What's your automotive history?

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228) 07/29/2014 at 10:08 • Filed to: None

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Inspired by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which I completely missed, I was wondering what everyone's automotive history was. What you've owned and what's happened to them, from 1st car to last, whether it's been monogamy from day 1 or a veritable harem like me.

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1st car: 2002 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2l (bear with me, it gets more interesting) - current status: still chugging away in my cousin's possession

Not the car itself as it wasn't nearly interesting enough to take pictures of, but it served me well. If people say something like 'it's only got 200bhp so it's not enough power to get into trouble' then they don't know what 'not enough power' means. This thing had 78bhp in a modern, strong and importantly relatively heavy shell. Really not enough power to get into trouble. Still, I did my best:

I got forced off the road once and hit a 2ft tall concrete drain. Threw the car into the air, bent a wishbone and an engine mount. Replaced them and it was right as rain. Right when I started driving I stupidly pulled out in front of a RAV-4 at low speeds. CUV: £150 worth of damage - Corsa: nil.

After about a year, my cousin started driving so we gave it to my cousin. So far, she's pulled out in front of a Fiat Punto in a car park (not her fault, Punto was hooning around the car park far faster than they should have done). Fiat: written off - damage to Vauxhall: nil.

Thing's a tank.

2nd car: 1999 Alfa 156 V6 - current status: on the road, but awaiting exhaust surgery before driving

Although it sounds generous to give a fully working car (that we bought for £1500) to my cousin for free, it was for entirely selfish purposes. My dad used to drive this Alfa, but it wasn't being driven after he bought his 156 2.4 JTD Sportwagon, so I sort of said 'hey, if my cousin wants to drive the Corsa, I can drive the Alfa'.

To my eternal thanks, the deal paid off :) this is the car that properly got me into cars. The engine is an utter masterpiece, and the chassis can certainly keep up. Very fun car to drive, and I daily-ed it as my sole car on the road for 3-4 years and it's been solid :)

Currently, it's approaching the age where suspension bushes start going, and the headers are leaking a bit so it's not in regular use until I've fixed those.

3rd car: 1989 Jaguar XJ40 3.6l - current status: flattened by a tree felled in a storm, awaiting breaking down into parts

I bought this magnificent beast from my uncle for the grand total of £60. It had been sitting in his field for 3 years before I rescued it. I towed it home, gave it a tank of gas, a new battery and cleaned up an earth on the injection and it fired straight up. British reliability problems my arse ;)

I then proceeded to work on it on and off whenever I was home from university. I changed the oil in the engine, gearbox and diff, fixed lights, broken doorhandles (a common problem on early cars), sagged headlining, the radio, perished bushes, heavily leaking power steering system and finally I got all the pieces put together to convert it to 5-speed manual from the old 3-speed auto.

I got about halfway through doing that when this happened:

Storm last christmas eve brought a honking great 200+ year old oak down on top of a number of our cars, including the Jag. If it was the only project I had at the time, or the damage was limited only to panels that were replaceable, I'd be fixing it. As it stands, it's got significant damage to passenger front door, boot, bonnet and roof, with dings on every wing.

That picture only goes some way to showing the scale of the damage. This one is after we were about halfway through taking the tree to pieces, and shows just how big it was:

Very sad, although I'll be stripping it for parts to keep its brethren alive.

4th car: 1974 Triumph Spitfire MkIV - !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! : chassis propped up against the wall, body suspended from the ceiling, but the engine's rebuilt!

This was it when I first bought it. We tried for a while to get the 1.3l I4 working so it could be a bit of a rolling resto, but it needed a rebuild and I had much grander plans...

I've pulled it apart for a full resto (all done by yours truly), and swapping in an injected 2.5l straight 6 from a TR6, along with associated suspension and braking upgrades to handle the speed. I've also put a lot of work into getting it back to the original weight distribution (and close to the original kerb weight) of the Mk4 I4. Lots of weight relocation and lightweight parts.

This was it not too long ago when I was mocking it up for my custom gearbox mount (TR6/saloon 4sp+od, beefier than the dinky little GT6/Spitfire 'box):

5th car: 1994 BMW 325i - current status: crashed, but !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (again by yours truly).

