Just BOUGHT My First P38
 

I just got back from the seller's home and have put down a deposit on the vehicle. I take delivery Monday as they have to first have the vehicle inspected and then it's all mine.

Vital statistics:

99 Range Rover
4.6 HSE
Epsom Green
Sandstone Leather Interior
94,000 Miles

Just this past week it had new EAS springs put in the rear and the front looks fine. The air suspension works perfectly and adjusts as it should. Also had a new battery and new tires put on. Comes with the 18" OEM wheels, full size OEM spare, and all the other usuals. One thing it didn't have is the factory nav though I don't really mind as my iPhone 4 has navigation built in.

When all was said and done, I paid 6500 which I don't think is unreasonable given the condition of the interior and exterior of the car. The paint is meticulous and the passenger seat and rear bench look as if they were never even used.

The only thing I am not thrilled with is the fact that neither seat's heated functionality is working. I'm not sure if there is an easy fix for this... any suggestions

Here's my new baby
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Here it is parked with my other toy, an E46. They are almost identical in color :)

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First mods will include:

- European front clear corner lights, side markers, and rear tail lights. Already ordered them.
- Xenon headlight conversion. Ordered for the headlights. If pleased with the outcome, will get them for the fogs too. I ordered 50/55w H4s so I shoudln't get a bulb out error)
- iPod connectivity thinking about this one: http://www.incaripod.com/Vehicle/Range_ ... _Interface )
- tinted windows (probably will do 20%)


Items I need to fix
- Full detail. The grille, area under the headlights, and door handles all look very faded. Can anyone suggest a cleaner for these? I have heard of forever black and peole suggesting that.. but I also heard NOT to use that on the grille.. not sure why.
- Pollen filter
- Heated seats. Neither works at the moment :(
- Glovebox. It just flies open when you hit the button. Needs a new gas shock. It also has a rather large gap between the glovebox and dash... need to tighten that up somehow.
- Armrest console. Almost inverse of glovebox. When you push the button to open it, you then have to manually flip it open as the shock is broken.



And just because you might ask, here's more on the BMW: http://www.modbargains.com/_e/page/1349/1.htm

And pictures
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Congratulations. Looks good. Mine's the same color. From what I hear, the nav system on the p38s is a little outdated, so I don't think you missed out there. On mine, I just mounted a nav screen where the one would have been from the factory. If you upgrade to zenon HID lights, you will get a bulb out error and will have to wire in resistors to fool the system.

I've been told that, with 55w HID kits (bulbs/ballasts) that the ballast draws the same amount of wattage as the OEM halogens and, as a result, I won't have the feared bulb out error. I'm really hoping that is the case as I will end up pulling the xenons out if it means I have to put up with that damn error light :(

I have been looking at some of the crazy setups people do in place of the nav and, way down the line, might do something similar. Maybe do this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK8Bp...layer_embedded
http://gthing.net/carputer-5-final/

The 7 inch lilliput could definitely be retrofit into the car and then you could run the sound directly through the OEM head unit.

sweet Rangie, where are you getting the lights from?

Just purchasing them off ebay. Seems like it's the only way to get your hands on a pair.

The Rover looks great.

For the grill and the other pieces I use Mothers Back to Black, it works well but needs to be kept up on. I have debated about whether to get rid of the stock radio as well but have just opted to use the cassette tape adapter for the iPod. Those car computers are great and I have thought about one before. I just figured if it took as long to power up as my laptop then I do not want to wait for it; stand alone systems work well for me right now.

I'm totally with you. I think the carputer is a nice option... for down the road.

For the time being, I'm debating between a simple ipod adaptor or a new head unit. I've heard that I can swap in a new head unit and, with a few additional wires and a specific cable, can maintain steering wheel controls over the new head unit and the factory speakers/amp/etc.

That said, while a new head unit would likely provide more functionality, I think I might just buy the ipod adaptor. The one I found replaces the cd changer (which I won't use anyway) so I figure that's probably the best option as it allows for steering wheel controls over the ipod as seen here


I also just ordered "cool white" LEDs for the license plate and the front turn signals. With the xenon headlights, I think the amber turn signal makes it look a little off. Resulting front turn signal will look like my bmw here... Will look nice with the xenon illuminated headlights.

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The issue with the hid lights is that the unit only plugs into one of the h-4 plugs. So, on the side that you are plugged into, there is no problem. The other side, however will show bulb out. To fix it, just get two of those gold colored resistors made specifically for that purpose and wire them in. They get hot, but mine have been fine. They are sold on ebay too. The HIDs work surprisingly well on the p38.

Wait, I'm confused by this. Can you elaborate on the "gold colored resistors" and perhaps provide a link. I was under the impression the HID kit would be plug and play :(

I heard the kits from HID4U from the UK worked without any resistors or additional stuff and assumed they were similar to those on ebay (in retrospect, sounds dumb of me to believe such)

I bought a kit like this

http://www.mydepots.com/ebay_images/...es/product.gif

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/50W-5...ht_5930wt_1167

Perhaps I should just cancel the order and buy the HID4U kit?

Or maybe this would work as well as it's bi-xenon?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bi-Xe...ht_2376wt_1167

https://images.channeladvisor.com/Se...4-8K-HL__5.gif

Avoid Forever Black on the grille, as you have heard. Even if you do all the prep work correctly, and even if you go to the extreme to get the grille cleaned and prepped, it likely will not take the dye in a smooth and consistent manner. You end up with all kinds of spots and smears.

It does look a little better than Mothers Back to Black, but not on the grille, use the Mothers it will go on smooth. It will need touched up fairly often.

I'm just going to paint my P38 grille come springtime. I fouled it with the Forever Black. I was shocked really, I've used Forever Black on a myriad of old Saabs, Jaguars, even some Jeeps and never had it come out this bad.