I've gone off the deep end. I now own 2 E38s.

"HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute" (hondoyota) 10/08/2020 at 17:40 • Filed to: My crazy uncle's E38 is now mine, My crazy self bought another E38, E38 Thursday

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Snagged this for a solid $900. Interior is all there and in decent condition but in pieces, and the engine bay is dirty, but it allegedly runs. I only need a battery to check and confirm this but those shits are expensive and heavy as fuck. Either way, I only planned on using it for parts. Already made my money back in the parts I needed from it for my car that are good plus the very kind seller’s assistance in helping me  fixing my car and putting me on with people who wanted certain parts off it for me to sell to them. It looks super clean though, and one of these days I’d wanna see if it turns over and drives because I’d hate to junk such a nice car. More updates to come, but now I’m in full swing with my car. This has been a very exciting week and I can’t wait to get mine up and running as it should be. 

Nauraushaun > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 17:47

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Running parts car.

RWD V8.

Be rude not to do a few skids

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 17:49

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Parts car looks nearly as good as the project car. It looks way too nice to be worth $900. What exactly is wrong with it?

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 17:49

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Oh, dear god, The Horror, The Horror...

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Nauraushaun 10/08/2020 at 17:50

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Big if true, still haven't witnessed it run or drive

My proven running one doesn't even do that lol but might be because the tires and wheels are wide 

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Nauraushaun 10/08/2020 at 17:50

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Indeed.

MrDakka > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/08/2020 at 17:53

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The 3 dead bodies in the trunk

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/08/2020 at 17:53

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That’s the thing. I haven’t the foggiest damn idea. Engine bay is very dirty/wet with miscellaneous fluids and the interior is in shambles. I'mma piece it all together eventually and then we'll see for sure, but yeah otherwise it looks perfect. No rust either.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/08/2020 at 17:53

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Well it wouldn’t take a long list to get to $10k is repair bills! It’s better than a fifteen year old AMG I guess. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > MrDakka 10/08/2020 at 17:53

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C’mon you can fit more than that in there.

WilliamsSW > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 17:54

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That does not look like a $900 parts car. I see no rust or dents even?

Get your parts, get it running,  then flip it. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 17:54

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Po ssibly just mistreated under the owner before the current one and the maintenance bills really piled up. Presumably it had a loving owner for a long time for the paint and cosmetics to be so good.

TotallyThatStupid > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 17:56

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There’s a household local to me that has three E38s and a W220 S-Class parked in the driveway.

I can’t decide if I want to shake their hand or give them a hug.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/08/2020 at 17:57

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It would be easy to total the thing from pure neglect and deferred maintenance inside of a month. It’s shocking how cluelessly some people operate cars.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > WilliamsSW 10/08/2020 at 17:58

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That's the plan. The body is completely perfect and I'm not exaggerating at all. The guy who sold it to me swapped the black interior with his intact but kinda beat beige Interior and didn't completely reassemble it and the engine is mysterious.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > MrDakka 10/08/2020 at 18:00

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Those are rookie numbers

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > TotallyThatStupid 10/08/2020 at 18:02

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Do both

The guy who sold it to me has a ‘98 740i and ‘00 740iL too. He offered to help me rebuild mine and even loaned me the engine -specific fan tool because he knows how hard it is to find good help and parts for these cars out here. Absolute legend

Nibby > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 18:09

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you absolute MADMAN!

gettingoldercarguy > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 18:28

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Things my wife would kill me for doing for $500 Alex.

WilliamsSW > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 18:30

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Lol it’s being passed around as a parts car for various projects.  Probably a shitshow mechanically, but good luck!

Mercedes Streeter > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 18:31

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Oh my I’ve missed some of your updates!!! Welcome to German car ownership!!! :D Love the duo, and shame I missed ya when you landed in Chi-town. :)

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/08/2020 at 19:02

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Thing is, if you put them through the blender first, they leak out.

Nauraushaun > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 19:03

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Have a go in the rain ;) Liquid horsepower mate. Wide tyres or not, if my 2 litre 4 cylinder non-turbo MR2 can do it, I like your chances!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 10/08/2020 at 19:10

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People sure are an inconvenient shape, aren’t they?

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Nauraushaun 10/08/2020 at 19:19

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Oh, in the rain it definitely flings out lol. Not so much on dry land though

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Mercedes Streeter 10/08/2020 at 19:21

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I wanted to put out a thing about my going to Chicago this year but my parents packed our schedule unfortunately (still fun trip though, after all it marked my dive into German motoring). It's been an interesting year in every aspect imaginable but I'd say the past few months have been the best.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > gettingoldercarguy 10/08/2020 at 19:24

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My childhood f riend- for- 10- years-t urned- girlfriend-a- year-a go is already raising an eyebrow at me, but is glad I'm happy and being productive as long as I don't royally fuck up in the more necessary aspects of life lol. 

