Hi All,
Well I still can't work out the issue with MIchael's clacky engine (when warm) and looking at replacement second hand lumps they are going for £600 (ish) upwards.

Anyway a M Reg 4.6 HSE with 150K on the clock and no MOT has come up very close to me. It hadn't started for a few months and the seller said he didn't think it would start, but I decided to go and have a look anyway. I got there and he said he'd try to start it using his van if I wanted to help... we hooked it up on jump leads, let it charge for a few minutes, turned the key and ..... he fired up! I have to say not much crap came out of the exhaust for a car that's sat for months, and the engine was very quiet for a V8. I also was shown about £700 worth of work that was done earlier in the year - new rad, water pump and heater matrix, along with a few other bits. After 20 minutes of running there was no overheating, no funny noises, and when we switched it off and tried to start it again it worked - so the alternator is obviously OK too.

The body work is a different shade of blue so no panels are good for me, although there are good panels in 965 colour code. It has Stormer alloys, which I am not sure I want yet, so I am pretty sure I can recoup my money OK.

So I am thinking of taking some holiday days, whipping the engine out of Michael (which is annoying as I did the mini refurb on it!), keeping the LPG system intact but out of the way. Then getting the engine out of the new Rangie, do the mini refurb - core plugs, seals etc - and chucking it in Michael, then popping the LPG system on it eh voila!

What does everyone think? I am sure I'll have lots of spares for mine, as well as bit's to sell to recoup some costs... so as long as it's a good engine (which it certainly sounds like) then I am getting my Rangie back for winter! Then he needs an MOT which he passed with no advisories last time.

Seems a pity to essentially scrap the new one, as it's not bad at all, but needs must!

If this other one is as good as you say it is, why not buy it, run it for winter, so you can then investigate the other one properly?

You might find the tick is just something like a rocker, lifter etc..

You then fix your first one, and sell the other (good) one on ? Or maybe tart it up a bit and then sell it for a bit of a profit as a running vehicle, rather than spares/repair, which i gather it's listed as at the moment if the owner didnt think it ran...

Assuming you're paying next to nothing for it (you didn't mention how much!) then it sounds like a plan. Before you start to strip anything, plug a Nano in and test the cr@p out of all of the cars systems (latches, switchpanels, MAF and engine ancilliaries, EAS stuff- anything that won't take up much storage space) and strip all the good bits off.
Sell the BECM, ECU lockset and fob, sell the wheels and tyres, chuck your old engine in the back and get it weighted in for scrap. Something round £175 at the moment. Minimum hassle and you should break even or even make a few bob.
Unless you're a patient chappie, don't bother advertising that you're breaking it in the hope of getting a few more quid selling bits off it. You'll spend the next few weeks stripping off scrivets and wheel nuts and running to the post office for little real return.
Good weather this time of year to be doing it!!

No 2 on running the M reg one if its basically acceptable and sorting Micheal properly. Taken 40 odd years for the penny to drop but now firmly convinced that do it properly, do it once is always the cheap way overall. And my short cuts (bodges) were generally considered three classes above most folks.

Last time I had owt to do with that sort of swop the new second hand motor decided to get iffy about 2 months down the road and mate in question had to find yet another engine. OK only an Escort van so changing the engine was just a matter of unbolting, balancing on a trolley jack to slide it out then passing a doubled rope underneath and hopping up onto the wings to lift it out between us. Ended up re-building engine no 3 to ensure GF and her two Newfoundlands were happy. Time and cost spent faffing about with a car to car swop and shifting the carcass would more than have covered a refresh level rebuild anyway.

Clive

Martyuk wrote:

If this other one is as good as you say it is, why not buy it, run it for winter, so you can then investigate the other one properly?

You might find the tick is just something like a rocker, lifter etc..

You then fix your first one, and sell the other (good) one on ? Or maybe tart it up a bit and then sell it for a bit of a profit as a running vehicle, rather than spares/repair, which i gather it's listed as at the moment if the owner didnt think it ran...

It's a little bit ropey - Body-wise the rear top tailgate paint is going, drivers side 'side-step' is gone and passenger one is shot etc I mean it's not terrible, and washed will probably look pretty decent. It will probably pass an MOT as it's done zero miles since the last one, but most importantly it's running on petrol, so I am not sure I can actually afford to run it! Plus I will only just have enough space for both on the drive, so don;t want both sat around for long.

Orangebean wrote:

Assuming you're paying next to nothing for it (you didn't mention how much!) then it sounds like a plan. Before you start to strip anything, plug a Nano in and test the cr@p out of all of the cars systems (latches, switchpanels, MAF and engine ancilliaries, EAS stuff- anything that won't take up much storage space) and strip all the good bits off.
Sell the BECM, ECU lockset and fob, sell the wheels and tyres, chuck your old engine in the back and get it weighted in for scrap. Something round £175 at the moment. Minimum hassle and you should break even or even make a few bob.
Unless you're a patient chappie, don't bother advertising that you're breaking it in the hope of getting a few more quid selling bits off it. You'll spend the next few weeks stripping off scrivets and wheel nuts and running to the post office for little real return.
Good weather this time of year to be doing it!!

