A newbie who can't settle on a car...
Discussion
Appreciate the comments and patience (or lack of 
)
Better update this topic hadn't I?
Ok. So I had the 528i when I last posted. I started comparing it to mums and noticing the differences after many years (both 96 models, 140ish kms). For a start, mum's had zero factory extras, like literally zero. I found mine to have a sunroof, electric steering column and electric + drivers memory seats - I can't remember more at this stage. I did notice that mine had a metallic rasp in the lower rev range and that mums had a smoother gearbox.
It was going well until I started noticing a noise (drove it with windows down one day..)
Reason for windows up:
Says 48 but was really only about 44 degrees...
The lifters (or something that sounded like lifters) were rather noisy... Mechanic said best to leave it till it got worse but I didn't really want to have my car running like that. When asked about costs to fix, I decided to leave it. Also, the air con was not cold...
I did change the front suspension however as it was bottoming out if you weren't careful. Further inspection revealed the front shocks were in-fact Sachs, not Bilstein like the rears. It also had Eibach lowered springs all round which looked fine. I took to the internet and ordered some KYB replacements from England as I daren't even ask what they cost from local suppliers..
One issue that came up was the lack of a lock nut key... Had to destroy the BBS lock nuts
. Bought some replacement lock nuts that didn't say BBS on them .
Cost for the struts and install with a new windscreen seal and re-gassing the AC came to $550 - fairly happy with that and the car just felt so much better to drive. So tight and planted compared to previously. When we jacked the car up to do the front suspension, I noticed two aftermarket metal cats.. That explains the raspy-ness then!
Few pictures:
Bit of a road trip = dirty BMW
Interior shot
So fast forward a few months, the bimmer was going fantastic apart from the lifter noise. I was pretty happy with it in all respects but seeing as the S2000 wasn't going anywhere soon due to court issues, I soon got bored and put it for sale to see if there was any interest...
...And there was, which led me to selling it too cheap and regretting since .
The hunt for the replacement was on...
Now I didn't really want a another sports car to go along with the S2000 so I crossed coupes off the list.
Gumtree is a fantastic place really...
I found a Nissan Stagea cheap-ish! Advertised at $4000 in the hills near dad and looked totally standard. I got dad to take a look as it was close to him just to see if it was worth buying. Now he's far from an expert but considering I've had 8 Skylines, he knows a thing or two now.. (Stagea basically runs a skyline engine, auto gearbox and GTR awd system).
So I got a call from dad after he'd viewed. He said the body was a little battered, namely front and rear bumpers with a bit of damage to the rear quarter, topped off with a scratched front right fender and dented left. Mechanically he said it was fine. Asked if any room to negotiate - negative, price was firm.
I just said why not, $4000 doesn't buy you much and I know where to get things cheap if needed.
Stagea bought... - Along with a f
king massive spider I noticed when driving away with it. Jesus I still remember that clearly and it was simply gigantic... It was on the outside of the rear passenger window so I left it at that and closed all the doors / windows.. I was so thankful for icy Japanese air con.
Right details: 1997 Nissan stagea with roughly 160kms. Has bilsteins all round (wohoo), a turbo timer and a crusty looking exhaust (no holes though). I was pretty surprised after filling it up with fuel - it moves!! The story was that this older bloke imported one of the first into the country... for his wife, who now had left him and he had no use for it any more (evidenced by the many spider webs..) Apparently she wasn't a great driver either... Not pictures of it dented / as I bought it unfortunately.
I started sourcing parts to replace the damaged ones. After a quick search, silver was a common colour so I'd set the task of finding replacement panels in silver due to previous panel experience.. eh hem.
Success! Found a rather dirty front and rear bumper set along with LH guard - no success on the right. All was bought for $308 in Perth thanks to a fantastic bloke who brings them in (used previously and will in future no doubt!).
Fitted these up and all was well, apart from the battery dying... New one bought for $170 - paid through the nose as I'd agreed to lend it to my sister and her BF to go down south for a week (the day before!). They ended up doing about 1000kms in it and returned some amazing fuel figures as these beasts are renowned to be horrific on fuel (as I myself found out). Can't remember the exact figures but it was around 32MPG or so.
Similar story with the LS400 - I got annoyed with the city commuting costs (using 98RON fuel too) so up for sale the Stagea went.
Sorry, here's pictures!!
^You can still see the dented quarter where it meets the rear bumper but I decided against panel beating and painting.
Fluffy dice of sorts...
Big useful space!
Stock standard...
I'd priced it cheap for a quick sale and got exactly that. I only owned it for 3 weeks... The new owners bought it for their two great danes.
The bloke works in an extremely popular tuning company too. I doubt the car is still standard...
I honestly was quite happy to see it leave. I never got on with it... I'll attribute it to the auto gearbox, body roll and fuel economy. It just wasn't the same as a skyline...
With that in mind, next car had to be small, economical, manual and fun to drive.
Enter the hot hatch.
Problem: Small budget.
Solution: Send dad to negotiate because he has no shame
There was one small hot hatch that I'd been wanting to own for a long time.
A Mini Cooper S. Thing is, they cost upwards of 15k when I was looking. I had a budget of 10 and that would empty the bank account.
Back to gumtree I went. There existed one for 14,600 advertised with high-ish kms (138km) and having an oil leak with no service history. Hmm..
Dad was more than happy to go have a look as it was about 15mins from his house. Turns out another older bloke bought it was a sort of late mid-life crisis car. Apparently, he knew nothing about it other than what the mechanics told him.
At the time, it was exam period. I was at my mates house studying when I got a call. Apparently I now owned a 2003 Mini Cooper S
for 10k.
Just couldn't wait to go pick it up!!
I'd also like to point out that this is the youngest car bar the Getz I've bought. Feels odd..
Pictures home after a clean:
First impressions driving it: The handling is sublime. So direct and responsive! Love the chunky feel of the 6 speed box. Little disappointed by quality of interior (plasticccccc) but loved everything else although it was a little quiet...
First things first.... stripes
This cost a whole $12.
Next up, the gearknob and boot were a bit worn. Sourced a new gear and handbrake boot off eBay UK for $18 delivered... Black with stiched blue (to match the interior). Got a new looking second hand OEM knob from the UK Mini forums for $17.
Picture after that:
Now I had to tackle the problem of the oil leak. The service report was rocker cover gasket. Right that seems easy enough. OEM part and install came to $200. When this was being done, it was obvious that the top two engine mounts had had it. New parts were ordered and installed in record time!
Next I had to do something about the (lack of) noise. Rather than a droney exhaust, I was after supercharger whine. Mini forums UK sponsor, DaveF was having a group buy on his own intakes. I'm in! All I can say is the before / after is amazing! The whine is epic especially on colder nights but just dawdling around town - sounds like standard. Highly recommend this to anyone thinking about getting it!
All seemed well now, leak sorted, noise increased, fuel economy much lower compared to previous cars and brilliant fun to drive.
Until I was driving one day and the power steering died
I have to admit that it was very audible when turning the wheel stationary.
I turned the car off and on again and hey presto, power steering was back.
Well all was not well, a google told me that this was a common problem and the only fix was a new or reconditioned P/S pump. Damn. Well things happen. Recon pump ordered.
The pump arrived and got fitted. Finally I thought, everything is sorted.
Nope. New pump was silent but now had a different side effect of a small pulse when the pump wasn't being used, ie stationary. What happens, is that the lights dim ever so slightly on idle. I couldn't be bothered fixing it as I had a 2 year warranty on it and couldn't be arsed sending it back to America for another (postage costs were huge).
Then this happened.. I was leaving our back shed and the door decided to swing open into the Mini. Just my luck.
Picture of damage:
Most of that polished out but the door was quite dented. Sigh.
At the point I got sick of it as I'd also discovered the brakes and clutch needed doing too.
Advertised for cheap, sold for cheap, a loss was made but I was happy to see it go. I'd owned it for a 6 months - quite a while by my standards... I don't regret buying it as I quite enjoyed many drives in it especially through the twisties, embarrassing mates cars with at least twice the power
)
Pictures to remember it by
That brings us nearly up to date!
Car no. 27. I'm afraid its a little boring as you see, I've now finished uni and needed a car to go to and from work (labourer atm... not many marketing jobs for grads eh) so basically it had to be cheap and reliable, preferably economical... Well that last bit went out the window when I returned to a 2001 AU Ford Falcon.. purely because it was 2 grand, lowish 178km and in decent nic. I've had it about 2 weeks now and done an oil + filter + fuel filter change for $47, $4 for some fuses and its been great bar the fuel usage ... here we go again haha.
I don't even have a picture of it as I'm not really proud to own it... (Looks like the old one but goldy-silver) Its just a tool to get me from A to B. What I will say, is that coming from a Mini to the Falcon, refinement is just a word that doesn't exist in the aussie car. The gearbox and diff is clunky, engine classicly simple and fairly low revving, so basic that it won't (shouldn't) break as there's nothing really to go wrong! I don't even get rear power windows
Its comfy and drives well. Feels sort of like a powerful but poorly built Toyota Camry of the same era if that makes sense? The obvious difference being those rear wheels spinning when you go near the throttle on a wet day...
Well now if you've made it this far, you must be wondering what happened to the S2000. Well, I won my court case and 2 days later, he declared bankruptcy. As of now, I'm still chasing up (through court) him to prove that he actually is bankrupt... Long story short, I'm stuck with a horrible looking and totally unsaleable S2000 which I might have to keep forever unless someone crashes into me....
In the meantime, I've done my first ever proper track day in it at Barbagallo raceway (very different to the little RAC track at the airport) which proved one thing, I need more power, better rubber (not bald, cracking, hard, old bridgestones) and some non boat-like stock suspension..... Brakes were pretty damn good until towards the end (I did 24 laps in the one night). The car was brilliant though, nothing went wrong and started / drove fine the next day.. Always a good thing. Can highly recommend one for a problem free ownership experience to anyone!
Though there are plenty of positives, there are negatives.. There is zero steering feedback which isn't confidence inspiring at all. You need fast hands as its very twitchy too. Added to that, my current tyres don't squeal, they just let go.. Definitely due for replacement when funds allow. Lastly, V-Tec kicks in at 6000rpm so I'm sometimes stuck out of that zone on the track. Hoping that better tyres allow me to carry more speed and I won't need a higher ratio..
I've got a video from the night following a mates R34 GTR.. with 560HP at wheels on low boost... Thing is a beast! First time on the track for both of us. Epic car, think he was just a bit scared of binning it haha. Sorry about the audio and camera spot (no in car view)... I don't have an external microphone / camera combo yet. Will do eventually when I get a proper job! Got a few more videos too but haven't uploaded as same issue with audio.
First lap is warm up, 3 flying, then in and he didn't mean to come across me on the straight at the end haha, think I was up for a good lap time too, oh well. Also you'll have to excuse that first to second crunch early on.. My car is a 99 model and there was a factory recall for it but obviously mine was never brought back to the dealer. Doesn't phase me at all as I never drive fast first to second anyway - it only happens sometimes under load (I'd say about 5-7 times in my 2 year ownership). Guess that's something to watch out for if you do buy one.
Track day video
At the moment, situation is the same as last year really. Wait and see what happens with court... I'm half tempted to strip it into a track car... Talk me out of it please.
There's another track day on the 22nd of this month. I haven't entered though due to tyres being stuffed and brakes being worn from last track day... Still tempted just for fun but we'll see.
Looks like the title needs to be changed eh, 2 years is pretty much settled on a car can't believe I've owned it for that long... UK trip is basically scrapped for now, it will definitely happen in the future though.
Side news - sister's S13 Silvia has been sold and replaced with a Suzuki Baleno. Mum's E39 528i has been sold and we're currently (slowly) car hunting for her. She's borrowing the S2000 for shopping runs etc at the moment while I use the Ford for work. I've got massively strict rules as to what she will buy along with a tight budget... We'll see.
Court date is set for early September, will update if anything good comes of it and I make it through tomorrow and the following days... (4 wisdom teeth coming out
) Thanks for reading 
)Better update this topic hadn't I?
Ok. So I had the 528i when I last posted. I started comparing it to mums and noticing the differences after many years (both 96 models, 140ish kms). For a start, mum's had zero factory extras, like literally zero. I found mine to have a sunroof, electric steering column and electric + drivers memory seats - I can't remember more at this stage. I did notice that mine had a metallic rasp in the lower rev range and that mums had a smoother gearbox.
It was going well until I started noticing a noise (drove it with windows down one day..)
Reason for windows up:
Says 48 but was really only about 44 degrees...
The lifters (or something that sounded like lifters) were rather noisy... Mechanic said best to leave it till it got worse but I didn't really want to have my car running like that. When asked about costs to fix, I decided to leave it.
Also, the air con was not cold...I did change the front suspension however as it was bottoming out if you weren't careful. Further inspection revealed the front shocks were in-fact Sachs, not Bilstein like the rears. It also had Eibach lowered springs all round which looked fine. I took to the internet and ordered some KYB replacements from England as I daren't even ask what they cost from local suppliers..
One issue that came up was the lack of a lock nut key... Had to destroy the BBS lock nuts
. Bought some replacement lock nuts that didn't say BBS on them .Cost for the struts and install with a new windscreen seal and re-gassing the AC came to $550 - fairly happy with that and the car just felt so much better to drive. So tight and planted compared to previously. When we jacked the car up to do the front suspension, I noticed two aftermarket metal cats.. That explains the raspy-ness then!
Few pictures:
Bit of a road trip = dirty BMW
Interior shot
So fast forward a few months, the bimmer was going fantastic apart from the lifter noise. I was pretty happy with it in all respects but seeing as the S2000 wasn't going anywhere soon due to court issues, I soon got bored and put it for sale to see if there was any interest...
...And there was, which led me to selling it too cheap and regretting since
.The hunt for the replacement was on...
Now I didn't really want a another sports car to go along with the S2000 so I crossed coupes off the list.
Gumtree is a fantastic place really...
I found a Nissan Stagea cheap-ish! Advertised at $4000 in the hills near dad and looked totally standard. I got dad to take a look as it was close to him just to see if it was worth buying. Now he's far from an expert but considering I've had 8 Skylines, he knows a thing or two now.. (Stagea basically runs a skyline engine, auto gearbox and GTR awd system).
So I got a call from dad after he'd viewed. He said the body was a little battered, namely front and rear bumpers with a bit of damage to the rear quarter, topped off with a scratched front right fender and dented left. Mechanically he said it was fine. Asked if any room to negotiate - negative, price was firm.
I just said why not, $4000 doesn't buy you much and I know where to get things cheap if needed.
Stagea bought... - Along with a f
king massive spider I noticed when driving away with it. Jesus I still remember that clearly and it was simply gigantic... It was on the outside of the rear passenger window so I left it at that and closed all the doors / windows.. I was so thankful for icy Japanese air con.Right details: 1997 Nissan stagea with roughly 160kms. Has bilsteins all round (wohoo), a turbo timer and a crusty looking exhaust (no holes though). I was pretty surprised after filling it up with fuel - it moves!! The story was that this older bloke imported one of the first into the country... for his wife, who now had left him and he had no use for it any more (evidenced by the many spider webs..) Apparently she wasn't a great driver either... Not pictures of it dented / as I bought it unfortunately.
I started sourcing parts to replace the damaged ones. After a quick search, silver was a common colour so I'd set the task of finding replacement panels in silver due to previous panel experience.. eh hem.
Success! Found a rather dirty front and rear bumper set along with LH guard - no success on the right. All was bought for $308 in Perth thanks to a fantastic bloke who brings them in (used previously and will in future no doubt!).