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > WilliamsSW 10/08/2020 at 19:30

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Actually, it was a owned-since-new car by the 2nd last owner and one day it stopped starting consistently. The guy just decided to sell it to the guy who sold it to me so he could buy a new 7 Series, and the only thing the seller did was swap the interior and take off the plastic engine covers. If I were to piece it all back together and throw in my two tone E38's battery into it, it should turn over and drive. The engine is the most sketchy part because the interior is still there and intact and the transmission looks to be in working order, and the differential is actually in far better condition than mine. I was going to swap the diff but I might keep it in the car for when I get it running and put the 3.15 M-Sport diff on the two tone instead.

feather-throttle-not-hair > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 19:40

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My childhood friend-for-10-years-turned-girlfriend-a-year-ago

Hell yeah and high five! I’m 38, but my SO and I have been friends since we were little kids, w e even dated in high school for a while. Childhood friends can make very good partners IMHO.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Nauraushaun 10/08/2020 at 19:44

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I didn’t do skids in my BMW and then I had one of the rear tires get a huge unfixible gash in it while I was driving around. That tire only had about 8000 miles on it and went to heaven without having done any skids.

Don’t be like me. Learn. Do skids in your BMW .

Tripper > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 19:55

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What’s wrong with yours? Fix that snapped bolt?

Jim Spanfeller > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 19:57

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In my mind, that era of BMW needs a roof rack with skis on it. I’m not sure why.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 10/08/2020 at 20:04

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The trick is to buy a Leyland P76: then you can package your dismembered bodies properly, in a watertight container.

There was a thread a year or so back about P76s, in which we established that 4 x 110-lb hookers (to pick a random example, detective) should fit in a 44 gallon drum if properly prepared.

E90M3 > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 20:12

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If the engine is a complete mystery, it might have fallen victim to the timing chain guides. That’s a complete guess, but if that’s the only unknown and the previous guy couldn’t get it running then I’d assume it was something like that. Regardless, for $900 you can’t go wrong. It’s easily worth more than that in parts, so good find. If the engine does turn out to be blown, I heard an S62 fits nicely.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > E90M3 10/08/2020 at 20:46

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I don’t think it’s the timing chain guides, the guy who sold it to me said it cranked and ran but sometimes wouldn’t start which is why it was sold to him. However, I’m actually fearing that the timing chain guides on my two tone E38 are going bad in the passenger bank. It’s ticking, tapping, and sometimes even knocking only in that bank when it wants to and makes loud tapping noises when turned off. It's super weird and I hope it's nothing big. Also, if I remember correctly, the S62 was mostly just a beefed up M62 like I have so that would be cool lol

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Jim Spanfeller 10/08/2020 at 20:46

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Perhaps

E90M3 > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 20:55

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That’s all hearsay; m aybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t. It could be something simple, could be something complex, but as I said before, you’ve already made out well.

The timing chain guide seems to be really the only major fault with the M62. So, if you get that fixed you should be good for a long time.

As far as the S62 goes, I think it’s a little more than just a beefed up M62, but then it’s been a while since I’ve researched the E39 M5. I used to think that’d be the first car I’d buy myself . I do know M62 and S62 cams are completely different; I have an S62 cam lamp. 

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Tripper 10/08/2020 at 20:56

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Oh yea I forgot to update y’all on that. We managed to get its low ass on a lift and from there it was a relatively straightforward extraction process that didn’t require drilling anything but the bolt itself. I also replaced the fan yesterday, it was missing an entire blade and that fixed the very rough idle it had before though it’s still not flawless, it’s actually much much better. Now to replace the spark plugs,  fuel filter and camshaft position sensor.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > E90M3 10/08/2020 at 20:59

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Ah. Yeah, I'm still learning a lot about BMWs after a lifetime-ish of Hondas. And you're not wrong, I wouldn't know until I saw for myself. I just heard that the timing chain guide job is a real pain in the ass though, and if done by a shop is expensive as hell. I'm hoping I won't have to deal with that for a while but if it's completely necessary then I guess I'd have to.

E90M3 > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 21:04

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My first experience of maintaining a car was my M3, I mean I had an Explorer before, but that was under my parents tutelage. I’ve come to expect the worst and most expensive repair. I also had both throttle position ac tuators fail on me.

That’s about how I feel about my rod bearings, but then, I’ve had the car for a while and I’ve warmed up the oil before I’ve gotten too deep in the rev range. Might still do it soon; kind of want to do it before someone else has any say in my finances. 

Chariotoflove > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 22:04

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I love stories like that. 

Chariotoflove > MrDakka 10/08/2020 at 22:08

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That would literally make it a parts car. 

atfsgeoff > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 10/08/2020 at 23:43

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Enjoy your pair of most-excellent Bavarian automobiles!