He checked and the 50% discount for cars over 10 years has now been stopped, hence the 1350 Euros (he's in Alpes Maritimes so everything is more expensive there) so with that and the CoC, it isn't worth it. He's lived there for over 25 years and has residency but has always driven UK registered cars. Most of the ex-pats in that area do. As well as the P38, he's got a '93 Discovery, a 1988 Mercedes SL500 and his wife drives a RAV4, all on UK plates. He's had the Disco for the last 12 years and it is probably the only rust free 200TDi Disco in existence (I've also lapped the Monaco Grand Prix circuit in it for the hell of it). So much cheaper to buy cars here than there. Rather than having an MoT, road tax and UK insurance, he gets a CT on them and insures them with a French insurance company and the Gendarmes are happy with that. Insurance company (Axa) isn't fussed, they are insured on the UK registration number with Etranger noted after it. They are declared SORN with DVLA (well, they are off the road in the UK....) so no need to keep them taxed or insured over here.

The only time there is a problem is if a UK registered car is kept over there with no CT. As most of them have been out of the UK for so long that the MoT and road tax has expired. Without a CT the French insurance is invalid so that is where the problems start in the event of an accident.

Paul, I suspect the Poles won't be interested in it as they buy them to strip for spares. If it was a Peugeot or Citroen diesel they would bite your hand off, but a P38? I somehow doubt it.

With the effort and expense you went to to get it onto French plates, it seems a shame to give up on it now. I appreciate that you don't have the facilities to swap and engine at the side of the road but there's enough of us over here that would be able to find a decent block and build up a good engine from bits of yours. I'd happily come over with a trailer and collect it from you and I'm sure Chris would be up for lending a hand too.

My mate in the south who I buy the cars from the US with, has just acquired a P38. It's a '98, 4.6 HSE, RHD on UK plates with the typically French crack on every corner of the bumper. I was horrified when he told me he'd got it (he swapped it for a RHD, UK registered, 51 plate, Peugeot 406 Coupe diesel that I picked up over here for him for £1200 about 3 years ago) as his comprehension of electrics is negligible. Automotive electrics overtook him somewhere around 1975 so the thought of him trying to deal with the quirks on a P38 horrified me. However, he's listened to advice, rather than trying to fix it himself, he's ordered a new door latch from Marty to stop the locks dancing and the BeCM thinking the drivers door is open all the time (which also means the EAS doesn't work), he's fiddled with a passenger electric seat that kept blowing fuses and is quite enjoying it. He admitted that he can understand how someone could get completely overwhelmed with multiple faults but if you take one thing at a time and tick them off as you do them, there's far more satisfaction to be had than anything he's every owned before.

He'll be leaving it on UK plates though as he's checked and found it'll cost 1350 Euros just to transfer the registration, not to mention having to change lights and anything else they may want him to do. I assume you had to pay that, twice the cost of a decent secondhand engine.........

That'll be Marty with a sledgehammer again then.......

Here's the Code of Practice that an install needs to meet to pass inspection https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzxqPPypF5J5WVlUOEhUSUJMTTA

This is the King installation manual https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzxqPPypF5J5WkduYlJLMzJjWEk and this is the Zavoli manual giving a bit more info on setting it up with the software https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzxqPPypF5J5QS1fUjVyZG03aXc (King and Zavoli both use the AEB ECU so are the same).

Avoid secondhand kits and don't go for either BRC or Prins as they tend to be approved supplier only so you'll have difficulty getting the software to programme them Something like this http://tinleytech.co.uk/shop/lpg-kits/bigasaeb-8-cyl-sgis-kit-up-to-380-bhp/ would do the job admirably. Anything that uses the AEB ECU is definitely the way to go as it is known by everyone. That would be OMVL, Bigas, Romano, Zavoli, Emer and probably a few more I've missed. Getting it certified shouldn't be a problem, although most LPGA approved installers will charge you £100 or so to inspect and certify it. Many insurance companies don't insist on it being certified and DVLA will change the V5 if you send them the invoice for the kit.

Weird, although my blue one is an SE and although it has front fog lights, they've been retro fitted as there's no switch on the dash for them so they don't do anything. Gordon's is badged as a Vogue SE so I wonder what spec his is?