My mate had this car for a couple of years, then when he let it slip into disrepair (he's a bit of a tightarse) and the MOT was looming he sold it to me. £275 mate's rates. I adjusted the handbrake, sorted the brake light switch and welded up a big rust hole in the battery tray/boot. Passed 1st time (although it probably shouldn't...).

Drove it around for 3 months, great car, until I overcooked it trying to kick the tail out on a wet roundabout:

I got the car back home, and assessed the damage. Whole front clip bent beyond repair, bonnet knackered, n/s wing bent, headlights smashed, fan smashed and radiator bent. After scouring scrapyards for replacement parts, I've finally got everything together (except I want a better quality front clip). Should be put together again soon, then I'll drive it for a little while again and then sell it :) this is it at the moment:

6th car: 1996 Lada Niva - current status: blown front diff, but otherwise working. We've got the parts, we just need to fix it.

Me and my dad decided we needed something with proper offroad utility to move stuff around the field at our new house. After looking at £4000 Defenders, and driving my uncle's Ford Ranger 1 (utterly, utterly horrendous ride when unloaded), we found this little low-mileage Niva for £1000 with potential diff damage. Went, bought it and found that the diffs were fine, it was something caught in the rear drum. Mileage was definitely wrong as this thing is a bit knackered, but it's an utter workhorse. Real plucky little car :)

Then the diff did break.

Bought a new diff, and it's entered the long list of things I need to do :)

7th car: 1989 Fiat X1/9 - current status: same state as the Jag, flattened and awaiting parting

This car I didn't mean to buy. I'd already got lots of projects, and I could do without another. However, it caught my eye and I put a lowball bid in to satisfy my curiosity.

It stuck, and I was the proud owner of a £330 Fiat X1/9 :)

Got it back, worked on it enough to get it started and running and get a bit enamoured with it. Enough to work out that it probably had a head gasket issue. Started debumpering it and then the same tree that flattened the Jag also landed on the Fiat, except the poor little Italian took even more of a battering :(

I'm going to part it out and try to make enough money to get another one. Very cool little cars, although I'm growing more and more fond of the Uno Turbo-swapped ones...

8th car: 1992 Jaguar XJ40 4.0l 5sp - current status: daily driver

Right, final one on the list :) since my first Jag got crushed, I've been idly searching through eBay for a replacement. I've never really had the money to go and buy one, but then this one popped up and it was very, very nearly perfect for what I wanted. It's a later 4.0l car, so more powerful, torquier and with a lot of the bugs ironed out compared to the early cars. It's a factory 5sp manual car so no faffing about with trans swaps, and it's a gorgeous colour (one of the 3 I like on these cars). The only thing that's not perfect is it's a sunroof model (in my opinion useless weight high up in the chassis and another place for rust to take hold).

Up for £1500, drove 74 miles to go and look at it. Paid £1440 for it and drove it back home. I then proceeded to drive it 266 miles in two days, during which it didn't skip a beat. Since then, I've driven it nearly 4000 miles in two months and the only slight hiccup has been a leaking clutch slave forcing me to drive home without a clutch once (and promptly fixed that night).

This is the only car to date that I've bought with my own money that has been on the road and driving when I bought it, and I'm worried I'm getting used to it ;)

It's still got a bit of work to do. The boot leaks and I can't find out where from, the petrol gauge doesn't work and it's got a little bit of rust on the front wings next to the cills, but nothing that isn't eminently fixable :)

Next on the list:

I've got a bit of a list of cars I want to own before I die, and the more of them I can buy while they're still cheap and available for sale the better.

I'll be selling the BMW, and the Fiat and Jag will be parted and the shells scrapped, so I'll have some space.

I'm thinking a nice Alfa 75 3.0l would be good, or a GTV6 if I'm more flushed with cash. Other options would be a Rover SD1 2600 (which I would swap a Rover V8 into and use the 2.6l SOHC I6 for a future TR6 project), or a Rover P6 3500S.

