Howdy...

Well, It's been ages since I've been here - mostly due to living in NZ now, and work/life being so stupidly busy that I don't seem to have time to get anything else done... sleep sometimes even seems a luxury!

But... I am back in the UK for about 5 weeks, with the purposes of this trip to get a bunch of stuff at my house sorted out so I can look at selling it, and also dealing with the P38...

I have a garage full of bits that I brought back from my workshop when I cleared that out a couple of years ago - which I am going to be going through and getting ruthless on the parts I have left here, either selling what I can/what is worth anything, and junking the rest - scrap metal etc to recyclers and the rest to the dump.

The P38 is the tricky part... I need to have it gone from here one way or another before I leave, as it's not fair to have it sitting outside the house permanently anymore, and I got stung a £510 fine from DVLA as it's been there SORN and technically on a public road... I don't have anywhere else to put it, as my place only has the street parking outside it, and it won't fit in the garage...

My options for the P38 are:
Ship it to NZ
Sell It.

Ideally I want to ship it, though it will be a bit of a mission as I need to clean it up, remove the LPG tank and probably filler, as if I import it with LPG then it needs extra certification which I can't be bothered with as the tank is over 10yrs old and would need replacing anyway... so I figure if I strip the tank and stuff out so it can be imported just as a petrol vehicle then if I decide I want to add LPG again, then I can get a new tank fitted there and get it certified as/when I want, rather than HAVING to do it at the time of import cert.

Other things I need to do to it are obviously a really good clean, for biosecurity, the side steps need removing as the box section is rusted out (I have a decent set here to put on - but I know the bolts are going to be rusted - so new hardware for the replacements I think!) and also I think the rear section of exhaust needs replacing as the one on there is a bit rusty in places - and again I have one off of one of the ones I used to have at the workshop, which if it's in decent condition then I'll put that on.

I'd also need to check stuff like the seatbelts and all that because I know for certification they strip out a load of the interior for checks on that kind of stuff, and that's easier to deal with here!

My other option... selling it... which would only really be an option if there was someone who wanted to buy it as an enthusiast/collector, as for me personally I've owned it going on 14 years, and done a LOT of work to it, as anyone on here would probably see from my posts over the years - especially the engine rebuild/install etc!. I don't want to sell it to someone who would just strip it for parts as I feel like it's still far too nice of a vehicle for that!

So... I guess... first question...
Anyone after any P38 parts? I am going to try and go through the garage in the next couple of days to see what's there. I know I have a few sets of V8 engine heads (GEMS and THOR) which were in decent condition when they came off. I have a load of BECM power boards in the plastic cases.. some are good for components only due to corrosion, but some of them are decent - high and low line versions. I know I have a factory original 'A' bar in good condition, I think with the mounting brackets (probably not bolts though) which was on mine when I bought it, and I've since put the full wraparound one on mine, so this is surplus and for sale.

Also, if you are anywhere around Swindon in the next month or so and wanted to swing past to say hi/have a look at what's here, etc then let me know.

If you know of anyone who would want to buy my P38, then also get in touch. I'm not desperate to sell it, but if an offer came in that I can't refuse then I could possibly be swayed.... I've seen the price of them in NZ, and before I left I found 3... 2 of them were 2001 models, one was hideous, one needed work and they wanted $12000-15000NZD for them, so around £5200-£6500... and I reckon to ship mine it would be probably around the $10000 NZD mark by the time I've paid the import duty, compliance costs, any additional biosecurty cleaning and all that. So I'm in no rush to sell, but I am also on the fence about the stress/hassle of shipping - given the supposedly 'peace of mind' 'door to door' shipping I did of the rest of my personal stuff a few years ago that turned into a stressful nightmare thanks to the shipping company from the UK.

So... Thoughts, Questions... Any parts people are looking for that I can see if I have... Anyone around this way who fancies lending a hand on a bit of P38 TLC on mine so I can get it sorted out to ship? Or just want to catch up for a coffee etc!

