Schaefft's Bargain Barge Extravaganza - Oldsmobile Resurrection (again)

[Schaefft]

The Z3 Roadster received a little more attention over the last few days/weeks. With the Legend recently incoming and XK8 available as convertible option there was no urge for me to get it ready for its MOT despite hardly needing much. One of the things bugging me were the typical cloudy headlights. As with the C6 and many other cars before, the leftovers from various headlight polishing kits came in handy, it definitely was needed:

And polished:

Spending those 45 minutes per side is probably one of the best visual improvements you can do on a car. As always, never forget to use a high quality sealer to keep the look.

Another MOT relevant issue was the airbag light staying on. I don't think there is a more typical BMW issue out there (to be fair, most warning lights are). This time it was the driver seatbelt tensioner. An issue so common that BMW offered a wiring repair kit. In this case a previous owner/garage opted for the used part route from the breaker. That will definitely trigger it:

I've crimped on another connector and insulated it all a bit better, hopefully that'll keep the light off from now on. The high level brakelight on the bootlid didn't work for the same reason, no previous bodge there, just good old wear and tear along where the wiring loom folds, so another quick and easy free fix:

I've also found an OEM radio that actually turns on (and works!) after the 3rd attempt. In the end it was the cheapest one I bought (15 quid incl. postage) that not only wasn't messed with before but also worked right away, albeit with some pixel issues on the screen. Even non-functional the other two should be worth a bit of money the next text time Im back in Germany, so no money lost there.

Another cosmetic upgrade happened as well. BMW offered a chrome line package for the exterior of the Z3. All parts together look pretty tacky on them but the windshield frame covers work very well on their own in my opinion (similar to what Audi did on the A4 Cabrio), especially on cars in darker shades like mine.

Taking photos in the garage probably doesn't give them the same effect as seeing the car outside but it should help make the Z3 feel a little more upmarket, something especially the pre-facelift cars desperately needed.

Installing the covers was a bit of a pain, if you don't want to take the windshield out you have to remove a tab on them towards the bottom of the A-pillar. Even then trying to get the rubber seals to actually sit on top of the chrome trim is awkward to say the least and requires quite a bit of patience. I've also decided against buying the tine center cover from BMW, the prices for them are pure extorsion and I might as well grab one from a breaker for free when the opportunity arises.

If you are wondering whats actually holding the trim on: doublesided tape, from the factory.

It got new wiper blades as well. Aside from the lack of parking brake warning light it should be all ready to go, fingers crossed it'll behave until Saturday. Immediately getting an error code from a cam position sensor (somehow without triggering a CEL) isn't a great omen!😂

[spike60]

My son who lives close to your old Newcastle house used to borrow my Z3 and it always came back with the air bag light on, his wife is very short and it used to tweak the seat belt tensioner wiring when she moved the seat forward.  No obvious damage but an easy fix until the next time.

[SmokinWaffle]

Torque is the only Android OBD2 that I would recommend. Torque Pro is well worth the cost too. 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque

[horriblemercedes]

On 12/05/2025 at 20:22, Schaefft said:

If I didn't have to swap my German drivers license to a UK one to do my 7.5t test here (I assume I would have to)

Don't do a C1 test - it really is a waste of time and money as you can do C or even CE for a similar cost and a similar amount of learning time.

 

It tends to be just councils and ambulance operators that send people for C1 tests now. The reason is that if they sent them for C or CE tests, they could easily just take that licence and go to work for a haulier. The C1 limits them, so they don't have that option.

[Schaefft]

3 hours ago, SmokinWaffle said:

Torque is the only Android OBD2 that I would recommend. Torque Pro is well worth the cost too. 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque

I've used torque in the past but more recent reviews seem not so positive anymore, with the app not working at all in some cases. I can't remember whether it was powerful enough to read ABS, Airbag or proprietary system module like on the Legend either?

2 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

Don't do a C1 test - it really is a waste of time and money as you can do C or even CE for a similar cost and a similar amount of learning time.

 

It tends to be just councils and ambulance operators that send people for C1 tests now. The reason is that if they sent them for C or CE tests, they could easily just take that licence and go to work for a haulier. The C1 limits them, so they don't have that option.

That's interesting to know. Not that I'm planning to become a lorry driver anytime soon 😄

3 hours ago, spike60 said:

My son who lives close to your old Newcastle house used to borrow my Z3 and it always came back with the air bag light on, his wife is very short and it used to tweak the seat belt tensioner wiring when she moved the seat forward.  No obvious damage but an easy fix until the next time.

Yeah, it's definitely common enough to warrant an official repair kit. Not a problem if you got a code reader but for most owners it must be infuriating. The tape residue on my cluster from previous owners says everything.

[horriblemercedes]

2 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

 

That's interesting to know. Not that I'm planning to become a lorry driver anytime soon 😄

 

I just think that for similar cost and time invested, you might as well have the big licence!

[Bradders59]

@Schaefft  Can you recommend a good quality headlight sealer please ?

[Schaefft]

16 minutes ago, Bradders59 said:

@Schaefft  Can you recommend a good quality headlight sealer please ?

