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In case anyone is wondering if I've done anything with the Lincoln... erm, no.  I've driven it, and it's awesome, but I've not even serviced it or fitted any of the parts I bought with it. (I did tighten up some hoses and the top plate on the fuel pump to stop the petrol falling out) Why so? Well, basically because I've got 2 cars mid-build, and I promised myself I'd 'finish' those before doing anything with the Lincoln, plus I've still got loads of clearing out / selling to get through (I kinda got excited I bought the Linc before I was really planning to / was ready). In the spirit of "I'll never keep multiple build threads up to date" I thought I'd do a quick potted history in here of the 2 cars I've been working on most recently, then I can post semi-regularly irrespective of which I've done anything with, and add the others in if/when anything happens. Sooooo.... having had various large-sized, large-engined BMWs, (and loving them) such as this E32 750i:   (more info here) And this E38 740iL:   ...I decided it was about time I bought something I'd wanted for a long time; my first 'one day' / 'dream car' purchase. A BMW E31 8-Series. Prices were starting to shoot up, so it felt like it was now or never, and that also gave me a handy way to justify dropping a fairly substantial chunk of change on an otherwise completely unjustifiable vehicle. It's an 'investment', right? I think I started properly looking for one in late 2018 / early 2019, but they're not exactly common (30,621 made ever, of which only 3771 were UK market RHD) and to make things worse I had very specific requirements: it HAD to be the M62 4.4 V8* (so we're now down to finding one of the 1470 cars built), had to have cruise control, had to have black on black on black sport interior, preferably have sport bumpers & mirrors, and not be a disgusting colour (I really REALLY wanted a purple one, but of each of the few purple options that were available literally only single figures were built) AND be in v.v.good/near-immaculate condition. GLWT. *as above, I've already had a 5.0 BMW V12 and absolutely loved it, but probably wouldn't rush to do it again - every job is twice as big / 3 times as annoying, and 14mpg is silly. I wanted something I could actually use whenever I wanted (yes, I'm well aware I've subsequently bought a 7l Lincoln that does <10mpg, shush  ) Fast forward to 14 April 2019, and I'm stopping for a break at a rather pleasant coffee shop having bought this:  A 1997 840Ci (so M62 4.4 V8), with cruise control, black on black sport interior, sport bumpers & mirrors, in purple bleurgundy, and in stunning condition  chickenfuckingdinner. More imminently.. |
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Last Edit: Jun 8, 2021 17:53:13 GMT by HARDCORE
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Buying the right one meant I really didn't have that much to do to it (fortunately, cos I didn't have much time between buying it, and taking it to RRW). I looked hard for one in the spec I wanted because parts are either unobtanium or ridiculously expensive, and I had a TON of other things to be getting on with (note this was also pre drunken epiphany and selling loads of things, though this car was always a keeper). That doesn't mean it didn't need wheels and lowering though, right? I've always loved big multi-spoke Alpina wheels, so there was only ever one option in my mind for what this car was going to get:  Bought, collected for me by a friend, who then de-tyred, stripped, straightened (the seller did NOT tell me they were buckled), painted, and re-tyred, all before I'd even seen them with my own eyes. Shout out to Colin at Kustom Kolors Some wheels, and a Lotus:  At TAB and ready to get cracking:  What's in the box? (other than Gwyneth Paltrow's severed head)  For sure the most expensive set of coilovers I've ever bought. Tried the wheels on:   That's 19 x 8.5 & 9.5 with 235/35 & 265/30 Michelin Sport Pilots The rears are separate spring & shock, so springs on an adjustable platform, and shocks with adjustable length & dampening  On:  ..and down:  Fronts are a lot more involved..   One piece strut, so require measuring, chopping, measuring & welding:   Half way there! Weird multilink weirdness:  Did some measuring, bought some things:  This pic was taken May 14th, obviously at night time, which was a few days before RRW. Smashed it!   Then Retro Rides Weekender happened Here are a few of my favorite pics of the car there:     Since then I've not done a huge amount to it. There was a lot of dreadful aftermarket wiring lashed into the interior which I spent time collecting the parts to remove, but I think that's about all. It failed its MoT on a tyre this week, so I'm gonna change that tonight ready for a retest Mon or Tues, just in time for the next MASSIVE change to make this car what I always wanted |
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Last Edit: Apr 9, 2021 16:38:51 GMT by HARDCORE
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maf260
Part of things
Posts: 533
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Respray in purple??
