Tales of cars going through the ring.

Talk about your cars etc here. Keep it sort of sensible and on topic please.
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mercrocker
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by mercrocker »

Another BMW co-incidence here....The only one I've ever owned came from the friend of my auction-related tales earlier. This one was a bit different, it was actually a left-hooker that had been whopped up the arse in Germany. It came to John through a German contact who was astute enough to realise that Brits valued the blue and white badge far more than the natives. This was in 1984, quite a bit of time after all the auction carry-ons and I had left the village where we both lived but had still kept in touch with John.

It was a bone stock 316 of 1978 vintage, John pulled out the back-end and converted it to RHD with scrapyard dash and rack but it had LHD foibles still such as the door pulls being on the incorrect sides (these were different left and right) and the handbrake being incorrectly offset. John being John, he put the six cylinder twin headlights on it and a 320 badge. He punted it in the small ads and evening paper for a week or so before suddenly ringing me up and offering it for a grand. It was more than I had and I was trying to move from a flat to a house so didn't have the money but he said he would take instalments. I tried saying I didn't have room for another car but he countered that with an offer to "look after" my Zephyr 6 if I bought it. It was also a bit of a bargain - half the forecourt price for one of those.

I realised what the problem was - it had been given a Q plate and was proving hard to sell. "S'OK - you can putta the Zephyr plate on it" he said, brushing aside my final hurdle. I didn't but I did buy it.

I had quite an eventful 2 year innings with it - span it on a wet roundabout in Hounslow and bounced off a Toleman car transporter. Took it to France camping where it promptly caught fire under the dash. I still suspect that was down to my fitting a 320 instrument panel so I could have a tacho. Luckily the fire didn't take hold and didn't re-combust after pulling the battery leads. Still don't know what that was.... The crease in the front bonnet from the Toleman truck got me in trouble on the Swiss border where I was pulled in on my way back to Mulhouse and judging by the delay I think Fritz on the border was checking with every Swiss Canton to see if an oddly-registered British BMW with a German "D" oval had clouted Helvetian property.

It blew a head gasket soon after I bought it and John dutifully changed it, swearing every bolt off and back on again. I had to rub down a TR7 while he was doing it mind. It was a nice thing to drive, though and looked sweet although the repaired boot floor was rusting rather alarmingly. It had to go to fund my house move - I was short of £250 to clear an overdraft without which I couldn't have a mortgage. Back then you could only have money if you could prove you didn't need it.....

Took ages to sell because of the Q thing but an Indian gentleman turned up one afternoon with a three year old Citroen GSA and £250 cash so we did a deal. That Citroen was the newest thing I have ever owned (age-wise) and a whole other story but I have never owned either marque since....
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by The Reverend Bluejeans »

I had a very sweet deal on a rotten, rear ended E21 from an auction in Aylesbury in 1998, bought for £120 all in. It was registered on a 1979 T plate as a 320i but was a carb 320. And it was rusty. Fuck me, the rear panel was about to fall off and it hadn't been MOT'd for years. It had been dragged out of a garden on a house clearance and thankfully not scrapped.

Thankfully?

Well, it was a South African built 1976 320 with the M10. The engine was a factory new unit not long before it was hit up the arse. I drew £450 for the engine from a 2002 owner. The wheels were genuine 2002 Turbo alloys, £800 thanks very much. The five speed gearbox was a Getrag 245 Sport unit with close ratios and first across to the left and back. That and the limited slip diff made £400 each. The 3 spoke steering wheel was the M1 type, plus it had working factory air con, blue tint glass, a mint blue vinyl interior and lots of small morsels. That fucker ended up at Bicester scrapyard picked clean. In the death, I had two grand out of that.
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by CLINT »

Well if this is now 'BMW tales' then I shall tell of my first BMW. A 528i auto. A reg. A77 LUA to be precise.

I was running a Fox bodied Mustang that was reaching the end of its life but a workmate really wanted it but didn't have much cash so he gave me the BMW, a Civic, a trailer and £100.

I brimmed the tank of the BMW but when I came back out from paying for it, I noticed it was pissing petrol out. I had to give it a thrashing round until the fuel level dropped below the rotten seam. Didn't take long! Nice car, spoilt by a grim interior.
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by The Reverend Bluejeans »

BCA Blackbushe was the place to go for proper stuff. Black Horse fleet sales were bargainous in the mid 1990's. My Ma ran cars for a year amp then sold them on for more than was paid. A K reg Alfa 155 2.0TS at three years and 100'000 miles old, faded to pink, missing wheel trims was of little interest to the trade but I bought it, ran a mop over it, fitted a set of 164 wheels with the 155's nearly new Michelins ad away it went. That was replaced a year later by an M plate Audi 80 2.0E, dull as fuck and slow but I pretty much stole it. Those were the days of proper cars that would rack up 100'000 miles with no fear of timing chain OMFG nonsense.

A factory black 1600 Pinto Transit 80, 89 on a G was a steal at £2500 in 1992. It was a short wheelbase low top, 28'000 miles and nobody wanted it. It was super clean and driving it out revealed a shagged 3rd synchro. But for what it cost, I fired a Ford exchange gearbox in and it was perfect. Retail on that would have been £4500 at the time. It was decent on fuel and went well. I flooded it with Waxoyl as our D plate 2.0 was rusting nice;y, and the black on was finally scrapped in 2005. Battered to fuck, but still rust free.

BCA's general sales - like WOMA used to be - were full of trader wankers firing their rubbish through. You had to stick to cars direct from the dealer who took it in p/x.
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by NorfolkNWeigh »

My first BMW from auction was an early 5 series too, but mine was a 528, again no i. It was silver with a black vinyl roof and it cost £90 in about 1989. And it was a slug, so fucking slow and thirsty, I despised of getting my money back. But it had a saving grace- a towbar, Pat the caravan thief gave me £120 and a smelly Cortina 2.3 GL estate. The Cortina was probably on every Police stop list between London and Birmingham so went to a banger racer for £35.

Next was an e28 518 ( again carb) in dark blue with plastic trims , immaculate but running like shit. Think it was about £400, I spent £120 on a Weber conversion kit and Mrs N drove it around for 2 years. After about a year a mate noticed the number A928 SGT might be worth a few quid. I got it listed with Reg Transfers who sold it and I got £350- it's probably still on a 928.

A very short lived BMW was a very early 323i auto 4 door , complete with full black leather. It was £200 in 1999. The day after I took it home my youngest brother came round whilst I was at work...
He was 17 and had passed his test the week before, oh, a nd it was raining.
By the time I came home he was back from his "test drive", how the fuck it had driven with 3 flat tyres, two shattered alloys and with the exhaust still sitting in the middle of a roundabout. He promised to reimburse me whatever I lost, jammy fucker got lucky when somebody gave me £200 for it because he wanted the interior.
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by Bavarianretro »

Might have been me. Or the Reverend.
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Re: Tales of cars going through the ring.

Post by The Reverend Bluejeans »

I got my 323i Auto four door for free. It was dumped in the M27 services - J asked the manager if I could take it and he just said yes. I had that and an A reg 732i gratis, just winched the fuckers on and away, no keys no fuck all. 2000 iirc so the E30’s worthless period. It had Azevs and an LSD.
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