It's £500 - so pretty cheap for a good engine and a tonne of spares - plus it's local which most aren't.

Clive603 wrote:

No 2 on running the M reg one if its basically acceptable and sorting Micheal properly. Taken 40 odd years for the penny to drop but now firmly convinced that do it properly, do it once is always the cheap way overall. And my short cuts (bodges) were generally considered three classes above most folks.

Last time I had owt to do with that sort of swop the new second hand motor decided to get iffy about 2 months down the road and mate in question had to find yet another engine. OK only an Escort van so changing the engine was just a matter of unbolting, balancing on a trolley jack to slide it out then passing a doubled rope underneath and hopping up onto the wings to lift it out between us. Ended up re-building engine no 3 to ensure GF and her two Newfoundlands were happy. Time and cost spent faffing about with a car to car swop and shifting the carcass would more than have covered a refresh level rebuild anyway.

Clive

If I had the space I'd definitely go this way - but got nowhere to 'store' a second Rangie.

my 2p.

People dont tend to spend a pile of money on a car and then just park it up and let it rot.

I would imagine, given the cooling system related replacement parts, that the engine does infact have a cooling issue. You might be lucky ofcourse, but that has to be given serious consideration if your buying it for the engine.

I know you said it was fine when idling etc, but it may be a dodgy headgasket and it only overheats when being driven, or it might be a block issue etc etc.

Given your plan, is it possible to get the new car MOT'd and run it for a month, or even a few weeks just to put the engine thru its paces in normal everyday use?

I should add, i recently bought an A6 V8 for a project, with the same idea as you. use the engine, and break the rest to over the costs. Instead of just trailering it home, did exactly what i suggested above. Cost me a months tax, it was already MOT'd, and i insured it and cancelled the policy after 14days for minimal charge.

I then drove it 300miles home, which let me test out everything, and also highlighted an overheating issue which i now need to investigate before fitting the engine to the new car. And also showed up a gearbox issue which means i wont now end up selling the gearbox to someone and ending up with a case against me when they realise it doesnt work!

In my case the engines have a known issue with the water pump impeller cracking and falling off the shaft, so the first step is going to be to get the pump off and inspect it. If its busted i've found the issue and i'm happy. If its not broken i need to do more investigations.

OK got the low down on the water system repairs. It was done because the owner had to top up the expansion tank by a few cm each week (mine did this due to leaky core plugs and a buggered expansion cap). The garage took it (as he had a bad leg at the time and was off work) changed all the bits, then drove it all back to him valeted and a manual in the nice green folder in the glove box (which he didn't notice till a few months later apparently) as they noticed he didn't have one! He then drove it fine until the MOT ran out, he got busy with work, and it ended sat there until his wife started moaning at him..... I met her too... as she wants her car on the drive, and doesn't like driving big cars.
Everything seems genuine and there is a stack of history with it as well.

It actually sounds a bit too good to break to me. But, it certainly sounds like the engine would be good enough.

That does actually sound too good to break.

what did it fail the MOT on?

Aragorn wrote:

what did it fail the MOT on?

It didn't - it just ran out.....

Gilbertd wrote:

It actually sounds a bit too good to break to me. But, it certainly sounds like the engine would be good enough.

It's a bit sad to do, but I think it will help fix quite a few bits on mine - blend motors, suspension pump, cruise etc, and of course the 4.6 lump!

If it's really that good, then buy it for 500, flip it for 1500-2k and spend that on a recon engine from V8 Dev.

Unfortunately my interest stops here. I'm too much in the 'keep as many p38s running as possible ' camp to support breaking one as good as what it sounds like this one is.

Well, I'm going to collect him this afternoon if all goes well (i.e. he starts, drives, and gets to my home!).... will update when he's on my drive and I can make a proper assessment of what to do.

Update - didn't get to pick him up till Monday.

Well he's now sat on my drive.

He doesn't overheat in terrible traffic (as I just discovered trying to drive him home in the bloody rush hour!). He does have a weird noise I think from the gearbox every now and then, like a low vibration, but it goes as soon as you move. Assume its the gearbox, but it could equally be from the compressor being noisy - I couldn't get out and check!

He drove 'OK' but not a patch on how Michael normally drives. Gears were not as responsive, and hung in low gear a bit long, however he hasn't been driven for almost a year so I am not surprised he's a bit ropey. But all in all I don't think it was a bad 500 quid spent. Everything seemed to work - Oh apart from the front wipers! Lucky it stopped raining and snowing!

I am hoping to have tomorrow off work so I can have a good look over him and decide what to do. The wheels are LOVELY though - even my Mum came out and said 'They'll look nice on ours'. LOL

Pics!

Here it is on the left on my drive in the dark... more to follow: