E50s (and maybe diesels in particular)

[jmh1957]

Since looking at the forum having joined today I've had an idea......how much fun would it be to take on an ageing e50 and fix it up.....if the tin worm has taken hold probably means inner and outer sills, the odd wheel arch, and probably some suspension areas to plate as well... ( and then new paint to freshen things up).
BUT then....I thought about diesels too...I remember Nissan diesel's from the 90s being absolutely excellent....but what proportion of e50s are diesel?
Time to have some fun maybe (yeah I know my sense of fun is odd haha)

 

[jmh1957]

....yikes....and then I saw the road tax rate for these diesels at £760 per annum it doesn't take many years for the cost of tax to be more than the cost of the car. Think I'll abandon the diesel idea

 

[Reverend RobP]

....yikes....and then I saw the road tax rate for these diesels at £760 per annum it doesn't take many years for the cost of tax to be more than the cost of the car. Think I'll abandon the diesel idea

Nah mate. That's wrong it's a standard fixed price for tax on these, same price as the petrol versions £325 for the year I think at the moment

 

[jmh1957]

Aah ok - it was one of the online vehicle checkers that I used ... Although it might be an omen of things to come

 

[malcolmyz85]

Since looking at the forum having joined today I've had an idea......how much fun would it be to take on an ageing e50 and fix it up.....if the tin worm has taken hold probably means inner and outer sills, the odd wheel arch, and probably some suspension areas to plate as well... ( and then new paint to freshen things up).
BUT then....I thought about diesels too...I remember Nissan diesel's from the 90s being absolutely excellent....but what proportion of e50s are diesel?
Time to have some fun maybe (yeah I know my sense of fun is odd haha)

Not many gd derv e50 left , they come with 2 different derv engines , 3.2 td engine abot like avtractor but bukket proof and the 3. Litre neo , alot better speed and mpg but known to have a few issues

 

[jmh1957]

Thanks for the info @malcolmyz85. It's worth knowing the change bc I tend towards simplicity and old skool myself so I'd be biased toward the earlier engine. Google tells me the neo was an option from 1999 onwards.......
Google also suggested that older diesel E50s may have survived longer than their petrol brothers ....on the basis that already higher running costs for the petrol may predispose folks to scrapping them earlier when bodywork issues do arise.

No idea whether that's correct but I've looked at a few MOT histories now for E50s and it can be sad..... corrosion advisories given, and the owner clearly ignores it (or doesn't know what to do about it), and then the same advisories for the next few (and in one case 10) years. By that time the body is probably too far gone to even attempt repair

 

[WeldHog]

Half of the e50 rustboxes are not worth the money at all.

Rotten underneath, no maintenance on engines but still asking for few G’s.

I know, dealt with few sellers.

Had one with headlights held in place with woodscrews…

If you do all the stuff yourself then any car is worth to restore/upgrade.

 

[malcolmyz85]

All elgrands have rot problems not just e50 depends if they were treated when they entered this country and also depends on how long they have been this country , u are right about neo years , i used to love my first 3.2 td e50 wish id never got rid of it , ive had 3 x 3.2td e50 and 3x 3.5 v6 e50 and got to admit my first 3.2td was best , mind font expect big mpg off them , i might of got 27-30 mpg on a long run but got 20 around doors ,all my v6 e50 have done about 16-18 around doors and low 20 on a run , but its all about smile per mile not mile per gallon

 

[jmh1957]

@WeldHog .....yes, I can kind of sympathise with some sellers for wanting the best price, but it can be frustrating when they're unrealistic...it often takes a number of buyers to all say the same thing before they adjust expectations. I try to be really patient, but these days if I lose patience I tell them to chuck it on eBay and see what happens - invariably they get even less then

 

[jmh1957]

@malcolmyz85 wow, those mpg figures aren't great ....I've had 40 mpg from 2.5 300tdi range rovers that weigh nearly 2 ton, so maybe the brick like aerodynamics of the van is responsible... And is often said your figures aren't a whole lot different to the petrol engines. I wonder if the neo returned better mileage..I'll have to check up on that...
...on the cars we should never have sold...I had a 1966 series 2A land rover years ago (before LR became popular), very authentic, and I sold for what now is considered peanuts - if I wanted to buy the same now it would be around £10k ....mind you that was petrol and did 14mpg

