RichardKs wanderings: BMW ex-xDrive examinations x3

[RichardK]

Just now, horriblemercedes said:

Oh, I like that. I think I'd probably join a queue if you found yourself wanting to sell it!

 

(I hope that's some reassurance)

I think that would depend on the price 😂 It is also the most expensive car I have bought like this.

But then again the nearest relative is a Land Rover Defender "Zulu" by JE Engineering.

Recent auction I found for (much prettier of course) one? £60,000.

[horriblemercedes]

Just now, RichardK said:

I think that would depend on the price 😂 It is also the most expensive car I have bought like this.

But then again the nearest relative is a Land Rover Defender "Zulu" by JE Engineering.

Recent auction I found for (much prettier of course) one? £60,000.

I assume it wasn't a cheapy!

 

My dad's Suffix A Range Rover is going to auction soon. I'll miss not having access to a classic

[RichardK]

Just now, horriblemercedes said:

I assume it wasn't a cheapy!

 

My dad's Suffix A Range Rover is going to auction soon. I'll miss not having access to a classic

The way I look at it I paid a fair price for a V8 RR classic in running order with MOT and then the cost of the upgrades and adaptor to fit the engine.

But not the engine, ECUs or time to build it.

If it looked like a classic-dealer, unmodified Range Rover but with this spec I'd expect it to be around £25K, but that would involve a lot of work I think.

Did come with some spare parts...

(Those are NOS front wings)

[High Jetter]

8 hours ago, RichardK said:

Every time I get a British car I hate it.

So of course I bought another one.

It's a 1990 Range Rover Vogue SE. It's had A Life.

Here it is exploring Spain. You might have noticed the Dakar badge - if you know RRs then you know that means a 4.5 V8 from JE Engineering.

But that was a few years ago. Franc's had this car since 2001 and he's not afraid of adapting it.

Purposeful. Need to protect that oil filter though.

Bit shabby. I have spare panels.

Interior is a bit interesting.

But look at that face.

Comfy, too.

Chassis is alright...

Wait. What?

Okay, let's have a look under the bonnet then.

A new XKR engine was installed in 2009 when the car had 130K miles on - it now has 165K.

That's roughly 390bhp...

It has an Ashcroft rebuilt 4HP24 (IIRC) autobox with electronic control, an ATB torque biasing front diff, an ARB airlocker rear, remote damper kit, bespoke steering, custom ECU, LPG system, rebuilt chassis, rock slider sills, four pot calipers, and a decent length of MOT.

I am not sure if I have done something incredibly stupid here. But it drives rather nicely!

Ooh nice. I predict many more posts in the future

[mercedade]

This is sensational. No notes

[JJ0063]

Love a RR Classic. Headlights look way too modern though, ruins it a bit. Hopefully you’ve got some period correct ones in that stash of parts!

[cort16]

That’s a rather amazing thing especially with the supercharged v8. Does it run an after market ecu i imagine these are relatively complex engines ? 

[RichardK]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

Love a RR Classic. Headlights look way too modern though, ruins it a bit. Hopefully you’ve got some period correct ones in that stash of parts!

No spare headlights - but the trucklites are a proper upgrade that cost £750 or thereabouts, and they work. I do have original signals but like the LEDs, they contribute to the overall post-apocalyptic vibe

[Stanky]

Re the cam magnet, did you get the new one from MB, or a factor? My W203 has had the wiring harness mod done, but weeps oil down the front of the engine and probably wants the cam magnet replacing as I suspect the seal has dried up/split/whatever.

Did it come in a kit with a new o-ring & e-torx bolts out of interest?

[RichardK]

1 hour ago, cort16 said:

That’s a rather amazing thing especially with the supercharged v8. Does it run an after market ecu i imagine these are relatively complex engines ? 

It does, I forget the model but it isn't supported anymore. If Franc can find the original schematic I could look at megasquirt instead; what I would ideally like is something that can handle gearbox, standard and LPG setups in one box then have parallel systems.

[RichardK]

7 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Re the cam magnet, did you get the new one from MB, or a factor? My W203 has had the wiring harness mod done, but weeps oil down the front of the engine and probably wants the cam magnet replacing as I suspect the seal has dried up/split/whatever.

Did it come in a kit with a new o-ring & e-torx bolts out of interest?