Fitted these up and all was well, apart from the battery dying... New one bought for $170 - paid through the nose as I'd agreed to lend it to my sister and her BF to go down south for a week (the day before!). They ended up doing about 1000kms in it and returned some amazing fuel figures as these beasts are renowned to be horrific on fuel (as I myself found out). Can't remember the exact figures but it was around 32MPG or so.
Similar story with the LS400 - I got annoyed with the city commuting costs (using 98RON fuel too) so up for sale the Stagea went.
Sorry, here's pictures!!
^You can still see the dented quarter where it meets the rear bumper but I decided against panel beating and painting.
Fluffy dice of sorts...
Big useful space!
Stock standard...
I'd priced it cheap for a quick sale and got exactly that. I only owned it for 3 weeks... The new owners bought it for their two great danes.
The bloke works in an extremely popular tuning company too. I doubt the car is still standard...
I honestly was quite happy to see it leave. I never got on with it... I'll attribute it to the auto gearbox, body roll and fuel economy. It just wasn't the same as a skyline...
With that in mind, next car had to be small, economical, manual and fun to drive.
Enter the hot hatch.
Problem: Small budget.
Solution: Send dad to negotiate because he has no shame
There was one small hot hatch that I'd been wanting to own for a long time.
A Mini Cooper S. Thing is, they cost upwards of 15k when I was looking. I had a budget of 10 and that would empty the bank account.
Back to gumtree I went. There existed one for 14,600 advertised with high-ish kms (138km) and having an oil leak with no service history. Hmm..
Dad was more than happy to go have a look as it was about 15mins from his house. Turns out another older bloke bought it was a sort of late mid-life crisis car. Apparently, he knew nothing about it other than what the mechanics told him.
At the time, it was exam period. I was at my mates house studying when I got a call. Apparently I now owned a 2003 Mini Cooper S
for 10k.
Just couldn't wait to go pick it up!!
I'd also like to point out that this is the youngest car bar the Getz I've bought. Feels odd..
Pictures home after a clean:
First impressions driving it: The handling is sublime. So direct and responsive! Love the chunky feel of the 6 speed box. Little disappointed by quality of interior (plasticccccc) but loved everything else although it was a little quiet...
First things first.... stripes
This cost a whole $12.
Next up, the gearknob and boot were a bit worn. Sourced a new gear and handbrake boot off eBay UK for $18 delivered... Black with stiched blue (to match the interior). Got a new looking second hand OEM knob from the UK Mini forums for $17.
Picture after that:
Now I had to tackle the problem of the oil leak. The service report was rocker cover gasket. Right that seems easy enough. OEM part and install came to $200. When this was being done, it was obvious that the top two engine mounts had had it. New parts were ordered and installed in record time!
Next I had to do something about the (lack of) noise. Rather than a droney exhaust, I was after supercharger whine. Mini forums UK sponsor, DaveF was having a group buy on his own intakes. I'm in! All I can say is the before / after is amazing! The whine is epic especially on colder nights but just dawdling around town - sounds like standard. Highly recommend this to anyone thinking about getting it!
All seemed well now, leak sorted, noise increased, fuel economy much lower compared to previous cars and brilliant fun to drive.
Until I was driving one day and the power steering died
I have to admit that it was very audible when turning the wheel stationary.
I turned the car off and on again and hey presto, power steering was back.
Well all was not well, a google told me that this was a common problem and the only fix was a new or reconditioned P/S pump. Damn. Well things happen. Recon pump ordered.
The pump arrived and got fitted. Finally I thought, everything is sorted.
Nope. New pump was silent but now had a different side effect of a small pulse when the pump wasn't being used, ie stationary. What happens, is that the lights dim ever so slightly on idle. I couldn't be bothered fixing it as I had a 2 year warranty on it and couldn't be arsed sending it back to America for another (postage costs were huge).
Then this happened.. I was leaving our back shed and the door decided to swing open into the Mini. Just my luck.
Picture of damage:
Most of that polished out but the door was quite dented. Sigh.
At the point I got sick of it as I'd also discovered the brakes and clutch needed doing too.
Advertised for cheap, sold for cheap, a loss was made but I was happy to see it go. I'd owned it for a 6 months - quite a while by my standards... I don't regret buying it as I quite enjoyed many drives in it especially through the twisties, embarrassing mates cars with at least twice the power
)Pictures to remember it by
That brings us nearly up to date!
Car no. 27. I'm afraid its a little boring as you see, I've now finished uni and needed a car to go to and from work (labourer atm... not many marketing jobs for grads eh) so basically it had to be cheap and reliable, preferably economical... Well that last bit went out the window when I returned to a 2001 AU Ford Falcon.. purely because it was 2 grand, lowish 178km and in decent nic. I've had it about 2 weeks now and done an oil + filter + fuel filter change for $47, $4 for some fuses and its been great bar the fuel usage
... here we go again haha.I don't even have a picture of it as I'm not really proud to own it... (Looks like the old one but goldy-silver) Its just a tool to get me from A to B. What I will say, is that coming from a Mini to the Falcon, refinement is just a word that doesn't exist in the aussie car. The gearbox and diff is clunky, engine classicly simple and fairly low revving, so basic that it won't (shouldn't) break as there's nothing really to go wrong! I don't even get rear power windows
Its comfy and drives well. Feels sort of like a powerful but poorly built Toyota Camry of the same era if that makes sense? The obvious difference being those rear wheels spinning when you go near the throttle on a wet day...
Well now if you've made it this far, you must be wondering what happened to the S2000. Well, I won my court case and 2 days later, he declared bankruptcy. As of now, I'm still chasing up (through court) him to prove that he actually is bankrupt... Long story short, I'm stuck with a horrible looking and totally unsaleable S2000 which I might have to keep forever unless someone crashes into me....
In the meantime, I've done my first ever proper track day in it at Barbagallo raceway (very different to the little RAC track at the airport) which proved one thing, I need more power, better rubber (not bald, cracking, hard, old bridgestones) and some non boat-like stock suspension..... Brakes were pretty damn good until towards the end (I did 24 laps in the one night). The car was brilliant though, nothing went wrong and started / drove fine the next day.. Always a good thing. Can highly recommend one for a problem free ownership experience to anyone!
Though there are plenty of positives, there are negatives.. There is zero steering feedback which isn't confidence inspiring at all. You need fast hands as its very twitchy too. Added to that, my current tyres don't squeal, they just let go.. Definitely due for replacement when funds allow. Lastly, V-Tec kicks in at 6000rpm so I'm sometimes stuck out of that zone on the track. Hoping that better tyres allow me to carry more speed and I won't need a higher ratio..
I've got a video from the night following a mates R34 GTR.. with 560HP at wheels on low boost... Thing is a beast! First time on the track for both of us. Epic car, think he was just a bit scared of binning it haha. Sorry about the audio and camera spot (no in car view)... I don't have an external microphone / camera combo yet. Will do eventually when I get a proper job! Got a few more videos too but haven't uploaded as same issue with audio.
First lap is warm up, 3 flying, then in and he didn't mean to come across me on the straight at the end haha, think I was up for a good lap time too, oh well. Also you'll have to excuse that first to second crunch early on.. My car is a 99 model and there was a factory recall for it but obviously mine was never brought back to the dealer. Doesn't phase me at all as I never drive fast first to second anyway - it only happens sometimes under load (I'd say about 5-7 times in my 2 year ownership). Guess that's something to watch out for if you do buy one.
Track day video
At the moment, situation is the same as last year really. Wait and see what happens with court... I'm half tempted to strip it into a track car... Talk me out of it please.
There's another track day on the 22nd of this month. I haven't entered though due to tyres being stuffed and brakes being worn from last track day... Still tempted just for fun but we'll see.
Looks like the title needs to be changed eh, 2 years is pretty much settled on a car
can't believe I've owned it for that long... UK trip is basically scrapped for now, it will definitely happen in the future though.Side news - sister's S13 Silvia has been sold and replaced with a Suzuki Baleno. Mum's E39 528i has been sold and we're currently (slowly) car hunting for her. She's borrowing the S2000 for shopping runs etc at the moment while I use the Ford for work. I've got massively strict rules as to what she will buy along with a tight budget... We'll see.
Court date is set for early September, will update if anything good comes of it and I make it through tomorrow and the following days... (4 wisdom teeth coming out
) Thanks for reading Thanks for the comments
Since I'm doing nothing for a while, thought I'd take a couple of quick snaps of the Falcon.
I don't intend to wash it, ever.
Exhaust pipe looks a tad rusty... I'm only going to replace it with an after market jobbie if I keep it long enough that holes appear haha. Good thing they're cheap to replace... Approx $270 installed or $220 delivered. Oh yeah, the car also has front sheepskin seat covers . They apparently cost the previous owner's granny $1150 AUD 
Actually I think I'll talk you through how I bought this car.. Was a bit of a different process...
I'd lined up 3-4 cars all around the 2k mark. Send off emails and would have bought any of them really. First to reply was the Falcon owner. Got the email the night before and went to the seller's house the day after.
I brought mum along as I needed someone to help me drive the car back. Now an old aussie bloke greeted my mum and I, before long it somehow got assumed that I was shopping for my first car??? I didn't intervene and just kept respectful. During the test drive (he drove), I started to get lectured on how powerful this Falcon was and that I wasn't to become another statistic etc... Eventually after getting back, we went inside to do paperwork and at this point I met the seller's wife who asked what I did etc. I said I was at uni, then she turned to my mum (58) and asked her if she was at uni too.
Egad.
After that passed, (later told mum to take it as a compliment...) it still took ages before I was allowed to leave with the car and him worrying about me crashing it... Needless to say, I made it home safe and sound .
Also, I've just realised I missed out one car! Mind you it was a pretty woeful one... Anyway I bought this after selling the Getz, before buying the Volvo. I saw it on a forum, no pics and poor description but mech sound and cheap.
After an hour in 40 degree heat to get there, it was a good thing it was mech sound cause it looked appalling... After a quick drive to confirm the ac was broken (of course it would be) and drivers window inoperable too, money exchanged hands and I began my 40 degree drive back in a mobile sauna.
Enter the worst 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GTST ever.
Pictures make it appear far better... It actually had worse paint than the S2000! Looked like a paint can job with brush strokes in places. Bought it cause it was cheap, sold it on quickly soon after for a small profit. In all fairness, the mechanicals were fine but it just looked so horrible! Would've got more if I could have taken the wheels off and put some other ones on as I did actually quite like them... But I couldn't find the lock nut and gave up after discovering normal nuts wouldn't fit either.
I've set (in my head) that I'll own an NSX before next year ends... Hopefully I get there somehow...
Talk2Dave - PM'd
Since I'm doing nothing for a while, thought I'd take a couple of quick snaps of the Falcon.
I don't intend to wash it, ever.
Exhaust pipe looks a tad rusty... I'm only going to replace it with an after market jobbie if I keep it long enough that holes appear haha. Good thing they're cheap to replace... Approx $270 installed or $220 delivered. Oh yeah, the car also has front sheepskin seat covers
. They apparently cost the previous owner's granny $1150 AUD Actually I think I'll talk you through how I bought this car.. Was a bit of a different process...
I'd lined up 3-4 cars all around the 2k mark. Send off emails and would have bought any of them really. First to reply was the Falcon owner. Got the email the night before and went to the seller's house the day after.
I brought mum along as I needed someone to help me drive the car back. Now an old aussie bloke greeted my mum and I, before long it somehow got assumed that I was shopping for my first car??? I didn't intervene and just kept respectful. During the test drive (he drove), I started to get lectured on how powerful this Falcon was and that I wasn't to become another statistic etc... Eventually after getting back, we went inside to do paperwork and at this point I met the seller's wife who asked what I did etc. I said I was at uni, then she turned to my mum (58) and asked her if she was at uni too.
Egad.
After that passed, (later told mum to take it as a compliment...) it still took ages before I was allowed to leave with the car and him worrying about me crashing it... Needless to say, I made it home safe and sound
. Also, I've just realised I missed out one car! Mind you it was a pretty woeful one... Anyway I bought this after selling the Getz, before buying the Volvo. I saw it on a forum, no pics and poor description but mech sound and cheap.
After an hour in 40 degree heat to get there, it was a good thing it was mech sound cause it looked appalling... After a quick drive to confirm the ac was broken (of course it would be) and drivers window inoperable too, money exchanged hands and I began my 40 degree drive back in a mobile sauna.
Enter the worst 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GTST ever.
Pictures make it appear far better... It actually had worse paint than the S2000! Looked like a paint can job with brush strokes in places. Bought it cause it was cheap, sold it on quickly soon after for a small profit. In all fairness, the mechanicals were fine but it just looked so horrible! Would've got more if I could have taken the wheels off and put some other ones on as I did actually quite like them... But I couldn't find the lock nut and gave up after discovering normal nuts wouldn't fit either.
I've set (in my head) that I'll own an NSX before next year ends... Hopefully I get there somehow...
Talk2Dave - PM'd
Edited by Ten Four on Friday 9th August 06:48
First off, sorry about this reply taking forever. Have had many things happening recently which leaves me little time to do anything. Its the first time in a while that I can afford to sit down, soft drink in hand (football tomorrow morning..) and type this up 
.
So on this long tale, we were up to the beige, old fart, grandad-spec Ford Falcon.
Well at the same time that labouring job finished (temporary), I sold it. Again, I had it for sale whilst using it and it sold to the first people to view it who were extremely happy with the overall condition of it - apparently they had seen many wrecks.
Side story - Mum's replacement car.
This was a difficult task really. It had to be reliable, not too old, comfortable, economical, under 10k and mum had to like it. We tried a Honda Accord Euro Luxury which ticked all the boxes on paper but in reality, rattled and felt somewhat cheap. It may have been the individual car but she was quite turned off after driving it.
Outside the box... Lets try a skyline.
What? My now 58 year old mum driving a Nissan Skyline? Well yes but no (explained soon).
Anyway, we went to see it in a well known dodgy suburb of Perth (low expectations). Turns out it was owned by a young couple who had to sell it to fund a holiday. The bloke was an import fanatic but this was to be left totally standard but highly maintained as it was simply put, "the wife's car".
48,000kms, no log books and apart from a parking dent on the rear bumper, near on showroom condition. Mum loved it, I did too even though its not really a skyline... It suited her perfect!
What it is, is a 2001 Nissan Skyline V35 300GT sedan - the forgotten or hated era. 256BHP 3L V6 direct injected, 5 speed auto on a 350Z chassis with very comfortable seats and great extras for the time. The easiest way for me to describe it would be saying it drives like a sporty Lexus.
Sorry about the pics - I just literally took them then as I had no pics of it at all!
She's still got this and its now on 51k (who knows) and proving to be a great car - have no plans to move this on any time soon.
My turn!
Criteria: Fun to drive, economical, reliable.
Result: Well... It was a bit of a funny buy actually. Browsing a local car forum late at night, someone with lets say, a funny reputation for goats (don't ask), posted up a Suzuki Ignis Sport. It was cheap for what it was though no pics. Getting there late at night wasn't a brilliant idea either. To help things, there was a blackout in the area.
Anyway the car: it drove perfect, apart from a 5th gear crunch when it felt like it. Still, I thought this wasn't too bad all things considered and the deal was done. 2003 Suzuki Ignis Sport with dodgy gearbox bought from a goat lover. It wasn't that simple.... The reason it was cheap, was because of an upcoming bond they needed to pay so money was needed instantly. Ok, mobile banking is brilliant... except the seller didn't know his bank details and his phone was out of battery.
