sounds like a win

4

2/28/2010 11:12:09 PM

whose BMW is it I keep seeing in your pics?

3/2/2010 8:42:56 PM

which one are you talking about? I owned a 330ci for a little while...my dad has owned an E46 330i, a Z3 2.8, two X5s, a 530i, and a 335i. Oh, and my maternal grandfather was a BMW motorcycle dealer for a long time...so I have lots of pictures floating around with BMWs.

not to mention pictures of ones that I've thought about buying and/or just liked.

3/2/2010 8:52:08 PM

that white one in the background of the pic of you and your daughter.

3/2/2010 10:51:28 PM

oh, the one covered in snow? That's dad's 335i.

3/2/2010 11:06:58 PM

So the dude who bought my first car, the '71 Cutlass Supreme, wants to sell it now. He's called me several times wanting to know if I wanted it back. It's all fucked up now (rust, vinyl top is all to pieces, dogs have totally destroyed the interior, etc. It does run/drive, but I'm sure it needs some mechanical work somewhere, too).

I don't remember what price he told me when I asked him if he wanted to sell it (this was before he'd really decided he wanted to let it go). I think it was like $6-7k, which is more than I sold it to him for in really good condition. He left me a message saying that he's ready to deal and he'll give me a good price. I'm still sure that our ideas of a good prices are wildly different. I'm thinking about offering him $1500, and don't really feel like I'm lowballing him with that. Maybe it's worth more than I think, though. Any input? optmusprimer? Bueller?

3/27/2010 2:32:45 PM

Well, I finally found one of my grandfather's old motorcycles...it's a 1983 BMW R100RT. Grey, with ~45k miles. Still has the original owner's manual with my granddad's signature in it.

Planning on getting my dad to buy it for me, and I'll just mail him a check.

6/3/2010 8:57:18 AM

^^ I swear I saw that car on the 70 bypass about two months ago? Either that or its twin.

6/3/2010 9:39:21 AM

Could be. The guy says he wants to sell it, but he's absolutely on another planet when it comes to the price he wants. You'd think it was a 442, maybe a W30.

6/3/2010 3:19:54 PM

Picture of the old BMW from granddad's dealership. Dad's been in contact with the old doctor who owns it--hopefully I'll be the new owner within a couple of weeks.

More pics to follow, once Dad test rides it and takes some better pictures for me.

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 2:55 PM. Reason : & since granddad also sold Moto Guzzi, I've inquired about the history of the red Guzzi on the left]

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 2:56 PM. Reason : and mom said my Olds hasn't been sold...maybe I can snag it back one of these days, too]

6/10/2010 2:54:28 PM

Forgot to bump this thread...I got the BMW (R100RT). Should be home to ride it next month.


I'm anxious to find out what my next set of orders will be for...if it's anything other than a job where I'll be deploying again, it'll be time to sell the S2000 and get something else (C5 ZO6, 911-996, E46 M3, 135i/335i...maybe an Evo X?)

9/4/2010 10:04:34 PM

Holy shit, E39 M5s are all over the market for cheap...like, mid-teens cheap for good-looking examples. Hell, there are even E60 M5s listed in the low/mid 30k range.

On the other hand, in a couple of years, I might need something with a usefully large backseat...and then if I ever ended up married or anything (not totally out of the question, haha), it could be 10-12 years before my daughter graduates highschool where I'd be in a position to reasonably own a 2-seater again. I'm kinda against the idea of owning an M5 until I have to...there will be time for that later!

(kinda like how I'm against the idea of buying a 135i until we see what the 1///M turns out to be...I might prefer to hold out for that).

9/15/2010 12:31:53 AM

Get the 135 if you prefer driving a loaner. between vanos, misfires and hpfp you may be in the dealer every 3 months.

9/15/2010 4:41:02 PM

Or you can stop living in a world of fear... If teh intarwebs were always accurate, every one of my Porsches would've blown up (timing belt failure in the 944, cracked manifolds on my turbos, broken IMS on the 911), and e46 M3s wouldn't be worth owning(rear shock mounts, subframe tears, con rod bearings), not to mention the current S2k he has now, which break piston rings!