I also really want a V12 XJS which I would strip of extraneous weight (but keep the interior mostly stock), tune a little and turn into an E46 M3-fighter. And a Beta HPE with a turbo Fiat Twincam.

On the smaller, nippier end of the market, I'd really like to replace my poor little Fiat. Preferably a turbo swapped one, although I'd be open to doing that myself. I also really want an MGB GT V8, and something with a Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine swapped in (either a 2-door Toledo or a GT6 Mk2 with a knackered engine).

For now though, I'd just like to get the little Spitfire on the road :) that's going to be a right little monster

505Turbeaux > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:13

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yup, harem like you, though I think you have seen my list before...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 505Turbeaux 07/29/2014 at 10:14

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I have and it's mighty impressive :)

f86sabre > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:14

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Suzuki 50 when I was 3

Honda SR 80 when I was 10

1968 Mustang when I was 15 – Still own

1995 Dodge Dakota when I was 20 – Traded

1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T when I was 24 – Sold

2003 Mitsubishi Evo VIII when I was 29 – Still own

2005 Mini Cooper S when I was 31 – Still own, wife's car

1983 Honda Shadow when I was 32 – Sold

2002 Chevy Silvarado S1500 when I was 32 – Still own

2002 BMW R1150RT-P when I was 34 – Still own

1991 Ford Escort LX when I was 34 – Still own, LeMons race car

Brian Silvestro > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:15

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1. Fiesta ST

uuuhhhh...

505Turbeaux > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:15

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doesnt go into detail, though I could one day probably remember what happened to most, and dig out pics of alot of them!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Brian Silvestro 07/29/2014 at 10:19

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Good start :) much better than my little Corsa at the very least

Brian Silvestro > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:20

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Yay cars!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 505Turbeaux 07/29/2014 at 10:28

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Pics would be great!

We've got a lot of old ones of my mum and dad with their old cars. The Alfasud that took me back from the hospital when I was born, my mum's old Alfetta GTV, my dad's two 914s and the Lancia Gamma that got hit by a tree as well.

Must get them uploaded at some point.

duurtlang > 505Turbeaux 07/29/2014 at 10:29

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Talking about your list, maybe this could be a welcome addition? You were planning on going to Germany and buying a car there this summer, right?

mr_gofast > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:30

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i had a post like this before..ill see if i can dig it up..

505Turbeaux > duurtlang 07/29/2014 at 10:32

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good lord that thing is cool! I am still planning on it. I was going to get something for my girlfriend, who is no longer my girl, and I just bought another house, so I might be tied up till next spring financially. But always looking!

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:36

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1991 VW Golf. Owned since 2010. Parked in a shed in 2013, awaiting future restoration/restomodding/whatever. The Golf was bought new by my grandfather, who died in 1993.
1997 Subaru Legacy wagon AWD. Bought in 2012 for €500 for a winter rally. Sold in early 2013.
2000 Peugeot 406 coupe. Bought in 2012. Current daily driver.
1989 BMW 325i Touring. Bought early 2014. Currently waiting in a port in Texas to clear customs.

Not that long a list for a 31 year old...

mr_gofast > mr_gofast 07/29/2014 at 10:40

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http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/oppo-name-the-…

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:44

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Just realized it's been 20 years since I got my license...

'86 Toyota Camry - slow car fast, right?
'88 Acura Legend sedan - my dad's (loved this car)
'91 Honda Accord sedan - bought from my brother, traded to my dad (for my sister)
(back into the Legend for a while)
'05 Mazda 3s hatch - bought new - drove like stolen for 7 years and 90k miles
'08 BMW M3 sedan - truly a dream car for me - good things come to those who wait!

All manual. What's next? I'd love to keep the M3 in the stable for the duration. If that proves possible, I'd like to pair her with something lighter, lower and raw-er. Elise? Caterham? Cayman S? 4C? BRZ STi?

It's a good time to be a car guy (or gal)...

twochevrons > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:46

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So many future project ideas! I'm the same way – there are so many cars that I'd like to own, and it's amazing how many of them are on your list!

