Restoring a 2001 750iL that sat for 3 years

[masu3701]

Hello all.
I love the E38 and have been looking for a 750il. Came across one but he has been sitting outside for about 3 years.
Is 3 years a lot? what will it need in term of restoration? Are these v12 engine reliable? What should I expect ?

[mooll]

u in MA too? what part? where did u come across it, was this one on craigslist?
when i bought my e38 it was sitting outside for 5 years, and the cooling system was junk -- disintegrated essentially from sitting -- and so was the entire brake system as well as most of the gaskets in the engine were toast. it had 171k when parked in '10 or '11 and i just got it last year.

[masu3701]

Yes am in Worcester MA, A friend of mine owns a shop and his customer who got the car for free wanted to fix it but never did. thats 3 years ago.
What other lines will need to be replaced? What is a good project? did you put alot money into it? hows the v12 engine and tranny on these cars?

[mooll]

trans lines and parking brake cables are probs rusted, maybe even some of the fuel lines too and they could be leaking.
5hp30 trans on the 750 is a great trans; so i've heard. engines are very reliable , too IMO, so long as the maintenance is kept up on like the cooling system. imma 740 guy so cant speak for this 750 but others will chime in i'm sure.
my e38 is a 740 but over the last 8-9 months of ownership i've been restoring it ( remember it sat outside for 5 years ) i've replaced the entire cooling system , entire front and rear suspension(rear to be done soon for $650, so i'm counting it ) , brake booster/ master cylinder ( used ), new brake pads, rotors , sensors, stainless lines, calipers (used ) rear parking brakes and bleeder screws. upper timing cover and valve cover gaskets, intake gaskets, maf gaskets / seals, vacuum hoses, door panel clips, dif flush, trans flush, new used transmission since old one blew up after 1k miles, black interior swap, rear main seal, 2 p/s lines and reservoir/flush, shift cable assy, windshield, w/s cowl, all 4 cabin air filter, exhaust work....list goes on and on as far as things like this go. i spent about $3k on new parts and sourced another couple of grand in used parts from my part outs. so, $5,000ish+/- on this one e38 which really isn't much and also all of the new parts have a life time warranty. oh and this car isn't even close to done yet haha, manuy more thousands need to be spent to bring it back lol

[masu3701]

cool...I had an 01 740iL..good car, solid engine. now am trying to get into 750. Never owned a v12 engine.
but considering it been sitting for 3 years I am somehow hesitant.

[mooll]

no reason to be hesitant in my opinion, just do the needed preventative maintenance and you should be fine. go drive it and check out the trans and engine.
why was it in the shop in the first place?

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as far as the maintenance/"project" goes tho-first off you know for sure u will need to to the cooling and brake system and that alone is gonna cost you close to a grand.

[Mayorchuck]

Engine and tranny are solid. If you can pick up cheap, I would not hesitate. What was the diagnosis when it was brought in 3 years ago? Did it start or crank over? First thing I would do is change fuel and oil and try to get it running. Anything else you can fix as you go.

[XAlt]

cool...I had an 01 740iL..good car, solid engine. now am trying to get into 750. Never owned a v12 engine.
but considering it been sitting for 3 years I am somehow hesitant.

New fluids (do your ATF while you're at it, solid overkill transmission provided you change it) both batteries and fire it up. V12 is def more reliable than the V8.

There was a guy on the E32 forum that restored a 750 that sat for 2 decades.

[masu3701]

Engine and tranny are solid. If you can pick up cheap, I would not hesitate. What was the diagnosis when it was brought in 3 years ago? Did it start or crank over? First thing I would do is change fuel and oil and try to get it running. Anything else you can fix as you go.

Yes it was running strong 3 years ago. It came in for a fuel pump which was changed. then need brake job and new front bumper, then the owner didnt want to put money into it.
The car was donated to him, then didnt want to fix it. so he end up buying new car and let the 750il sat there until today.
The guy at the shop is a friend of mine, so i can get it close to nothing, but he doesnt have time to help me out with the repairs it will need. I can handle most of the regular stuff but not heavy engine and tranny work.