With 3% left on his laptop, using my phone as a mobile hotspot, the deal was finally done. Pretty much the dodgiest situation ever buy a car, hah!
Its a wicked little car! So chuck-able, easy to get the rear around and generally awesome fun and I once got 550km out of the little tank which costs $52 to fill up on V-Power 98RON.
First thing I wanted, was an intake. I didn't fancy an exhaust as this was my little daily driver and I like my silence haha - must be getting old.
My trusty mechanic managed to fab one up and the sound it made was awesome!!!
Video of not me driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4xi_z015WI
I seriously loved this car. So much fun to drive, really quick for what it is imho!(figures seem to lie, its just so much fun to drive!)
However, the nagging issue was the gearbox. I bought some smurf's blood (redline lightweight shockproof) as I thought it would "rectify" the crunch like it did on my mates skyline.
The crunch didn't go away . Shift quality was improved but the crunch was definitely still there.
After a while, I got fairly annoyed at this and quotes of near on what I paid for the car were floating around for a replacement box.
I listed it for sale, problem in the advert and it was bought fairly quickly by someone who knew a great deal about these little buzz boxes. I regret selling the Iggy and will definitely have another at some point.
Now I wasn't really looking at other cars as I still had the S2000 to drive around in and was also jobless at this point.
So my cousin and I went halves on another S2000 .
Why? Because it was cheap and I'm impulsive and managed to talk him into it. It even came with a custom setting of veering heavily left on heavy throttle and back right again of lift off. Turns out this issue was down to tyres... Wish we had known this before we tried many other things...
Only have pics after I had the wheels refurbished to a nice dark shiny silver from scratched horrible off-white, replaced the roof (tear) and resprayed the front bumper (cracked).
The one thing this had that my red one doesn't, is an Injen intake which I can highly recommend any S2000 owner get... but you must avoid puddles!
Someone who wasn't me did this to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYwG1HYTuU
The plan was to sell it for a profit... However things didn't go to plan. In addition to the new roof, bumper respray and wheel refurbish, we had to include a new clutch, rear diff mounts, front arm rear control arm bushes, two rear tyres of course as well as the usual service, drive belts etc.
In the end, a good loss was made but oh well, my cousin and I both had fun with it.
Another side story.....
Remember my mates R34 GTR on the track? That got stolen and was never found. He was devastated and is currently to this day, looking in Japland for a suitable replacement to start from scratch with. For the sake of pictures, here it is:
Not long after, my S2000 too got stolen and has never been found. Maybe the thieves were blind? Can't say I was devastated about losing it as it was of course insured and well, I'd rather fallen out of love with it having to see it in its state with me not being able to do anything about it. The court result changed nothing, I'm owed a lot of money which I'll never see. The good news, was that I now had some money to play with, the bad news, was that now I'd had enough of cars what with them going missing, dodgy paint work and generally things not going according to plan...
I bought a Hyundai Getz to get around in. Female owner for many years (shows down one side, ehem) but lots of receipts over the years too.
The good side..
It is absolutely gutless, full of plastic, has a bad female stagnant sort of smell (I don't know either), dog-like reliability, cold air con and is economical to run.... Surprisingly, zero rattles! Bit of a love / hate relationship going on. Horrible and slow to drive but you knew it'd get you there comfortably eventually. Running it on V-Power 98 did make a noticeable difference too.
However, someone then decided it offended them too much and they rear ended me whilst I was sitting waiting to turn right. As it stands, its sitting outside on the road, not drivable as the metal rear quarter is rubbing the (new) left rear tyre.
I'm STILL waiting on the insurance company to send their assessor to come look over it.
So I needed more cheap wheels, insert another boring car I'm afraid. A 1999 Honda Accord with low km and full history. Reason? Still over cars and things that happen to them out of my control, Honda reliability and a relatively good price.
Yes its boring, no its not manual, yes it is green, yes I did have green LEDs put into the lights at the bottom of each door .
I quickly found out that it wasn't very economical though it should have been? I was barely scraping 450kms to a $80 tank... Compare that with the Ignis 500-550km for $50 and a whole heap more fun to drive.
Comparing that made me annoyed about driving a car like this when I could be driving something else like that and it costing less to run.
Accord was promptly sold . The buyer almost crashed on the test drive... And he lives about 700m down the road. I have not checked if the car is still in one piece.
Deciding that I was going to buy a cheap buzz box to get around in and maybe go back to a nice toy, I bought my friend's Mitsubishi Mirage. Mistake - turned a blind eye to it as she'd had it years. Thing leaked oil and guzzled fuel (auto).
Here is a picture, prepare to gag.
Basically near on gave it away.
Enough crap cars I thought. Time to get something I've wanted for a while but not yet bought. The mission was a tough one because of the age of said car and things people to do them. I had strict criteria which basically were it being in good condition, not crashed or messed with - essentially a good clean example. I then managed to duly full fill this when I stumbled across one being sold by an old Polish bloke. He'd had it years and made one simple modification of raising the boost by 2psi. Yes boost, it is a turbo! Everything else on it is factory original.
Here is my 2002 Nissan 200sx Silvia S15 Spec R GT. I promise you that is the full name of it. The bonus of it being a Spec R GT, meant leather seats, sunroof, nicer steering wheel, cruise control and a few other bits. The only "downside", was it having done 150k kms - high compared to imports with "70k kms". It however drives like new and has full history. I've had to spend a sizeable lump doing a full service with drive belts, oils etc and water pump (never changed). Its all spot on now! Everyone should drive one at some point, they weigh nothing compared to today's cars and with a 6 speed box, (admittedly absolutely not a patch on the S2000's gearbox) has proved extremely economical if driven sensibly! $80 gets me 550kms! Steering feel and feedback is just amazing and it just feels so right! I have to stress though, if you're say, above 6ft tall, you'll definitely want one without a sunroof for that headroom. Enough waffle though, here are your pics!
No the 350z is not mine!
It's so comfortable yet handles brilliantly (could use wider rubber on the rear if you know what I mean ). Such a good compromise between a sports car and a usable, comfortable car I can go any where in. Plans? Well I like how standard it is - still makes 175HP at the rear wheels and weighing 1250kg, its definitely enough for me and my needs. An easy 60-80HP more is there if I want it through an ecu / tune and exhaust if I feel the need which in all honestly, isn't likely.
I've already had it out for a nice long drive or two and its just awesome fun to drive!
I'm just waiting for the Getz to be sorted then I'll either buy another daily driver and keep the S15 for fun or maybe dabble in some other stuff, who knows with me . Sorry it took so long!
.So on this long tale, we were up to the beige, old fart, grandad-spec Ford Falcon.
Well at the same time that labouring job finished (temporary), I sold it. Again, I had it for sale whilst using it and it sold to the first people to view it who were extremely happy with the overall condition of it - apparently they had seen many wrecks.
Side story - Mum's replacement car.
This was a difficult task really. It had to be reliable, not too old, comfortable, economical, under 10k and mum had to like it. We tried a Honda Accord Euro Luxury which ticked all the boxes on paper but in reality, rattled and felt somewhat cheap. It may have been the individual car but she was quite turned off after driving it.
Outside the box... Lets try a skyline.
What? My now 58 year old mum driving a Nissan Skyline? Well yes but no (explained soon).
Anyway, we went to see it in a well known dodgy suburb of Perth (low expectations). Turns out it was owned by a young couple who had to sell it to fund a holiday. The bloke was an import fanatic but this was to be left totally standard but highly maintained as it was simply put, "the wife's car".
48,000kms, no log books and apart from a parking dent on the rear bumper, near on showroom condition. Mum loved it, I did too even though its not really a skyline... It suited her perfect!
What it is, is a 2001 Nissan Skyline V35 300GT sedan - the forgotten or hated era. 256BHP 3L V6 direct injected, 5 speed auto on a 350Z chassis with very comfortable seats and great extras for the time. The easiest way for me to describe it would be saying it drives like a sporty Lexus.
Sorry about the pics - I just literally took them then as I had no pics of it at all!
She's still got this and its now on 51k (who knows) and proving to be a great car - have no plans to move this on any time soon.
My turn!
Criteria: Fun to drive, economical, reliable.
Result: Well... It was a bit of a funny buy actually. Browsing a local car forum late at night, someone with lets say, a funny reputation for goats (don't ask), posted up a Suzuki Ignis Sport. It was cheap for what it was though no pics. Getting there late at night wasn't a brilliant idea either. To help things, there was a blackout in the area.
Anyway the car: it drove perfect, apart from a 5th gear crunch when it felt like it. Still, I thought this wasn't too bad all things considered and the deal was done. 2003 Suzuki Ignis Sport with dodgy gearbox bought from a goat lover. It wasn't that simple.... The reason it was cheap, was because of an upcoming bond they needed to pay so money was needed instantly. Ok, mobile banking is brilliant... except the seller didn't know his bank details and his phone was out of battery.
With 3% left on his laptop, using my phone as a mobile hotspot, the deal was finally done. Pretty much the dodgiest situation ever buy a car, hah!
Its a wicked little car! So chuck-able, easy to get the rear around and generally awesome fun and I once got 550km out of the little tank which costs $52 to fill up on V-Power 98RON.
First thing I wanted, was an intake. I didn't fancy an exhaust as this was my little daily driver and I like my silence haha - must be getting old.
My trusty mechanic managed to fab one up and the sound it made was awesome!!!
Video of not me driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4xi_z015WI
I seriously loved this car. So much fun to drive, really quick for what it is imho!(figures seem to lie, its just so much fun to drive!)
However, the nagging issue was the gearbox. I bought some smurf's blood (redline lightweight shockproof) as I thought it would "rectify" the crunch like it did on my mates skyline.
The crunch didn't go away
. Shift quality was improved but the crunch was definitely still there.After a while, I got fairly annoyed at this and quotes of near on what I paid for the car were floating around for a replacement box.
I listed it for sale, problem in the advert and it was bought fairly quickly by someone who knew a great deal about these little buzz boxes. I regret selling the Iggy and will definitely have another at some point.
Now I wasn't really looking at other cars as I still had the S2000 to drive around in and was also jobless at this point.
So my cousin and I went halves on another S2000
.Why? Because it was cheap and I'm impulsive and managed to talk him into it. It even came with a custom setting of veering heavily left on heavy throttle and back right again of lift off. Turns out this issue was down to tyres... Wish we had known this before we tried many other things...
Only have pics after I had the wheels refurbished to a nice dark shiny silver from scratched horrible off-white, replaced the roof (tear) and resprayed the front bumper (cracked).
The one thing this had that my red one doesn't, is an Injen intake which I can highly recommend any S2000 owner get... but you must avoid puddles!
Someone who wasn't me did this to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYwG1HYTuU
The plan was to sell it for a profit... However things didn't go to plan. In addition to the new roof, bumper respray and wheel refurbish, we had to include a new clutch, rear diff mounts, front arm rear control arm bushes, two rear tyres of course as well as the usual service, drive belts etc.
In the end, a good loss was made but oh well, my cousin and I both had fun with it.
Another side story.....
Remember my mates R34 GTR on the track? That got stolen and was never found. He was devastated and is currently to this day, looking in Japland for a suitable replacement to start from scratch with. For the sake of pictures, here it is:
Not long after, my S2000 too got stolen and has never been found. Maybe the thieves were blind? Can't say I was devastated about losing it as it was of course insured and well, I'd rather fallen out of love with it having to see it in its state with me not being able to do anything about it. The court result changed nothing, I'm owed a lot of money which I'll never see. The good news, was that I now had some money to play with, the bad news, was that now I'd had enough of cars what with them going missing, dodgy paint work and generally things not going according to plan...
I bought a Hyundai Getz to get around in. Female owner for many years (shows down one side, ehem) but lots of receipts over the years too.
The good side..
It is absolutely gutless, full of plastic, has a bad female stagnant sort of smell (I don't know either), dog-like reliability, cold air con and is economical to run.... Surprisingly, zero rattles! Bit of a love / hate relationship going on. Horrible and slow to drive but you knew it'd get you there comfortably eventually. Running it on V-Power 98 did make a noticeable difference too.
However, someone then decided it offended them too much and they rear ended me whilst I was sitting waiting to turn right. As it stands, its sitting outside on the road, not drivable as the metal rear quarter is rubbing the (new) left rear tyre.
I'm STILL waiting on the insurance company to send their assessor to come look over it.
So I needed more cheap wheels, insert another boring car I'm afraid. A 1999 Honda Accord with low km and full history. Reason? Still over cars and things that happen to them out of my control, Honda reliability and a relatively good price.
Yes its boring, no its not manual, yes it is green, yes I did have green LEDs put into the lights at the bottom of each door
.I quickly found out that it wasn't very economical though it should have been? I was barely scraping 450kms to a $80 tank... Compare that with the Ignis 500-550km for $50 and a whole heap more fun to drive.
Comparing that made me annoyed about driving a car like this when I could be driving something else like that and it costing less to run.
Accord was promptly sold
. The buyer almost crashed on the test drive... And he lives about 700m down the road. I have not checked if the car is still in one piece.Deciding that I was going to buy a cheap buzz box to get around in and maybe go back to a nice toy, I bought my friend's Mitsubishi Mirage. Mistake - turned a blind eye to it as she'd had it years. Thing leaked oil and guzzled fuel (auto).
Here is a picture, prepare to gag.
Basically near on gave it away.
Enough crap cars I thought. Time to get something I've wanted for a while but not yet bought. The mission was a tough one because of the age of said car and things people to do them. I had strict criteria which basically were it being in good condition, not crashed or messed with - essentially a good clean example. I then managed to duly full fill this when I stumbled across one being sold by an old Polish bloke. He'd had it years and made one simple modification of raising the boost by 2psi. Yes boost, it is a turbo! Everything else on it is factory original.
Here is my 2002 Nissan 200sx Silvia S15 Spec R GT. I promise you that is the full name of it. The bonus of it being a Spec R GT, meant leather seats, sunroof, nicer steering wheel, cruise control and a few other bits. The only "downside", was it having done 150k kms - high compared to imports with "70k kms". It however drives like new and has full history. I've had to spend a sizeable lump doing a full service with drive belts, oils etc and water pump (never changed). Its all spot on now! Everyone should drive one at some point, they weigh nothing compared to today's cars and with a 6 speed box, (admittedly absolutely not a patch on the S2000's gearbox) has proved extremely economical if driven sensibly! $80 gets me 550kms! Steering feel and feedback is just amazing and it just feels so right! I have to stress though, if you're say, above 6ft tall, you'll definitely want one without a sunroof for that headroom. Enough waffle though, here are your pics!
No the 350z is not mine!
It's so comfortable yet handles brilliantly (could use wider rubber on the rear if you know what I mean
). Such a good compromise between a sports car and a usable, comfortable car I can go any where in. Plans? Well I like how standard it is - still makes 175HP at the rear wheels and weighing 1250kg, its definitely enough for me and my needs. An easy 60-80HP more is there if I want it through an ecu / tune and exhaust if I feel the need which in all honestly, isn't likely.I've already had it out for a nice long drive or two and its just awesome fun to drive!
I'm just waiting for the Getz to be sorted then I'll either buy another daily driver and keep the S15 for fun or maybe dabble in some other stuff, who knows with me
. Sorry it took so long!Edited by Ten Four on Saturday 17th May 17:46
Wow its been 5 months already... This is probably my last update for a long while I think... (Apologies some pictures are larger than others... Formatting issues on my end)
I have to come clean, when I last posted, the S15 was just about sold in preparation for something else... (Massive regret unfortunately but ultimately no choice)
Though more on that later
I swear sometimes I forget and have to resort to pictures and docs I keep in order to remember... That's not a good sign
So first things first. Getz money finally arrived and I needed a cheap car to get me to work and back. The cheaper the better.