I really want to get back into a Citroλn one of these days, but their rarity in the US makes it a bit unlikely. Funnily enough, the SM seems to be the most commonly-available model over here, but I've heard so many horror stories about that Maserati V6 – I still want one, but I doubt that it's a suitable car for low-budget ownership. I'd love to find a nice CX GTi Turbo in France, tour Europe and the British Isles in it, then ship it home. One day...

T5Killer > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:54

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1989 Dodge Ram 50 4x4 (when I was 16-17) Traded for Mustang

1995 SVT Mustang Cobra Coupe (Still have)

1986 Volvo 240 DL (gave to sister regret it)

1989 Volvo 740 Wagon (sold to sister regret that one too)

1987 Hyundai Excel (Gave away only paid $80 for)

1996 Subaru Legacy (Still have)

2003 Mitsubishi Diamante (Wives car)

1988 Mercury Tracer (Just got as a beater/DD)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 10:54

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'94 GMC Safari XT 4.3L "High Output"

Current Status: Daily driver, parent's emergency vehicle, achieving ~7MPG city.

Mom DD for 10 years, it then sat in the street being used about once every 3 months for 6 years until this April when it became my first car.

Train > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 11:03

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1st Car - the family's 1991 F150 - The Grey Ghost. Full size pickup with an extended cab. I learned car control by doing 60 on gravel back roads and handling the fishtailing.

2nd Car - 1986 Old Cutlass Ciera. Passed down to me from a relative. Terrible car that left me stranded multiple times on the side of the road. Good in the snow, though.

3rd Car - 2000 Pontiac Firebird. Also a piece of junk. Terrible in the snow.

4th car - 2014 WRX - love it. I'll have to see in a few years if that sentiment remains. I hope to keep it at least 15 years.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 07/29/2014 at 11:29

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Sweet :) I'm assuming V8 and RWD

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 11:31

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V6 and RWD. 190 horsepower when new.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > T5Killer 07/29/2014 at 11:34

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Cool :) loving the old Volvos, and the rest is a nice eclectic mix

Osiris - I can haz Euro spec? > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 11:46

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I don't have any pics since I'm at work but here goes:

1990 Toyota Camry - I kinda miss this car. This was the car that taught me you could still have fun and not be in something with crazy horsepower. And then the transmission died around 300K miles.

1994 Ford Ranger - 4 banger. Power nothing. Manual 4-speed. 2WD. Had a lot of fun in this in the snow and it allowed me to really tune in my manual driving.

1984 Chevy Camaro Berlinetta - Damn do I miss this car. V6 but still plenty of power and fun plus the insanely unreliable electronics. I never knew if I had half a tank of gas or no gas. Learned how to guesstimate my gas by watching my mileage.

1994 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer - Worst vehicular decision I've ever made. Fun off-roading but that was far and few in between because it was constantly in the shop.

2011 Chevy Aveo - Back to having fun in a car not designed to have fun in. I still own this car (for the moment) and I still take it on the dirt roads every now and then.

2000 Dodge Dakota - This is my baby. 5.9L Magnum engine. Manual 5-speed. 4WD. I love this truck. Awesomely big engine for a smaller truck. Extremely capable through feet (yes...FEET) of snow, crazy fun in the dirt. Only downfall, 8 to 10 MPG. It's going to be a sad day when I watch this truck go but it'll hopefully be for something FR-Sish.

2010 Ford Explorer - Apparently I didn't learn my lesson. I bought another one. Still awaiting it's arrival (long story that I've posted about a couple times recently) but as soon as it does, I'm taking it off-roading to see just how much I like it. At least it's Certified Pre-Owned!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > twochevrons 07/29/2014 at 11:55

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Damn, I forgot about Citroen. I've developed a real liking for them recently.

It all started with this picture of a BX 16v, and the idea of a car rising off the ground like a space-ship before you set off.

