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

I have a Meriva hire car here in Spain at the moment, all the controls do stuff, it all works, the seats are comfy. It's not fast, and it actively dissuades any attempt at carrying speed through a corner by leaning waaaay over. Boots pretty tiny. Fuel consumption surprisingly high. Would never, ever consider purchasing one.

Nothing faster than a hire car.

Is it frowned upon to chop the springs?

Only by your dad.

Chopped springs and a welded diff are a rite of passage.

'98 NA.

@hoops BTCC golden years.

a la 850r paging @Dammit don't sell, jut spend the money from the 911 on this instead.

Or the underrated mondeo

personally though I'd go JTCC which you really can't go wrong with? Anyone smash around Tsukuba Gran Turismo with the Pennzoil GTR souped up to 1000hp plus because why the fuck not?

How about the all conquering Tom's Supra?

I had a particular fetish for the Raybrig NSX sitting on lurid green TE37 hoops (yeah I went there) Also TAMIYA approved

Or for something a little more OTT JGTC, why not the bonkers HKS CLK, which is sure...a few too many years ahead, but what the fuck was it doing there? I don't know!

Much carbonzz..many intake, very wow!

Don't you mean broken.

Don't be daft. Perfect passion wagon for Aus. They love 'em over there, got some beasts too.

BTCC had some great stuff going on

I think if i had a custom paint job on something, i'd go Audi IMSA 90 GTO

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had one of these in NZ bout 13 year ago, for some reason craving it again....
it had a funky factory fitted boost gauge that was right out of Knight Rider!

90s retro turbos: I bumped into a guy yesterday on the Isle of Dogs who has been running a Renault 5 turbines his daily driver for the last 18 years!

I used to regularly come across a guy in a Starlet Glanza Turbo on my commute when i live in the North, he was always giving it death and it was suitably rapid, complete with sutututu noises

On Saturday @Cycliste and I went to see how the restoration work on our Minor Trav was coming along. It's been stripped back to a bare shell, and it's had quite a lot of new metal. In fact, there's not much of the floor which is original. It's off to the blasters soon to have the remaining crusty bits removed, then more welding, then paint.

Oh, and the engine and gearbox are going to need a complete rebuild as both were full of water.

I've read that it's the 7spd dry clutch that goes, but it has now been replaced by a 7spd wet clutch that actually survives

6spd I think holds up better?

All the panels are available so at least no fabrication.

Hmm, proves the level of confusion and misinformation out there. I did heaps of reading and the general consensus based on threads from audisport and ozaudi seemed to be that the older 6 speed dry clutch units were bad. But it's the mechatronic controller that fails. Not the clutches. Interestingly the 7 speed is a sealed for life unit but the 6 speed requires fluid and filters every 60,000 kilometres. Ultimately if your worried get a normal torque converter auto or a manual! Who knows anyway.

Happy another car day to me.

Mk3 Mr2 Two owners from new toyota main dealer service history and below 50k. For free....as the engine and injection system are fucked the pre cat colapsed. Friend bought it from a trader and the pre cat collapsed in three days. Dealer gave him the money and had 28 days to collect the car and the dealer didn't.

So should I try and find the elise version of the engine to stick in the car?

V6?

What's the view on BMW 319ti compact? The first one with rectangular lights. Reliable? Fun to drive? They're pretty cheap.

Have you seen the cost? If I had the cash I'd go for the Audi R8 v8....340bhp in something below a ton. I was thinking import engine and box from Japan/europe from the corolla or celica. 2zze for a 40bhp hike and 6 speed sequential box. Suspect improved brakes too.

Also still have a BMW mini supercharger.......but think that will be alot of fabriaction.

3SGTE? An easy 300bhp. Was great in my mk2, but seem to recall was an expensive conversion for the mk3.

Ohlins DFV, does anyone haz? If so, care to comment?

Bored/boosted out k2o? I'd say the F20, but they're designed to sit the other way non? I've never fancied luxury mobiles or hyper cars. Always wanted a super lightweight, mildly usable minimaly boosted (preferably NA) 2 seater that was reliable-ish and ripped through gears like cheap velcro.
Exige with a k20, revving to 10k. Would probably last a year, but what a year that would be.
Need an extra pair of thumbs? Will be having a fair bit of spare time this summer.

Spacious estate, tunable engine, London ULEZ exempt;
https://www.gumtree.com/p/saab/saab-95v4-95-v4-estate-1973-restoration-project-in-very-solid-condition/1202716935

Admittedly does need work.

Just done 750k's in the merc and it ran better than ever. Yesterday I sat in a Skoda Superb. Nice, but utterly boring.

So now I'm pondering doing a Damnit and spend £9k on the merc instead of getting a newish skoda....