Is she worth it?....

['88740GL]

Bought a seemingly good 740GL saloon, '88 model with 42,000 orig. miles,
interior and outer bodywork in excellent condition, with the b200E engine and 5 speed manual gear box.....bought off an old guy who owned it it for 6 months, i don't think this guy did anything but put petrol in it...

Long story short, £350 got me a car that has rust holes in the footwells and around the weld seams, rusty brake calipers, leaky water pump seals, it had a cracked rear window, split/deteriorating anti roll bar bushes on both sides,
the cars heater blower has recently stopped working on all settings but nr. 4 which i've heard is the resistor pack...can't find any!!

One back wheel squeals continuously whilst putting on the brakes, they used to rattle but i've put anti rattle spring clips in, now i need anit squeal shims,

so far, i've spent £50-70 quid on waxoyl, and 3 weeks of summer underneath wire brushing the underbody and calipers,

£150 on a cambelt change,
££££ on its strange drink problem...15mpg?? -fixed now, t'was the overrun switch not shutting off on the throttle more like 25-30mpg now,
£30 in body filler and rust killer,
£217 on fitting a rear window (rust hole puffed surrounding bodywork up and broke glass)
4 new tires and alloy combo bargain (Airies 15'' with 4 pirelli's £75! Ebay!) + 3 Avons on steel rims

I've had to sort out dodgy bodged stereo wiring out, and pull out the nasty rammed in style ford fiesta cd player and fitted a volvo push button radio, also the power window on the driver side was clunking, a worn out split plastic bush had became lodged in the run, so i pulled out door cards and lubed all moving parts on each door,

filled in the tiny stone chips (werent many)

replaced interior dash bulbs and backlights,
replaced spark plugs and changed oil (usual stuff i dont mind doing)


As a matter of fact the only thing i havent changed is the air filter, its still clean and new oddly enough..



I've recently found a hole in the passenger front footwell has let water in and led to rot 3 more holes in the floor, i've mended those recently, no more water ingress now....hopefully never again....found a hole in the drivers side, small with no water ingress! fixed that, in the process of fixing the little creaks and squeaks on the interior, (yes i'm a perfectionist!)


Leaving these problems:

The steering on full lock it grumbles and judders, almost feeling like you're driving on a loose gravel stone pathway, but is fine in all other conditions,

The anti roll bushes are rotted, and so are the nuts and bolts holding them in, (i won't be able to remove them)

The water pump and filler cap expansion tank is leaking boiling off coolant (never has overheated)

Squealing rear brake i've tried allsorts on except replace pads..

I love this car, it rides quiet, fast and smooth, but in her condition, is it worth keeping her until she dies, or should i keep spending on her? Maybe in a year, if its still around i may sell it for spares or even to someone who can look after her fully...

Engine and gearbox are great, so is the diff and prop shaft!

Have i bought a lemon?

P.S it has never failed to start, and it has just passed its mot 4 week ago!


Give me your wise advice, gentleman, please check my pictures on my profile...see what i should do

Thank you!