I'm not sure if it's the best but I use this one which does its job well. Sonax is usually creating top products:

https://www.mlperformance.co.uk/products/sonax-profiline-headlightcoating-50-ml?variant=43618591244509&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19456850350&gbraid=0AAAAAosiaeHQBFYY8uYpATZEiyv5XeJC7&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxJvBBhDuARIsAGUgNfhBtV_pC8YTQxckstZxSCdMqm7ZfvTiIdVD1N3WFlKWiaI6wPAk1RYaAuZ2EALw_wcB

[Schaefft]

Z3 passed it's mot with exactly the advisory I expected, time to get a pair of front arms ordered from Autodoc. The rear tires are getting a little old/low on tread as well now so might have to invest in a pair soon. Looking great in the sunshine though:

In other news, the Alfa 166 is back!

After having been semi-abandoned for almost a year (mot coming up) it's time to awaken it from its slumber. By beating it down the autostrada (totally not in the UK) at triple digit speeds, just like the Italians would have intended. Surprisingly connecting the battery was the only thing it needed, no drama, no warning lights, just the sweet sound of a busso V6 (through an eBay special back box), annoying half of Newcastle and Northumberland. Not sure if it will actually need much aside from a wash.

[Schaefft]

Today was a good day to wash almost a year of bird poop and fallout off the 166. The Aurora Iridescent paint is still one of the main reasons for me liking the Alfa as much as I do:

Much better, with the sun unfortunately also highlighting all the door dings on this side...:

I've took it out on what is slowly becoming my personal high speed proving grounds. Can confirm that the Busso's timing belt is still good, if it wasn't it'd be shredded to pieces now:

Naturally its not as quick as the Maserati, neither is the 3.0 V6 close to the 4200's V8 symphony. It does pull well through the gears though, sounds great in the higher rev range and is reasonably comfortable on bumpy roads. The bugs I picked up in those few miles didn't have as much of a good time:

There are still a few cosmetic things I want to sort on this car. Eventually I'd like to book it in with Garage 21 which seem to be the only Alfa 166 specialists in the UK to have the timing belt and a few other minor things sorted. Not sure when I'd be in Bradford the next time though, getting the car to such a distant garage is always a logistical problem.

[DVee8]

Have you tried Bonello services in Newcastle?

https://bonelloautoservices.co.uk/

[Schaefft]

2 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

Have you tried Bonello services in Newcastle?

https://bonelloautoservices.co.uk/

Not yet but I've heard of them from either a mate or someone on here. Garage 21 specializes specifically in 166s, they love these things, try everything they can to safe them and therefore have the kind of mentality I'd want someone to have when working on this one. The kind of thing I'm happy to go the extra mile for.

[Schaefft]

In unrelated news, Dalton (PBG) is working on an '88 Buick Reatta with the same digital dash and CRT touchscreen I got in my '89 Riviera (very similar car really, the Reatta is rarer and has a shorter wheelbase).

Very unusual for him to work on anything this new. I really need to get the Riviera over here and start sorting out the fuel pump, it might be the only thing it needs to run again.

[gm]

7 hours ago, DVee8 said:

Have you tried Bonello services in Newcastle?

https://bonelloautoservices.co.uk/

i was about to say the same thing  

love those murals 

[Schaefft]

No major updates! The moon-mileage XJR has finally made it over to the new house. I haven't driven it since we sorted the cat/MOT and I fixed the window lifters 6 months ago. With space getting a bit tight I think I might have to pop up an ad for it soon.

Similar story with the XK8. It's a good car (with a rattle I haven't diagnosed properly yet) but with little space aside from a field until much later in the year it's better off with someone else possibly while it's got a fresh test.

If anyone is interested in either of these send me a pm!

[gm]

39 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

Similar story with the XK8

hell fire ! I was tempted several times by this when it was the other end of the country  - now it's just down the road .....

[Schaefft]

31 minutes ago, gm said:

hell fire ! I was tempted several times by this when it was the other end of the country  - now it's just down the road .....

You are welcome to have a test drive in it😄

[gm]

2 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

You are welcome to have a test drive in it😄

that is sooooooo tempting, i bet it is a wonderful thing to drive 

[Schaefft]

6 minutes ago, gm said:

that is sooooooo tempting, i bet it is a wonderful thing to drive 

I think I've done a lot of little quality of life improvements on it making it a more enjoyable car. There's more to be done but it'll still be the cheapest one I've seen for sale anywhere and a nice car to drive.

[gm]

i’ll trade you a go in the Jag for a go in the Exo sometime  

[Schaefft]

6 minutes ago, gm said:

i’ll trade you a go in the Jag for a go in the Exo sometime  

Deal!😄

[Schaefft]

Done some more miles in the Legend. I feel like this would be an incredible shite spot in about 10 years time when most of these will be gone.

Funnily enough I've seen another one along the A69 just the other day.

