Looked at a beat '93 300E 24v today...might be in over my head
06-19-2011, 11:40 PM
#1
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'11 Cooper S
Looked at a beat '93 300E 24v today...might be in over my head
Found a local '93 300E 24v today, the only year/model W124 I want. It's a sedan, white on Palomino with 121k miles. The current owners do not speak much English, and have not taken care of the car.
The body is ok, some minor dings/scrapes but overall seems to be a no-accident car. The white will come back with a good buff, it's a single-stage. A few spots of surface rust, likely not from road salt but from Houston salty air. Not sure how long it's been in NoVA. The front bumper is cracked and ziptied.
The left rear window regulator is inop, so the window is down an inch. The trim on the driver's B-Pillar is ziptied, and the upholstery is tatty. The headliner is sagging and needs to be replaced. The Zebrano wood is very cracked, and the sliding console door is in two pieces. The leather is surprisingly in fair condition, with a small tear in the rear seat. The center brake light housing is package taped together.
This car seems to have the HiFi stereo, as there was a roller knob near the mirror adjuster.
The driver's seat has a bizzare seat twist that I have not seen on an MB and am very afraid of. Is this a known problem?
Driving the car, the engine fires right up from cold, idles well, then the idle lowers after 30 seconds or so and gets close to dying. Wonder what that is? There is some belt squeal, and I'm not sure about engine oil but it was registering on the dipstick.
When applying the brakes, there was a warning lamp on the right side of the cluster next to the windshield washer light. I assume it's a faulty brake lamp?
The car drove fairly well, as well as an unmaintained toilet can drive, had cold A/C, and shifted well.
As many drawbacks as this unmaintained example has, it's the right colors, low chassis miles, straight body, working A/C, and smooth trans. I'm planning on doing brakes/bushes/shocks and springs/Monoblocks so not worried about the typical consumables.
What does have me worried is the cost of headliner replacement and the B-pillar issue. The seat really scares me.
Any ideas there? Also wanted to know if there's a way to check if it has ASR, and to check on the wiring harness.
Thanks!
The body is ok, some minor dings/scrapes but overall seems to be a no-accident car. The white will come back with a good buff, it's a single-stage. A few spots of surface rust, likely not from road salt but from Houston salty air. Not sure how long it's been in NoVA. The front bumper is cracked and ziptied.
The left rear window regulator is inop, so the window is down an inch. The trim on the driver's B-Pillar is ziptied, and the upholstery is tatty. The headliner is sagging and needs to be replaced. The Zebrano wood is very cracked, and the sliding console door is in two pieces. The leather is surprisingly in fair condition, with a small tear in the rear seat. The center brake light housing is package taped together.
This car seems to have the HiFi stereo, as there was a roller knob near the mirror adjuster.
The driver's seat has a bizzare seat twist that I have not seen on an MB and am very afraid of. Is this a known problem?
Driving the car, the engine fires right up from cold, idles well, then the idle lowers after 30 seconds or so and gets close to dying. Wonder what that is? There is some belt squeal, and I'm not sure about engine oil but it was registering on the dipstick.
When applying the brakes, there was a warning lamp on the right side of the cluster next to the windshield washer light. I assume it's a faulty brake lamp?
The car drove fairly well, as well as an unmaintained toilet can drive, had cold A/C, and shifted well.
As many drawbacks as this unmaintained example has, it's the right colors, low chassis miles, straight body, working A/C, and smooth trans. I'm planning on doing brakes/bushes/shocks and springs/Monoblocks so not worried about the typical consumables.
What does have me worried is the cost of headliner replacement and the B-pillar issue. The seat really scares me.
Any ideas there? Also wanted to know if there's a way to check if it has ASR, and to check on the wiring harness.
Thanks!
06-20-2011, 02:43 PM
#4
Senior Member
The seat twist is a typical issue on e34 bmw, research the repair process for those, it should be the same. Not too scary but you'll have to take the seat out and fiddle with the motors.
The headliner, which type of headliner does it have? The 94-95, I know its a glued to a panel version while the early is a fabric through rods and clips.
Does anyone know if they interchange?
The headliner, which type of headliner does it have? The 94-95, I know its a glued to a panel version while the early is a fabric through rods and clips.
Does anyone know if they interchange?