9/16/2010 1:07:23 AM

Personally, my main problem with the 135 is the very unfortunate case of ugly it has. It might be a great driver's car but damn if it doesn't look like crap. If I were going to drop that kind of money on a car I'd want one I'd be proud to see and be seen in...

9/16/2010 10:11:07 AM

I'm speaking from experience, I've had chronic vanos errors that I hope are finally fixed. Last visit was misfires; I've been lucky not having a hpfp failure but I am experiencing long cranks now so that is just a matter of time. I love the car so I don't particularly care, but just giving a friendly warning that owning a n54 can be hit or miss.

9/16/2010 10:28:34 AM

You still trying to get rid of the Ram?

9/24/2010 1:16:18 PM

Quote :

"not to mention the current S2k he has now, which break piston rings!"

I've never even heard of this one lol.

9/24/2010 1:34:04 PM

The best I know about S2000s are that AP1s have fragile transmissions and AP2s have premature wear on their soft tops.

9/24/2010 2:27:15 PM

^^^ at this point, not really actively trying, but I'd probably sell it.

9/24/2010 7:20:25 PM

Well, I guess I've gone and done it now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260671949816&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_977

That winning bid is mine.

10/10/2010 8:28:29 AM

That is an outstanding deal, well done. You'll have to tell us how you like it. When will you be in NC?

10/10/2010 11:00:16 AM

Tomorrow night! I'm in Kyrgyzstan at the moment.

Yeah, to be perfectly honest, winning that auction was kind of an accident, and it was sort of an OH SHIT moment when first saw that I'd won...but then the reasoning that made me make the bid in the first place took over: what's the worst that could possibly happen, being that it's a clean title car with no reported damaged? Shit, even if I have to rebuild the engine or transmission, I still come out OK.

I might keep it for a month; I might keep it for a few years. We'll see.

10/10/2010 11:49:07 AM

Wow, good price Duke. Looking forward to seeing this car.

10/10/2010 1:44:47 PM

man, every time I drive my S2000, I wonder if I'm actually going to like the Z06 more. To be sure, it's a shitload more car than an S2000, but I don't know if it'll match it in terms of how much fun I have in it. Plus, the Honda is a little cheaper, and I ride my motorcycles more than I drive my cars. Don't know if I can justify the 'Vette if I only drive it a couple of times per week. We'll see...I'll reserve judgement until I actually get my hands on it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to it like you read about, although if I decide to flip it, I'm not going to lose any money.

10/18/2010 10:52:48 PM

I'm sick of no torque, so considering the Z06 makes almost double the S2000's max at idle...I think I could deal

10/18/2010 10:59:05 PM

i just have a fear that the Z06 is gonna feel like a battleship...a really fast, grippy battleship.

That's the sensation i remember after hopping out of my Evo into a C6 Z51. Helluva sports car, but heavy on the controls and very...deliberate feeling.

I don't give a shit about lack of torque. I don't mind revving it to make it go. Hell, power is fun, but the s2000 is fast enough to keep me entertained, and I love hearing that F20 scream to redline, along with the nice feel of all the controls and the responsive handling.


My current S2k has GOT to be the most tail-happy car I've ever driven. It will swing the rear way out with the most minimal provocation, by either gassing it or lifting. (my supercharged one was much more benign in the handling department...it had wide, 18" wheels, and more stagger. The rear tires were REALLY wide. It would oversteer, but really only from putting those 300+ rwhp to use and overwhelming the tires with brute force).

10/18/2010 11:15:42 PM

Whatever dude, put some non dry rotted decent tires on that thing...

10/19/2010 12:26:09 AM

I love the exterior look of the Corvette (my inner redneck taking over, I suppose, my wife thinks I'm crazy) but that shifter just cracks me up every time I see one. It looks HUGE compared to an S2000 shifter, or really any Japanese/German sports car, heh.

Nice purchase there Duke, I'm curious to see what you think compared to the S2000

10/19/2010 11:26:39 AM

nice win...nice ride but i agree about the shifter...that needs to go

10/19/2010 11:37:03 AM

So...I'm having thoughts of buying a VW TDI (either Golf or Jetta), just as a modern, comfortable, efficient DD...and then buying a dedicated, gutted & caged track car. The used values of late model TDIs are ridiculous, though. I think it might actually make more sense to buy one brand new.

