'Is there anybody there?'' said the Traveller,

    ‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,
    Knocking on the moonlit door;
    And his horse in the silence champed the grasses
    Of the forest’s ferny floor:

    (The Listeners, Walter De La Mare, 1912)


    Is this forum active? This is my story in a nutshell, I wonder if anyone in UK is listening. Thank you if you are! I am in the New Forest, near Southampton, Hampshire.


    I have, since 1985, (and my father now gone since 1967) always owned a BMW, often old & cheap according to circumstances, but always BMW.


    Sixteen years ago in February 2000, feeling divorced, single, flush & rash, I purchased my (then) dream car, a '95 840i in red with black leather. 84,000 miles, for use on high days and holidays. It did prove expensive to run and difficult to look after (oil pump fell off, one day), so a few years later when my life fell on hard times it got locked away - which didn't do it any good. The ABS light came on.


    Three or four years ago I felt able to get it out, & put it in to a "sort of friendly, sort of knowledgeable" motor repairers that I knew to get it MOT'd. They had it fifteen months, making many excuses. Eventually I solved the excuses myself and got it back, but was reluctant to drive it any distance in case it wouldn't restart - the batteries were clapped out, it went back into the garage with a cover over it.


    This year 2015 I have retired from business, I need something to occupy me, I've started researching my car. To my amazement & the power of the interweb (e31.net) I have discovered that only 47 RHD manual gearbox cars were brought into UK and only five of those were 'red' (generically) - mine is 314 Bright Red (Hellrot), others may have been Calypso. So it's pretty rare, 113,000 miles now and I ought to do something with it.


    I have the time, and I am capable of, quite severe maintenance & restoration - unfortunately I don't have the facilities. My garage is too narrow to open the car doors and my driveway is on a slope. I can't really afford to pay out to others for what I know I can do myself, yet I can't do it.


    Ho Hum.
    ______
    Paul


    If I get a reply I will take the old girl out on a nice day soon and post up some pictures.

    1995 840i Manual - #1 of 5 UK cars 'Hellrot'/Schwarz; rare outings
    2014 M135i F21, Sapphire Black/Black Dakota, for 'best'
    1996 325i Touring E91 - runabout.

    Of course we are active here! And, there's quite a few of us in the UK that run E31's on a shoestring, I'm one of them. The E31 is brilliant for DIY work, as easy as any car I owned. The 840ci you have is fitted with the M60 V8 and is one of the most reliable engines BMW produced with its double primary chains and idlers. They don't like being stored away though, they much prefer being used on a regular basis.


    The ABS light is probably just the ABS return pump - a fault that occurs on cars of a certain age, especially if the car is not used for a length of time. I work on my own cars on the drive outside, I don't have a garage and don't feel the need for one except for when it gets cold!


    Before you do any work though, replace both batteries - these old BMW's hate low voltages - details here:


    http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/E31_Battery_Replacement.htm


    More info here:


    http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/index.htm

    Hi, Timm, yes I'd found your website whilst browsing over the holiday - very thorough stuff! And you're not that far away, so it turns out.


    Searching E31 sites this last day or two, many seem to be a bit out of date - as I am too, probably. Thanks for your prompt response.


    The ABS problem got fixed a couple of years ago, now I need to get her out and clean her up. Early days - give us better weather, maybe we could meet.
    ______
    Paul

    1995 840i Manual - #1 of 5 UK cars 'Hellrot'/Schwarz; rare outings
    2014 M135i F21, Sapphire Black/Black Dakota, for 'best'
    1996 325i Touring E91 - runabout.

    Hi Paul,
    Yes we are active, just not prolific at the moment. My car languishes in the garage usually during the winter months as I don't want to get any salt on it. It is also an opportunity to do projects on it before the summer. At the moment I have a driver's door that won't open from the outside - the handle seems OK and it works from the inside so I suspect the metal "hook" that can become straightened out with use and fall out of its locating hole. Other projects are to rebuild the front brembo 4-pot callipers and fit a front suspension upper strut brace. However, I have a big problem that I need to get resolved - I had it resprayed in the summer last and I appear now to have a lacquer reaction!! I have a feeling this is going to be expensive if I cannot convince the body-shop to rework or refund.

    Nr Welshpool, Powys, Wales[INDENT]E31 840 Ci Sport - 1999
    VW Passat Alltrack - 2013
    Mercedes SLK 320 - 2002
    Toyota Rav4 - 1997[/INDENT]

    Hello Angus, if you type in door handle repair in the advance search you will see my solution to your problem, what I did not know at the time is there is a part made
    to cure the problem cheers Vic1

    Hi Vic,
    That is really helpful. My handle has cracked in exactly the same place as yours. I read through your post and saw the modification that Wolf has made so I have asked him if these are still available.


    Thanks for you help.

    Nr Welshpool, Powys, Wales[INDENT]E31 840 Ci Sport - 1999
    VW Passat Alltrack - 2013
    Mercedes SLK 320 - 2002
    Toyota Rav4 - 1997[/INDENT]

    Hi Paul. I have a 1994 Hellrot 840ci auto, locked away for the winter but often at the BMW car club events throughout the spring and summer. Duxford on the 3rd of May should bring between 10 and 15, 8 series together along with upto 300 other BMW models + of course all the planes to view. I'm in Buckinghamshire probably 2 hours away but quite a nice drive for me. Next time i'm in the area I'll give you a shout. If you do look into the BMW car club forum there is a dedicated 8 series section with a few events through the year. Good luck with the 8. Regards Phil.

    I'm in St Albans. I have been an absentee, but am trying to get back into the swing. Car has been sitting for 3 years, but now is being fixed. Just sizing up the work and the huge bill.

    Thanks for all the replies, after posting at the end of last year my life took a turn and I have ended up moving to West Wales a little unexpectedly!


    Anyway, got her out, bit of a story, but she went 250 miles at 85mph with only minor issues - her longest drive for more than ten years.


    Then, after being parked up for a few weeks while the house move was sorted - next time she was started, the tacho, fuel & temperature guages aren't working. Not the fuses, needs further investigation. Not looking foward to dismantling the binnacle but I will get to it this summer.
    ______
    Paul

    1995 840i Manual - #1 of 5 UK cars 'Hellrot'/Schwarz; rare outings
    2014 M135i F21, Sapphire Black/Black Dakota, for 'best'
    1996 325i Touring E91 - runabout.

    Hi Paul,
    Welcome to Wales - the land that time forgot!! I live in Foel, half way between Welshpool and Machynlleth. If you need a dealership it is a long drive and finding a reliable BMW specialist is nigh-on impossible! Whilst this forum is exceptionally quiet it is still a superb resource for assistance and knowledge.

    Nr Welshpool, Powys, Wales[INDENT]E31 840 Ci Sport - 1999
    VW Passat Alltrack - 2013
    Mercedes SLK 320 - 2002
    Toyota Rav4 - 1997[/INDENT]

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