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

Like I said, I would absolutely love an EV, unfortunately I dont have £50k+ to spend on one though....... and even if i did, one that i can fit three bikes and three people in and drive through a muddy field doesnt exist.

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For sure. I would swap the Model 3 tomorrow for the new Defender if it was BEV with 300 miles range.

Maybe in 3 years when I hand this one back...

• cough *
  
  

LOL.

Well it got through its first day ok, well received by all who drove it.
It drives nicely, slightly larger turning circle than the ice version.
Range is not much of an issue as the majority of our vans do less than 30 miles per day.
Payload is more of an issue, but I’m hopeful we can manage this by better vehicle allocation.
The cost will be between £7-800 pcm over 2 years which isn’t a massive uplift over a traditional ice. I have also been looking at electric trucks and they are at least 4 times the cost of diesel and really not that good.
Mercedes are doing it over 2 years as they expect developments and improvements to come quickly.
This one is conversion of the standard sprinter, a ground up all new electric van is in testing and development.
At the end the 2 weeks we’ll be swapping it out for an eVito.
I am very much of the opinion that even if it doesn’t fit the bill exactly, if we can make it work in some circumstances then we really should make the effort. If we can change 10 or 15% of the fleet initially, then that’s a good thing right?

I'm not actually thinking of buying a Lexus, just the engine and gearbox.

I'm toying with the idea of an engine swap build as a lead in to my all ambitious plan to build some sort of mid-engined DIY supercar and I really like the idea of building a JDM RS4/ AMG Wagon slayer.

So...

I was thinking of picking up an early Subaru Impreza GF8 Wagon and doing a v8 swap on it followed by lovely interior trim etc. I'm torn between going for an early LS400 donor car with the 1UZ and making it a turbo build to end up with c.400bhp (not sure which gearbox to go with in that case) or going for an LS460 donor so I'll get the 1UR engine which makes about 375bhp stock n/a and has the AA80E/ AA80F 8sp automatic gearbox with sequential shifting and all the bells and whistles...

I kind of like the idea of the LS460 route as I suspect a good turbo build on a 1UZ will end up making up the price difference between the LS400 vs LS460 donors and I'm rather enamoured by the idea of having a stock Lexus engine and gearbox with a few mild tweaks for breathing (should easily enough pass 400bhp with an intake and change of exhaust) just from the point of view of reliability...

Obviously there are major concerns with making the 1UR and AA80E/ AA80F transmission fit into a GF8 (1UZ swaps have been done before so I know that does fit) and then mating the whole lot up to the Impreza AWD drivetrain but if I can figure out those two issues I think it should be quite doable.

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Regarding charging this is also quite a good resource.
https://www.zap-map.com/live/
There is an area just north of Clapham Common which has one on every streetlight.
We have also got fuel cards which enable you to pay on most of the networks, from Allstar.

If we can change 10 or 15% of the fleet initially, then that’s a good thing right?

That's great. Any removal of diesel vehicles is a plus!
Will it save you any cash on fuel / maintenance over the time period?

I'm paying about 11p per kWh at the moment which mens the Zoe is costing about 3.1ppm in 'fuel' and the Model 3 around 2.9ppm. The Velar was around 25-3oppm depending on diesel price and time of year.

Sounds like a lot of fun.

It's hard to comment on the suitability of the LS460 engine to that task but it can only be improved by removing it from the stately home sized shell.

Yeah I think the big issue is in fitting it in. If it can physically fit then there's hope for all else, otherwise it's back to a 1UZ and a turbocharger.

I doubt we’ll see much of a fuel saving as we are such low mileage, but there will be some.
Maintenance is included in the monthly figure.
I figure we get into Evs as soon as we can and learn to work with them.

Maintenance is included in the monthly figure.

Interesting.

One major positive of BEVs is that maintenance is basically zero; Tesla requires a transmission fluid change at 150k miles and that's it (aside from perishables like brake pads, tyres and wipers).

I would imagine that high use vans etc would see a massive shift in their maintenance costs, time lost to servicing and reliability by shifting to electric.

I think you’re right about maintenance, it will reduce. Our current new vans require very little at the moment. Ours get a full service once a year at MOT and that’s generally it. We average at less than 10,000 miles a year.

One of our local DPD delivery men is now in a Nissan EV van. Saving him a fortune in fuel.

So in relation to my earlier post where start stop wouldn't work:

In true @Dammit style, this morning my Alltrack lit the dash up like a christmas tree, flagged an airbag fault, flagged a tyre pressure monitor fault, reset the analogue clock 8 times, clicked all the relays, moved the seat and wouldn't start.

Hopefully it's just that the battery has carked it.

I ok'd the winter work on my 911 this morning after brief negotiation, out goes the faded light blue carpet, in comes navy alcantara, and a bunch of other stuff. Evicting Hertz for Morel, for e.g.

Wondering if I could make money, by evading import duty of course, by bringing second handhand car parts to the UK from France? Am going to be bringing food stuff over too, but that is for me.

anyone spend time with the b6 S4 manual transmission (2005)?

I may have the opportunity to buy one in very good shape with new bushings everywhere, all mechanical needs met with new timing chain and hardware, new clutch, plus "whatever else I want to do to it while it's in pieces". Comes from an Audi/VW garage I trust. "Will be in 9/10 shape when it's done." I've glanced at the body and it appears to be in very good shape, but it was truly just a glance at the undercarriage in the parking lot. Has the Recaro seats.

No experience, but just do it. Avant or saloon?

Saloon, er 'sedan' I'm in the USA

So tomorrow, another day another A2 and 1.6 this time... 138k and frome facebook. Will I be breaking lockdown to look at it?

Haha, I'm in Aus, so sedan it is.

Yes

Click & Collect.