MrCat

A friend bought a 2020 M2 Competition recently. 331kW and 550Nm of Twin Turbo straight six glory! Revvs all the way to redline with absolutely no signs of lag! A bit too much power and torque for the rear wheels to cope with at times, but lots of fun! Here`s the little beast next to my little nugget.!! Surprisingly, almost the same length. Track and width is a different story I know one cannot compare 400+ HP and 2020 design and chassis dynamics to a 30 year old car, but to be totally honest, the E30 still gives me more smiles per gallon! Maybe it`s just me.

Very neat, original looking car.! Please keep it true to it`s roots.

What a moron! absolutely no chance avoiding if someone/thing cut in front! the way he is holding the steering wheel, will probably break either thumb if he curbed it at speed..! i`m sure one could find nice deserted winding roads in the hill country. People should do POV driving videos there!

Is it a Car or a Crossover you are after? The E90 series is generally a solid platform. The drive-line is quite reliable as far as i know, though the N46 4 cylinder (found in 320i) is arguably one of the crappiest engines BMW ever made. All 6 cylinder (straight 6) engines found in E90 series are absolute gems. I`ve driven cars with over 250k km`s in the clock, still running perfect with a smooth, linear torque curve which is quite unique to BMW (they may have minor issues with plastic bits breaking with time, coil pack issues, etc... , but no major design issues with internals). I dont think there are many 6 cylinder E90`s in SL though. I may have mentioned this elsewhere before, but unlike what many generally believe, 'most' BMW`s up to the E90 series are extremely easy to work on and maintain due to the rear drive platform and engine layout. with the 3 series, anything after the E90 is when the electronics got more complicated. If you are after a cross-over, I think there are plenty of X1`s around. Diesel engines are generally more reliable in the long-run over petrol, I dont find the build quality of both X1 and X3 as good as the 3 series (all generations). Someone with a better understanding of the local market will hopefully comment, good luck.!

Awesome!!! Any reason to specifically go for a Mitsubishi and not a similar vintage Land Cruiser? I`d so LOVE to resto-mod a BJ40, but that`s a distant dream with time/logistical/man-power concerns. ? Do you guys prefer a safari over a hard-top or is it because that`s what you found?

Still remember the days I saw $30k E30 M3`s and thought that price is mental for a little E30..!! ?

Where i live, the BRZ does not have a base spec, so was sold as a higher spec with climate control, heated seats etc.. AFAIK, spring rates were slightly different in the BRZ to make it less tail happy. Thats' about it really. From memory, base model Scion's did not have an LSD in the U.S. But where I live, both Toyota and Subaru were spec'd with an LSD.

I was looking to buy something fun about 5 years ago... Drove the WRX, Golf Gti and Mazda 3 SP25... Then a GT86... The nimble feel and the way that the car rotates around the drivers` hip is just phenomenal.. The other`s were just normal cars with go fast bits added, but this, is a properly designed 'sports' car.! No turbo lag, not heat soak (engine pinging under load when hot etc..), mechanically simple, cheap to run.. I just could not find anything else for the price, which is more fun to drive within legal speed limits. Ended up buying a Subaru BRZ.. Still regret selling the damn thing... ?

Hmmm... speaking of E30 M3's..... ?? News

Nice.!!! So what are your plans? Collecting, using occasionally or flip after fix?

Just to add, i used to have a "VR-Limited Combination B" about 2 years ago. This was also a 96 NA8C - https://www.mx5international.com/ressources/ssp/VR_Limited_Combination_B-51 Still miss it Started a build thread in here , but that didn't live long :

Sweet!! NA8, the 1.8 is arguably better than the 1.6, so that`s great. The Torsen LSD should be there as well, another plus-point. Other features seems mostly cosmetic, apart from the Bilstein`s.

Finally!!! An interesting thread.!!! And Congrats on the purchase.! Just my two cents worth : CRX / Del Sol Personally not a fan of the design, I`d rather a 1st gen. Never driven one though, so dont know how they are like to drive. But the B16 is the party piece in there, should be a nice reliable little screamer once sorted properly. Those wheels does not look original though? Something like Enkei RPF1`s would look great, nice and light and easy to find. Mx-5 This is right up my ally!! Great buy! The best-bang-for-the-buck sports are ever! I mean, a properly/purposefully designed sports car with double wishbone suspension in all 4 corners.! Mazda pumped out 'special edition' Mx-5`s whenever they felt like it, so I wonder what exact features this one is having? Is this an NA6 (1.6 ltr) or NA8 (1.8 ltr)? And the year?

Yeah, saw that before Exterior 'seems' to be in better shape that most but. Easy fix (i.e. M40 swap) 'if' the front sub-frame and gear box mounts etc.. are not hacked up... I`d love to feel how it drives actually. I am guessing kinda sad with a bit of torque low down but nothing else. The last time I drove a 2C was probably a 64- Corolla.

Any E30 / Old Beemer news from SL?? Anyone?? ? Faaarks sake, life is not eventful these days..!! Havent checked under the cover of my car in about 2 months, i think it is still there...

What a sweet find!! Especially a coil sprung 2nd Gen! Always had a sweet spot for these, 1600 Gti engine conversion could be so much fun off-the-road! Owned a 3rd gen Jimny years ago, had awesome fun in gravel/sandy tracks.!

