When trying to get top dollar for your car on BaT

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
06/07/2019 at 00:11 • Filed to: None

Be sure to use only the finest hardwoods to support your hatch.

I never knew that the tach doubles as a voltmeter.

Heck, I’m just impressed that an old rotary can still pass California emissions (with a new engine and thermal reactor, but still...) Surprised they didn’t upsize to a 13B.

Still such a beautiful, timeless shape.

DISCUSSION (9)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
06/07/2019 at 00:41

Kind of unacceptable to not replace those hatch struts. T hey’re like 20 bucks apiece.

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/07/2019 at 00:58

Tell that to every asshat who KNOWS their hood struts are bad and tell me they have a stick or something.

“I’m already prepared for your stupid cheap ass and have spent money to make sure the hood doesn’t fall all my neck and either kill or maim me. But kudos to getting a stick and not spending $50.”

People suck.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > His Stigness
06/07/2019 at 01:06

I replaced mine in five minutes and I’m about as handy as... uh, a person who isn’t so handy!

I once h ad hatch fall on my head from bad struts and sliced my head open. May have been concussed. It’s very hard to tell between the shock, blood, and stars.

SmugAardvark > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
06/07/2019 at 01:30

I’m guessing they didn’t move to a 13B for two reasons.

Primarily, $$$. If they can’t afford hatch struts, a more modern rotary is probably out of the question. But additionally, being in California also means more scrutiny and more work required when it comes to engine swaps.

syaieya > His Stigness
06/07/2019 at 02:31

Reminds me of one of my sisters friends who had a jeep with a starter that was going out. He got all worried when it wouldnt start one day so i walked off into the woods, found a big ol nasty stick, and beat the starter til it worked.

Handed it to him and t old him to drive to autozone and buy a replacement. They were like 40 bucks if i remember.

8 months pass, i see him again as hes about to leave out. He climbs in his jeep and pulls out the same ratty stick i found for him. Now with the bark worn down to a shine because hes wopped that starter half a dozen times a day for 8 months.

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/07/2019 at 03:05

A customer told me a story one time of her brother in law (I think) being paralyzed because hood fell juuuust right.

Yeah. No. I'm not playing that game. I failed a car the other day (for timing) and told them they need to have the hood struts replaced before I'll retest it.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > SmugAardvark
06/07/2019 at 09:37

Money would certainly be a factor, as might be the desire to keep it original. I wonder if it would be all that easy to tell which engine was installed at a glance.

One of my favorite engine swaps about 20 years ago was to take the engine from an E36 M3 and put it in an E39 528i, with the end result being about 50 more horsepower and looking factory original . Apparently it was a simple as a swap could be, with all connectors matching right up, and with the M50 valve cover there was no easily identifiable way of telling it wasn’t the stock engine. It’s not like smog check places are going to research the engine serial number to make sure it’s the correct one, especially if you don’t give them any clue that it may not be stock.

MM54 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/07/2019 at 17:52

I have the car pictured (well, an ‘85 but the same parts) and it’s like $25 for both . Takes about 5 minutes to change, half of that is figuring out how to do it because the glass won’t stay up.

SmugAardvark > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
06/07/2019 at 18:10

That’s true, they probably wouldn’t know on a visual inspection unless something was obviously out of place. But I imagine that if the numbers they pull are far enough off from what is expected, they’ll start to ask questions or refer it to a smog referee to be certified.