction party.
Replaced the air filters and pulled the oil filter out which was bone dry - that alone would be a big advert to say don’t start an engine that’s been sat so long!
Popped in a couple of suitable batteries and turned ignition on and was pleasantly surprised to see dash pixels etc work and radio works. Didn’t try the windows as the aux battery I put in hadn’t been fully charged up and didn’t want to end up with a window half down.
Last night I popped the sump plug back in and poured in a few litres of ECP’s cheap and cheerful QX. This morning I will be dropping that out, dropping in a soaking wet filter and topping up with some more QX which I will eventually mix with some oil cleaning product that arrived yesterday but cant think of the name.
Will need to drain out the coolant today too and run the garden hose through the system for a few mins.
Fingers crossed today she will turn over for the first time in 7 years. I have doubts about the starter motor from stories I have heard about these big beasts but seller claimed that was replaced not long before the car was SORN’d.
Not sure what I am actually going to do with this car or if it is something I want to invest the time it needs in - but it is without doubt the best looking E38 I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of Mora Mettalic Individual cars but this is so much more up my street being blue on champagne. The interior looks like a car a quarter of it’s age and really is something to behold. Exterior paint is a bit flat all round and there’s some laquer issues on the boot lid. This car has everything including things like tyre pressure monitoring which I didn’t know you could get on an E38. I hate the term ‘fully loaded’ - but this thing really comes about as close as you can. Plus as personal preference and as it’s usually just me in a car, it’s a SWB so no unnecessary dead weight to haul around for that magnificent lump. Enjoy the pics and apologies some are upside down - when I get back at a desk will try replace those.
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/XjqMVGW5[/url]Loving the new username and your car looks amazing. You're doing the right thing taking your time checking it over and gradually recommissioning it.
You see so many videos on YouTube of cars sitting in a field 30 years bring cranked for ages before they fire up. Makes a good vid but wrecks the engine.
Looks a good car so looking forward to the startup video and it's first forecourt photoshoot 😁
You see so many videos on YouTube of cars sitting in a field 30 years bring cranked for ages before they fire up. Makes a good vid but wrecks the engine.
Looks a good car so looking forward to the startup video and it's first forecourt photoshoot 😁
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