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Just skipped to the end (as it’s 5 in the morning!) to have a look - beaut! Love this era continental, before they got a bit silly. The buying unseen from a stranger on a different continent thing’s fun isn’t it? I did it in 2019 and deffo found it a game of two halves...whilst I love my car, and it’s far more solid than most I would’ve bought here, it wasn’t as described and there wasn’t much I could do about it! Hope you enjoy yours, looking forward to seeing it on the deck with massive rims 👍
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,960
Club RR Member Number: 174
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The BMW is the shizz. Classy.
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,971
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Good move on the combo thread - it works for me as I only need one bookmark  I wondered when we would see a thread on the 840 - looks great on the wheels/spacers/coilovers It would be a smidge low for me but its perfect for you |
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,934
Club RR Member Number: 108
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winning at winning brah 👌
even though I know what's happened and what's planned I'm glued to this 😆
will be chuffing magnificent to see all of these things ive been looking at on the internet out in the wild soon, am so excited 😃🍿
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ChrisT
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,670
Club RR Member Number: 225
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Apr 11, 2021 10:41:39 GMT
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Nice work, 840 is stunning |
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Apr 11, 2021 19:02:14 GMT
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Your e31 sits so much better than mine on the front.
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'The reason i have pulled you over is to say how incredible and absolutely awesome that is'
Mercedes W109, Mercedes W140 S280 SWB & S320 LWB, W201 cosworth kitted, clk230 Kompressor, w109 300sel, Lincoln Continental 1964, BMW E30 Tech II tourer, MK1 Golf Clipper, BMW E31 840ci sport, JAGUAR XJ40 3.6, Kangoo van, Volvo 740GLE estate, Maserati Quattroporte GTS
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Apr 11, 2021 19:21:53 GMT
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What’s that on the front N/S wing below the trim?
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CaptainSlog
Part of things
Posts: 510
Club RR Member Number: 180
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What’s that on the front N/S wing below the trim? This?  Looks like an old alarm key switch. |
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Apr 12, 2021 19:44:47 GMT
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The BMW is the shizz. Classy. I wondered when we would see a thread on the 840 - looks great on the wheels/spacers/coilovers winning at winning brah 👌 Nice work, 840 is stunning Thank you Gents  Your e31 sits so much better than mine on the front. Is yours not on coilovers dude? |
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Last Edit: Apr 12, 2021 19:45:31 GMT by HARDCORE
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Apr 12, 2021 19:51:45 GMT
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I think anything that makes you want it, is a success
I want this.
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Apr 12, 2021 20:56:48 GMT
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What’s that on the front N/S wing below the trim? Basically this: There was a lot of dreadful aftermarket wiring lashed into the interior which I spent time collecting the parts to remove I'll elaborate.. The chap I bought the car from hadn't had it long (g/f fell pregnant, he bought an estate) - prior to him was an older gent, who had it for a long time then sadly passed away. The P2WML was his private plate, and I understand is his initials. Said 'older gent' had done some older gent things to the car, one of which was maintain it scrupulously, regardless of cost, but another was fill it to the brim with 'gadgets'. Aftermarket parking sensors front and rear (just about visible in some of the photos, at least they're body coloured), and a dazzling array of holders/mounts/chargers, complete with individual fuses & switches.. (I can't find the original photos, only one ones where I highlighted which bits of trim I was after for a wanted ad)     Phone mount (old Nokia I think..), there were 2 more of these on the dash   What lies beneath:    Power distribution to all of that..    So I removed it all!    Managed to find 2 of the little trim pieces, and the centre panel around the ash tray / hazard switch (not photographed)   Which left it looking like this for a while:  Until I found this:  (have bought decent cars for less than that cost, lol) Sooo...   Done!  Much better And to answer the initial question:   Crazy trickle-charger craziness, that plugs in through the front wing. Yes really  Ahh well. More soon! |
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Apr 12, 2021 21:12:53 GMT
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Seriously Dude........