Cheers,
Marty

Hi Marty,

I said I'd come and meet up for a coffee and give you a hand with sorting/scavenging a few bits but then the world went bonkers and I'm snowed under with domestic air con installs until the middle of October. But, given the opportunity to come over, I'll find a gap in my calendar. Looking at July 29th and/or August 7th as I'm setting off to drive to Latvia tonight (Dina's mother's 90th birthday on Sunday) and aren't back until the 24th.

Are there any tools you'd need bringing as I know a lot of yours have already been shipped to NZ?

Hi Mate,

Safe travels to Latvia!
I'll be about both 29th July and 7th August. So whenever works for you - I figured that AC installs are probably busy here at the moment with the heat waves!

Tools... I still have a Halfords kit in the back of the RR I think and a dirll/small impact driver, but if the side steps aren't done by then and become a pain in the arse, then probably an angle grinder to get the old bolts off... though I'm hoping if they've rusted then I can just snap them to get the old ones out!

I'll keep you updated with progress before then anywys!

Cheers,
Marty

Hi Marty,
Not sure yet, but might try to come up on the same day as Richard.

If you do end up shipping the P38, I guess you will put any "really useful" spares in the container as well.

Pete

Hey Marty!! I'd love to come and see you (and maybe get a drivers door latch?)
When are you here till?

Gilbertd wrote:

I'm snowed under with domestic air con installs until the middle of October.

I need to pick your brains about this at some point. Can I give you a phone at some point over the next few days?

Pete12345 wrote:

Hi Marty,
Not sure yet, but might try to come up on the same day as Richard.

If you do end up shipping the P38, I guess you will put any "really useful" spares in the container as well.

Pete
Hi Pete,

No worries - just keep me updated. Parts... I need to look at how i go about shipping other stuff with the P38. I think most of the bits I have here are up for grabs, I will probably keep any service items I have here and take them, but other than that I'm just trying to do a massive clear out, so if I don't have an immediate use for it, then it will be available. I know I've still got an engine crane and engine stand here which are not going to go with me, and also a set of 4 wheels/tyres. I think they are hurricanes, but I'll check in the next couple of days when I'm feeling better - seem to have picked up a bug on the travel over, so not 100% at the moment. I might go through some of the parts I have here and list them on eBay aswell, like the wheels/tyres and I have I think 3 sets of cylinder heads too from memory 2x GEMS 1x Thor pairs. I will probably put them on eBay to start with because they moght be worth something and help offset the cost of a skip etc to get rid of anything else, but if anyone wants a set then I'd rather do a good price to someone on here first.

I will also have a look as I think I made a list of the engine parts I have, so will post that up so if anything grabs anyone's fancy then can make me an offer...

Morat wrote:

Hey Marty!! I'd love to come and see you (and maybe get a drivers door latch?)
When are you here till?
Morat!

Good to hear from you!. I am her until 20th August, though away for a couple of days on 11th/12th I think. Other than that, I'm home any time.
door latch.. I will see if I have any left here, but I think I took all the good stuff with me to NZ, but I have rebuilt a few over there and shipped them over this way, so the postage is a wee bit more expensive, but still doable. I know I kept some of the shells/connectors for the later ones, when I sent my stuff to NZ, so know I have the bits to do them.

I'll also see if I left any microswitches behind over here, because it could be possible that I can do a while-you-wait service of it, but no promises as i'm limited on tools etc aswell.

Might be worth pinging Grrrrr on Landyzone about the engine crane. He's borrowed mine at the moment, but might want his own ?

Good shout... I put a message up on LZ now in general so if there are other people wanting bits, they can message... might drop him a PM though once I've looked at it and seen what state it's in etc..

Well...

I charged up the battery for a bit today, it was at 12.04V whilst disconnected, after having sat there for 18 months...
After giving it a few hours on the charger whilst I was doing some other bits and going through the garage, I connected it up and cranked it over... Took a little while to crank, but then she fired up again, pretty nice and smooth.

