MDifficult’s E82 1M Coupe & Ariel Atom 3
Discussion
d_a_n1979 said:
Have you got it on Car & Classic? "That's free and well worth listing. All my E39s sold via that platform!
eBay as a 30 day classified for c£20 is worth it too IMO - gets good coverage
I might avoid the eBay clientele for now, but Car and Classic is an excellent suggestion, thank you! I'll take a lookeBay as a 30 day classified for c£20 is worth it too IMO - gets good coverage
d_a_n1979 said:
That i can understand; but sometimes it surprises you!
It was an Area Director for a coffee conglomerate that contacted me via eBay for my previous F01 730D as he'd just relocated to the North West and wanted a comfy, luxury motorway muncher until he settled etc...
But with a 1M I think you'll get every knobber with a £2k banger asking you for 50% off and a trade
C&C will work well though IMO
Even PH has generated more than a couple of wannabe 'Mike Brewers' It was an Area Director for a coffee conglomerate that contacted me via eBay for my previous F01 730D as he'd just relocated to the North West and wanted a comfy, luxury motorway muncher until he settled etc...
But with a 1M I think you'll get every knobber with a £2k banger asking you for 50% off and a trade
C&C will work well though IMO
Advert all done on C&C, just waiting on approval. Thanks for the advice!
keo said:
Old out ya and!
I hate selling cars!
I don't mind it really, but you have to be very zen about it and have a thick skin. I work on the basis that until someone's stood in front of it on the driveway there's a 90% chance they're a time waster. Once they've actually come to see it I think there's more like a 50% chance they are. Some people are comparison shopping, some people are just chancers, some people have got carried away with themselves, and some people are there to buy - but it's lovely to stand around in the sun and talk about your car with people who're passionate about them - so I just try and enjoy it. Thankfully, these kinds of cars seem to attract the right kind of people - a huge bonus. I hate selling cars!
Yesterday was one of those perfect petrolhead days - the reorganised Prescott Hillclimb and what a bloody marvellous way to spend a Sunday!
It all started at 6:30 AM where I was all packed up and ready to go, but had a few minutes to spare taking photos thanks to MrTouring's usual punctuality
Kept the end-of-life AO52s on since this would be their final run out before I changed them, and I planned to do plenty of full bore launching to finish them off properly
We took the cross-country route through the Cotswolds to Prescott and I'm glad we did, it was a little chilly but there were clearly a lot of car stuff on yesterday and there were all-sorts on the roads even that early, including a 'first' for me of seeing both an Ariel Atom and a BAC Mono heading in the opposite direction.
Arriving at Prescott I'd been allocated the most appropriate of spaces...
Compared to last year, where the weather wasn't great, there were too many cars and it was a bit of a free-for-all, this year was better in every way. The weather was glorious, there were a lot fewer cars and Prescott were much more on top of the organisation. Rather than 30 minute queues to get your run, I think the longest I queued was ten minutes and that included a 5 minute pause to allow a resident up the hill. Absolutely brilliant.
Oh, apart from... I'd seen in the briefing notes that open topped cars needed to have the drivers arms covered, but I didn't notice it said legs too and I was in shorts! Thankfully MrTouring lent me his jeans for the day
Summary of my runs:
1st - very tentative and getting my eye in really, trying to judge what difference the tyres made (a lot, even though they're clearly cold on the start line).
2nd - a chap asked if he could jump in and I was more than happy to give him his first experience of an Atom. I don't think he was disappointed (despite being very, very careful).
3rd - on my own again, the track was baking hot so I figured this was probably the moment to give it good go - this is run in the video below
4th - the same chap returned, looking for a second go - ideal really because I knew I'd take it relatively easy on the last run - although he didn't think so because it was a lot quicker than his first one
Other than that, it was just petrolhead heaven really. Mooching around the carpark looking at interesting things, spectating the runs, running back and forth to try to capture each other's runs on video, then sitting in the sun eating ice cream. What's not to like?