My mate had this 1996 Ford Festiva lying around that had seen better days... To say the least... But it worked, kept me mostly dry (driver's door didn't close all the way, resulting in wet neck when rain fell), had working air con and didn't break down.
The funniest thing when I bought it off my mate... Is it in neutral? I don't know came the reply. I moved the gear stick around and it had heaps of play so I said feels like it. Turns out it wasn't in neutral. Now I've never driven an old landrover but it must be something like this haha. Changing into first gear results into feeling up your passenger's knee, second means up their thigh. Female passengers in the front only then
.
You want a picture? Well here's a couple of flattering ones... Yes, much worse in real life.
This was a good laugh for a while but it did eventually get on my nerves... And was pretty embarrassing if I'm honest.
The Festiva sold to the first who viewed and was gone for $750. I bought it for $500 off said mate so we split the profit .
So what do you do next? Buy an LS400.
Paid far too much for it, drove it, put fuel in it, disliked double and then some fuel consumption, sold it for a big loss.
That's all I want to say about that car. I've well and truly squashed my LS400 bug now... Don't think I'll ever have another.
I also missed my Ignis Sport too... Great little car to throw around etc. A different mate had this old Suzuki Swift GTI... which I wanted and he needed to sell as he'd just gone and bought an R32 GTR.
Enter 1987 Suzuki Swift GTI MK1
Well it is great fun and is (still) parked outside whilst I type this. It's an awesome little car! Reminiscent of the Ignis Sport but of a much older vintage of course... Square buttons for everything, including parker/head lights, wiper speeds, unlock/lock boot etc! I've literally today had it at the mechanics to sort out little niggles and its been given the mechanical tick of approval! Yay!
But air con will cost more than the car to fix (optioned with, not working).
I guess I'll deal with that when I can't steal other people's cars during summer haha. Its got a few little dings and has had a minor shunt LH rear but nothing to worry about, especially for the price paid .
Just had a few bits and bobs done, yellow vinyl to fog lights because I'm a child and I think its a mini rally car, drive belt, track rod ends, wiper blades, oil / filter and a few other little jobs.
You'll be wanting a picture then?
I've also had it on a "GTI" cruise with a couple of mates, that was fun
I don't think I've got any more plans for it really. Its already got a few things from the (many) previous owners (its been through many people in the Perth WRX club as a kind of in-between car for members). Exhaust, Koni shocks, stereo and just a good bit of maintenance. The air con will be too expensive to fix unfortunately as it basically needs every component. Its 720kg of fun and I'm not sick of it yet!
I guess you must be wondering why I "had to" sell the S15. Well its because at the time, I was working full time (casual hours) as a laundry delivery driver (I know) and nights as a soccer ref. So I cleverly decided it was time to buy my "realistically affordable" dream car.
...
...
...
Its got the wrong badge.
...
...
...
Here is a 1993 black/black manual Honda NSX.
I'd done the research (early ones can have issues with manual boxes, I wanted power steering and black), exchanged many emails with the super helpful seller prior to flying over to Sydney.. Why he couldn't have been an arrogant knob, I don't know
I hadn't been on a plane in just over 10 years at this point and have never liked flying... (Doesn't help with the Malaysia airlines saga) But I had to get there somehow and no way was I driving the Festiva haha (my kangaroo was also out of action). Plus it was most economically viable method and I only needed to take one day off work.
Some pictures from the trip:
Fear of boarding plane status: Low.
Plane boarded, take-off success; still alive.
But will the plane food be my demise?
Plane landed, food consumed, no sleep in 24 hours at this stage but I am alive and in Sydney. Success!
I kind of thought this place would be busy at 8am...
Right the plan was to meet my mate who I've never met before in person at Sydney airport (go online games!). This went well except on arrival, his Honda Civic decided to overheat for the first time ever. That's a good start... Luckily the seller arrived shortly after too... In this shiny black NSX.
You had me at hello!
At this point, my mate decided to go swap cars with his dad and leave the Civic at his dad's work while I went with the seller to drive the car to the New South Wales department of transport to sort out some interstate details.
Parked in the car park with the (excellent) seller in view.
So myself and the seller (Dan) sorted out the paperwork and receipts, then decided to go to the bank (to bank the cheques) which opens at 9:30am... It was 9am at this stage. We met up with my mate again at this point in a nearby coffee shop. He returned with his dad's fully optioned (bar engine...) VE Holden Calais V6. Nice!
Finally the bank was open, cheques were deposited and then I dropped Dan near his work.
I had to literally tell myself, that black NSX parked over there.. I own that. (Albeit with a huge loan..)
The plan next was to get it to the shipping depot.
The only time I'd been to Sydney prior was when I was a small child on a family holiday so I don't remember anything really. What I do remember now, is how horrible a place it is to drive. The lanes are incredibly narrow and the surface is horrific. Catching peak hour traffic didn't help either. Not to mention the depot was an hours drive.
Following my mate Luca, we had to detour to the workshop where his R32 GTR was being built to drop some toys off. (This now makes spastic power... soon to be even more spastic...)
Then on, I tailed Luca to the depot which we successfully (and stressfully, for me anyway) arrived at, unscathed. The revs never went above 3000rpm...
Parked at the depot:
Happiest person in the world right here!
This was to be the last time I laid eyes on it for a good 6 weeks... Due to a train derailment!!! Extra insurance was paid for and I got a free upgrade to a container due to a miscommunication. Score!
A little side track here, feel free to skip on if it bores you!
After this, I had the day in Sydney to kill before my 7:45pm flight back. We decided to get a delicious Thai lunch and later met up with one of Luca's mates. He owns this:
A little old Daihatsu Charade. Cute isn't it?
It kind of has an engine swap and a resultant turbo.
This absolutely leaves behind the VE Calais... Its crazy and that's only running 6psi...
No pictures of the Calais unfortunately as I forgot . You can see part of it here while the Civic was being fixed.. Backyard style 
Civic, fixed, (leaky bottom hose if I remember correctly?) I then got all touristy and we went to Botany bay, which was nice:
It then finally came time to go home. We went back to the airport, had some Mcdonalds and I said my goodbyes (until next time) and I boarded the plane successfully, landed successfully and found myself at the Perth airport carpark waiting to go home. I don't know how people sleep on planes. I was awake the whole time and pretty exhausted by this point.
Mum powered V35 Skyline taxi:
And I was back at work the next morning
Back on track...
I picked up the NSX from the depot in Perth with my sister giving me a lift and then drove it straight to my mechanic's place. It has to go through a MOT equivalent before its allowed to be registered in WA. The NSX has one issue which would stop this which is faulty ABS resulting in a cycling pump and light on dash. A long time later and through shipping forwarding... as Honda Australia want 3 times the price that Acura in the USA does, I now have a fully functioning ABS switch, accumulator and pump. The NSX itself presents like new (imho).
Its like the early 90s in here...
It went for inspection and apparently (my dad went, I was working) the whole place came to look at it... They didn't even drive it, said it was as new and passed it there and then. They couldn't believe it was 21 years old!
I've only done 1200ish KMs in it including running all over Sydney in it. Reason being is simply having no time to drive it but more importantly, I discovered the timing belt was last done 20KM but 10 years ago... So I'm a bit reluctant to drive it at the moment. That didn't stop me doing 200kms in Perth after the ABS issue was rectified! I'd do the full belt, pump etc service but I recently lost my day job due to a parking fine, not my fault which I refuse to pay but that's another story...
Obligatory McDonalds shot:
Now looking for more work (still working nights) so I can get the parts required and book the car in! This ones a keeper, hence why I think its going to be my "last update" in a while...
Currently sleeping in storage attached to a trickle charger unfortunately
Its in almost time warp condition... Many of my mates can't quite believe it and beg me to take it out more... But I won't in fear of a snapped belt for now. Simply cannot wait until its all sorted and I can be out there driving it
One of my favourite photos to finish:
Thanks for reading! Long live the NSX!
I have to come clean, when I last posted, the S15 was just about sold in preparation for something else... (Massive regret unfortunately but ultimately no choice)
Though more on that later
I swear sometimes I forget and have to resort to pictures and docs I keep in order to remember... That's not a good sign
So first things first. Getz money finally arrived and I needed a cheap car to get me to work and back. The cheaper the better.
My mate had this 1996 Ford Festiva lying around that had seen better days... To say the least... But it worked, kept me mostly dry (driver's door didn't close all the way, resulting in wet neck when rain fell), had working air con and didn't break down.
The funniest thing when I bought it off my mate... Is it in neutral? I don't know came the reply. I moved the gear stick around and it had heaps of play so I said feels like it. Turns out it wasn't in neutral. Now I've never driven an old landrover but it must be something like this haha. Changing into first gear results into feeling up your passenger's knee, second means up their thigh. Female passengers in the front only then
. You want a picture? Well here's a couple of flattering ones... Yes, much worse in real life.
This was a good laugh for a while but it did eventually get on my nerves... And was pretty embarrassing if I'm honest.
The Festiva sold to the first who viewed and was gone for $750. I bought it for $500 off said mate so we split the profit
.So what do you do next? Buy an LS400.
Paid far too much for it, drove it, put fuel in it, disliked double and then some fuel consumption, sold it for a big loss.
That's all I want to say about that car. I've well and truly squashed my LS400 bug now... Don't think I'll ever have another.
I also missed my Ignis Sport too... Great little car to throw around etc. A different mate had this old Suzuki Swift GTI... which I wanted and he needed to sell as he'd just gone and bought an R32 GTR.
Enter 1987 Suzuki Swift GTI MK1
Well it is great fun and is (still) parked outside whilst I type this. It's an awesome little car! Reminiscent of the Ignis Sport but of a much older vintage of course... Square buttons for everything, including parker/head lights, wiper speeds, unlock/lock boot etc! I've literally today had it at the mechanics to sort out little niggles and its been given the mechanical tick of approval! Yay!
But air con will cost more than the car to fix (optioned with, not working).
I guess I'll deal with that when I can't steal other people's cars during summer haha. Its got a few little dings and has had a minor shunt LH rear but nothing to worry about, especially for the price paid
.Just had a few bits and bobs done, yellow vinyl to fog lights because I'm a child and I think its a mini rally car, drive belt, track rod ends, wiper blades, oil / filter and a few other little jobs.
You'll be wanting a picture then?
I've also had it on a "GTI" cruise with a couple of mates, that was fun
I don't think I've got any more plans for it really. Its already got a few things from the (many) previous owners (its been through many people in the Perth WRX club as a kind of in-between car for members). Exhaust, Koni shocks, stereo and just a good bit of maintenance. The air con will be too expensive to fix unfortunately as it basically needs every component. Its 720kg of fun and I'm not sick of it yet!
I guess you must be wondering why I "had to" sell the S15. Well its because at the time, I was working full time (casual hours) as a laundry delivery driver (I know) and nights as a soccer ref. So I cleverly decided it was time to buy my "realistically affordable" dream car.
...
...
...
Its got the wrong badge.
...
...
...
Here is a 1993 black/black manual Honda NSX.
I'd done the research (early ones can have issues with manual boxes, I wanted power steering and black), exchanged many emails with the super helpful seller prior to flying over to Sydney.. Why he couldn't have been an arrogant knob, I don't know
I hadn't been on a plane in just over 10 years at this point and have never liked flying... (Doesn't help with the Malaysia airlines saga) But I had to get there somehow and no way was I driving the Festiva haha (my kangaroo was also out of action). Plus it was most economically viable method and I only needed to take one day off work.
Some pictures from the trip:
Fear of boarding plane status: Low.
Plane boarded, take-off success; still alive.
But will the plane food be my demise?
Plane landed, food consumed, no sleep in 24 hours at this stage but I am alive and in Sydney. Success!
I kind of thought this place would be busy at 8am...
Right the plan was to meet my mate who I've never met before in person at Sydney airport (go online games!). This went well except on arrival, his Honda Civic decided to overheat for the first time ever. That's a good start... Luckily the seller arrived shortly after too... In this shiny black NSX.
You had me at hello!
At this point, my mate decided to go swap cars with his dad and leave the Civic at his dad's work while I went with the seller to drive the car to the New South Wales department of transport to sort out some interstate details.
Parked in the car park with the (excellent) seller in view.
So myself and the seller (Dan) sorted out the paperwork and receipts, then decided to go to the bank (to bank the cheques) which opens at 9:30am... It was 9am at this stage. We met up with my mate again at this point in a nearby coffee shop. He returned with his dad's fully optioned (bar engine...) VE Holden Calais V6. Nice!
Finally the bank was open, cheques were deposited and then I dropped Dan near his work.
I had to literally tell myself, that black NSX parked over there.. I own that. (Albeit with a huge loan..)
The plan next was to get it to the shipping depot.
The only time I'd been to Sydney prior was when I was a small child on a family holiday so I don't remember anything really. What I do remember now, is how horrible a place it is to drive. The lanes are incredibly narrow and the surface is horrific. Catching peak hour traffic didn't help either. Not to mention the depot was an hours drive.
Following my mate Luca, we had to detour to the workshop where his R32 GTR was being built to drop some toys off. (This now makes spastic power... soon to be even more spastic...)
Then on, I tailed Luca to the depot which we successfully (and stressfully, for me anyway) arrived at, unscathed. The revs never went above 3000rpm...
Parked at the depot:
Happiest person in the world right here!
This was to be the last time I laid eyes on it for a good 6 weeks... Due to a train derailment!!! Extra insurance was paid for and I got a free upgrade to a container due to a miscommunication. Score!
A little side track here, feel free to skip on if it bores you!
After this, I had the day in Sydney to kill before my 7:45pm flight back. We decided to get a delicious Thai lunch and later met up with one of Luca's mates. He owns this:
A little old Daihatsu Charade. Cute isn't it?
It kind of has an engine swap and a resultant turbo.
This absolutely leaves behind the VE Calais... Its crazy and that's only running 6psi...
No pictures of the Calais unfortunately as I forgot
. You can see part of it here while the Civic was being fixed.. Backyard style Civic, fixed, (leaky bottom hose if I remember correctly?) I then got all touristy and we went to Botany bay, which was nice:
It then finally came time to go home. We went back to the airport, had some Mcdonalds and I said my goodbyes (until next time) and I boarded the plane successfully, landed successfully and found myself at the Perth airport carpark waiting to go home. I don't know how people sleep on planes. I was awake the whole time and pretty exhausted by this point.
Mum powered V35 Skyline taxi:
And I was back at work the next morning
Back on track...
I picked up the NSX from the depot in Perth with my sister giving me a lift and then drove it straight to my mechanic's place. It has to go through a MOT equivalent before its allowed to be registered in WA. The NSX has one issue which would stop this which is faulty ABS resulting in a cycling pump and light on dash. A long time later and through shipping forwarding... as Honda Australia want 3 times the price that Acura in the USA does, I now have a fully functioning ABS switch, accumulator and pump. The NSX itself presents like new (imho).
Its like the early 90s in here...
It went for inspection and apparently (my dad went, I was working) the whole place came to look at it... They didn't even drive it, said it was as new and passed it there and then. They couldn't believe it was 21 years old!
I've only done 1200ish KMs in it including running all over Sydney in it. Reason being is simply having no time to drive it but more importantly, I discovered the timing belt was last done 20KM but 10 years ago... So I'm a bit reluctant to drive it at the moment. That didn't stop me doing 200kms in Perth after the ABS issue was rectified! I'd do the full belt, pump etc service but I recently lost my day job due to a parking fine, not my fault which I refuse to pay but that's another story...