From Newcastle MB via eBay - £58. You need a tube of black RTV - no O-ring, just clean up the surface and some loctite 5750? (MB sell it but expensive, VW same stuff half the price), torx bolts reused - they're only 5Nm + 90 degrees. There's a channel for the RTV so be more generous than my 2-3mm bead was. The weeping is internal seal failure then the plug - the RTV also fails but it's oil in the loom that causes the upset.

[RichardK]

I use a dish sponge  scratchy side - plastic - to clean the mating surface on the head then vaccum the threads for the bolts as the little gritty bits go in them.

[RichardK]

We had floods.

The Tesla Model Y handled the roads brilliantly.

Which is good because I think I left something switched on I shouldn't have - one miserable StRange Rover today 😕

Left if on the Ctek for a bit and it was fine, but voltmeter looks unhappy when I have the heated screen, lights and fan on.

Insurance hilarity: this beast was cheaper and easier to insure than the Pontiac...

[RichardK]

Years ago my friend gave me some Ram Mount parts.

Also years ago I got a Garmin Overlander which is, frankly, too big for any vehicles windscreen.

Let's see where we can go...

BOATS needed. This one not made for fording though so I didn't go far - the BOAT goes down to the valley (I saw a very messy Disco go there) and the road over, while clearly used by vehicles once, had a sign saying walkers only. Don't think it meant crisps.

Not that most people there seem to give a shit about anyone else...

[RichardK]

Car dealer came from Huddersfield, looked over the PT Cruiser, made an offer, I accepted, shook hands, said they'd call to arrange collection so I took the private plate off... no call yesterday. Hmm.

Retrieved my SLK from Tottenham where it's been sat hiding in the Tesla centre car park for a week. It started first time, then tolerated 2 1/2 hours of being stuck in central London traffic. Friend commented that it sounds better than it did last time she was in it (that'll be the oil change and cam magnet) but I couldn't change the air filter as Amazon sent the wrong bloody one.

Worked out what the strip of foam someone had added to the parcel shelf was for.  Noisy rattles when roof up! I'll figure out how that can be fixed /properly/.

[tom13]

On 22/10/2023 at 14:19, RichardK said:

Years ago my friend gave me some Ram Mount parts.

Also years ago I got a Garmin Overlander which is, frankly, too big for any vehicles windscreen.

Let's see where we can go...

BOATS needed. This one not made for fording though so I didn't go far - the BOAT goes down to the valley (I saw a very messy Disco go there) and the road over, while clearly used by vehicles once, had a sign saying walkers only. Don't think it meant crisps.

Not that most people there seem to give a shit about anyone else...

This the lane next to the side of chastworth house? Did that a couple of weekends ago for the first time if so.

[RichardK]

1 hour ago, tom13 said:

This the lane next to the side of chastworth house? Did that a couple of weekends ago for the first time if so.

I think so - apparently it's a popular destination, I was on my own and didn't trust the potentially wet conditions so didn't do the full lane right after floods as I'm not sure how waterproof some of the wiring is (though I know this car has done some serious off roading in its current form, it's been with other people around - though I'm told apart from the lack of submersible ability it is more likely to be recovering others than getting stuck!).

[tom13]

14 minutes ago, RichardK said:

I think so - apparently it's a popular destination, I was on my own and didn't trust the potentially wet conditions so didn't do the full lane right after floods as I'm not sure how waterproof some of the wiring is (though I know this car has done some serious off roading in its current form, it's been with other people around - though I'm told apart from the lack of submersible ability it is more likely to be recovering others than getting stuck!).

So many lanes aroudn there. We only really did the south peaks and there was a lot of mainly easier tracks. Was due to go up and do around Buxton last weekend but called off due to the flood obviously.

[RichardK]

Adventures. Girlfriend says how much smoother this is since I did the cam magnet - this run up north was a  delight.

[yes oui si]

RR Classic with a decent engine? Phwoar et cetera. 

[RichardK]

Pleasure, or Fun?

Returning:

Hole of Whorecum.

LOL.

Moist.

ETC.

As holes go, it's quite picturesque.

Infinite Improbabilities.

Let's head home via Leeds.

What?

Oh, FFS.

Okay Waze, do your stuff.

(hours later)

Oh, VERY clever choice of Meadowhall and A61 DURING RUSH HOUR.

Though everyone seems EXTRA twattish today.

*sigh*

To cap it all, the takeaway was shut when I got home and McDonalds have run out of those Halloween toys I didn't know they had until it was too late  Philly Cheese burger is alright if you've never had a real Philly Cheesesteak.

The SLK continues to be a little beast though, two hours of shitty traffic despatched with just the slightest climb in temp and any odd oily-burning-what? smells were just down to having a boot full of durian and squid.