Seriously, I can't recommend this as a day out enough. It's cheap, fun, low pressure (other than nerves) and the people and the organisers are lovely. Massive thanks to PH and the Bugatti Owners Club for organising.
Here's my best onboard (yes, I was very cautious on 'that' hairpin):
And here's here's a smattering of clips from the day (and yes, the two best noises came from a Lexus and a Golf!)..
It all started at 6:30 AM where I was all packed up and ready to go, but had a few minutes to spare taking photos thanks to MrTouring's usual punctuality
Kept the end-of-life AO52s on since this would be their final run out before I changed them, and I planned to do plenty of full bore launching to finish them off properly
We took the cross-country route through the Cotswolds to Prescott and I'm glad we did, it was a little chilly but there were clearly a lot of car stuff on yesterday and there were all-sorts on the roads even that early, including a 'first' for me of seeing both an Ariel Atom and a BAC Mono heading in the opposite direction.
Arriving at Prescott I'd been allocated the most appropriate of spaces...
Compared to last year, where the weather wasn't great, there were too many cars and it was a bit of a free-for-all, this year was better in every way. The weather was glorious, there were a lot fewer cars and Prescott were much more on top of the organisation. Rather than 30 minute queues to get your run, I think the longest I queued was ten minutes and that included a 5 minute pause to allow a resident up the hill. Absolutely brilliant.
Oh, apart from... I'd seen in the briefing notes that open topped cars needed to have the drivers arms covered, but I didn't notice it said legs too and I was in shorts! Thankfully MrTouring lent me his jeans for the day
Summary of my runs:
1st - very tentative and getting my eye in really, trying to judge what difference the tyres made (a lot, even though they're clearly cold on the start line).
2nd - a chap asked if he could jump in and I was more than happy to give him his first experience of an Atom. I don't think he was disappointed (despite being very, very careful).
3rd - on my own again, the track was baking hot so I figured this was probably the moment to give it good go - this is run in the video below
4th - the same chap returned, looking for a second go - ideal really because I knew I'd take it relatively easy on the last run - although he didn't think so because it was a lot quicker than his first one
Other than that, it was just petrolhead heaven really. Mooching around the carpark looking at interesting things, spectating the runs, running back and forth to try to capture each other's runs on video, then sitting in the sun eating ice cream. What's not to like?
Seriously, I can't recommend this as a day out enough. It's cheap, fun, low pressure (other than nerves) and the people and the organisers are lovely. Massive thanks to PH and the Bugatti Owners Club for organising.
Here's my best onboard (yes, I was very cautious on 'that' hairpin):
And here's here's a smattering of clips from the day (and yes, the two best noises came from a Lexus and a Golf!)..
Court_S said:
Looks like you had much better weather than we did last year. Good to hear that the organisation was better too because it was carnage last year which kind of took the shine off it (especially the second run which was a total free for all).
How’s the 1M sale going?
Yeah, last year's event was really good but this was better in every direction - shame you missed it! How’s the 1M sale going?
1M sale is going pretty well I think. I had a huge flurry of interest when it stopped raining, which has resulted in now four actual visitors and a couple of offers that are close to asking price but I'm holding out for more. Since the weather has really got hot it's all gone quiet again (but speaking to a few people that's across the board, everyone is too busy having BBQs). There's a couple of potential buyers still 'in play' so one of them may come through, or if not I'll just keep holding out, or keep it. There's been enough interest to satisfy me there's not something fundamentally amiss
Kaveney said:
Car looks like it was going very well and that noise 
Looks like you had a great day and the weather was amazing .
What is next for the Atom and any news on the 1M sale and replacement ?
Thanks very much! What I probably should have mentioned was how good the drive home was - doesn’t matter whether it’s through town, A roads, B roads or motorway, a warm evening, an atom, shorts and T-shirt is a glorious way to travel! Looks like you had a great day and the weather was amazing .
What is next for the Atom and any news on the 1M sale and replacement ?
There’s a small update on the 1M sale a few posts up. The Atom is going on a 4 day adventure (including two days at Anglesey) in less than three weeks so there’s brand new rubber to go on, a few other little bits and bobs to prep, then a thorough spanner-check. Just praying the weather is on my side!