Obligatory McDonalds shot:
Now looking for more work (still working nights) so I can get the parts required and book the car in! This ones a keeper, hence why I think its going to be my "last update" in a while...
Currently sleeping in storage attached to a trickle charger unfortunately
Its in almost time warp condition... Many of my mates can't quite believe it and beg me to take it out more... But I won't in fear of a snapped belt for now. Simply cannot wait until its all sorted and I can be out there driving it
One of my favourite photos to finish:
Thanks for reading! Long live the NSX!
Edited by Ten Four on Tuesday 28th October 11:39
Just realised I quoted myself on 9th Aug 2013 here saying: "I've set (in my head) that I'll own an NSX before next year ends... Hopefully I get there somehow..."
Well and truly achieved
Sorry not much on the update front, still looking for a FT job so I've just been driving them around, NSX every now and then simply because I can't resist! I do have a few pictures for you though!
Both cars are so different yet I love driving them both (slight bias towards the NSX). The Swift does want new front shocks if I'm honest but other than that, is going great! (Bar no air con..
)
Hope everyone is having a great Christmas! I took both cars out separately today for a bit of a drive in-between family stuff. It was fantastic.
Well and truly achieved
Sorry not much on the update front, still looking for a FT job so I've just been driving them around, NSX every now and then simply because I can't resist! I do have a few pictures for you though!
Both cars are so different yet I love driving them both (slight bias towards the NSX). The Swift does want new front shocks if I'm honest but other than that, is going great! (Bar no air con..
)Hope everyone is having a great Christmas! I took both cars out separately today for a bit of a drive in-between family stuff. It was fantastic.
Update time! YAY!
So summer was here and the swift needed en entire AC overhaul (read above 1k) so that was a no go; put it for sale to see if there was any interest... and well, no not really. I had a couple come see and offer me half of what I was after.... So I kept it and just had to endure the 40degree days... Yeah that wasn't fun.
A few weeks later I had 3 calls at once which resulted in one gent from SYDNEY buying the car for asking, sight unseen and transferring cash into my account the next morning! Turns out he already has one, but he wants two... Only 200 were ever imported into Australia apparently. I've only seen one other one in Perth.
So now I was down to one car and no FT job, manageable except I ended up stealing mums car which doesn't really work because she needs it too. Fine, I'd buy a cheap thing to get me around. Wasn't really fussed at this point as long as it was A) reliable, B) cheap to buy and C) not a fuel guzzler.
Sent dad off to view one car because it was local to him.... Should've known better, ended up with this magnificent turd:
Cause you know, I do serious off roading! This one time, I mounted a curb!
Well its a 1998 green-ish Honda CRV, 5spd manual. It was also an oil leaky turd with several dents and scratches (pics don't tell half the story..) Thanks dad.
Brought it to the mechanics and had to spent a fair few bob to get it mechanically right.
And I still hated how slow it was, how unnecessarily heavy the clutch was. The good part was a rear that had flat folding seats and separate tailgate.. So quite useful.
I drove this for a while then put it for sale... Just felt like a machine and I had no love for it. Had many time wasters surprisingly but sold it eventually for a small loss.
Back to borrowing mums car.
NSX update - well not much really. I did get another laundry driving job for a competitor so been doing that for a while. At least its enabled me to spend all I've earned on the NSX... Yep, finally ordered that timing belt / water pump stuff so I'll finally be able to drive it soon. Its currently en route from the USA. What pushed me over the edge to get it done, was my mechanic saying it sounded nice. Yep. Haha
Now mum got sick of me borrowing the skyline and I got sick of borrowing it too - not the car's fault (nice to drive) but more its not my car, don't want to do this or that because its not my car.
I was meant to buy dad's 1994 Benz C280 Sport which he bought cheap but hadn't been driven in a few years... So naturally needed money spending.
|
Lovely car, loved driving it when I could. Had the sports seats, carbon-look trim and lower than usual C classes. Oh dad was selling it to me as he was returning to the UK permanently
Anyway about a week before his flight, this happened:
Insurance write off
Some cow went straight into the back of him, no brakes applied (dad was just turning into his mates workshop and his mate saw everything). Said cow then refused to give her details and disappeared before the cops came.
No matter, dad was OK and his mates managed to find out who she was, forwarded these details to the insurance company and then successfully got paid out just before he flew out. That was a relief BUT I WANTED THE CAR!! Inspection revealed twisted chassis so not worth the repair
Truly gutted, had enough power, handled well and wasn't too big whilst being all sorted. Argh! I began the hunt for another but couldn't find another for sale anywhere, let alone a good one. Sigh.
Next best thing then.
Literally an hour ago, I just parked this in the drive... And I absolutely adore it!
Apologies for the pics, best I could do with my ageing iphone4. I promise I will get better ones to truly show how stunning it is .
Yes I know its only a C200 but that doesn't concern me in the slightest. Its almost immaculate outside (one door and boot trim needs a bit of paint) and immaculate inside. The previous owners have had it 13 years! Whilst its not low km, 235km, it drives like far, far less and presents like far less too. It was the wife's car and his job by trade, is a Benz / BMW mechanic! So very well looked after by them and I will do my best to ensure it remains the same.
The reason for sale?
C280 is his (he simply won't sell - not identical spec wise to my dad's old one, C280 Elegance - he had to go to Sydney for it and has had it for years too) and the CLK was just bought for his wife as the replacement. Quite simply, no need for 3 cars so the C200 had to go. Fine by me!
Oh yes, it cost only a tad more than the CRV. Truly, I will write this here and now. If it passes my mechanic's tests, this will be the permanent daily driver. Economical, comfortable, (hopefully) reliable and cheap-ish to run.
Unfortunately the tyres are near new, so won't be replacing the steel wheels for a while.
And that's bang up to date! Hope you enjoyed the read. I will be back with some nice pictures of my pair in the future!
So summer was here and the swift needed en entire AC overhaul (read above 1k) so that was a no go; put it for sale to see if there was any interest... and well, no not really. I had a couple come see and offer me half of what I was after.... So I kept it and just had to endure the 40degree days... Yeah that wasn't fun.
A few weeks later I had 3 calls at once which resulted in one gent from SYDNEY buying the car for asking, sight unseen and transferring cash into my account the next morning! Turns out he already has one, but he wants two... Only 200 were ever imported into Australia apparently. I've only seen one other one in Perth.
So now I was down to one car and no FT job, manageable except I ended up stealing mums car which doesn't really work because she needs it too. Fine, I'd buy a cheap thing to get me around. Wasn't really fussed at this point as long as it was A) reliable, B) cheap to buy and C) not a fuel guzzler.
Sent dad off to view one car because it was local to him.... Should've known better, ended up with this magnificent turd:
Cause you know, I do serious off roading! This one time, I mounted a curb!
Well its a 1998 green-ish Honda CRV, 5spd manual. It was also an oil leaky turd with several dents and scratches (pics don't tell half the story..) Thanks dad.
Brought it to the mechanics and had to spent a fair few bob to get it mechanically right.
And I still hated how slow it was, how unnecessarily heavy the clutch was. The good part was a rear that had flat folding seats and separate tailgate.. So quite useful.
I drove this for a while then put it for sale... Just felt like a machine and I had no love for it. Had many time wasters surprisingly but sold it eventually for a small loss.
Back to borrowing mums car.
NSX update - well not much really. I did get another laundry driving job for a competitor so been doing that for a while. At least its enabled me to spend all I've earned on the NSX... Yep, finally ordered that timing belt / water pump stuff so I'll finally be able to drive it soon. Its currently en route from the USA. What pushed me over the edge to get it done, was my mechanic saying it sounded nice. Yep. Haha
Now mum got sick of me borrowing the skyline and I got sick of borrowing it too - not the car's fault (nice to drive) but more its not my car, don't want to do this or that because its not my car.
I was meant to buy dad's 1994 Benz C280 Sport which he bought cheap but hadn't been driven in a few years... So naturally needed money spending.
|Lovely car, loved driving it when I could. Had the sports seats, carbon-look trim and lower than usual C classes. Oh dad was selling it to me as he was returning to the UK permanently
Anyway about a week before his flight, this happened:
Insurance write off
Some cow went straight into the back of him, no brakes applied (dad was just turning into his mates workshop and his mate saw everything). Said cow then refused to give her details and disappeared before the cops came.
No matter, dad was OK and his mates managed to find out who she was, forwarded these details to the insurance company and then successfully got paid out just before he flew out. That was a relief BUT I WANTED THE CAR!! Inspection revealed twisted chassis so not worth the repair
Truly gutted, had enough power, handled well and wasn't too big whilst being all sorted. Argh! I began the hunt for another but couldn't find another for sale anywhere, let alone a good one. Sigh.
Next best thing then.
Literally an hour ago, I just parked this in the drive... And I absolutely adore it!
Apologies for the pics, best I could do with my ageing iphone4. I promise I will get better ones to truly show how stunning it is
.Yes I know its only a C200 but that doesn't concern me in the slightest. Its almost immaculate outside (one door and boot trim needs a bit of paint) and immaculate inside. The previous owners have had it 13 years! Whilst its not low km, 235km, it drives like far, far less and presents like far less too. It was the wife's car and his job by trade, is a Benz / BMW mechanic! So very well looked after by them and I will do my best to ensure it remains the same.
The reason for sale?
C280 is his (he simply won't sell - not identical spec wise to my dad's old one, C280 Elegance - he had to go to Sydney for it and has had it for years too) and the CLK was just bought for his wife as the replacement. Quite simply, no need for 3 cars so the C200 had to go. Fine by me!
Oh yes, it cost only a tad more than the CRV. Truly, I will write this here and now. If it passes my mechanic's tests, this will be the permanent daily driver. Economical, comfortable, (hopefully) reliable and cheap-ish to run.
Unfortunately the tyres are near new, so won't be replacing the steel wheels for a while.
And that's bang up to date! Hope you enjoyed the read. I will be back with some nice pictures of my pair in the future!
Edited by Ten Four on Saturday 25th April 11:17
Loving the Benz so far. Already done about 180kms in it. Loved all of it!
Sucker for 90s cars I think... Here's a few more pics, you're going to have to trust me on driver's seat condition... Its as good as the passenger cause I think I'll be keeping the sheepskin cover
Warning, pics inbound.
The real test is when it visits my mechanics place.. Fingers crossed.
Update time, not much has happened really...
Benz passed the mechanic test with flying colours! Only requiring brake lines... So I bought some braided ones . Oh and the rear speakers were crackling so they got replaced. The OEM-ness is fantastic, the factory speaker grills and mounts have been retained so it looks like nothing ever happened there . The only downside is my cousin managed to reverse into the rear quarter leaving an indent and paint loss. This will be staying as he's jobless (uni student) and I've told him not to worry about it.
I've done a few trips in it now, its faultless and returns 9.3-10.3L/100km or 27-30MPG everywhere. Suits me perfectly. It could use a bit more power for those longer country runs but will happily sit at whatever speed I set cruise at.
NSX news, well I finally saved up enough from odd jobs and got the timing belt, water pump and other major service items done. Yay! . The old belt looked nearly new (11 years, 21k kms old) but hey ho. Water pump was original. Mechanic says he will never do another one with engine in because he doesn't have small Japanese hands . No other updates here apart from driving it now without worry. Would love some wheels, tyres and suspension but budget doesn't come close to allowing any... So I bought a bike.
Yes its a baby bike but its all about that redline!
Its a 1989 CBR250R inline 4 that'll hit limiter at 19,000rpm . Its been to my bike mechanic and apart from a leaking brake seal (fixed), its got no issues apart from a slightly dodgy temp gauge. Yes its the gauge as the thermostat was tested in boiling water... Its so much fun.
Plans? Get license (daunting + lessons aren't cheap) and fit a loud pipe .
I need to get a picture of all 3 together.. Yes running 2 cars and a bike isn't cheap but oh well. I will also try get an NSX driving video together sometime for those interested.
Oh and a few fancy photos a mate took of the NSX are in the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.16251838...
Thanks!
Benz passed the mechanic test with flying colours! Only requiring brake lines... So I bought some braided ones
. Oh and the rear speakers were crackling so they got replaced. The OEM-ness is fantastic, the factory speaker grills and mounts have been retained so it looks like nothing ever happened there . The only downside is my cousin managed to reverse into the rear quarter leaving an indent and paint loss. This will be staying as he's jobless (uni student) and I've told him not to worry about it.I've done a few trips in it now, its faultless and returns 9.3-10.3L/100km or 27-30MPG everywhere. Suits me perfectly. It could use a bit more power for those longer country runs but will happily sit at whatever speed I set cruise at.
NSX news, well I finally saved up enough from odd jobs and got the timing belt, water pump and other major service items done. Yay!
. The old belt looked nearly new (11 years, 21k kms old) but hey ho. Water pump was original. Mechanic says he will never do another one with engine in because he doesn't have small Japanese hands . No other updates here apart from driving it now without worry. Would love some wheels, tyres and suspension but budget doesn't come close to allowing any... So I bought a bike.Yes its a baby bike but its all about that redline!
Its a 1989 CBR250R inline 4 that'll hit limiter at 19,000rpm
. Its been to my bike mechanic and apart from a leaking brake seal (fixed), its got no issues apart from a slightly dodgy temp gauge. Yes its the gauge as the thermostat was tested in boiling water... Its so much fun.Plans? Get license (daunting + lessons aren't cheap) and fit a loud pipe
. I need to get a picture of all 3 together.. Yes running 2 cars and a bike isn't cheap but oh well. I will also try get an NSX driving video together sometime for those interested.
Oh and a few fancy photos a mate took of the NSX are in the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.16251838...
Thanks!
Edited by Ten Four on Wednesday 29th July 09:23
Unfortunately nothing I can do as he's bankrupt until mid/late 2016 from memory.. (Court approved) Will be seeing what I can do when the time comes, that's for sure..
Appreciate the comments
Still get a huge kick out of driving it anywhere - even a random trip to the shops just for avocado and crackers haha
Appreciate the comments
Still get a huge kick out of driving it anywhere - even a random trip to the shops just for avocado and crackers haha
Edited by Ten Four on Friday 21st August 19:46
5 months since I've updated? Wow... Quite a few things to write about too.
Lets start with the Benz.
I'm on 241KMs now, just had oil, filter and a drive belt at last service - that's all that needed doing. I did one day get in the car to find the windscreen had a crack . That's slowly gotten worse and when it gets really bad I guess I'll have to change it. Annoying... Rego is currently due too, that's another $600 for the next year.
In addition, because I've decided to never sell it, I spent a little bit more on the sound system but I wanted to keep it as factory looking as possible... So, factory head unit remains, with an audio hi-low converter for the Alpine amp and Alpine sub. My awesome mechanic, Francois, managed to install Alpine Type S speakers into the front doors whilst keeping the trim 100% factory looking, similar to what he did with the rear doors.
Alpine Amp - $30
Alpine Type S Sub in Alpine Box - $30
Alpine Type S Speakers - Stole from sister
High-Low Converter - $25
Sony Wiring Kit - $50 (with excess to do the same job for another car)
Previous Fusion Rear Speakers - $30
Labour - $100
Happy to say it sounds brilliant and and the amp setting for the sub is actually near minimum. Yes I still have more than enough boot space for what I need
Oh I also put the plates on the Benz and had it tinted.
Sorry about the phone pictures...