Some car shuffling happened today, there's certainly always an eclectic mix of cars to be seen. Replace the E38 with my 156 and you'd think there are some hardcore Italian car fans living here:

Thinking about it, Lancia Thesis aside I don't think there was any car in between the 3.0 Alfa 166 and Maserati Coupe in Fiat's corporate model hierarchy at the time. The Maserati must have been twice the MSRP of the Alfa?

Despite that they do share quite a few parts. I've only noticed tonight that I can probably add the wing mirrors to the list:

[MAF260]

There are definitely some common parts. Door mirrors as you’ve spotted. Indicator/cruise control stalk is another.

[hairnet]

masers got 903cc engine in it?? (kidding)

[Schaefft]

Some more TLC for the Legend. I feel like polishing headlights is the only thing I've done on cars recently, but with the difference it makes how could you not:

The radar cruise sensor is sitting behind this oversized Honda logo. Unfortunately the clear plastics are deteriorating but it looks a little better now. I'm hoping that it's not the cause for the system  getting a little confused once in a while. With the pedestrian safety system also complaining it might be the sensors behind the bumpers that's causing that problem instead.

Still it's one more thing I can tick off the list for this one. I should probably scrape off the remainings of the chrome on the grille, too...

[Schaefft]

With the Legend mostly being OAP owned it has had its fair share of scuffs and minor bangs. One of my biggest gripes with it was the lower bumper being pushed up after the PO must have driven into a low bolder or something. The car clearly wasn't happy about it either:

I took the bumper off today to see if I can do anything about it. The real reason was to check whether any sensors behind the bumper cover were pushed out of place though.

Well, that certainly doesn't look right. Instead of a foam insert the KB1 Legend, at least with pedestrian safety system, has these thin sheet metal pieces that clearly got all banged up at some point. They are thin enough that I can bend them by hand, a crowbar made things significantly easier though. I straightened it all out as best as I could which made things look a lot better:

More importantly it would help getting the bumper cover back into shape and have these crash impact sensors be aligned properly again:

I'm not sure if these ever detected an impact, I'd have to get a proper scanner to see what really triggers my bonnet deployment error message on the dash. Everything else behind the bumper looks good though, the car is bone dry underneath as well, as you'd expect from a Honda with 76k miles.

Well, its all back together now and looks significantly better again:

Like seemingly every car I own the bumper would really benefit from a respray. At least it's not frowning anymore, one more thing ticked off the list.

[Schaefft]

If you've seen the Shite Spotting in France thread you'll know that we've been away for a little while. That and a family bereavement meant little progress was made on the fleet but that reset of mind (and my employer currently not doing well at all) results in a realisation that some cars should probably find a new home at some point, even if its just for the sake of making some space:

As mentioned further above the XK8 convertible will be one of them despite me very much liking the car. While far from perfect it's a much better car now than it's been just a few months ago. One of the last few mechanical issues (aside from the mystery rattle somewhere behind the engine) was the handbrake, I now know why!

The handbrake was still on (I really don't know why it wouldn't release but the lever mechanism itself was jammed, which you can't tell with Jag's oddball setup in these), which must have bent the hardware holding the brake shoes in place. Its not uncommon for these pins to pull out of rusty backing plates eventually but these clearly got bent by quite a bit of force at some point. Fortunately I'm not lacking any leftover parking brake hardware after the nightmare that the Maserati was.

I simply used the bolt and nut assembly I previously removed from the Maserati, which works fine here. The other side's adjuster was destroyed as well:

It seems like they are all the same no matter the brand so I had a spare one left over. The shoes are a little beat up but it all went back together and works well now. Since all the bits cost me nothing and I found a 2p coin under the handbrake lever I actually gained some money with this one!😂

Sorting the handbrake might therefore be the last job planned for the Jag. I'll probably put up a for sale thread soon and will keep using it as daily until it has found a new owner. If anyone is interested, the price is £1200 for shiters which is less than it owes me (and a good deal for an XK8 convertible, even with issues). The mystery rattle might or might not be an easy fix/doom (if anyone has any clue at all what it could be, it seems to come from the center of just behind the engine only when warm and with rpm falling, underneath the throttle body, please let me know!). At that price it can be a pretty awesome beater with lots of MOT for someone which at the end of it all will still be worth close to that.

I think that would be a shame though. While it's cosmetically a bit of a shed its a fully working car with A/C, V8 power and looks that not many other cars can pull off, especially back in 1996. With so many parts cars around for next to nothing anyone savy enough (and with plenty of time) can keep them running for relatively little. I'll have a closer look at the moon mileage XJR6 next, that one would benefit from a bit of TLC as well before it too will leave.

[Westbay]

Oooouuu ! get thee behind me Satan ! 😀

 

...would how much to get it delivered ...

[Schaefft]

3 hours ago, Westbay said:

Oooouuu ! get thee behind me Satan ! 😀

 

...would how much to get it delivered ...

With Twixfest coming up someone might be heading back into your direction depending on where you are located!

[Schaefft]

Had to move the cars off the drive to have some space for a delivery of gravel tomorrow.

Looks like Twixfest has started early!😂

Some good news though, the Celsior has randomly decided to start again. This doesn't make it very easy to figure out what exactly the issue is but I'll take it.