[XAlt]

You should be good.

Engine/tranny isn't the weakpoint of the 750.

[mooll]

i'd buy it to part if u dont lol

[masu3701]

What would be reasonable buying price for it? he wants 1500$

[XAlt]

What would be reasonable buying price for it? he wants 1500$

Not a bad price.

Go $1200

[masu3701]

Not a bad price.

Go $1200

I just checked the vin, its a 2000 manufactured in 1999, came from Germany

[XAlt]

I just checked the vin, its a 2000 manufactured in 1999, came from Germany

Just paste the VIN in here and we can all see the options list.

[masu3701]

Just paste the VIN in here and we can all see the options list.

VIN# wbagj0348ydd73849

[mooll]

id try and get it for $800 - 1000 i mean its been sitting for years and he got it free and probs wants it gone, what does he care

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lowball him first , see how much he comes down

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lol

[jpilk99]

What would be reasonable buying price for it? he wants 1500$

Hi Masu. As an E38 owner, you probably are familiar with the cost of parts, etc., and labor if there's something over & above what you can take on for repairs. (Note: I'm not a doom & gloom guy, but, I'm about to get a bit that way :-) ).

I currently have an '01 740iL with 145k - bought it about a year ago with 132k. I'm having decent luck/success with no major issues; though my Torque Converter shake/shudder is going to start getting addressed with a fluid flush & filter replace for about $400. Hopefully that solves it.

I also had a '00 750iL; bought it with 72k and sold it with 125k. When that car was 'right' it was awesome. When it was ...not feeling good, OH BOY, did I spend a lot of money. Back then, (about 8 years ago), I didn't have the SnapOn scanner tool & software so I brought it in pretty much every time the Check Engine came on. But, once that car rolled over 100k, I spent thousands of dollars to keep it on the road. Normal things.

So, I'd be a bit ...nervous, if it's been off the road for a few years --- and it's the V12. When I did my 'plugs, wires, etc' change at 100k it was ...$700-$800 if I remember correctly. Special ignition wires from Germany. (I'm sure I'll get shamed here, maybe rightly so, for paying such prices, but, I trust my mechanic and that was the going rate). Alternator was about a $1,300 job "all in" for the part, coolant, and labor.

You could spend $3000 before you blinked, and thats over and above the cost to acquire.

Hope I"m wrong and you get a nice one for little $$$. How many miles??

Good luck,

Jay

[XAlt]

Alternator are basically the same on both cars FYI, always get yours rebuilt when it goes.

https://www.bmdecoder.com/decode/dd73849

[masu3701]

If I end up buying it, what would be the first thing to do.
Also I was told that the car came in about 3 years ago for an hydraulic line and brake jobs. The question is can the SLS be deleted ?

[XAlt]

If I end up buying it, what would be the first thing to do.
Also I was told that the car came in about 3 years ago for an hydraulic line and brake jobs. The question is can the SLS be deleted ?

Nothing replaces a test drive. SLS delete costs $5.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ilstein-Eibach


Replace all fluids no matter what though.

[masu3701]

Nothing replaces a test drive. SLS delete costs $5.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ilstein-Eibach


Replace all fluids no matter what though.

Should I replace the fluids before attempting to start the car for the first time, or should I get it running first then replace fluids?

and is there any huge difference in the way the ride handles and feel with SLS deleted?

[XAlt]

Should I replace the fluids before attempting to start the car for the first time, or should I get it running first then replace fluids?

and is there any huge difference in the way the ride handles and feel with SLS deleted?

Get everything changed before starting, except trans which needs to be done hot.

If SLS is broken it'll ride like a rock. If the EDC struts are dying, they'll ride awful too.

[masu3701]

Get everything changed before starting, except trans which needs to be done hot.

If SLS is broken it'll ride like a rock. If the EDC struts are dying, they'll ride awful too.

Are parts for this car hard to find?

[MKIVJZA80]

nope! FCP Euro, ebay, and ECS have you covered with just about everything.