 

[deanl55]

Since looking at the forum having joined today I've had an idea......how much fun would it be to take on an ageing e50 and fix it up.....if the tin worm has taken hold probably means inner and outer sills, the odd wheel arch, and probably some suspension areas to plate as well... ( and then new paint to freshen things up).
BUT then....I thought about diesels too...I remember Nissan diesel's from the 90s being absolutely excellent....but what proportion of e50s are diesel?
Time to have some fun maybe (yeah I know my sense of fun is odd haha)

as far as the restoration, they do make fantastic projects ive almost finished a 1999 e50 diesel that had been stood for 5 years

 

[WeldHog]

@malcolmyz85 wow, those mpg figures aren't great ....I've had 40 mpg from 2.5 300tdi range rovers that weigh nearly 2 ton, so maybe the brick like aerodynamics of the van is responsible... And is often said your figures aren't a whole lot different to the petrol engines. I wonder if the neo returned better mileage..I'll have to check up on that...
...on the cars we should never have sold...I had a 1966 series 2A land rover years ago (before LR became popular), very authentic, and I sold for what now is considered peanuts - if I wanted to buy the same now it would be around £10k ....mind you that was petrol and did 14mpg

Old diesels with mechanical pump depending on manufacturer were not that efficient, common rail along with precise control of injection/dose helped with that.

 

[WeldHog]

as far as the restoration, they do make fantastic projects ive almost finished a 1999 e50 diesel that had been stood for 5 yearsView attachment 117883View attachment 117884

But see, that’s the thing, you are doing stuff yourself. If It comes to sale and I see that stuff been done correctly and car is worth asking price then it’s a different story.

However if someone buys the car, will do jacksht to it, won’t change oil and spend as little as possible after failed MOT because droplinks need replacing after 6 yrs of advisories on them…then sees your car for sale for £5k(let say) and just goes straight to marketplace and tries to sell it for same price, because “I know what I’ve got”

 

[Lpgc]

Old diesels with mechanical pump depending on manufacturer were not that efficient, common rail along with precise control of injection/dose helped with that.

But lowered reliability at the same time.

 

[WeldHog]

But lowered reliability at the same time.

….just two days ago I was cleaning EGR and intake of 3.2 Shogun from 2018. 57k miles, absolutely caked with DPF blocked.


On the flipside there’s plenty of work for mechanics lmao

 

[malcolmyz85]

@malcolmyz85 wow, those mpg figures aren't great ....I've had 40 mpg from 2.5 300tdi range rovers that weigh nearly 2 ton, so maybe the brick like aerodynamics of the van is responsible... And is often said your figures aren't a whole lot different to the petrol engines. I wonder if the neo returned better mileage..I'll have to check up on that...
...on the cars we should never have sold...I had a 1966 series 2A land rover years ago (before LR became popular), very authentic, and I sold for what now is considered peanuts - if I wanted to buy the same now it would be around £10k ....mind you that was petrol and did 14mpg

Neo returned up 50mpg and flew , 170bhp if i remember right , which is gd for a two abd a quater ton bus , but had issues , sone people swear by them and some wouldnt touch one , im the later , hence me having the v6 petrol

 

[jmh1957]

@deanl55 ...that's great. I'd imagine inner sill wanted something too....did you have to do any outer sill as well. ...
With the older things I normally spray oily stuff into all the cavities after I've finished (not a concours restoration but my god it's effective )

Btw what are the cats like at that age ( removed or replaced already....?)

 

[jmh1957]

@malcolmyz85 interesting, I'll research the neo some more over the next few days and see what I think...

 

[malcolmyz85]

@malcolmyz85 interesting, I'll research the neo some more over the next few days and see what I think...

Also look at patrol with neo engine

 

[deanl55]

@deanl55 ...that's great. I'd imagine inner sill wanted something too....did you have to do any outer sill as well. ...
With the older things I normally spray oily stuff into all the cavities after I've finished (not a concours restoration but my god it's effective )

Btw what are the cats like at that age ( removed or replaced already....?)

it had a ton of welding both inner and outer sills. underside fully sandblasted and thoroughly treated with waxoil inside chassis rails as well.