 

[RichardK]

Lilith has been evicted from the garage, because insurance does say Desmond has to be locked up.

But also Desmond should just be locked up for ASBO. Got warmed up and overtook a load of cars on the bypass and wow. That thing can shift.

 

[RichardK]

I need to collect a small freezer. Range Rover should be ideal!

Maybe not...

(It's very secure and clever. But very much "this is your boot" and not a huge box on wheels unless I get spannering!).

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 minutes ago, RichardK said:

I need to collect a small freezer. Range Rover should be ideal!

Maybe not...

(It's very secure and clever. But very much "this is your boot" and not a huge box on wheels unless I get spannering!).

should have kept the Ovlov???   

[RichardK]

20 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

should have kept the Ovlov???   

Well that was a given anyway, that Volvo was awesome. But the BYD Atto 3 was easily big enough

[RichardK]

Well, that's my Christmas wish list sorted...

[RichardK]

PT Cruiser ABS light came on.

Code says front left open circuit.

Buy new sensor. Fit it. Code says no signal:

Return sensor. Fit new one. Code says no signal.

Get annoyed. Do test again.

Peer at code reader.

Swear lots.

Order front /right/ sensor.

Gives me a chance to clean and lubricate the front brakes at least. Everything is like working on a new car, which is pleasant.

[RichardK]

So new front right ABS sensor arrived. Removed old one (which is a pig - you have to pull a body clip push thing out and it's right over the brake pipe in a part of the engine bay only reachable from under the chassis leg and then loop the wire around the subframe mount behind the brake pipe). Has Mopar logo on and part number so now I'm aware the passenger side has been changed before, and also slightly twitching with "perfectionist" that it has an OEM one on one side and a genuine branded one on the other.

But it works! Test drive and live sensor reading checked for glitches.

Next stop, MOT. After I do more waxoyl and general faffing and clean the wheels while they're off the car. At least the sensor is done.

[RichardK]

So... now I have a dilemma.

The blue SLK MOT is up, I have too many cars. The universe has demonstrated that no-one wants a 14,000 mile PT Cruiser Convertible for any amount of money beyond a 150,000  mile knackered shitbox (and to be fair there are 26,000 mile and 54,000 mile examples which have been unsold on eBay forever) and the increase in VED may be small ish in numerical terms but it looks fucking horrible at £710 a year after April.

Given the number of ULEZ-banned, smoke-belching knackered-at-80,000 mile zero VED diesels that this petrol punishment inspired, it really annoys me that a 355g/km new car pays £180/year but surviving 226 and up pre-2017 petrol cars continue to be hammered 😕

(I technically qualify for PIP though it's a nightmare to claim. Almost worth it to get the disabled class on the Cruiser).

Do I try selling the Cruiser again and keep the SLK (which has not put a foot wrong since I got it), flog the SLK as-is with a couple of weeks MOT left and save myself the mental space, or MOT the SLK then sell?

[Jazoli]

8 minutes ago, RichardK said:

So... now I have a dilemma.

The blue SLK MOT is up, I have too many cars. The universe has demonstrated that no-one wants a 14,000 mile PT Cruiser Convertible for any amount of money beyond a 150,000  mile knackered shitbox (and to be fair there are 26,000 mile and 54,000 mile examples which have been unsold on eBay forever) and the increase in VED may be small ish in numerical terms but it looks fucking horrible at £710 a year after April.

Given the number of ULEZ-banned, smoke-belching knackered-at-80,000 mile zero VED diesels that this petrol punishment inspired, it really annoys me that a 355g/km new car pays £180/year but surviving 226 and up pre-2017 petrol cars continue to be hammered 😕

(I technically qualify for PIP though it's a nightmare to claim. Almost worth it to get the disabled class on the Cruiser).

Do I try selling the Cruiser again and keep the SLK (which has not put a foot wrong since I got it), flog the SLK as-is with a couple of weeks MOT left and save myself the mental space, or MOT the SLK then sell?

It was always going to be a difficult sell for an expensive PT cruiser, I couldn't give mine away for 1500 quid and that only had 40k on it (non cab), they are incredibly niche cars and as you have found out, no one wants them at all as there are so many 'better' cars out there for the money, the £710 VED will also put everyone off, it was a brave buy in my opinion, can you not crash it into a wall and claim off your insurance? (joke btw)

My daughter has just had a successful pip claim and it was quite straightforward tbh, it has to be worth filling out the forms for.