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

Ohh, hello!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mk1-MG-ZT-T-260-/200977402954?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2ecb2fcc4a

you really need to drive one. i felt like i was sitting on top of the thing like one of those kiddies inflatable pool toys

Not my exact words when I drove a colleagues nearly new TF 'back in the day' but a good analogy ... If you go the Zetec route have a look at http://www.dunnellengines.com or maybe talk to them to get an idea of the best engine to use.

cheers. i had a look at their website. they have a pretty good guide.

i think i am interested in the converted bgt as everything is there (hopefully) and in fairly standard form. i like the fact that it is the baseline of the conversion and that i wouldn't be taking over some kind of frankenstein.

that zt for 5k looks good. they have managed to hold their value pretty well.

Which is amazing considering they all fell apart quicker than the average French car.

Which means that if they are still going now then anything that was going to fall off has already done so.

http://www.stanceworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/lamborghini-miura-black1.jpg

http://www.stanceworks.com/2013/10/the-pebble-beach-concours-delegance-2013/

NNNNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng

Behold a new vehicle born unto my collection....351 cubic inches of creamy smooth winsdor mill powering 8000lbs of tuck and roll velveteen and real oak cupboards. it even has a vhs player and a wee sink! Tow bar ready to poke in a dirt bike platform. Just awaiting ingress of a CR250 to proceed with maximum awesomeness to the desert.

Best purchase ever?

So you'll all hate me, in the end I bought a 2011 BMW 128i (still under original warrenty+CPO). But at least it's a straight-6 3ltr! Seems they ditching the straight 6's in the 2014 models and using a v4 with turbo instead. Got it for an ok deal, only minor thing is it has a scratch on the door that needs repair.

Once that's done it will work out the same cost as everyone else really. Dunno if I'll get it done, living centre of SF, liable to get a few more dings.

Nice one matey - BMW 6's are just the tops, that'll be a great car.

If SF is like LA for driving, I wouldn't stress the scratch.....

yeah, they are going to polish/wax/buff the car for detailing tmrw before I pick it up. Hopefully that will take the worst out of it.

I'll still see how much a local shop would charge, but tempted to very carefully use touch up paint. Just to make sure nothing rusts/gets worse.

When I sell the car, I'll have a look to debate if it's worth fixing the scrapes. I'm sure it will get more here.

Barely see 1ers down here in LA. Shame, I really like the 3dr breadvans.
Enjoy it!

Joe: you are the greatest.

Behold a new vehicle born unto my collection....351 cubic inches of creamy smooth winsdor mill powering 8000lbs of tuck and roll velveteen and real oak cupboards. it even has a vhs player and a wee sink! Tow bar ready to poke in a dirt bike platform. Just awaiting ingress of a CR250 to proceed with maximum awesomeness to the desert.

Best purchase ever?

You have to put a sign on the side that says "free candy".

Gah! And I've already fucked it. Late for a plane at LAX and dinged the roof on a low bit of car park....fuck!

Needed a bit of paint up there anyway I suppose.

Doh!

heh, I almost got sideswiped on the way home from the dealer today. fucking only 1 hour after I got the car!

love the baby bmw though, great fun to drive. I get the feeling I'll keep it till 100k (it only has 36k atm)

So what happened to this 4wd thing?
I only ask because BMWs are fucking useless in the snow.

AWD's are rare as hens teeth anywhere near me. Even the SUV's are RWD.

And no they aren't. I had no problem in Austria with my 325d RWD. You just need to learn how to drive them. Granted, you are not going to have as much fun as an AWD, but I only need AWD like 6 times a year. Also, even when I do need an AWD California is so shit at clearing the mountain roads that almost everyone needs chains as well (unless you driving some monster AWD machine)

so basically I didn't think it was worth paying a couple of grand premium for something I didn't really need for most of the year.

I have a little conundrum and a possible solution id like to run by you cats for ideas.

At the moment, I have the MGB (with a tired engine that needs rebuilding). I also want to start doing a lot more track days and as much as I love the B, it is a slug. Sarah and I both really enjoy using it for 'touring' and it would be a shame to ruin that for track use and still have a relatively slow car. I am also enjoying the couple of track days I have done with the MGs on Track lot - they are good bunch and it is all very civil.

Options:

1. Bomb the B/V8/engine transplant route. some obvious benefits, including being able to continue doing the MGoT days. However, may ruin the car for it's normal duties. i need SPACE for bucket seats and the biggest seats you can fit are way too snug for the motorway driving part.
   2.Buy a BGT V8 for track duties and keep the B. Same benefits as above, and i do know my way around one, now. however, do i really want 2 MGBs?
   3.Buy another car for the track (2002/kit/etc). this again has obvious benefits, but is expensive. i would also not be able to do the MGoT days. i really don't fancy the track days with wankers in m3s and clios*.
   