I would absolutely love one of these. The current dream is to get one of the old TD ones and swap in the 2.2HDi from a 406 (or, hell, pretty much half the diesel cars ever built in the early '00s). It's the same block and mounting points, parts availability up the wazoo, great fuel economy and if my mate's 406 Coupe is anything to go by, can be tuned into monsters. He's sitting at ~200bhp and ~400lb-ft after nothing but a tune and a particulate-filter delete (which this car shouldn't need anyway).

Either that or a CX with the same treatment. It strikes me that the CX is a stunning car that is only wanting for a stunning engine (in all but the very rare turbo you'd like). Reminds me a bit of a Tatra, or at least has the same alternate-reality look about it:

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/29/2014 at 12:02

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Neat :) Legend as in the joint project with Rover? Cool :)

V8 M3 and Alfa 4C sounds like a hell of a 2-car garage :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang 07/29/2014 at 12:08

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Hmmm, you're right. Have you been driving right from the get-go though? You might be 31, but others could still have a good head start on you.

Also, it probably means that you don't go out and make loads of ill-conceived impulse purchases like yours truly...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > f86sabre 07/29/2014 at 12:10

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'68 Mustang from 15? Fuck yeah :) what's the status and specs?

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 12:13

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I also don't have you mechanical skills.

Anyway, I got my licence as young as I could (18), but because I was a student owning a car made absolutely no sense. I got my masters at age 26 and got my first car within a year after that. Between 18 and 26 I drove the Golf once a month when I visited my parents, as it was my parents' main car that whole time. They also had a BX when I was 18, so I got to drive that as well.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 12:23

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I had no idea there was a Rover (and Sterling) version of that car! Wild.

Wouldn't it? A boy can dream...

T5Killer > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 12:42

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Thanks! I miss those Volvos so so much much. My wife also had a Volvo 240 as well before I met her.

f86sabre > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 12:52

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Nothing but the finest in I6 technology from 1968. My folks had to enforce a little sense in my life at that age and the V8 was out of my price range. The car is in garage storage and, unfortunately, has been that way for about 12 years. That said, I still have it and I've been pondering what to do with it. Restore it with the 6, resto-mod it or do an interesting engine swap. A little, modern 300 HP turbo motor could be fun. It isn't a rare model so I'm not overly concerned about numbers matching cred.

BarryDanger > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 12:59

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I'm going to do the (19XX) at the end to show when they were sold.

1. 1947 Chevy 3100 on a K5 chasis - 454, perm. 4x4, 5-window, 35" tires, RUSTY redneck, no pictures sadly. (2006)

2. 2005 Chevy Equinox - Needed something reliable, efficient after the monstrosity, may have been an overkill of boring. (2009)

3. 2006 Subaru Outback Sport - STI underpinnings, full custom CBE, CAI, Cobb AP2 Tune, Strut bars, too many wheel/tire combinations to count. Blew the engine at 12,000 feet. (2009-2011)

4/5. In college I had a few project cars, namely this 1974 Jaguar XJ12 350 Chevy that my friend wanted me to tune up/drive/play with and this 1993 Subaru Legacy Turbo (My first forced induction) and a 1983 Honda Spree murdered (2012) out (Jag 2011) Subaru (2011)

6. After the 2006 Subaru blew up I decided to get something a little more spacious to DD - Enter the 1996 Jeep Cherokee (2012)

Looked sorta like this:

7. Got the Subaru legacy turbo running and sold it to a friend. New turbo project: Volvo 244 B23f+t with cut springs, shorty shocks and 7 series basketweaves. TD04 with 12psi (2012)

8. Sold the Volvo and picked up a 1989 240sx bone stock- had it for about 2 months before I traded it and the jeep for... (2012)

9. 1968 Datsun 510 with B18, coilovers, roll cage, 280zx swapped brakes, 5 speed trans (2013)

10. Started making some money and needed a new reliable DD/winter vehicle and found a 2009 Mazda CX-7 6speed for a great price (2013)

11. By the summer of 2013 I was living downtown and had limited parking. One night the Datsun was rear ended by a lifted wrangler and it was an absolute mess... Sold both the Datsun and the Mazda and picked up my current 2006 Pontiac GTO 6speed

twochevrons > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 14:11

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Heh, my Dad has a BX 16v - we discovered them after a friend bought one as an engine donor for a Peugeot 205 rally car. They're fantastic cars in their own right, and I can assume you, the feeling of it rising up when you start the engine never, ever gets old.

