I fitted a CSI front lower bumper as these look so much better than the high chin thing. Problem is these are hard to come by so I settled for a fibreglass version which was cheap enough. Cheap because it didn't fit very well at all. Never mind its on there and I intend to replace it one day.
I fitted some K&N's along with doing an oil change, fitting a new thermostat and all the good things an old car needs.
Once the car was on the road I simply enjoyed it for a while. Taking it to work on sunny days and when ever I felt like it!
This didn't last that long...
Literally a few hundred, maybe a thousand miles into using the car the new rotor arms I fitted completely died. Just burnt out... I did have my doubts about the very cheap Chinese dizzy caps and rotor arms to the point that I carried around the originals in the boot. A quick roadside fix using the under bonnet light and we were back on the road.
Being a classic car owner I've learnt to always carry an entire garage of tools and spare parts in the boot haha.
As with buying an old car that's been parked for a long time its always going to crave your attention. The car became my daily for a few months after the E30 gave up and needed a head gasket. Even after a head gasket change she still had issues and was getting unreliable.
I should probably do a build thread of the E30 one day... I've owned it for over 10 years now. Anyway one car at a time hey.
The E30 got parked up for a while as it was mid winter and I have a second car I can use blah blah. However a 5 litre V12 daily... as good as that sounds is not financially sensible (~15-16MPG average). This didn't stop me for a few months...
Using the car as an un-sensible daily started to put miles on it and naturally it was only a matter of time before the next issue developed. The car started to... "consume"? oil.
Well this went on for a little while with out much to comment on. It still had power but the oil consumption got much worse... way worse... a lot worse... like 1/4-1/2 a litre top up A DAY kinda worse. Only doing 32 miles a day... This was truly high consumption of oil. Not burning it but spewing it out of somewhere.
I thought this was terminal. The cars dead. The smog cloud I left up and down the A421 was pretty note worthy. Much much oil on the exhaust.
I shopped about for new engines/alternative cars. I came across a BMW E38 7 series... With a V12 and MPG! It was such a cruiser. Double glazed windows, two telephones electric rear seats etc. The guy had enough of chasing its issues and was selling it off quick as he was now moving out the country for work and wont get time to look at it etc.... All seemed kinda dodgy but to me for parts was a a bargain at a haggled down price of £800 taken away no questions asked. It still had MOT on it!
So naturally with the issues I was facing I just insured it and drove it for two weeks while I tinkered with the issues. The car was in a limp mode with a transmission issue. I tried a few things, dad and I chased through the wiring, checked sensors, we attempted an oil change on the "sealed for life" gearbox as a last resort this is what the internet suggested but with no success. I only ever really drove the car around in 4th gear and it would only burn fuel from one of the LPG tanks so this needed looking at also. Anyway long story short I decided to cancel the insurance within the cooling off period. It was fun while it lasted. My friends at work bought me a chauffer hat and white gloves... they sat in the back and got a ride to the pub one lunch hahaha.
I later did more research and found the M73B54.. the 5.4L V12 that came in the E38 was quite a bit more different to the M70B50 that was in my early 8 series. A few common parts but not a nice simple little upgrade project I was willing to take on just yet. Transferring over all the LPG stuff (and doing a nice install of it) would have been pretty good. It would open the car up to be a more affordable daily driver. This didn't happen.
One (maybe beer fuel enthused) evening I decided to strip the 8 series down as I had nothing to lose. Find out what's wrong so I know what I'm dealing with.
I'm not exaggerating when I say this was the worst job I've done in a long time. With the long bonnet, low wings, working on manifolds bolted to the opposite engine bank, I had to order longer 1/4" extensions to get to the manifold bolts. I kid you not this almost broke my back. I strained muscles in my lower back to the point where I couldn't walk properly for a couple of weeks. I earned the nickname of Asimo at work... as in the little Honda robot (google it if you don't know it.).. I walked/shuffled around crouched over in much pain for days. Top tip, jack the car up to a decent working height if taking this on yourself!
With the all the manifolds off I had a far better view of what was at fault.
It was as simple as the rocker cover gaskets had become so brittle they were hard like plastic. I couldn't believe it, you could literally snap them like twigs! This was simply allowing oil to flow straight onto the exhaust manifolds... Absolutely mental... so simple.
I ordered a full gasket set and while I waited for that to arrive I tarted up the rocker covers, intake manifolds etc.
A simple wash, degrease and paint.
Gaskets arrived so it was time for the reassembly.
I was very pleased to have fixed my car and also have such a fantastic looking engine bay.
