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

spent 20 mins yesterday watching some drifting competition on the olympic site

not just chavs from leyton messing about, but a proper pay to get in type event
anyone any idea what it was, could hear the smoke and smell the noise from 0.5 miles with my headphones on

NH and his mates?

Looks like considerably more fun than mine. But that one doesn't have a doesn't have a spoiler.

Mate has an mx5 wants it rid for £400 doesn't start, what are the usual problems, was till recently a good runner.

Nurse?

For £400, if the metal is good it has to be worth a punt.

For £400, if the metal is good it has to be worth a punt.

Well that was my first thought too ;)

I also need to get over there and check it out, I just wondered whether there were any major issues that would mean I'd be chucking £400 away... for good.

If it's in good condition, and you can be bothered, you could probably break it if you can't get it going, for £400.

Have a look on eBay for (say) an MX-5 gearbox and see what they go for.

Heh, I just looked - spares for these cars are CHEAP.

Yeah thats what I thought and I could give it to my dad as a project to do up ;)

neil's thinking about it now...

Once Bashton's done, it's "hello, ACME plastering?" and I'm pretty much done on the flat.

rubs hands on thighs

this time next year we'll be millionaires rodney...

If house prices keep going up as they have been, then you might be right.

spent 20 mins yesterday watching some drifting competition on the olympic site

not just chavs from leyton messing about, but a proper pay to get in type event
anyone any idea what it was, could hear the smoke and smell the noise from 0.5 miles with my headphones on

Drift Allstars - another drift series that has rounds across Europe. London was round 1, the rest are in Scandi and Eastern European countries.

NH and his mates?

LOL.

Mate has an mx5 wants it rid for £400 doesn't start, what are the usual problems, was till recently a good runner.

Nurse?

For £400, if the metal is good it has to be worth a punt.

If it's in good condition, and you can be bothered, you could probably break it if you can't get it going, for £400.

Have a look on eBay for (say) an MX-5 gearbox and see what they go for.

Heh, I just looked - spares for these cars are CHEAP.

There aren't really "usual" starting problems, has your mate done the obvious like check the battery? After that if it's cranking and not firing then it's always one of 3 things. Air, fuel, spark. One of those isn't arriving at the right time or amount. Work out what that is and then go from there. Spark could be duff coil pack, HT leads, or plugs. Try pulling individual plugs out and making sure they're sparking. Obviously you need a helper, one cranks, one watches. Fuel you'd notice because if it's not going into the engine, it's probably pissing out somewhere. Air is more difficult because apart from having a completely collapsed intake or blocked intake, it wouldn't usually cause a starting problem. Depending on the model/engine size there could be a connector loose on the AFM/MAF, or it's potentially goosed.

Other than that, what these guys said, under £200 will get you a running engine, drop it in. But... I'd want to know what's causing the problem first. They're simple engines, you shouldn't need to replace an engine unless it's mechanically broken or soon to break.

For £400 buy it.

If it turns over very quickly...then the push rods have all broken simultaneously and will need welding up.

Ha

Check the earth strap in the boot next to the battery if the battery looks good but it won't turn the starter or doesn't seem to have any power.

Nice one thanks everyone for the info and advice. Perfect, seeing it this Saturday.

Ta

Teaser of something special?

I'll have it for £400 if your mate doesn't fancy it

Thinking about this one for a car:

http://uk.caterhamcars.com/cars/seven-160

Being it's common in UK, thoughts? Once I build my Sword fixie, it will be my main transportation, but I can see myself driving an entry-level Caterham in about 5-10 years. But it would need a garage, for sure.

More expensive models are Ford engines, which is great, this one is 660CC three cylinder Suzuki turbo, which should be pretty much rock solid AFAIK...

Any experience on building it yourself? is it better to just let them handle the complete build? Much cheaper to DIY though...

Looks great and a initially looks a cheap way to get into a 7. Makes more sense to buy a couple of year old sigma engined car instead though or something a bit older with more power. They don't need loads of power but even by 7 standards, the Suzuki engined one is billy basic and there are enough nicely specced bigger engined models out there that haven't done loads of miles. I wouldn't hesitate to get a 7 though. There aren't many cars you could have as much low speed fun is and I'd still like to try and run one as a daily for a season.

Smart roadster?

A 300SL suffers a hiatus (is it a Miata or was it a Focus?)

(Don't go viewing stuff on here as it is largely dysfunctional in the extreme, not like on here)
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/172170-mercedes-300sl-gullwing-head-crash.html

I just cried a bit.

I'm off to look at an RS4 later.

Apart from the notorious suspension bush and engine mounting issues, is there anything else I should be looking out for?

What a dog this was.

Dubious history, work carried out by "a friend in the trade", shut lines which a trained chimp could've finished better and mis-matching paint colour on every single panel.

On the plus side, mechanically it was fine - engine mounts and suspension bushes were changed six weeks ago...

Since looking at it, I've had two telephone calls with significant price drops but I still reckon I'll wait for another one.