It's absolutely amazing that the CX came out in 1976, when you think about what everybody else was producing at the time. In my opinion, it's every bit as outlandish as the DS – it's just less noticeable, since everything else STILL looks like it does.

S60 Sasha > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/29/2014 at 17:53

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1998 Mercury Villager/Nissan Quest - It was a hideous thing on stock Chrysler 300 wheels which made it taller and wider... quite fast because of its Nissan guts though. Sold it because I hated my dad for giving me it. Haha. My friends loved it, and called it the Bus.

2001 Isuzu/Honda Passport - Bought as a replacement for the van^ for $1k from my neighbor who is a single lady that meticulously maintained it at the dealer ever since she bought it in 2001. Her brother bought her a new Mercedes so she didn't want it anymore. Pristine condition. She gave us a binder full of all its services. Lovely little tank, but the gas mileage was TERRIBLE. Sold it to some random guy for $4k.

2004 Saturn Vue - Loved the 5 speed manual. Hated the FWD, Plastic, Ugliness, etc. Never left me stranded, super reliable, actually quite tank-like after several hydroplane incidents due to its horrible unsafeness. That's a contradiction but oh well, I'm alive. Sold it to Carmax because the transmission was dying out on me, plus other issues that I've had to deal with caused by the previous owner, and I refused to put more money into it after the 3 years I've suffered with that thing. #ByeFelicia

current: 2014 Volvo S60 - I absolutely love it, but won't keep it after the lease, because I can't deal with the automatic.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 07/30/2014 at 04:28

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Interesting. I was going by the ~7mpg and 4.3l, but American engine sizes are always a little foreign to us Europeans :S

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/30/2014 at 04:31

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It was a joint project, but the Rover version was slightly worse built and a big departure from Rover's previous flagship (the V8, RWD bruiser that was the SD1). Didn't sell as well as they'd hoped, although still sold alright over here.

Should have kept making V8 RWD bruisers. I reckon they'd still be around now if they did.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang 07/30/2014 at 04:36

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I've just been gushing over the BX with Halkyardo. There's a diesel one for sale here for £800 that I really want. It's not a car that I mind about being dog-slow, I just want one that rises off the ground like a space-ship and looks more 80s than anything else I've seen :)

If I want more speed, the 2.2HDi should be a good swap (apparently they're the same basic architecture as the older diesels), or there's a project 16v for £600 here or a SORNed 8v GTi here as well :)

What was yours (or rather your parents') like to drive?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > f86sabre 07/30/2014 at 04:40

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That's pretty sweet :) I wonder how the old low-compression iron-block 6s handle boost. Technically the recipe sounds perfect, but you'd probably need to do something with pistons and you'd have to look at the bottom end to see if it's strong enough.

A turbo'd older 6 would be pretty kickass :)

Other than that, there's a chap who posted up his '69 fastback with a Pinto 2.3l turbo engine from an SVO. That'd be pretty damn cool, and probably easier than a newer ecoboost to get swapped in and set up :)

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 04:49

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My parents had a '91 BX 19 TZD (luxury 1.9L diesel without turbo) with 330k km on it when they sold it in late 2001. The car was fine, they just didn't need the second car any more. It had this refrigerator sized remote (see picture) for the central locking that only worked when you held it right next to the lock.

It sounded like a tractor, but I liked how it drove. Speed bumps? It laughed at them. Very comfortable cruiser and very spacious inside. I talked a buddy into a €500 BX (1.4) in 2009 or so, came very close to buying one as my first car and am still lusting after one right now. That 1.4 was junked in 2011, but that buddy still wants another one. I personally don't want a diesel though, unless it's got a more modern unit swapped in. I don't like the wagons either. GTI, Sport or maybe a Digit. The Digit is one year only I believe (1986 or so), based on the mk1 with the old style dash, but with digital gauges. Very rare nowadays.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BarryDanger 07/30/2014 at 04:50

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I absolutely love the Datsun :) the Volvo and the Jag are damn cool as well. did you ever get the Jag running nicely?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > twochevrons 07/30/2014 at 04:56

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Ah, I remember you saying now :) he said it was like a hot hatch that had grown up into a car with a little more space, or something more eloquent more like.