For some reason, I felt propelled to buy a Suzuki Swift because it was cheap and I was bored of having just two cars and one bike... It was cheap for a reason though. It had a loud, horrible, thunk when you took off and or changed gear quickly. This was quickly discovered to be an engine mount. There was also a miss which would be coil packs, plugs and or plugs. I knew this as my sister's had suffered the exact same fate when she first bought it.
Ordered and fixed, along with a service, I put it for sale and sold it not really making much as I needed the money elsewhere and had under-budgeted to fix it. It was funny for a while having two 2005 Suzuki Swifts on the driveway though (Sisters). Not the first time I've done this... (Mums and my 1996 528i BMWs.)
It was quite fun to drive as a little city car if I'm honest. That said, all I could think about was how much better a Swift Sport would be... Oh and my sister's car drove quite different to mine, different treatments over their life cycles I guess.
No the A-Class is not mine, nor does it belong to anyone in our family.
To the bike then.
I sold it.
Well sort of.
I never got my license though I was planning to. I just rode it around (uh legally of course..) and decided riding wasn't for me. Too dangerous and scary having been a courier.. People don't see white vans, motorbikes will be invisible.
I didn't actually put it for sale. Summer was just about here and I really fancied another convertible for those summer evenings. Having had a bad experience previously with a MX5 (as in it was crap to drive), I discarded them and started looking around but there wasn't much for sale. Then I started looking at MX5s just to see what was around and if maybe my "old age" has changed my perception of them.
Funnily enough there was a blue-ish one. Yes blue-ish because the body was that awful that it wasn't fully blue any more... BUT he was up for swaps for a bike. I emailed him to see if he was interested in my little CBR250R and turns out he loved them, had one previously and was on/off looking for another.
We met at mine as he wanted to check the cold start on my bike - fair enough and it was all fine. After he was happy with the bike, I had a closer look at the MX5. Wow it was rough cosmetically and needed a few little jobs doing mechanically but it drove fantastic. Put a smile on my face straight away. The non-PS steering, mods he had done, just made it such a happy little car to drive. He'd intended it to be a little track car. Slow it was, handled well it did. Money his way with the bike and the deal was done... I now cut hair.
Okok, here's a couple pictures of the Smurf. The hardtop is plasti-dipped white...
Looking at the pictures... They hide a lot of the paint issues, oh well.
I loved driving this car, it was great fun. I took the roof off and it stayed off in my ownership. The soft top had a sticky tape part over the rear plastic screen but it didn't leak. Also, the car was running 15x8 +25 wheels on 205 semi slicks. The grip was great but the ride was horrible. I changed back to chinese-tyre stock wheels. This changed the entire driving experience. Suddenly the steering was far more responsive, lighter and the car felt much more nimble. Of course with far less grip, it was far more fun (Toyo 86 anyone?). You could lose traction anywhere and it was enjoyable and controllable.
So I bought another car.
Its a 1994 Honda Civic EG Sedan - manual.
No I wasn't looking but I was at my mechanic's shop and his mate (who was there) had owned this car since a year old and was looking to get rid of it. So I asked how much he wanted, $900 he said.
I'll go to the ATM I said.
So.....
Starting to get silly...
The Civic actually drove really nicely. Had just enough creature comforts and plenty of maintenance work done inc T-Belt, W-Pump, clutch and others a few years back. I then found the AC wasn't cold... Thankfully for the second time in history, a re-gas was all it needed. First time in history was my 528i. I listed the Civic at $1600 and it sold fairly quickly - yay.
Down to just 3 cars again!
I was now just driving the Benz daily, MX5 when the weather suited and the NSX occasionally.
3 Cars was still stupid though. So as I'm keeping the Benz for the long haul and the NSX is my baby.... I started having thoughts of selling the MX5 and putting money into the NSX. I saw someone post on a local Facebook car community group seeing if anyone had any MX5s for sale. I messaged saying I did on the basis that the body was crap but the drive was excellent as I'd fixed the earlier mentioned few mechanical issues - namely an oil seal and caliper rebuild. Nothing major.
The chap came with his mechanic, saw it, drove it and liked it.
Then nothing for a week. Thought, ah just a time waster. I then spent the DAY cleaning the MX5. It now looked like this:
For those interested, the mod list on MX5 included: custom offset shifter (superb), coilovers, swaybars, full exhaust, all braided lines etc.
The engine bay is the only place I didn't clean and yes, the rear bumper unfortunately was a lost cause.
Anyway I put it for sale like this, had a couple messages that day then one from the chap who originally looked at it the week before when it was disgusting... Apparently he had been looking for one with a hardtop and didn't realise I had one.. Oops. We agreed a price and off the MX5 went .
Down to two cars then. Better fill everyone in on the NSX.
Decided I wanted my dream wheels which aren't cheap obviously. I've always disliked the wheels on there even though they would've cost someone a fortune (6k++) back in the day.
You may or may not know that NSXs run staggered height and width front to rear. Yes you can run the same height front and rear but they look a bit awkward. As such, finding wheels is taking forever. I've managed to buy a front pair and these have been in my bedroom (can you tell I'm still single?) for many months. The sizing I'm after for a rear pair is making it near impossible without spending 3k++ on a set of which I'd only use two. I'm still looking but don't expect to find any in the near future unfortunately.
Aside from that, the NSX WAS going great for a while, I actually did a few kms in it for a change. Then I started having issues. It would randomly not start. Francois said it was definitely fuel related and I googled it. Apparently the fuel relays can be at fault. We changed this and all seemed well. So I bought two cars in one day.
Two Holdens. Yup.
Lets start with the one I bought earlier in the day; a 2004 Holden Commodore VYII Ute.
1. No, its not a V8.
2. No, its automatic.
3. It was cheap.
I felt the need to wear my cap backwards and my singlet white when I picked this up, so I did... The Jack Daniels sticker will be staying .
Well it runs well, its getting a service this weekend. This is up there with one of the most disgusting interiors I've ever had to clean. I found 3 empty food wrappers, fast food and other things....... Its now clean inside. Oh yes, the air con doesn't work. Not sure if I will fix this or leave it. It will come down to cost basically. Its also got a few dents. On the upside, new tyres, ok-looking wheels and its been lowered (is that good?). I'm not using it that much at the moment as its rather warm in Perth's summer.
The schedule to this was getting cash when the bank opened at 9:30AM, picking it up at 10AM as the seller had to run down south for a funeral at 11 and finally stopping on the way back to look at car number 2 at 10:30AM.
That went to plan.
Car number 2 is a 2005 Holden Astra Wagon - auto. Why? Well it was cheap and my sister needed a car. (She's contemplating selling her Swift and downgrading to be debt free.)
The advert said minor hail damage.
My eyes in front of it said moderate to heavy hail damage.
I told the seller straight away about the above observations and that I'd like to not proceed any further and go our separate ways.
Turns out the car needed to go that day or it was going to be taken to a car yard or scrappers for whatever he could get. He then encouraged me to have a look and drive... Reluctantly I did.
WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP THEIR CAR INTERIORS SO DISGUSTING!?
Aside from that, it actually drove really well! Far nicer than the Swift of the same age that my sister has though with very different styles. Swift being zippy and sports, Astra being more grown up and solid-feeling.
After a short drive, I returned to the seller's house and he basically gave me the car - he took 40% off his ask!
Needless to say I was a happy chappy and picked up car number two later that day.
The street was looking silly again... 4 Cars doh.
The pictures are a week and a half old.
In that time, the NSX decided not to start again. Thankfully it decided this outside the workshop.
Francois then checked many things... He found my headers had cracked in a few places. Great. More importantly, he sussed out that the fuel pump was intermittently working. I needed the car for the Sunday just gone as I'd organised a meet many months prior. Friday afternoon I rushed to see if I could find one there and then and thankfully, a helpful lady at a fuel pump distributor had one that would fit - with modification which Francois was fine with. I ended up with a Walbro high-flow one and made the event that Sunday after Francois put in many hours in the short space of time (legend). The bill for that was very.. The opposite of cheap; and I hadn't planned it so needed money quickly. (Labour cost mostly to re-weld headers, re-install pump, tank etc.) I paid the bill but the bank was looking pretty dire.
I put the Astra for sale last night as Francois said they are not good long term cars because they aren't built to last; things break and are costly. Not one to argue, I told my sister this and told her that I'd find her another car.
It left my driveway this morning which is why I feel obligated to bring everyone up to speed. Currently, I have the Ute, NSX and Benz. The Ute will go in a month or so and I'm contemplating that UK extended holiday next year sometime. I'd be hoping to stay a year or so seeing as I still can't get permanent work here and trying my luck there. The NSX and Benz would stay, don't you worry!
To end the update, here's a few picture from the meet I spent many months organising... Unfortunately it rained... In Perth.... In Summer.....
The rest are in this link: https://www.facebook.com/90sJDMLegends/posts/16690...
Unfortunately two had to pull out but will be there for the next one... Which at this stage, looks like May next year .
Lets start with the Benz.
I'm on 241KMs now, just had oil, filter and a drive belt at last service - that's all that needed doing. I did one day get in the car to find the windscreen had a crack
. That's slowly gotten worse and when it gets really bad I guess I'll have to change it. Annoying... Rego is currently due too, that's another $600 for the next year.In addition, because I've decided to never sell it, I spent a little bit more on the sound system but I wanted to keep it as factory looking as possible... So, factory head unit remains, with an audio hi-low converter for the Alpine amp and Alpine sub. My awesome mechanic, Francois, managed to install Alpine Type S speakers into the front doors whilst keeping the trim 100% factory looking, similar to what he did with the rear doors.
Alpine Amp - $30
Alpine Type S Sub in Alpine Box - $30
Alpine Type S Speakers - Stole from sister
High-Low Converter - $25
Sony Wiring Kit - $50 (with excess to do the same job for another car)
Previous Fusion Rear Speakers - $30
Labour - $100
Happy to say it sounds brilliant and and the amp setting for the sub is actually near minimum. Yes I still have more than enough boot space for what I need
Oh I also put the plates on the Benz and had it tinted.
Sorry about the phone pictures...
For some reason, I felt propelled to buy a Suzuki Swift because it was cheap and I was bored of having just two cars and one bike... It was cheap for a reason though. It had a loud, horrible, thunk when you took off and or changed gear quickly. This was quickly discovered to be an engine mount. There was also a miss which would be coil packs, plugs and or plugs. I knew this as my sister's had suffered the exact same fate when she first bought it.
Ordered and fixed, along with a service, I put it for sale and sold it not really making much as I needed the money elsewhere and had under-budgeted to fix it. It was funny for a while having two 2005 Suzuki Swifts on the driveway though (Sisters). Not the first time I've done this... (Mums and my 1996 528i BMWs.)
It was quite fun to drive as a little city car if I'm honest. That said, all I could think about was how much better a Swift Sport would be... Oh and my sister's car drove quite different to mine, different treatments over their life cycles I guess.
No the A-Class is not mine, nor does it belong to anyone in our family.
To the bike then.
I sold it.
Well sort of.
I never got my license though I was planning to. I just rode it around (uh legally of course..) and decided riding wasn't for me. Too dangerous and scary having been a courier.. People don't see white vans, motorbikes will be invisible.
I didn't actually put it for sale. Summer was just about here and I really fancied another convertible for those summer evenings. Having had a bad experience previously with a MX5 (as in it was crap to drive), I discarded them and started looking around but there wasn't much for sale. Then I started looking at MX5s just to see what was around and if maybe my "old age" has changed my perception of them.
Funnily enough there was a blue-ish one. Yes blue-ish because the body was that awful that it wasn't fully blue any more... BUT he was up for swaps for a bike. I emailed him to see if he was interested in my little CBR250R and turns out he loved them, had one previously and was on/off looking for another.
We met at mine as he wanted to check the cold start on my bike - fair enough and it was all fine. After he was happy with the bike, I had a closer look at the MX5. Wow it was rough cosmetically and needed a few little jobs doing mechanically but it drove fantastic. Put a smile on my face straight away. The non-PS steering, mods he had done, just made it such a happy little car to drive. He'd intended it to be a little track car. Slow it was, handled well it did. Money his way with the bike and the deal was done... I now cut hair.
Okok, here's a couple pictures of the Smurf. The hardtop is plasti-dipped white...
Looking at the pictures... They hide a lot of the paint issues, oh well.
I loved driving this car, it was great fun. I took the roof off and it stayed off in my ownership. The soft top had a sticky tape part over the rear plastic screen but it didn't leak. Also, the car was running 15x8 +25 wheels on 205 semi slicks. The grip was great but the ride was horrible. I changed back to chinese-tyre stock wheels. This changed the entire driving experience. Suddenly the steering was far more responsive, lighter and the car felt much more nimble. Of course with far less grip, it was far more fun (Toyo 86 anyone?). You could lose traction anywhere and it was enjoyable and controllable.
So I bought another car.
Its a 1994 Honda Civic EG Sedan - manual.
No I wasn't looking but I was at my mechanic's shop and his mate (who was there) had owned this car since a year old and was looking to get rid of it. So I asked how much he wanted, $900 he said.
I'll go to the ATM I said.
So.....
Starting to get silly...
The Civic actually drove really nicely. Had just enough creature comforts and plenty of maintenance work done inc T-Belt, W-Pump, clutch and others a few years back. I then found the AC wasn't cold... Thankfully for the second time in history, a re-gas was all it needed. First time in history was my 528i. I listed the Civic at $1600 and it sold fairly quickly - yay.
Down to just 3 cars again!
I was now just driving the Benz daily, MX5 when the weather suited and the NSX occasionally.
3 Cars was still stupid though. So as I'm keeping the Benz for the long haul and the NSX is my baby.... I started having thoughts of selling the MX5 and putting money into the NSX. I saw someone post on a local Facebook car community group seeing if anyone had any MX5s for sale. I messaged saying I did on the basis that the body was crap but the drive was excellent as I'd fixed the earlier mentioned few mechanical issues - namely an oil seal and caliper rebuild. Nothing major.
The chap came with his mechanic, saw it, drove it and liked it.
Then nothing for a week. Thought, ah just a time waster. I then spent the DAY cleaning the MX5. It now looked like this:
For those interested, the mod list on MX5 included: custom offset shifter (superb), coilovers, swaybars, full exhaust, all braided lines etc.
The engine bay is the only place I didn't clean and yes, the rear bumper unfortunately was a lost cause.
Anyway I put it for sale like this, had a couple messages that day then one from the chap who originally looked at it the week before when it was disgusting... Apparently he had been looking for one with a hardtop and didn't realise I had one.. Oops. We agreed a price and off the MX5 went
. Down to two cars then. Better fill everyone in on the NSX.
Decided I wanted my dream wheels which aren't cheap obviously. I've always disliked the wheels on there even though they would've cost someone a fortune (6k++) back in the day.
You may or may not know that NSXs run staggered height and width front to rear. Yes you can run the same height front and rear but they look a bit awkward. As such, finding wheels is taking forever. I've managed to buy a front pair and these have been in my bedroom (can you tell I'm still single?) for many months. The sizing I'm after for a rear pair is making it near impossible without spending 3k++ on a set of which I'd only use two. I'm still looking but don't expect to find any in the near future unfortunately.
Aside from that, the NSX WAS going great for a while, I actually did a few kms in it for a change. Then I started having issues. It would randomly not start. Francois said it was definitely fuel related and I googled it. Apparently the fuel relays can be at fault. We changed this and all seemed well. So I bought two cars in one day.
Two Holdens. Yup.
Lets start with the one I bought earlier in the day; a 2004 Holden Commodore VYII Ute.
