NEW RIDE I’m still Jenny from the block - Premium Mike K content

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
2007, pretty great condition overall. Owned by an enthusiast with too many projects but he had it for 8 years and gave me a receipt book totaling $20,000+ in work he had done.

It has a few issues. The sunroof doesn’t always close. It has an evap leak the size of Manhattan which means I can’t register it yet because it’s not passing emissions. And one of the adaptive headlights is throwing an error. Nothing major though.

The major part is I only paid $7,000 for it which, all things considered, feels like a fantastic deal for this car. You can’t really touch them for under $13,000 at any mileage, at least within 500 miles of me. To get one for half that and it comes with a book of receipts. I’m stoked.

I don’t remember the car sounding as nice as it does last time I drove one but I ripped it under an underpass this morning and it gives off a very distinct Lamborghini V10 sound.

I’ve wanted to scratch this itch for probably 5 years now. I’m stoked I finally got a running one.
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Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
For years I've tried to refinish headlights using those kits, with limited success. When I got the broken S8 last Christmas it's headlights were toast. I tried polishing them but other than removing the yellowing, they were still pretty foggy and I could clearly see sanding lines in my finished product. This car has the same worn lenses. I looked into buying new lights but the S8's and W12 A8's have specific headlights with LED DRLs that the standard A8's did not have and they run anywhere from $500 and up used... oh, and most of them have the same yellowing.

So this time I decided to be patient and learn first. I watched some YouTube videos from professionals, bought the same products for about $75 and went to work. What I ended up with was a headlight that looks like new. The process is actually really simple.

Basically 600 grit wet
1500 grit wet
3000 grit wet
Meguiars cutting compound on the appropriate 6" pad, using an orbital polisher
Meguiars polishing compound using the same tools

I think where I went wrong before was using 400 grit wet, then 1000, then 2000 and using the same pad for cutting and polishing compound. I always ended up being able to see sanding marks in the finished product. This actually looks new though. Best $75 you can spend on an old car in my opinion.

My previous best attempt at polishing is on the left. Today's final result on the right.

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Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
Also an update on the car itself... It very clearly needs an engine mount. You can feel it moving when it downshifts hard. Other than that, I've got all the emissions issues fixed.

The guy replaced the front airbags and some suspension components but the car feels like it's following every divot and tar strip in the road. So I get the feeling something is either very loose or it's not aligned properly. So I have to get that addressed.

Other than that, this car is such a rocket. It sounds amazing and the power never lets off, right to redline. I got it up to 110 mph this morning and let off only because I didn't want to be a complete idiot with the unknowns in the front suspension but good god... At 110 it's pulling as hard as it is at 60. It might be pulling harder. It just keeps accelerating effortlessly. This is such a bad ass car.
 

SaturdaysGS

TCG Elite Member
Jul 15, 2007
4,982
1,999
Chicago (Southside)
Also an update on the car itself... It very clearly needs an engine mount. You can feel it moving when it downshifts hard. Other than that, I've got all the emissions issues fixed.

The guy replaced the front airbags and some suspension components but the car feels like it's following every divot and tar strip in the road. So I get the feeling something is either very loose or it's not aligned properly. So I have to get that addressed.

Other than that, this car is such a rocket. It sounds amazing and the power never lets off, right to redline. I got it up to 110 mph this morning and let off only because I didn't want to be a complete idiot with the unknowns in the front suspension but good god... At 110 it's pulling as hard as it is at 60. It might be pulling harder. It just keeps accelerating effortlessly. This is such a bad ass car.

How does it pull in comparison to your old V10 M5?
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
I want to say it's slower but it's been 10 years. The specs seem to suggest the S8 isn't that much slower. 0-60 of 4.9 seconds versus 4.4 and a quarter mile of 13.4 vs 12.7.

I would say the M5 on the highway was in a different world than anything I've ever driven but it lacked punch off the line. Conversely, the S8 in sport mode is so twitchy and eager to move off the line, it's actually hard to smoothly pull away from a dead stop because it just wants to lurch forward.