Got it up to temp, and there's a bit of a leak from one of the coolant hose joints, so I've tightened that a bit, and will see if it comes back again. I think I have a couple of bits of coolant hose here still if needs be. I might do a coolant sniff test just to be sure there's no extra pressure in the system from exhaust gasses, but shouldn't be because the guy who rebuilt the engine seemed to do a fairly good job and went to the trouble of head studs and the likes...

Think my neighbour said he was going to give it a pressure wash for me on the weekend and I'd given him some tools and stuff the last time I was here, so hopefully she'll look a bit more refreshed aswell... Then I'll get under it and get the side steps off it as they're rotted out, and if everything else looks ok, I might see if I can get it MOTd so I can tax it and use to to take other crap to the dump etc, as it would be useful!

If LPGC is still on here and sees this... What's the deal with removing the LPG tank? I presume the shut off solenoid will come with it so anything left in the tank wont leak? I think the tank is pretty empty already, as every station around here is gone now, so it's been just used on petrol for years. Next time I start it, I'm planning on switching it over to gas and letting it idle on that for as long as it will.. To use up anything residual. But I know the tank will be well over 10 years old now and I want it gone for shipping, as if I have LPG installed then it needs a second certification on import, which would them mean I'd need to have the tank replaced, or I could get it re certified there, but I think it needs doing every year, so if rather import it as petrol only, get the main roadworthy certification done, and then if I decide to reinstate the LPG system, then I can get a new tank installed there, which will then be easier I think.

Still got lots to do... The garage is daunting... So. Much. Stuff.

Some things I have noted if people are looking for/interested in...
Front bumper (unpainted - think it's diesel with the vent. But pretty sure you can take that and the blank out and put fog lights in and put it on a petrol)
Heater box which I will have refurbished and has an Audi heater core fitted and blend motors (think it was one I built to swap out when I did installs for people and used for testing refurbished HEVAC controllers)
2x GEMS MAF sensors
Steering box - think it came from the 98 I scrapped, so it would have had about 84k miles on it)
Sweet of 4x 18" Proline wheels and dubious tyres. Top alloy looked pretty good when I half moved a box of BECM power boards that's stacked on top of it)
Also found 2x alpine head units, one has a bit of tape with my writing of the code on it aswell. I think I have enough bits here to test it.
I also have somewhere, and if I can find it I will test, a WORKING DSP Amps. Those rare as rocking horse sh*t ones, which when I found it still worked I keep a hold of for testing head units, and to make sure it was actually working and bit going to crap out. But that will be up for sale for sure if I find it and it's still going.
I have a few HEVAC head units in boxes that I'd refurbished and not sent to NZ, and I think possibly 1 or 2 WABCO D ECUs aswell, which I'll have to test again in mind to see if they're ones that were fixed already.

I also have a load of fairly decent looking air springs... Some are a bit dirty, but still have the rubber tassels on them... I can get pics and quantities if people want.

All sorts of other crap... Bunch of door speakers (probably should check all mine still work before flogging them off!) I think some HEVAC blower fans, and so much more I haven't rediscovered yet...

But at least my one started and wasn't too grumpy at me for having been left here without me...

On the LPG tank, there will be a manual tap to turn off the output, so no worries with the electrical shut off leaking (which it shouldn't anyway).

Good to know, thanks!

Marty, you sold me a working DSP amp last time you were in the UK having a clear out a couple of years ago. It's still working but I thought that I had better mention it in case you had forgotten & are searching for it.

Last time we didn't get to meet as I was in France so Richard collected the amp for me. Unfortunately we won't get to meet this time either as once again we are at our place in France.

nigelbb wrote:

Marty, you sold me a working DSP amp last time you were in the UK having a clear out a couple of years ago. It's still working but I thought that I had better mention it in case you had forgotten & are searching for it.

Last time we didn't get to meet as I was in France so Richard collected the amp for me. Unfortunately we won't get to meet this time either as once again we are at our place in France.