Am I nuts?

[Edited on March 24, 2011 at 8:57 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on March 24, 2011 at 8:57 PM. Reason : on the other hand, i don't like buying stuff i can't break even/make a profit on.]

3/24/2011 8:54:49 PM

would the z06 not be the dedicated track car?

3/25/2011 12:32:30 AM

^The only reason I can think of him not using the Z06 for that is the price of tires.

3/25/2011 8:50:05 AM

That and the fact that it's a big heavy car with lots of power and a long wheel base. It's one of the least communicative sports cars I've driven. Tons of fun and very fast but rather twitchy at the limit and certainly not a learning tool. It is certainly awesome though, I won't deny it.

3/25/2011 8:55:00 AM

...so in another thread, Noen claimed that "pristine" Seven replicas can be found for $10-14k.

I want to know where. If I can find a Seven for $10k that's in decent shape, much less pristine, I could get interested rapidly.

For that matter, it doesn't have to be a Seven. I'd be interested in any sort of track-day special type car. They seem to be all over Europe, but not so much in the States.

3/25/2011 6:10:40 PM

I don't think you're nuts duke... Then again I don't want to think I'm nuts. If you wanna drive mine and avoid the dealership test drive bull lemme know.

3/25/2011 6:57:37 PM

^^ track day specials are street legal there

3/25/2011 7:14:15 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130556159284&viewitem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


Giving some serious thought to buying this little monster.

8/1/2011 8:28:48 PM

Thats a wild looking thing!

8/1/2011 8:49:18 PM

That would be so much fun

8/1/2011 9:50:09 PM

I don't really care for what he did to the rear of the car. The rear has never been the most flattering angle for a Seven, but what he did is a step backward, to my eye at least.

However, I looked through all 13 pages of his build thread, and the workmanship and execution looks very good...much better than any other build I've seen for sale at or near that price. The fit and finish looks to be well above average, and he pretty much nailed all of the big ingredients...turbo Miata drivetrain (big power, reliability, lots of support, cheap to fix if it goes kaboom, sweet shifting and dirt cheap transmission), significant extra triangulated bracing in the frame, and instead of fabricating rear suspension, he just grafted in the rear subframe from a Miata...but that means double-wishbone instead of the live axle setup that most of them have.

8/1/2011 10:33:57 PM

seems low on power for 17psi but the build does look solid!

8/1/2011 11:16:46 PM

Yeah, that's how much power my Miata made with right at the same boost pressure...but my car had a built 1.6L (lower compression, headwork, beefed up from top to bottom). Mine also wasn't really tuned to the ragged edge.

I think there's probably more power to be gained from that setup, but I'm pretty sure it would make you piss yourself just as it is right now.

Of course, psi isn't the whole story...you get into cfm and efficiency maps. I don't know what turbo he's running. Also, there are px drops across the intercoolers, so that's another variable. Whatever, it's academic...that car would be a fucking rocket.



The bad news is that he apparently has someone planning to put a deposit on it tomorrow. Unless that falls through, the only way I could get it would be to hit "Buy It Now" tonight, which I'm not willing to do.

8/1/2011 11:32:33 PM

^^ why do you say that?
5 valve 1.8l jettas make less power than that on 25psi. My car makes about that much to the wheels on 18 psi on a 2.5l (but awd)


I guess what I'm saying is the article doesn't say what turbo the car has... Tiny turbos can only flow so much it doesn't say what kind of dyno either, on a not doctored up dyno dynamics that's like 330hp on a dyno jet

8/2/2011 6:31:17 AM

it actually looks like its some type of t4 turbo

8/2/2011 8:22:54 AM

^^It was on a Mustang

8/2/2011 8:44:56 AM

I would totally do it man that thing would be a effing blast to drive.

put some slicks on it and your eyeballs will pop out during turns

8/2/2011 8:48:17 AM

I think that if I can get it for 10k, I'll snatch it up. Not sure if I'm willing to go above that.

8/2/2011 9:14:42 AM

he should have just put an rb engine in there and called it a day

8/2/2011 9:18:58 AM

Ehh.

Miata engine makes sense, as does a rotary or a bike engine. If you want it to have superhuman retard strength, I'd go LSx.

8/2/2011 9:25:13 AM