1. No, its not a V8.
2. No, its automatic.
3. It was cheap.
I felt the need to wear my cap backwards and my singlet white when I picked this up, so I did... The Jack Daniels sticker will be staying
.Well it runs well, its getting a service this weekend. This is up there with one of the most disgusting interiors I've ever had to clean. I found 3 empty food wrappers, fast food and other things....... Its now clean inside. Oh yes, the air con doesn't work. Not sure if I will fix this or leave it. It will come down to cost basically. Its also got a few dents. On the upside, new tyres, ok-looking wheels and its been lowered (is that good?). I'm not using it that much at the moment as its rather warm in Perth's summer.
The schedule to this was getting cash when the bank opened at 9:30AM, picking it up at 10AM as the seller had to run down south for a funeral at 11 and finally stopping on the way back to look at car number 2 at 10:30AM.
That went to plan.
Car number 2 is a 2005 Holden Astra Wagon - auto. Why? Well it was cheap and my sister needed a car. (She's contemplating selling her Swift and downgrading to be debt free.)
The advert said minor hail damage.
My eyes in front of it said moderate to heavy hail damage.
I told the seller straight away about the above observations and that I'd like to not proceed any further and go our separate ways.
Turns out the car needed to go that day or it was going to be taken to a car yard or scrappers for whatever he could get. He then encouraged me to have a look and drive... Reluctantly I did.
WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP THEIR CAR INTERIORS SO DISGUSTING!?
Aside from that, it actually drove really well! Far nicer than the Swift of the same age that my sister has though with very different styles. Swift being zippy and sports, Astra being more grown up and solid-feeling.
After a short drive, I returned to the seller's house and he basically gave me the car - he took 40% off his ask!
Needless to say I was a happy chappy and picked up car number two later that day.
The street was looking silly again... 4 Cars doh.
The pictures are a week and a half old.
In that time, the NSX decided not to start again. Thankfully it decided this outside the workshop.
Francois then checked many things... He found my headers had cracked in a few places. Great. More importantly, he sussed out that the fuel pump was intermittently working. I needed the car for the Sunday just gone as I'd organised a meet many months prior. Friday afternoon I rushed to see if I could find one there and then and thankfully, a helpful lady at a fuel pump distributor had one that would fit - with modification which Francois was fine with. I ended up with a Walbro high-flow one and made the event that Sunday after Francois put in many hours in the short space of time (legend). The bill for that was very.. The opposite of cheap; and I hadn't planned it so needed money quickly. (Labour cost mostly to re-weld headers, re-install pump, tank etc.) I paid the bill but the bank was looking pretty dire.
I put the Astra for sale last night as Francois said they are not good long term cars because they aren't built to last; things break and are costly. Not one to argue, I told my sister this and told her that I'd find her another car.
It left my driveway this morning which is why I feel obligated to bring everyone up to speed. Currently, I have the Ute, NSX and Benz. The Ute will go in a month or so and I'm contemplating that UK extended holiday next year sometime. I'd be hoping to stay a year or so seeing as I still can't get permanent work here and trying my luck there. The NSX and Benz would stay, don't you worry!
To end the update, here's a few picture from the meet I spent many months organising... Unfortunately it rained... In Perth.... In Summer.....
The rest are in this link: https://www.facebook.com/90sJDMLegends/posts/16690...
Unfortunately two had to pull out but will be there for the next one... Which at this stage, looks like May next year
. Thanks for the comment
Small update:
So its been pretty great, driving the black, 2 seat, 6cyl, 5 speed manual, mid-engine, rear wheel drive car with the roof down.
Wait what?
I guess these things just happen...
Well I got some explaining to do I guess... Quite simple really; I saw this car for sale (kind of always wanted a 986), messaged the seller to see if he had any interest in my ute and $$ his way.... And this happened. The bank account is scarily low at the moment... But I'm an adult, I could theoretically make it happen so I did... I now own an NSX, Boxster and C200.
Now, I know of the scare stories but I'm trying to turn a blind eye. Its done a few KMs so not all that worried if I'm honest. Its got a bit of an oil leak (doesn't drip) that I can see from underneath which will get fixed in time. Hopefully its not major because it drives so sweetly. I'm fairly sure it wants front shocks but everything else seems good so far minus some wear on the driver's seat. Looks pretty good for a 97. I just got home from a 130km + round trip in the hills with the resulting above iPhone 4 pictures.
Just needs shocks and the oil leak fixed and I'll be happy chappy.... Except my mechanic is away till mid-late Jan. Boo.
Any questions or comments are welcome... Touch wood the Boxster is a good'un!
Small update:
So its been pretty great, driving the black, 2 seat, 6cyl, 5 speed manual, mid-engine, rear wheel drive car with the roof down.
Wait what?
I guess these things just happen...
Well I got some explaining to do I guess... Quite simple really; I saw this car for sale (kind of always wanted a 986), messaged the seller to see if he had any interest in my ute and $$ his way.... And this happened. The bank account is scarily low at the moment... But I'm an adult, I could theoretically make it happen so I did... I now own an NSX, Boxster and C200.
Now, I know of the scare stories but I'm trying to turn a blind eye. Its done a few KMs so not all that worried if I'm honest. Its got a bit of an oil leak (doesn't drip) that I can see from underneath which will get fixed in time. Hopefully its not major because it drives so sweetly. I'm fairly sure it wants front shocks but everything else seems good so far minus some wear on the driver's seat. Looks pretty good for a 97. I just got home from a 130km + round trip in the hills with the resulting above iPhone 4 pictures.
Just needs shocks and the oil leak fixed and I'll be happy chappy.... Except my mechanic is away till mid-late Jan. Boo.
Any questions or comments are welcome... Touch wood the Boxster is a good'un!
Edited by Ten Four on Monday 4th January 07:36
Wow, its been nearly 2 years since I've posted here, there's been a fair few changes... I'm trying to remember what's happened since!
I think the timeline goes something like this...
Daily - C200, comfy, slow, reliable.
Toy - NSX
Thrash car - Boxster...
Life update:
Scored a customer relations job at the local Mazda dealership! Score! I'm still refereeing at nights to pay for my cars.. Long days but worth it.
Let's start with the Boxster.
I wanted it to be in perfect running order.
I brought it to Francois and he did an inspection as well as an oil change. The only thing needing rectifying was... nothing. There was no oil leak. I did want to fix the stereo as well, it was fked and had loose wiring from an old sub / amp setup and the whole pile was dodgy. The other issue was the key fob was falling apart and there was an aftermarket immobiliser on it.
I found an audio shop who were able to do the job I wanted and the result was excellent and below what I thought it would be. They also advised it was one of the worst pieces of work they had seen. They also managed to give me 2 new remotes as they managed to get into the old immobiliser system and re-wired it to suit. Stoked!
Next step, a bit more noise.
I didn't want to go balls out on a full exhaust for the Porsche as it wasn't a keeper and had a few KMs. I also didn't really want to hack up the standard exhaust system in case I made it worse. After a bit of googling, I found the airbox hack where the rubber intake tubing is replaced with aluminium piping - Francois to the rescue. He said he's never doing another one as its a crap job and no where near as simple as the guide made it out to be. At least I now had induction noise to go with the flat 6 howl .
The battery decided to die on me, got another big CCA one from work at $185. Pretty happy with that.
I think the timeline goes something like this...
Daily - C200, comfy, slow, reliable.
Toy - NSX
Thrash car - Boxster...
Life update:
Scored a customer relations job at the local Mazda dealership! Score! I'm still refereeing at nights to pay for my cars.. Long days but worth it.
Let's start with the Boxster.
I wanted it to be in perfect running order.
I brought it to Francois and he did an inspection as well as an oil change. The only thing needing rectifying was... nothing. There was no oil leak. I did want to fix the stereo as well, it was f
ked and had loose wiring from an old sub / amp setup and the whole pile was dodgy. The other issue was the key fob was falling apart and there was an aftermarket immobiliser on it.I found an audio shop who were able to do the job I wanted and the result was excellent and below what I thought it would be. They also advised it was one of the worst pieces of work they had seen. They also managed to give me 2 new remotes as they managed to get into the old immobiliser system and re-wired it to suit. Stoked!
Next step, a bit more noise.
I didn't want to go balls out on a full exhaust for the Porsche as it wasn't a keeper and had a few KMs. I also didn't really want to hack up the standard exhaust system in case I made it worse. After a bit of googling, I found the airbox hack where the rubber intake tubing is replaced with aluminium piping - Francois to the rescue. He said he's never doing another one as its a crap job and no where near as simple as the guide made it out to be. At least I now had induction noise to go with the flat 6 howl
.The battery decided to die on me, got another big CCA one from work at $185. Pretty happy with that.
Benz update: Gumtree is awesome.
I found a set of Brabus wheels on there for $350. A chap had bought them for his mother's 190E but she didn't want them. He said he paid around 3-4x this price.
I also found a set of essentially new Bridgestones on steel 318i wheels in the exact sizing I was after. 205/55/16. This cost $175 and I sold the trims and steel rims off for around $125 combined. The Brabus wheels are 16x8".
I think it makes the car look a million times better and is period correct. I just love it and have not seen another set since. If you wanted to be picky, the rears could sit out a bit more with a spacer but I refuse to run them.
I also hit 250k KMs in it. Being I'd also decided to give it a "birthday". I bought an air, fuel, oil and cabin filter, brembo front pads and new rotors and a new radiator as the old one had a tiny weep. I also had all the oils changed except the ATF which was very clean. Not a cheap bill but a future "investment".
Conveniently, my cousin decided to reverse into the rear driver's quarter. I don't have pictures of this unfortunately. Basically in front of the tail light - it got pushed in.
Panel work is never cheap and if you're reading, you know my past experience... I had a mate getting his corolla painted so I went for a quote - $800. Ouch . Still, I went ahead. Didn't want my cousin to pay as he was at uni.
The work done was far from great but its acceptable. Won't use them again.
So I sold the NSX.
Reason?
I'd seen what they were worth and knowing that mine was a rare breed of Australian delivered, full history, factory manual with EPS and I couldn't justify keeping it any longer. I was just scared of people not seeing me, it being damaged and that I just couldn't leave it anywhere. It was being stored at my mates house, 45 mins away as he kindly offered a garage spot which I didn't have.
It was a very sad day. I'd sold it to the manager of a Honda dealership over east, where the car was actually sold new. He said he had around 15 cars, all appreciating including M3 CSL, 930 Turbo, 360 CS etc...
I dropped the car off to the WA Porsche / Bentley dealer (contacts...) and they gave me a bank cheque and I said goodbye to the car. I daresay it looked better than all the Porsches there .
I've never been in possession of such a large amount of cash ever!
I found a set of Brabus wheels on there for $350. A chap had bought them for his mother's 190E but she didn't want them. He said he paid around 3-4x this price.
I also found a set of essentially new Bridgestones on steel 318i wheels in the exact sizing I was after. 205/55/16. This cost $175 and I sold the trims and steel rims off for around $125 combined. The Brabus wheels are 16x8".
I think it makes the car look a million times better and is period correct. I just love it and have not seen another set since. If you wanted to be picky, the rears could sit out a bit more with a spacer but I refuse to run them.
I also hit 250k KMs in it. Being I'd also decided to give it a "birthday". I bought an air, fuel, oil and cabin filter, brembo front pads and new rotors and a new radiator as the old one had a tiny weep. I also had all the oils changed except the ATF which was very clean. Not a cheap bill but a future "investment".
Conveniently, my cousin decided to reverse into the rear driver's quarter. I don't have pictures of this unfortunately. Basically in front of the tail light - it got pushed in.
Panel work is never cheap and if you're reading, you know my past experience... I had a mate getting his corolla painted so I went for a quote - $800. Ouch
. Still, I went ahead. Didn't want my cousin to pay as he was at uni.The work done was far from great but its acceptable. Won't use them again.
So I sold the NSX.
Reason?
I'd seen what they were worth and knowing that mine was a rare breed of Australian delivered, full history, factory manual with EPS and I couldn't justify keeping it any longer. I was just scared of people not seeing me, it being damaged and that I just couldn't leave it anywhere. It was being stored at my mates house, 45 mins away as he kindly offered a garage spot which I didn't have.
It was a very sad day. I'd sold it to the manager of a Honda dealership over east, where the car was actually sold new. He said he had around 15 cars, all appreciating including M3 CSL, 930 Turbo, 360 CS etc...
I dropped the car off to the WA Porsche / Bentley dealer (contacts...) and they gave me a bank cheque and I said goodbye to the car. I daresay it looked better than all the Porsches there
. I've never been in possession of such a large amount of cash ever!
So I bought a house (unit). Yay for adult life and debt forever.
I had 2 criteria: Double lock up garage, air con.
I'm still not sure I made the right decision, all the cash flow is gone and the bills keep on coming...
So I bought another NSX.
I then sold the Porsche the day before I collected it as while it was great fun to throw around, it was not my thing (for its price point, there's much better fun out there, in my opinion). I'd definitely entertain another in the future though but would want more power, maybe an S but they're just far too costly here.
Does that NSX look familiar? (Ignore the Skyline, that belongs to a mate and was there for storage)
I looked at this one when it was previously turbo'd a few years (pages) back.
Its a total project and currently as I type, its in pieces and will be for many months to come.
I'll update the thread more frequently with NSX progress as I go.
Here's a couple of pics with another NSX friend...
Oh the C200's multiplied too.
Why?
$700 (it is battered cosmetically though).
Picture at the seller's mansion:
These pictures are after a wash...
New coolant, thermostat, engine oil and ATF later - it has proved very useful as it has a tow bar.
Nothing went wrong - it feels a world away from my old 96 C200 (this being a 99). Drive by wire, 5 speed auto vs my old school 4 speed etc. Objectively, it was a much better car, but I much preferred my old 96. It felt like a Japanese camry if that makes sense... Lighter, more sensitive and generally felt cheap? Don't ask me why.
I used up most of its registration and then a mate wanted it as he needed wheels - sold it onto him for cost and its still going great as far as I'm aware.
NSX stuff specifically.
The car is a 91 auto.
It WAS turbocharged.
The story follows:
I looked it years ago at a dodgy dealership (no longer exists), we're 99% sure it was a drug fire sale back then to pay debts. However, the car blew its head gasket spectacular and ended up at an auction house where it was sold for around 30k. This is where the new, previous owner bought it.
Unfortunately, he didn't know anyone who would work on NSXs in Perth - it had been to a Honda dealer where they didn't know what they were doing, left at an import Honda shop who also didn't touch it - rather left it for their customers to see that they could work on all Hondas...
Eventually, the previous owner found a person who worked for a known engine builder and rebuilt the whole motor, forged pistons and all in a shed. Note turbo was left off and it was a low compression build.
The car never ran right after this, which is the state I bought it in. It would randomly lose 1-2-3 cylinders, other times drive fine on 6 (slow).
In the end, I decided I wanted the car NA at its factory compression and manual.
While it was still running, here's a few pictures that make it look FAR better than it is...
My mate and his mates pulled the motor out, I found a contact in the Eastern States who was willing to swap a unopened factory motor and a few thousand his way for my built motor.
I had 2 criteria: Double lock up garage, air con.
I'm still not sure I made the right decision, all the cash flow is gone and the bills keep on coming...
So I bought another NSX.
I then sold the Porsche the day before I collected it as while it was great fun to throw around, it was not my thing (for its price point, there's much better fun out there, in my opinion). I'd definitely entertain another in the future though but would want more power, maybe an S but they're just far too costly here.
Does that NSX look familiar? (Ignore the Skyline, that belongs to a mate and was there for storage)
I looked at this one when it was previously turbo'd a few years (pages) back.
Its a total project and currently as I type, its in pieces and will be for many months to come.