Ahhhh that makes sense why the head units was out on my workbench! I had totally forgotten that... But I am very glad that it's still working!!!

I have a number of other DSP amp here but they're all faulty sadly, so will be destined for the bin!

Thanks for reminding me, because I definitely would have been scratching my head and wondering what I did with it!

Just seen this but it's as Gilbert said re the LPG tank, at least unless it's a 4 hole tank, I don't remember if yours is one I converted or not but most including those I've converted will have a single hole tank that does have the manual shut off.

Lpgc wrote:

Just seen this but it's as Gilbert said re the LPG tank, at least unless it's a 4 hole tank, I don't remember if yours is one I converted or not but most including those I've converted will have a single hole tank that does have the manual shut off.

I don't think you converted mine - I bought it in 2012 and it was already converted when I bought it, and the guy I bought it from had next to no history on it, so it was obviously done well before then aswell.

I will have a look at the tank when I'm next in the back of the RR (probably tomorrow) and see if I can find what the model number is and see if it's single or 4 hole.
I can remember the original system that was installed was a Zavoli Alisei system, and over the years I replaced the evaporator as the original one was leaking coolant out past one of the temp sensors, the injectors, as a couple of them were failing, so put some Hana Gold ones in, and replaced the ECU with a King? ECU which had more options and supported the Hana injectors in the firmware, where the Zavoli one was only really locked down to theirs, and never ran properly with aftermarket injectors, but I never did anything with the tank as by the time it was getting on 10 years, there was sod all LPG available around here, and it was COVID times, and I was back over NZ way...

I'll post back and ask if I have any other questions when I come to removing it.

Thanks for the reply!

Aloha Marty,
Welcome back, if only briefly.....
We have certainly missed having your experience and knowledge on tap here (pun intended) at the pub!
I have a couple of questions that I am sure you can answer off the top of your head.......
First, I am trying to bring a couple of Valeo fan speed controllers back from the full speed all the time mode.
I have a handful of the Darlington transistors as used on the factory units and have repaired a couple.
Question is: How do you test the speed controllers short of plugging one into the vehicle? is there a pwm value that
is applied to wire or wires?
Next oddity on these controllers is the small disc in a recess in the casting, under the board which has a spring
loaded claw as a contact to the board? On the Valeo units, this appears to be a scintered metal of some
sort, but on the Chinese pattern parts, it is a punched aliminium slug? What's up with that??
Incidentally, I have yet to find a pattern controller that has worked!
Comparing the boards, they appear to be a very different circuit!
Next question is easier......Which wire on the HVAC controller do you apply voltage (Pwm signal?) to, to activate the backlight for the LCD? I got 4 of them going for mine and a friends in Hawaii with the zebra strips you sent!
Just curious on the back light for future repairs.
Thanks again!
Any help appreciated.
Cheers,
Tom

Hi Tom,

Sorry - been busy trying to get things done here, with limited amounts of success it feels...
Re the blower fans - I actually haven't had any apart or repaired them - I think I have swapped the odd one here and there, and that's about it.
The transistors will just operate like a switch, so depending on if they're high (+ve) or low (-ve) side drive will potentially depend on how they're driven

I would imagine that they get a PWM control from the HEVAC controller to pulse them on/off to generate the speed control of the motor, but I can't say I've actually had one apart enough or probed the output of the HEVAC to see what it does. I know the blowers provide a voltage feedback to the HEVAC controller, which would be on the output side of the control transistors which I believe it uses to tell that the motors are rotating etc - I don't know if it uses a linear representation of the voltage to tell the speed, or whether they are just stopped/rotating though.

HEVAC backlights...
This is an PWM signal from the BECM, and is the Red/White wire on pin 6 of C0792 connector (8 Way -White connector), so putting 12V to that will turn the backlight on.
The display backlight however is driven from the instrument cluster on an inverse PWM signal from the instrument cluster, and is the Orange wire on pin 11 of C0793 (20 pin Black connector). Connecting this wire to GROUND will turn the display backlight on full.

Hope that helps...

Marty