With the four day Anglesey adventure less than a week away, it was time to start getting the car ready for a long journey AND two days on track.
First thing was to whip the cat out and replace it with the through pipe. Apparently cats can really take a beating on track in Atoms and I don't fancy forking out £800 for a new one, plus it'll make the most of the mapping. It'll go straight back in when I get back because it'll be MOT time again. Thankfully, it's a few minutes work to swap out.
Then in was the fresh AO52s to be fitted...
I then treated the wheels to a fresh coat of Gtechniq C1 in the hope of keeping as much brake dust and rubber build up off them...
Lastly, as much as I love the wheels the Rota centre caps look a little.... err... aftermarket?
Thankfully, the factory sell a line of gel badges so it was off with the old...
...and on with the new...
Its a little thing but makes a big difference
As there's a long road trip there and back I've made a small concession to comfort and installed a bluetooth headset into my Arai. I thought about spending a lot on one of the expensive intercom systems but I really won't use it, so instead just went for a £25 set of speakers that just drop in behind the lining. While not the last word in audio quality, they'll at least give me some respite during the hours of motorway there and back.
The weather is currently looking... changeable... so hopefully that resolves itself to sunshine but I'm sure it'll be a good adventure either way.
Other than that, I've done a quick spanner check, checked the fluids and I think it's all ready. Now just need to pack everything I need into it! With two full days on track I've decided to take along the full compliment of GoPro accessories so hopefully there should be some good content when I get back.
First thing was to whip the cat out and replace it with the through pipe. Apparently cats can really take a beating on track in Atoms and I don't fancy forking out £800 for a new one, plus it'll make the most of the mapping. It'll go straight back in when I get back because it'll be MOT time again. Thankfully, it's a few minutes work to swap out.
Then in was the fresh AO52s to be fitted...
I then treated the wheels to a fresh coat of Gtechniq C1 in the hope of keeping as much brake dust and rubber build up off them...
Lastly, as much as I love the wheels the Rota centre caps look a little.... err... aftermarket?
Thankfully, the factory sell a line of gel badges so it was off with the old...
...and on with the new...
Its a little thing but makes a big difference
As there's a long road trip there and back I've made a small concession to comfort and installed a bluetooth headset into my Arai. I thought about spending a lot on one of the expensive intercom systems but I really won't use it, so instead just went for a £25 set of speakers that just drop in behind the lining. While not the last word in audio quality, they'll at least give me some respite during the hours of motorway there and back.
The weather is currently looking... changeable... so hopefully that resolves itself to sunshine but I'm sure it'll be a good adventure either way.
Other than that, I've done a quick spanner check, checked the fluids and I think it's all ready. Now just need to pack everything I need into it! With two full days on track I've decided to take along the full compliment of GoPro accessories so hopefully there should be some good content when I get back.
d_a_n1979 said:
Sounds like a good roadtrip 
We'll be down on Anglesey in a few weeks for a few days break; I'm getting cabin fever with being in the house due to some health niggles, so booked it yesterday for 3 nights in Beaumaris
I'm sure we'll have a run over to Rhosneigr to see what's going on
Where about's are you stopping for your trip?
Anglesey weather's always better than mainland; fingers crossed it stays fine for you
We're meeting up in South Wales, then a road trip as a big Atom group/flotilla (or molecule?) from South to North with lunch and toilet break stops - taking in all the usual roads on the way. The way home will be just me, first thing in the morning, which I'm also really looking forward to as I'm tempted to get up at dawn and be home before everyone else wakes up - doing the whole thing cross-country. Lets see. We'll be down on Anglesey in a few weeks for a few days break; I'm getting cabin fever with being in the house due to some health niggles, so booked it yesterday for 3 nights in Beaumaris
I'm sure we'll have a run over to Rhosneigr to see what's going on
Where about's are you stopping for your trip?
Anglesey weather's always better than mainland; fingers crossed it stays fine for you
Enjoy your trip and I hope you're on the mend soon!
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