That's a great description of the CX, and really doesn't help my lust for one...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang 07/30/2014 at 06:07

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Neat! I love the old-school '80s digital dashes. Love the steering wheels too. Everything just seems so wacky compared to modern cars.

I can imagine getting very frustrated with an old diesel, but the payoff of fuel economy is massive compared to my Jag. I would very much like a modern HDi unit swapped in (my mate actually has one spare, but I'm not sure for how long). Not sure how well the rest of the drivetrain would hold up to the torque though. Probably fine in stock form, but I might start twisting things if I throw a remap at it (my mate's 406 HDi is sitting at ~200bhp and ~400lb-ft).

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 06:21

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Being as handy as you are I'm sure you could use Xantia/406 parts to beef up the drive train as well. Maybe 607/C5/407 parts could be made to fit too. Anyway, the 406 was available with a 210 hp V6 from the factory already, although that had less torque than a stock 2.2 HDi.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang 07/30/2014 at 07:24

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I'm positive his HDi is quicker than the V6, although I've heard of a chap with 400bhp from a turbocharged V6 Coupe so there's headroom with that engine as well. Plus, he averages 63mpg with a good amount of hooning. Not something I was in the least bit concerned about until I got a girlfriend and discovered there were things other than cars that were worth spending money on (not much, mind you).

He's actually on the hunt for a C5 6-speed gearbox, although they're rare as hen's teeth.

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 07:29

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Talking about wacky, have you seen the indicator stalk? And the wiper stalk? No, I didn't think so. The buttons are on the satellites behind the wheel.

The facelifted BX (end of 1986+, easily identifiable by the different shape and colour front blinkers) had a slightly more conventional dash. And those seats, those great seats...

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 07:36

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Would those gearboxes fit my 2000 4 cylinder as well? The gearbox in my car is, imho, the Achilles heel of my car. I drive a lot of German Autobahn (850 km one way) and the gearing is just way too short. 3000 rpm at an indicated 100 km/h in top gear (5), so 4500 at an indicated 150 kmh (140 real world) and 6000 at 200 kmh. It makes overtaking easier as you don't have to downshift, but it hurts economy and cruising comfort.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang 07/30/2014 at 07:58

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God damn I want one. I'm an absolute sucker for weird retro setups. One of my favourites is the tacho and speedo on the old SD1s:

As far as I know it should fit, although I don't know for certain. I know the V6 gearboxes and the diesels were the same, but I can't vouch for the 4-cyls.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 08:33

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Hopefully Holden will keep making V8 RWD bruisers for GM for a long time to come!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/30/2014 at 09:12

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I hope so, but the future's not looking as rosy for them as it once was.

Better than Ford and their Falcon though...

BarryDanger > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 15:35

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Thanks, it's a shame what happened to it. The datsun was rear ended by a jeep and I sold it to a father/son to fix back up. Couldn't deal with the constant shuffling around for parking, work and the sore neck I got. The jag was running quite nicely for some time then I went abroad and it sat outside for a whole CO winter. Never could get the idle right after that...

twochevrons > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/30/2014 at 21:26

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Yeah, definitely. Even better, it still only weighs about as much as a hot-hatch, tipping the scales at under a ton. I've got an opporeview written up for it, but the photos that I took didn't come out terribly well. I'll get him to take some for me, and post that sometime.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > twochevrons 07/31/2014 at 04:47

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Ooh, I'll try and dig that up, provided it's not in the draft stage :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BarryDanger 07/31/2014 at 04:49

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That is a shame, although glad that it got sold to someone to fix rather than scrapped.

twochevrons > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/31/2014 at 08:43

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It's a draft, sorry. I was waiting on the pictures, and kind of forgot about it. One of these days, I'll post it up...