   

I have (up until the track day at donington) been convinced that a rebuilt basic engine in the b and a 2002 was the way to go. after the track day (the 2nd with MGoT), i am now not so sure. they do about one a month at all of the good tracks and are well organised. i am still very much a novice, so this part appeals.

The possible solution: I spoke to a dude that runs a reputable MG garage who has a MGB GT shell that has been converted to a 130hp1.8 Zetec out of an RS1800 Fiesta. It runs and drives, but the shell is bare. From what i have read, this is the silvertop to have, with better cams, inlet manifold and ecu (it runs everything from the Festiva). There is obviously scope for gains, with exhaust, ecu and itb upgrades possible.

It has all the bits there to convert mine, with no chopping of firewalls or xmembers, and would be available for about 750 beans. the dude could even fit it in a week for me, if i wanted. that would look at about £2-2.5k, for double the hp and a pretty reliable engine with room o improve, if i needed. i could even get a fair chunk of that back selling on all of the bits i pull out.

a worked b series could be at least the top end of that budget and a v8 8-10k. a good bmw 2002 starts at about 5k without any mods for the track.

any thoughts? i am really leaning towards this idea of the zetec. it will be about the same as replacing the engine in it, and give me a significant boost in ponies to improve the track fun as i get more experience with the mg dudes. it will also, presumably, be much better on the annual holiday duties to whitby/scotland/cornwall. there is always the opportunity for the track only car later on down the line

the originality thing doesn't really bother me. i have always wanted it to be a driver, but i am a bit worried it will lose the character of a mgb. oh well, i can always buy another if i miss it that much. i doubt it.

anyone familiar with the zetec conversions to escorts and the like? i am slowly making my way throw the biblioteca de la interweb - but there is wuite a bit to wade though. i'd just like to know what to look for if i go and check out this guys conversion.

right, might be a step closer to this happening.

i spoke to the bloke selling the gt and he is keen, but he would like to sell me the whole car as a package. if he were to convert it, it wouldn't be until well into the spring. i also spoke to the blokes at my mg garage and they think it seems a pretty good idea. they also think that having the two cars side by side for the swap will be useful.

so i think i may soon be the owner of two mgbs, if all goes well. the guys at the garage are cool with me taking a week or two off work and doing as much as i can there to save a bit of cash. i am considering putting my engine in the gt shell and trying to recoup some of the costs by selling it on as a project. i also have truckloads of spares that i will be ebaying too.

now, to go and look at the gt. i hope it works out.

Good luck dude, it sounds like a good idea to me!

cheers dude. i just hope it goes to plan.

Is driving in LA meant to be particularly bad? I found it a tonne less stressful than driving in London, and drivers there were loads more considerate, only giving you blast of horn if you did something really wrong.
On the whole I thought LA was a really laid-back place to drive.

I find people are more relaxed, but that means they are also texting/sexting/fucking eating/whatever so not paying attention. Cars drift all over the place etc... Also, they aren't really used to aggressive drivers. I find I have to "relax" to drive here in SF

Last time I drove in SF I was in a near-2 metre wide bright yellow Camaro SS. I've never driven anything so wide in my life (except a Hummer, but that was off-road). I found San Fran to be a lot more like London for driving, (bus lanes, bikes, etc.) than LA.
Also, haven't Americans ever heard of stopping distances? Even at speed on the Freeway if you leave a car-sized gap in front, someone will zip in and fill it.

I find people are more relaxed, but that means they are also texting/sexting/fucking eating/whatever so not paying attention. Cars drift all over the place etc...

^All of this. Many many retards. Some roads/freeways far worse than others. Any freeway near an airport is chaos, all the time.
Your car's turn signals are meaningless, and in most cases will have the opposite effect - ie, you signal, the driver behind thinks to him or herself: *
"This guy wants to turn! That's gonna take a really long time so I'd better boot it, pull out around him without signalling and get the fuck out of there so he can complete his manouvre in peace"*
or
*"This guy wants to change lanes! Why? Is that lane somehow better than this one? It IS better! I WANT TO CHANGE LANES! Better boot it past him and change lanes before he does *[I]so he can complete his lane-change in peace."[/I]
or
"This guy wants to get off the freeway at the exit that's visible 250 metres 1 1/4 furlongs away! He'll only be in my lane for a mere moment but he might brake whilst he's in front of me. Can't have that. Better boot it and get past him so he can miss his exit in peace."
or
"This guy wants to parallel-park! Even though the space is big enough for an F350 Dually and he's driving a Subaru, I think it's going to take him fucking AGES. I'd better boot it, pull around him into oncoming traffic without signalling and get the fuck out of there so he can complete his manouvre in peace."

Also, on the rare occasion it rains, nobody moderates their driving style based on the weather. It's documented here, accurately.

Basically...

George Carlin - Idiot and Maniac - YouTube