The S8 does a better job of having an overall more usable power band and it comes at the cost of overall speed. That said, the fucker pulls like a freight train at 100mph. It is every bit as effortless as the M5.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
I have this thing torn apart in my garage getting a full carbon cleaning, new seals, intake cleaning, plugs, coils, some new vacuum hoses, upper control arms on both sides and a whole slew of extras. When I'm done with it, it will be pretty much fully sorted. What's hard to look at though is this... Less sorted than mine, 20,000 fewer miles and currently sitting at $17,750 with an hour to go. That's nuts. I'll have $8000 into this car all said and done. It's really tempting to sell and find another one to fix up.

 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
What a fun ride this has been. I’m just going to picture dump and let you guys see the fun. I stripped the top end of the engine off. I’ve replaced, well… everything.

Plugs, coils, valve cover gaskets, valve covers, full carbon cleaning, cam actuator gaskets, fixed the headlight errors, replaced the broken harnesses, removed the cheap eBay bumper lip, refinished the headlights, purchased new fog lights and trim pieces, a new hood latch release, headlight bulbs, endlinks, control arms, rebuilt air shocks, and the list goes on. A lot of it has been cheap, some not so much.

It has an oil leak. It leaks onto the exhaust manifold and smokes like a Russian sailor. I assume that’s a stereotype that’s safe to lean into. I’ve replaced the valve cover gasket and the entire valve cover trying to find this leak. The original valve covers warped. That wasn’t my problem. Damn.

So we look elsewhere. The Gallardo/ S8/ R8 V10 has a cam bridge where the heads sit on the engine, the cams sit on the head and the cam bridge bolts onto the head and acts as a ladder reinforcement and upper cam bearing. So in essence, you have a two piece head. Well, that bridge is leaking oil. And because the timing chain is in the rear of the engine, we need to pull the entire drivetrain to get that cam bridge out.

So even though this car is running great right now, we’ll be pulling the motor and replacing pretty much everything. New timing belt, tensioner, gaskets, o2 sensors, checking the cats, replacing engine mounts, subframe bushings, steam cleaning everything, etc.

A pretty standard 96,000 mile S8 just sold for over $18,000 on cars and bids. Once I have this car fully restored, I hope to push $20,000 on bring a trailer or cars and bids. Or I’ll keep it. I love this car. It’s so absurd.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
Even the headlights are absurd. I cut them open to fix the failing wires they all experience. Afterward they were wet sanded (600, 1500, 2000 and 3000 grit), hard cut, polished and sealed with clear coat. After the clear cured, the process was repeated. Pictures show the lights before clear coat.

You can also see the before and after of the intake ports. Carbon buildup is a huge problem on these engines.
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bimmer4life

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Feb 18, 2008
5,263
8,332
Wheaton, Illinois
What a fun ride this has been. I’m just going to picture dump and let you guys see the fun. I stripped the top end of the engine off. I’ve replaced, well… everything.

Plugs, coils, valve cover gaskets, valve covers, full carbon cleaning, cam actuator gaskets, fixed the headlight errors, replaced the broken harnesses, removed the cheap eBay bumper lip, refinished the headlights, purchased new fog lights and trim pieces, a new hood latch release, headlight bulbs, endlinks, control arms, rebuilt air shocks, and the list goes on. A lot of it has been cheap, some not so much.

It has an oil leak. It leaks onto the exhaust manifold and smokes like a Russian sailor. I assume that’s a stereotype that’s safe to lean into. I’ve replaced the valve cover gasket and the entire valve cover trying to find this leak. The original valve covers warped. That wasn’t my problem. Damn.

So we look elsewhere. The Gallardo/ S8/ R8 V10 has a cam bridge where the heads sit on the engine, the cams sit on the head and the cam bridge bolts onto the head and acts as a ladder reinforcement and upper cam bearing. So in essence, you have a two piece head. Well, that bridge is leaking oil. And because the timing chain is in the rear of the engine, we need to pull the entire drivetrain to get that cam bridge out.

So even though this car is running great right now, we’ll be pulling the motor and replacing pretty much everything. New timing belt, tensioner, gaskets, o2 sensors, checking the cats, replacing engine mounts, subframe bushings, steam cleaning everything, etc.

A pretty standard 96,000 mile S8 just sold for over $18,000 on cars and bids. Once I have this car fully restored, I hope to push $20,000 on bring a trailer or cars and bids. Or I’ll keep it. I love this car. It’s so absurd.
Yeesh. How much will you have in it though after that engine out work?
 

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