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DOPEHEAD CAST-OFF - Finally Rehomed - Page 3


phil_lihp

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You know how some cars don't want to live?  Well, this one certainly doesn't want to and with something that feels slightly like regret, but really isn't, I've taken it off life support.  RIP SEi, you won in the end.

 

Basically, the very last head bolt, on the very last turn, snapped.  Ergo, the block is now scrap.  It would still need a new tyre or two and a thermostat housing to make it right anyway and I've throughly run out of patience, plus an engine swap is way, way beyond me - I have not got the tools, time or interest in doing it - I need it gone, running or otherwise as it's parked on the road, taking up a parking space and costing me in tax and insurance.  It still has MOT until next May or something, not that that is relevant any more.

 

As a result, I will be breaking it but it'll have to go pretty soon - I will be calling the scrap dealer round in the next couple of weeks.  I'm intending to take off bits like lights, wing mirrors etc. and will put the mismatched 45 wheels with rotten tyres which came spare with it on the front as the others have brand new tyres on them but once it's clearly and obviously stripped of parts it'll have to go very quickly as it's on a sloping residential street and I can't really move it.

 

If anyone here wants bits off it at a discounted Autoshite rate, please PM me with an offer, it all has to go - or if anyone wants to come and scoop up the whole thing, please do.  Â£100 takes it.

 

As far as breaking it goes, it has some particularly good bits...

 

* Newly reconditioned cylinder head with new cam seals

* Reconditioned ECU with two plips

* Two good wing mirrors

* All good lights

* Two brand new budget front tyres on fairly tidy SEi wheels

* Reasonably tidy SEi half-leather interior - could do with a bit of a scrub and a little wear on the driver's bolster but basically sound

* Grimy but intact green carpeted floor mats

* Good panels (e.g. bootlid/bonnet)

 

The gearbox is good and the clutch is quite recent but if you want those, you'll have to take the whole car as I'm not going to get them off it.  

 

It's a shame but I just want it gone, I'm sick of the sight of it if I'm honest and I'd like to try and claw back a few quid as it's been quite a money pit!

 

This post is made with profuse apologies to Mr_Bo11ox who put a lot of time, effort and money into this car.  Any bits you'd like off it gratis for another R8 project, let me know. 

 

The car's in Barnstaple, North Devon.

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This doesn't have the auxiliary fuel burning heater does it?

 

If you took the head back off you will probably find you can get the broken stud out, it was only tight with the head on. Even if it has snapped down the block it's only going to be finger tight so you could probably get it out turning with a sharp screwdriver. You've got nothing to lose giving it a try bar time.

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There's no auxiliary heater that I know of, no.

 

Yes, I could start pulling it to bits again but as I said, I'm out of time and out of patience with it and I'm very keen to see it gone - I have a van to do up, a flat to refurbish and a job which takes up a lot of my time and energy.  If someone wants to take it as a whole and try repairing it, I'd be very pleased but I have reached the end of my involvement with it.

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Some things just aren't meant to be, M512 SOA doesn't want to be a car anymore.  I'm not particularly sad about it, I'm relieved that I can now get rid of it and it's one less thing to worry about. 

 

If it does get broken up, I might keep the reg plates on my garage wall as a reminder. 

 

Actually, I just thought - I'll have to try and get the 3/4 tank of petrol out of it, is there a safe way to do that?  Presumably pulling off one of the pipes underneath and draining into a petrol can.  It's been in there 3-4 months so hopefully is still OK.

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Don't give up, it'll mean a new head bolt needed but you may find a good used one from your old set within tolerance (if you renewed them which you should really plus it will need measuring to check) but with some luck and lateral thinking you could fetch it out easily enough. Fetch the sump off, look up to where the oil rail is and you'll see the head bolts poking through it. Identify and unscrew your broken bolt by hand so its free and not attached in the oil rail anymore. Poke something thin like some wire up the bolt hole in the oil rail so it butts up against the nose of the bolt and you can then extract it out by hand from up top of the cylinder head through the bolt passage. Sounds difficult but the "hardest" part would be the time spent getting the sump off, have done this myself in the past, especially as I didn't want to disturb the head gasket by removing the head again. New bolt in, torque to spec and job done - head gasket not disturbed.

That said I bought a k series once that ran great, no hgf or oil/water loss and someone had broken a head bolt in it and it only had 9 yet was utterly fine! Can't say that would ever happen twice mind you pure fluke

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Sadly no further progress on selling this as a whole so tomorrow morning the dismantling starts unless anyone wants to step in at the final curtain and take it as one?  

 

I am planning on putting the front seats in my van, the driver's door central locking actuator is going to omegod to improve the 220SLi bike and I've had an offer via eBay on the recon cylinder head so it's not going to waste and I'll be taking any portable decent bits off such as the parcel shelf, floor mats, wing mirrors, lights, ECU etc. off it before the shell is taken away.  Scrap's at a heady £15 a tonne right now so not much to be made on that lot.  

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Christmas HOPE (...HEAD CAST-OFF).

 

Someone local-ish spotted it on Facebook and wants it intact, looks like he's a serial Rover-fiddler as his profile pictures I've seen include a late 100 being tinkered with.  Price being negotiated, collection in a couple of weeks if it goes through.  It might yet live!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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