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

it's relatively easy to hop a fence there

just saying

dropped my car off this morning to fit bigger tyres! very excited

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Are you having a lift ... or will they fit??

You wouldn't want to jack that up too high.

they fit as standard :D walking to collect it now

fit like a glove - just need some new shocks now and it will level out nicely!

they make the car feel weird and they are pretty noises but i love them none the less

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I (still) really want an old Porsche, dark blue with a dent in the wing and a bike rack on the roof.

i saw a belter in cornwall last week. wait - i'llfind a pic

I reckon early Botxtsters are now old enough to pull off that ratty-don't-give-a-fuck-hank-moody look. Matt grey wheels, hardtop, slam it a bit, never wash it.

IMS fault engines in all of those though?

Yeah, back then, most are fixed now. They often hop out of 2nd too, but buy carefully and you'll be fine:

http://www.hartech.org/porsche_996_997_Boxster_free_car_buyers_guide.html

A beast

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Car's not bad either...

Good to see that part of it's finished in MX5 primer grey.

Bang!

The other rear 1/4 was a new panel and the front left was green. Proper rolling resto that just gets used. I loved it.

2 mins later the best s1 e-type you have ever seen pulled in, followed by a db4gt. I'll get more pics.

925 more miles in the force majeure from SE4, too, btw. The little b does more miles than the GTi.

It is made for Cornish lanes

I'm still in love with it.

The most reliable Porsche 911's are the 78-89 (kind of confusing because some 964's started in 89 too).
The 84-89 3.2 Carrera is pretty much the final chapter of the old style 911 bodies and by that time, the car is pretty much perfect. If you can find one with records and receipts, get a post-inspection and it clears, that car can easily give you years and years of trouble free driving.

A friend of my dad's is the owner (and only mechanic) of an air cooled Porsche shop. He's been working on 911's since the 70's. He mentioned one day it's common for 3.0 (911SC) and 3.2 (Carrera) engines to go 300k miles without a rebuild if the owner takes care of it. Like any sports car, a lot of owners are the types that baby them too much...rarely drive the car, let it sit, shift low when driving, etc.. These cars need to be driven and get the oil circulating. They love to be driven hard. The cars are usually a lot more reliable when driven regularly and driven hard.

So yeah, anyone considering a 911, definitely check out the 78-89. I think the best bang for your buck is the later year SC's and the 84-85 Carrera. If you do get a late model Carrera, it comes with a more modern transmission but the standard 915 transmission on the earlier cars isn't hard to use. It does have longer throws though in case you're used to modern cars with very short shifts.

I can't think of a more reliable 80's sports car until the NSX a little later.

I did drive my pal's 964 C4 on Sunday and it was amazing. Creaky and rattly as fuck tho.

My dad was a Citroën man as well. Went through most of their family cars: 2CV, Dyane, GS, GSA, BX, CX, Xantia and a C3 Picasso in the end - Oh how he loathed going from the Xantia to that one, but shit knees are shit knees. Was planning on buying and restoring a Mehari when he retired, but never got that far. Might do one in his memory one day...

Wow to the c3...couldn't he get a c5?

Really? Mine felt very solid...they have a lot more sound deadening/stiffer body than the pre-89 cars.

This was my old C2. Took me forever to find white with black interior AND manual transmission. So many of them have that tiptronic.

I should scan/post the receipt when I had to get the engine split/rebuilt. It's cringeworthy. Bought it with around 65k on it too....

I would consider posting pics of NA Miata but feel it would get mixed feelings...love it or absolutely despise it. haha

Post away, mines a love/hate NA Miata too. I'm assuming you've gone for the crazy Spec Miata look with huge Nascar wing out back?

My Avant isn't.

Managed to push the door in when a range bullied me into a field.

Show us then :D