?..!! Are you serious about that conversion? IF you are, may the good car lords have mercy on you ! Give you strength! Give you excellent online search skills! Give you great contacts for parts! Give you access to technicians who`d know that Quattro is not some funky new genre of music! ? It`s strange that this generation S4`s are 15-20k GBP in the UK! Aren`t there any rust buckets with good running gear/interior? Seems to be around 10k-12k AUD here in Australia, about half the UK price.! Usually it`s the other way around for M cars etc... And rust is generally never a problem in a 20 year old Aussy car.

Woah..!! Look at that Audi trademark longitudinally mounted engine.!! You know why? Because Quattro.! Even the FWD`s are designed the same to provision for Quattro. Even today, there`s very few FWD cars with a similar design.

Hey, that makes perfect sense. If you can`t find one in good condition, might as well stay away. These are extremely simple cars mechanically, but certain trim pieces/parts are quite rare and expensive even in the international market (e.g. trim panel under the steering). It`ll be a never ending battle to restore a hacked car, might as well buy something else in good shape and enjoy! What i`ve learnt over the years (when it comes to older cars) is to buy the best car you can in the first place, even if it comes at a premium price. Much less drama and headache over the long run, regardless of the model.

Yay.!! Someone who`d like a Yeeee30.!! Firstly, what sort of usage are you expecting from this car? Daily? weekender? project? only car? second or third car? etc...? Secondly, are you familiar with cars of this vintage? Are you willing to spend time/effort on maintaining a car or mostly looking to get in and drive? I cant help you with finding a car since i am not in SL, but one thing is for sure, try to find THE best car in terms of interior and exterior condition. Mechanical issues are so much easier to work on and fix with these cars, interior and exterior can be a royal pain in the ares to get right as with most 30 year old cars. Something with engine/transmission issues might actually be a better purchase if the body/interior is in good shape as you might be able to negotiate on price. Don`t go for a land yacht (i.e. Y31), Drive an E30 on a nice winding road and expect a silly grin in ya face every.single.time..!

That`s a nice job.!! I hate parking cars under the elements, but sometimes you just cant help it... Just curious, what the hourly rate for a job like that over there? say in USD?

For 600k, a Datsun 1600 / Nissan Bluebird is techniaclly 'the' best.! But, for that budget it`ll have rust and wont be perfect. I am not aware of anything else (potentially available in SL) which is RWD with indipendent rear suspension, for this budget (Peugeot 504 maybe, but that`s in a different class). The Datto has got a big international following compared to similar spec`d Mitsu`s and Toyota`s from the same era! Even if you put some effort later on to restore, this particular model has got the potential to be a well sought after jap classic (already is in most parts of the world). I`d avoid any FWD econobox for 600k, unless your idea of 'driving fun' is just rowing through the gears in a manual transmission car. The mini could be a good choice, but there`s so many around with cut-and-bud jobs etc and is getting a bit, ubiquitous... I`d rather find a Morris 1100 or something for some old-school British FWD goodness. VW bettle, again, 600k could possibly get you a 1200 or a 1300, extremely underpowered for what they are. Difficult to get those air-cooled units to respond under load, unless they are worked on with better cooling, fuelling, lighter internals, etc...

I have a 2013 CRV 2.4 litre AWD. I also have a 2018 Legacy AWD which is just phenomenal in the wet. This is without X-Mode though, which is only available in the Forester and XV. No wheel spin, no traction control kicking in unnecessarily, no drive-line whine or slack, just works beautifully all day. Isn't the CRV`s AWD system one of the crappiest in the business? I haven't had a chance to push it yet, but there`s not even a 4WD 'lock" mode to lock torque distribution, which is available in the similar spec`d Rav4. Do you have any experience with driving the CRV on sand/mud etc..? is it just that bad (compared to similar systems) or does it work ok? Apparently the CRV`s rear diff is so weak that Honda accepted that it cant take even 50% of engine torque by design? it`s OK on tarmac though, doesn't spin/slip the front wheels like a normal (relatively) high torque FWD car.

Probably because they`ve aquired a whole heap of retarded brands with no real purpose. Being special and engineering excellence doesn't sell cars these days (i.e. SAAB). User friendly design, tech/connectivity, safety, reliability and value for money does. In other words, everybody wants the most awesome appliance on wheels.

Producing cars in Australia these days (small local market, extremely high overheads, well established Asian plants producing at an efficient rate, etc...) is a joke really. Australia could do well with high end manufacturing of certain components I suppose, but not whole cars. Ford is doing well with the Ranger, i think they are within the top 5 manufacturers in terms of total car volume. Since small/medium SUV`s are selling in bunches these days, not having a well performing SUV is a disadvantage though. The little Ecosport thing is hideous, dont see may Escape`s around (next size up) and the bigger Everest is more expensive than the Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Montero Sport (similar specs). All in all, dont think they`ll pull out though, they`ve got commercial vehicles going well. Yeah, few Chinese brands are trying to break in to the UTE market, but the Koreans currently dont` play. But apparently both are planning to introduce a UTE within a few years. Considering how well Kia is performing and how awesome their model/spec positioning is, it`ll surely give the Hilux and Ranger a run for its money.