Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Hmmmm, I have looked at the Smax and I do love that engine but they seem to be in very short supply round my neck of the woods.

What I really wanted was a nice E39 540i manual estate. I gave up looking.

Who doesn't want one of them.... swoon. My mate had a 540i with excellent exhaust noise. Lovely.

Forester love over here! My neighbours were very much into them, one of them was about as low as an impreza, was an early model around 2000-2001 but had a lot done to it.

Just as generic family cars they are great, don't take a lot to make brilliant though.

Only negative is the state of the interior on mk1's, daihatsu charade feels similar!

I did see Pedders made a 50mm lowering kit for the SG model that I'm looking at....

my current car

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Dream car

I don't think anyone could hear me moan, the engine is so loud.

https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/alfa-romeo-gt-junior-6567

Would bang.

My mate drove one to western Mongolia about 10 years ago. Its still out there apparently. Had a nissan NA diesel engine (2.7?) retrofitted which didn't really work with the existing auto box, any kind of seriously steep incline would result in the engine over revving and not really going anywhere (weak torque convertor I guess). Even more miserable on fast roads (more than 50mph), miserable on fuel BUT its saving grace was it wasn't bad on gravel roads/light off road.

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Why should I not move my car to someone else and join a car club such as this?

http://www.classiccarclub.co.uk/

Id defo try it for a year if I lived in that there London.

Pitfalls are: Forgetting to use the membership. Nothing you want is available when you want it.

But If you don't like it don't do it next year.

That very cool. I only bought it because it was cheap and had some character. Its rust as fuck but I figure ill drive it around for a year. Id like to learn how to weld to fix it up. I love it because its so comfortable. If I happen to have kids they can sit in the back and i can shut the window

An old mate of mine in Brixton has had one for years, she loves it...

@NurseHolliday is bound to have done.

I had a removable steering wheel on my racecar. It became non-removable after a very wet weekend at Oulton Park. It rained so heavily there was a visible tidal wave of water in the passenger side at every major braking point. #happydays

TBH, I think they're utterly pointless on anything other than a very tight-fitting single seater. Oh, except for the joy of watching someone strap themselves into a Caterham, get the intercom headphones and cap on, and get ready for the off, all the time you know that they've left their removable steering wheel in their hotel room...

had three days on the racer this weekend. we got onto the rotisserie and stripped it to a bare shell. there is a shitload of filler covering some accident damage at the rear and there is some shitty rust in the sills/tunnel.

loads more work than first thought, but at least we will end up with a fully restored car when we are done.

and mebbe a colour change.

spit

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spit 2

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rust

Does the frame twist as you rotate it or is it stiff enough not to so do?

What do you mean? If you mean the car, it is all pretty stiff, and we have also braced the doors

Is it worth while to soda blast it when it's like that?

I would, but the other half of the team says no. He's an old racer who is stuck in his ways. I am a bit pissed about where we are as I had no input when the car was bought, either.

The resto was a botch job, so we are almost certainly up for sills. We are
so close to starting from scratch that I don't see why you wouldn't.

It will be me wire brushing all the shit off, too.

Some more pics

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