I'll update the thread more frequently with NSX progress as I go.
Here's a couple of pics with another NSX friend...
Oh the C200's multiplied too.
Why?
$700 (it is battered cosmetically though).
Picture at the seller's mansion:
These pictures are after a wash...
New coolant, thermostat, engine oil and ATF later - it has proved very useful as it has a tow bar.
Nothing went wrong - it feels a world away from my old 96 C200 (this being a 99). Drive by wire, 5 speed auto vs my old school 4 speed etc. Objectively, it was a much better car, but I much preferred my old 96. It felt like a Japanese camry if that makes sense... Lighter, more sensitive and generally felt cheap? Don't ask me why.
I used up most of its registration and then a mate wanted it as he needed wheels - sold it onto him for cost and its still going great as far as I'm aware.
NSX stuff specifically.
The car is a 91 auto.
It WAS turbocharged.
The story follows:
I looked it years ago at a dodgy dealership (no longer exists), we're 99% sure it was a drug fire sale back then to pay debts. However, the car blew its head gasket spectacular and ended up at an auction house where it was sold for around 30k. This is where the new, previous owner bought it.
Unfortunately, he didn't know anyone who would work on NSXs in Perth - it had been to a Honda dealer where they didn't know what they were doing, left at an import Honda shop who also didn't touch it - rather left it for their customers to see that they could work on all Hondas...
Eventually, the previous owner found a person who worked for a known engine builder and rebuilt the whole motor, forged pistons and all in a shed. Note turbo was left off and it was a low compression build.
The car never ran right after this, which is the state I bought it in. It would randomly lose 1-2-3 cylinders, other times drive fine on 6 (slow).
In the end, I decided I wanted the car NA at its factory compression and manual.
While it was still running, here's a few pictures that make it look FAR better than it is...
My mate and his mates pulled the motor out, I found a contact in the Eastern States who was willing to swap a unopened factory motor and a few thousand his way for my built motor.
How do I transport this... Rather than pay for a truck with a crane (several hundred) to pick the motor up, my mate and I used logic bought a ute.
Its a 2003 Nissan Navara 3L non-intercooled turbo diesel.
Looks ok for its age, we picked it up in Geraldton (4.5 HRs drive from Perth) on a 40+ Degree day and air con that was not functioning... That was not a fun drive home.
Oh yeah, it had 422,000 KMs when we picked it up . 1 Owner car until 421k KMs, the previous owner bought it, rebuilt the head and put on about 1,000 KMs and parked it up as it wasn't getting the use he anticipated. Score! It drives great and still feels "tight" for a ute. He mentioned the car had replacement pistons and was sleeved etc - motor from a Patrol that had a hole in the bottom end... He also blanked the EGR off when it was rebuilt.
What can I say, it goes great and the KMs are just a number. We're just shy of 426,000 now and the only repair we've had to do is a new clutch master cylinder. A re-gas actually sorted the air con! We think the previous owner must've let the gas out when the motor was being rebuilt.
Oh yes the original reason, here's the ute picking up the motor from the depot on a pallet that literally just fit in the back of the tray (4WD arches).
And home:
I've also done other numerous running around jobs in it (fridges, beds, wheels) - real handy. Everyone becomes your mate when you have a ute though... Least they usually return it with a full tank of diesel .
That's currently parked up on the street - driven occasionally or lent to people who need it. It has only looked this clean once...
Because the NSX is a slow, slow process - my mate works in the Eastern states for a month or so at a time - meaning he has very little time to do one Saturday or Sunday here and there.
Its incredibly annoying - me being useless with a spanner and having a car like that sitting there for what is now 6 months.
So I bought this:
Yep.
Do I regret it?
Yep.
Big orange 5.7 V8 LS1 6 speed manual - the orange dildo as its known.
It has been lowered (a lot) on springs.
Has a 3" exhaust (dodgy looking) which I thought sounded great but it also came with a twin 2.5" system (that looked proper). I also found out the front left rim was losing pressure and work could not find a puncture in it. I ended up paying $120 to get the rim repaired as it had a tiny internal crack. Very happy with the job except they lost the centre cap in the process...
I also had the exhaust switched to the 2.5", hoping for mega sound.
It sounded a lot worse than the straight 3" and I had to order and pay for new mounts, hangers, bolts etc... That was a mistake but its going to stay on now.
The air con was not cold.
Work reported that it passed their pressure test and re-gassed it.
It was cold for 2 weeks... Turns out the compressor seals are leaking (common problem). This is staying as is.
Other than re-fitting the top rad hose, all has been well.
I had it out last night just for a fang to get burgers with the girlfriend. (She loves the stickers on the back )
It's currently for sale - will most definitely lose money on it but its now a box that has been ticked .
Benz update:
My girlfriend's brother decided his ford falcon would look good imprinted into the side of my Benz where the fender and door meets.
I do not like panel shops, fact.
I now found a panel shop I like, fact.
Work use a local panel shop literally down the road - I thought what the hell and went there for a quote in my Mazda clothes.
I was quoted basically $400 a panel - not cheap but not expensive. I decided to overinvest again and bought a replacement boot as mine had a small rust spot on both edges. I found a silver replacement for $100 from a local guy who bought an entire car to wreck. That was actually difficult as many people wanted 300-500 for just the boot... When you can buy running C180s for $1k... If I didn't have 3.5 cars, I'd probably buy one to play around with.
Anyway, sister's boyfriend is a champion and coughed up the repair bill, $800 and I had the boot quoted at $400 = $1200. Unfortunately, they had to paint some of the rear passenger door too to blend it in and wanted an extra $400 but we settled on $1400 all in (ouch). I also had a lip spoiler painted... Not realising the boot I bought was from a 97+ model (mine is a 96). The boot shape is different, there's already a sort of in built lip and putting this one on is not possible.
It now resides in my cupboard.
Next, I decided to finish the rear end tidy up with an exhaust tip.
Unfortunately, the factory C200 rear muffler is basically a square and on an angle, meaning the tip won't just weld on. I needed an entire rear muffler.
Francois had a look but didn't want to do it in case the car became unbearably loud - I agreed. I wouldn't mind a noise increase as long as it was still quiet, no drone.
He recommended me a shop and to my pleasant surprise, the guy there was very old school and did a great job!
The result:
It does not drone at all, I had to tell the girlfriend I changed the muffler and she has to listen for the change. It basically sounds the same but with just a deep smooth rumble from the back. I'll try get a video at some point.
We're also on 260KMs now. Minor service + replaced some coolant hard lines due to them getting brittle with age.
I'll end this with the NSX progress.
NSX motor & gearbox taken out
Replacement motor bought(manual cam +25hp)
New engine loom bought
Manual gearbox bought
OEM clutch + flywheel bought
Manual conversion kit sourced & bought
Exhaust bought
Tyres bought and fitted to wheels
Climate control (broken), Kenny has re-soldered it all
Spare key bought and cut
ECU resistor blanked off, now running manual map
Clutch pedal installed
Clutch master / slave installed with braided clutch line.
Brake pedal removed, cut and welded (will need to do final inspection / tightening, this is an absolute bd apparently (access)) AT is a lot wider than MT.
Stole front floor mats from a BT-50 at work
Sourced front lip
Currently sits like this:
Incredibly rare picture of Kenny working on car:
I think I might have the wrong shade of gold on the BBS wheels, but time will tell.
Engine and gearbox are together now.
Clutch installed, timing belt changed, new bearings etc. Did not do new water pump as existing is 3,000 KM old.
Just waiting for Kenny to get back again as we had to order two missing timing cover seals before re-assembly can start.
Prior to this, we were missing things which would delay progress for 2-3 weeks as they would come from Japan / USA. This includes clutch fork, clutch fork boot, clutch alignment tool, crank pulley tool and other random things...
I believe he also successfully ran the new shifter cables on the underside.
Fun fact: the driver's seat has been in my bedroom for 4 months now .
Its still so far away from completion...
- Resonated test pipes to be made up
- Fix EPS / replace with manual rack
- TCS light on
- Engine bay latch broken (have to use pliers to open the bay)
- Engine bay stand clip broken
- Tacho stuck on 59,999 KM - fix.
- Manual tacho to be sourced (may have found one, these cost a bomb)
- Driver's door trim not flush - rubs every time door is closed. Also missing a section towards the front of it.
- Trim under steering wheel worn
- Install new gears into both window regulars (common problem, slow)
- Source clips for front lip
- Source and install fog lights
- Create head shield or replace intake
- Aerial doesn't go down all the way - remove or replace.
- Remove door speakers + stereo and make blanking plate (after market stereo).
- Wheel alignment
- Immobiliser + remote central locking
- Eventual respray due to fade
- Get the damn thing running!!!
I believe that brings us up to date. This been a huge update and taken a week to write...
Have you been counting?
I had to count.
Gents, we're up to 49 cars.
Its a 2003 Nissan Navara 3L non-intercooled turbo diesel.
Looks ok for its age, we picked it up in Geraldton (4.5 HRs drive from Perth) on a 40+ Degree day and air con that was not functioning... That was not a fun drive home.
Oh yeah, it had 422,000 KMs when we picked it up
. 1 Owner car until 421k KMs, the previous owner bought it, rebuilt the head and put on about 1,000 KMs and parked it up as it wasn't getting the use he anticipated. Score! It drives great and still feels "tight" for a ute. He mentioned the car had replacement pistons and was sleeved etc - motor from a Patrol that had a hole in the bottom end... He also blanked the EGR off when it was rebuilt.What can I say, it goes great and the KMs are just a number. We're just shy of 426,000 now and the only repair we've had to do is a new clutch master cylinder. A re-gas actually sorted the air con! We think the previous owner must've let the gas out when the motor was being rebuilt.
Oh yes the original reason, here's the ute picking up the motor from the depot on a pallet that literally just fit in the back of the tray (4WD arches).
And home:
I've also done other numerous running around jobs in it (fridges, beds, wheels) - real handy. Everyone becomes your mate when you have a ute though... Least they usually return it with a full tank of diesel
.That's currently parked up on the street - driven occasionally or lent to people who need it. It has only looked this clean once...
Because the NSX is a slow, slow process - my mate works in the Eastern states for a month or so at a time - meaning he has very little time to do one Saturday or Sunday here and there.
Its incredibly annoying - me being useless with a spanner and having a car like that sitting there for what is now 6 months.
So I bought this:
Yep.
Do I regret it?
Yep.
Big orange 5.7 V8 LS1 6 speed manual - the orange dildo as its known.
It has been lowered (a lot) on springs.
Has a 3" exhaust (dodgy looking) which I thought sounded great but it also came with a twin 2.5" system (that looked proper). I also found out the front left rim was losing pressure and work could not find a puncture in it. I ended up paying $120 to get the rim repaired as it had a tiny internal crack. Very happy with the job except they lost the centre cap in the process...
I also had the exhaust switched to the 2.5", hoping for mega sound.
It sounded a lot worse than the straight 3" and I had to order and pay for new mounts, hangers, bolts etc... That was a mistake but its going to stay on now.
The air con was not cold.
Work reported that it passed their pressure test and re-gassed it.
It was cold for 2 weeks... Turns out the compressor seals are leaking (common problem). This is staying as is.
Other than re-fitting the top rad hose, all has been well.
I had it out last night just for a fang to get burgers with the girlfriend. (She loves the stickers on the back
)It's currently for sale - will most definitely lose money on it but its now a box that has been ticked
.Benz update:
My girlfriend's brother decided his ford falcon would look good imprinted into the side of my Benz where the fender and door meets.
I do not like panel shops, fact.
I now found a panel shop I like, fact.
Work use a local panel shop literally down the road - I thought what the hell and went there for a quote in my Mazda clothes.
I was quoted basically $400 a panel - not cheap but not expensive. I decided to overinvest again and bought a replacement boot as mine had a small rust spot on both edges. I found a silver replacement for $100 from a local guy who bought an entire car to wreck. That was actually difficult as many people wanted 300-500 for just the boot... When you can buy running C180s for $1k... If I didn't have 3.5 cars, I'd probably buy one to play around with.
Anyway, sister's boyfriend is a champion and coughed up the repair bill, $800 and I had the boot quoted at $400 = $1200. Unfortunately, they had to paint some of the rear passenger door too to blend it in and wanted an extra $400 but we settled on $1400 all in (ouch). I also had a lip spoiler painted... Not realising the boot I bought was from a 97+ model (mine is a 96). The boot shape is different, there's already a sort of in built lip and putting this one on is not possible.
It now resides in my cupboard.
Next, I decided to finish the rear end tidy up with an exhaust tip.
Unfortunately, the factory C200 rear muffler is basically a square and on an angle, meaning the tip won't just weld on. I needed an entire rear muffler.
Francois had a look but didn't want to do it in case the car became unbearably loud - I agreed. I wouldn't mind a noise increase as long as it was still quiet, no drone.
He recommended me a shop and to my pleasant surprise, the guy there was very old school and did a great job!
The result:
It does not drone at all, I had to tell the girlfriend I changed the muffler and she has to listen for the change. It basically sounds the same but with just a deep smooth rumble from the back. I'll try get a video at some point.
We're also on 260KMs now. Minor service + replaced some coolant hard lines due to them getting brittle with age.
I'll end this with the NSX progress.
NSX motor & gearbox taken out
Replacement motor bought(manual cam +25hp)
New engine loom bought
Manual gearbox bought
OEM clutch + flywheel bought
Manual conversion kit sourced & bought
Exhaust bought
Tyres bought and fitted to wheels
Climate control (broken), Kenny has re-soldered it all
Spare key bought and cut
ECU resistor blanked off, now running manual map
Clutch pedal installed
Clutch master / slave installed with braided clutch line.
Brake pedal removed, cut and welded (will need to do final inspection / tightening, this is an absolute b
d apparently (access)) AT is a lot wider than MT.Stole front floor mats from a BT-50 at work
Sourced front lip
Currently sits like this:
Incredibly rare picture of Kenny working on car:
I think I might have the wrong shade of gold on the BBS wheels, but time will tell.
Engine and gearbox are together now.
Clutch installed, timing belt changed, new bearings etc. Did not do new water pump as existing is 3,000 KM old.
Just waiting for Kenny to get back again as we had to order two missing timing cover seals before re-assembly can start.
Prior to this, we were missing things which would delay progress for 2-3 weeks as they would come from Japan / USA. This includes clutch fork, clutch fork boot, clutch alignment tool, crank pulley tool and other random things...
I believe he also successfully ran the new shifter cables on the underside.
Fun fact: the driver's seat has been in my bedroom for 4 months now
. Its still so far away from completion...
- Resonated test pipes to be made up
- Fix EPS / replace with manual rack
- TCS light on
- Engine bay latch broken (have to use pliers to open the bay)
- Engine bay stand clip broken
- Tacho stuck on 59,999 KM - fix.
- Manual tacho to be sourced (may have found one, these cost a bomb)
- Driver's door trim not flush - rubs every time door is closed. Also missing a section towards the front of it.
- Trim under steering wheel worn
- Install new gears into both window regulars (common problem, slow)
- Source clips for front lip
- Source and install fog lights
- Create head shield or replace intake
- Aerial doesn't go down all the way - remove or replace.
- Remove door speakers + stereo and make blanking plate (after market stereo).
- Wheel alignment
- Immobiliser + remote central locking
- Eventual respray due to fade
- Get the damn thing running!!!
I believe that brings us up to date. This been a huge update and taken a week to write...
Have you been counting?
I had to count.
Gents, we're up to 49 cars.
Edited by Ten Four on Friday 24th March 01:52
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