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

Booo!
My mechanic friend has just sent me a text: "rougher than a rat-catcher's dog". It looks great from the outside, but underneath is rotten. Gutted. I knew it was too good to be true.
The search goes on.

Balls...

Any pics of it?

Fuuuuuuu....

Easily one of my favourite cars of all time. Well done for getting it checked over first. I think I would have dived straight in and ended up a bit fucked.

yeah, I was keen as hell after speaking to the guy on the phone

it is in for auction on Saturday, but my mate recognised the workshop in the pics and called the bloke. he said he'd pull it from the auction if we have him a certain amount. hence sending my pal over there to look.

Bad news. Gotta hold out for a turbo, no?

Anyone got £12.5k spare?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/e46-m3-00-06/bmw-e30-m3/2058009

http://img.pistonheads.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Fullsize/bmw/e46-m3-00-06/m3-evolution/bmw-e46-m3-00-06-m3-evolution-S1005254-1.jpg

http://img.pistonheads.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Fullsize/bmw/e46-m3-00-06/m3-evolution/bmw-e46-m3-00-06-m3-evolution-S1005254-5.jpg

So an update to my damp skoda situation - took it to one garage, they were unable to remove the scuttle panel and wanted to order another one in before trying to remove it (and likely breaking it). Ended up taking it to Colin Gunning, VW/Audi specialist in Hertford. Trust him implicitly. Lovely bloke and excellent mechanic.

He sorted it, the driver's side drain under the scuttle was blocked. Now for the drying of the car. I've luckily been driving it quite a bit over the weekend, and have made sure to have the heaters on full blast and pointed at my feet/the footwell.

I've also got silica cat litter in trays in the two dry footwells to try to soak up any ambient moisture, seems to be working a bit... Beyond that, I'm not sure what to do, as it's parked on the street in E17, not conducive to leaving the doors/windows open during the day.

Any other suggestions to dry it out quickly? Oh, and one of the back seats has got mould on it! What's best to get rid of that?

PS - both those beemers are gorgeous.

You're not going to get it dry enough. Bring it round mine, it's not far, Romford. We'll get the de-humidifier in it for 24-48 hours, it'll sit on the driveway in suburban safety, and it'll get good and dry.

Keep brushing the mould off, it won't be staining, but it's good to get it off quickly. Just get a cloth (ever so slightly damp) and wipe the seats down.

Ah I really appreciate the offer, seriously! That's the kind of thing that makes me love this forum! :) I've got the option of leaving it at my parents back in Herts if needs be, can also leave it open (weather permitting) and run an extension out of garage to the dehumidifier there. If that's what's gotta be done then I'll leave it there and inconvenience them instead of you.

What'll happen if I don't dehumidify? Will it kill the car? Bloody love this car and don't want to let it die yet.

It's not going to kill the car in the short term, but you'll struggle to get it totally dry without artificial help. It will dry eventually, but you might pick up a musty smell, surface oxidization on interior metals (visible and hidden), potential condensation in electrics as the water in the car evaporates and condenses, and once the weather starts warming up, the mould growth will increase exponentially if there's residual moisture and dampness.

Yeah, none of that sounds too healthy. Gonna be back for a couple of days in the middle of this week so I'll leave it dehumidifying. Will get rid of the little spots of mold too. Poor old car...

Anyone in SE23 got a trickle charger I could borrow?

My car has a flattery.

Saw this in Havana, I believe its a 1938 Oldsmobile

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Roof chop, paint left as it is. Small block chevy, notched chasis, slick tyres. High nose and low rear end. Done.

Mustang has a whole new front end.

Tiger got smashed up (again) also awaiting re-build.

Haven't got any pictures of the beetle but that's also smashed up, it's being re-built now.

Lola is fairly smashed up at the front also...

...oh and the cobra is smashed up (real one, not fiberglass!)

james - have you seen the thread on pistonheads about the guy trying to recreate a lister tiger?

I haven't! Linky?

I think this is our one, they all look the same and I can't remember the number or numberplate. I haven't actually seen it for a few years, it may be back in the states again.

Some pictures of the Lola;

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4017/4576054363_56d8787718_o.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/9394087868_60620cbebb_z.jpg

The tyres don't look big in this picture but they are HUGE
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4058/4576689718_425c8abde5_z.jpg

the lola is street legal........?

You're not going to get it dry enough. Bring it round mine, it's not far, Romford. We'll get the de-humidifier in it for 24-48 hours, it'll sit on the driveway in suburban safety, and it'll get good and dry.

Keep brushing the mould off, it won't be staining, but it's good to get it off quickly. Just get a cloth (ever so slightly damp) and wipe the seats down.

What a gent. You shall be repped.

Whitebait, can you remove the back seat and the carpets, keep them in the warm and dry, and just drive around without them for a while while they dry out? It will be noisy but better than quiet-but-mouldy.

Anyone in SE23 got a trickle charger I could borrow?

My car has a flattery.

You're at the top of a big hill. Bump start it?

Electrical injection systems need power to work. Bump starting doesn't give enough power to the electrickery to work.

Used to bump my injection mini all the time!

For the Volvo worshipper...

http://jalopnik.com/crank-your-speakers-for-volvos-ultra-nasty-650-hp-v8-s-1519991290?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_twitter&utm_source=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

I'm a Volvo driver too now. But it's not as nippy as Dammit's. It's boxy as hell and I'm slowly coming to terms with it.

Which one?