Seems that the spec changed as and when they felt like it. That latest one is badged as a Vogue but doesn't have the body colour bumpers, wooden bits on the steering wheel or wooden gearknob but does have the wooden centre console surround and contrasting piping on the seats. This one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Range-Rover-4-6-Vogue-/222297678422 is also a Vogue but does have the extra wood bits This one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RANGE-ROVER-P38-MKII-4-0-V8-HSE-AUTO-1999-EXCELLENT-INTERIOR-AND-AIR-SUSPENSION-/272424509752 is an HSE but has body colour bumpers, this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-LAND-ROVER-RANGEROVER-4-0-HSE-THOR-METALIC-GREY-/331993292434 is an HSE but does have the wood on the steering wheel while this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-Land-Rover-Range-Rover-4-6-V8-auto-HSE-/252580464689 says it's an HSE but has body colour bumpers and the wood steering wheel and gearknob (although the red carpet suggests it's actually a Bordeaux)......

We've only done one before but people either travelled each day (if they weren't that far away) or 3 of us stayed in a hotel. Marty's workshop is at a farm near Marlborough in Wiltshire down a nicely muddy and rutted track.

It came about because there were people that had jobs that needed doing that they either didn't feel confident doing on their own, didn't have the specialist tools needed or jobs that needed two people. It wasn't really organised, it just sort of happened. My partner came along as she is always up for a bit of brake pedal pressing and the like but also thought about feeding us. Morat did the same so he was responsible for the BBQ while others fettled his car for him.

As said, I'll give a hand with headlining having done mine recently, Marty is the ball joint king though. If we set up an production line for headlinings, we could all go away feeling very happy without the need for alcohol. Not sure what's in that glue but there's a lot of hazchem symbols and warnings on the can.

I'd suggest keeping the cable and laptop in the car (although not connected as that can sometimes cause random errors) and just using it. All it may need is a bit of use as it looks like it hasn't had much for a while.

Be cautious, the errors that the RSW software show do not always mean what you think they mean. It often gives valve stuck open or valve stuck closed errors that are actually down to leaks. How does it behave normally? Does it stay at the correct height when parked overnight or does it drop either one corner or all around? Depending on the fault it sees it does different things to protect itself from damage. It might rise to maximum height, it might drop to the bumpstops or it might just stay where it is.

I can give the benefit of my experience with headlinings, especially now I know the areas that need lots and lots of glue.......

Welcome Mark, I'd say somewhere down south from the palm trees, maybe in Orangebean area (Devon)? Although I seem to recognise the registration number so maybe my area even. With your lack of mechanical knowledge and expertise but being a man who is capable of the cosmetics, you sound like another Morat! If it can be polished, it will be....

You're lucky you were able to clean the headlining, in most cases it's drooping around your head where the foam disintegrates. As Chris has said, nothing too serious there. Rear washers not working is usually when a non-return valve in the back goes non-return in both directions but it isn't that important so if any of the washer pumps have died (there's 3, front, rear and headlamps) you can swap them over so you at least have a working one for the screen. That just involves laying under the front of the car as they are behind the front bumper. Anti-roll bar drop links are a common MoT failure and cheap and easy enough to replace (although it's not uncommon to need an angle grinder or hacksaw to cut the old ones off) and an exhaust rubber just pushes on. You need to identify which blend motor is at fault, there's 3. One on each side that alters the temperature from the heater and one that controls where the air comes out. If you can get hot and cold air on both sides, it'll be the distribution motor. As for the HEVAC, Marty on here does refurbished ones on exchange.

Not quite sure I follow that. Where do you intend plumbing the reducer?

Steering column bearing probably means that you can move the steering wheel up and down slightly if you heave on it enough but not a particular worry, anti-roll bar does indeed have ball joints. Search for anti roll bar drop links, little rods that fit on each side and join the ends of the anti roll bars to the radius arms with a ball joint on each end and they do wear. Cheap and easy to fit (although an angle rinder is often needed to get the old ones off). Not sure what suspension arm ball joint is being talked about so can't comment. Might be worth asking them to point out which one. So you've got a bent wheel rim, it's a 15 year old car so quite likely someone has clipped a kerb at some time, that's just being picky and the little brake pipes at the rear do corrode. Slobber some grease on it and it won't get any worse.

Bellhousing bolts are 3/8UNC according to Microcat.

An accumulator that has lost it's Nitrogen usually means that the pump only runs for a very short time as there's no capacity left for it to fill. Running for ages would suggest the pump isn't pumping as well as it should but I hate to imagine how much a pump would cost you over there.....

It was sitting with a Buy It Now of £2,500 until it got it's first bid but that option has now disappeared. I would suspect if you turn up on his doorstep with folding in your pocket, you'll get it for that or maybe a bit less if you can find any haggling points.

Wobbling through the seat of the pants at around 60mph is almost always down to poorly balanced rear wheels. You might have a distorted wheel or tyre that is no longer round.

For a diseasel?????