That reminds me of the “Best of Dr Pimple Popper” Do not go look for her, your life will never be the same again.
That is a serious challenge you have faced there.
Well resolved.
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Last Edit: Apr 12, 2021 21:15:08 GMT by grizz
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,971
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Apr 12, 2021 21:25:44 GMT
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Shesh - that's some bloody wiring and trim damage!!!!
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Apr 12, 2021 22:15:26 GMT
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Shesh - that's some bloody wiring and trim damage!!!! Yep, complete PITA, but I couldn't wait forever for a 'perfect' one to come up. It is what it is. I'm not wailing on the chap - he kept an awesome log of literally every single thing he did, or had done to the car, which is great:    Pages & pages of hand written notes, alongside PILES of receipts for parts & work done. I'll take a few bits of trim needing sorting Few more pics to bring this totally up to date.. The factory side repeaters annoyed me with their violent orangeness, especially given the fronts are tinted from the factory, so I fixed it. Before:  (you can see what I mean about the tinted fronts) After:  Better Nice view of the stupid charger plug tho. Another pic from RRW. No orange at the rear either..  Another job I need to do at some point is sort the saggy headlining..  ..and the faded parcel shelf:  I'm planning a stereo install at some point, so will probably sort this then. Took it to RRG in August (2019) too - first car on the show field:  Last car up the hill:  I * think* that's me completely up to date with this car now. As I said before, there are some more big changes coming, so I'll keep this updated when things start happening. Next up I'll add another car, which is what I've been working on pretty much exclusively since the above on the E31, in between selling all the things, including most recently/currently (I actually dropped it at a body shop this morning!) |
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,338 
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Apr 12, 2021 23:29:18 GMT
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JFC that wiring dude. That wiring. What a mess. Glad that is out and gone! I had no idea as to the extent of the awfulness of the installed tat.
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Apr 13, 2021 21:16:47 GMT
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JFC that wiring dude. That wiring. What a mess. Glad that is out and gone! I had no idea as to the extent of the awfulness of the installed tat. Yeah, not ideal, but pretty much done with now |
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Apr 13, 2021 22:13:26 GMT
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Next up I'll add another car, which is what I've been working on pretty much exclusively since the above on the E31, in between selling all the things, including most recently/currently (I actually dropped it at a body shop this morning!) Sooooo... what have I been working on? Well, if you've read this all the way through you'll already know, but here's the backstory.. I'm a wagon guy. As far as daily drivers go, I can't live without a wagon. I've had other daily drivers (E38, Lupo TDi, Alfa 155, etc.) but they've always annoyed me with their lack of wagoneyness. Here are a few ex-daily drivers: Audi 80 2.0   Audi 80 TDi   Full-on project. I did pretty much everything to this car. Saab 9-5 Aero HOT   Awesome car. It's still in the RR family, and doing great service. C270 CDi  £300 special. I've actually still got this as it somehow passed an MoT, and is useful to keep around for scrap / tip runs. I decided it was high time I got a daily wagon that I really wanted. Something nice; a keeper. It needed to be old/cool, rwd, big diesel engine, fast (or the potential to be), and have good scope for modifications (lows, big wheels - see above for how I like my daily wagons). The shortlist therefore was basically a BMW E39 530D, or a Mercedes W124 300D (with a Peugeot 505 as a crazy outside bet, if I could miracle up a good one), and I had sufficient budget to buy a really nice one. Something I could use straight away, and start modifying immediately. So I bought this:  Fuksakes More soon.. |
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Last Edit: Apr 13, 2021 22:17:08 GMT by HARDCORE
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)
chickenfuckingdinner.
